(Sorry!) Ski or snowboard?

…skiing is great fun most of the time, however for those days when fresh snow arrives then a board will be so much more fun than skiing can ever dream of being. ….. but when powder arrives then out come the snowboards and the real playtime begins.

This is pretty much spot on. I snowboarded and skied for years. If there was fresh snow then I’d board. If there wasn’t much fresh, or there was a lot of mileage to be done then I’d ski.

Boarding’s easier than skiing on steep slopes.
Skiing’s easier that boarding on flatter slopes.

I gave up boarding in the end when the missus was pregnant. She could ski quite happily but as people above have said, boarding involved lots of falling hard and so wasn’t really the done thing at that point. So we both skied instead.

Since then I’ve done a lot off off piste on skis which would have been shit on a board due to the flat bits.
On a decent set of modern skis, deep powder is nearly as good as boarding but not quite. The effortless gliding that you can do on fresh snow on a board is just blissful.

Tried both but learnt more in a one day of ski school than I did in a whole week of boarding. Just came back from Les Arcs and had another 3 ski lessons and it was fantastic. Feel much happier going down the reds and my speed has really picked up.
I found that with boarding there was no warning if things were about to go wrong and I really hurt my knees a few times. With skiing on the other hand I could prepare myself a bit even though I would end up in a heap on the floor.

Started off a skier then changed to snowboarding 15 years ago, there is one thing that would tempt me back on to skis however

the generalist, are you embarrassed about your lack of knowledge of snowsports?

Which bit do you disagree with?

Done both, started with skiing then went to snowboarding now back to skiing again. What I like now with skiing is the easy on and off lifts with skis.

I got bored of having to un-strap and then re-strap with snowboarding.

I’m not that much of a skier and am happy on the groomed slopes so skiing suits me better. Though I do enjoy both.

I can do both to a reasonable standard and snowboarding is miles more fun.

Cruising around covering distance on hard-packed pistes is better on skis though. Skis are more practical for touring/mountaineering as well.

..skiing is great fun most of the time, however for those days when fresh snow arrives then a board will be so much more fun than skiing can ever dream of being. ….. but when powder arrives then out come the snowboards and the real playtime begins.

This.

Skied as a kids, but snowboard now. Keep thinking of trying skiing again but don’t get much time on the slopes anymore so haven’t bothered.

It would be better to ski with the kids as they learn but it’ll be snowboarding again this time. Both kids in ski school this year! Woo Hoo!! Bring on next week 😀

Do what you like or do both. Don’t worry what they think ^

^ completely agree. You could flip a coin and have a great time doing either. Some good practical pointers above though, just ignore the snobbery/stereotyping (who would have thought there would be so much for two alternative ways to slide down a mountain).

Well thanks for all the help guys. Few things to think about. But for now; I have booked onto snowboarding lessons in Serre Chavalier.

Skiing is something I can think about later depending on how much I end up going!

Which school, Chris?

It took me a couple of days to link turns and to be able to control my speed, when i first learnt to snowboard. On that same trip, there were also a couple of newbie skiers who were competent after only a few hours with an instructor.

It was quite hard for us as a group to find a slopes/areas which were good for us all. I wanted to be in powdery stuff and skiers wanted to be on the groomed slopes (pistes?). I suppose that the newbie skiers couldn’t handle powder so well. Also, if you have a stiffer, wider, longer snowboard then powder riding becomes easier (but park riding is tougher)

Check out the slope conditions and then decide what’s best for you, if you can.

I booked it through Crystal. So whichever one they use!

Cant wait now!

You teach kids to ski.

Snowboarding is a surfer/skater wakeboarder sport a bit more niche, everyone can ski, even your grandmother, not so many can ride a Snowboard well, so learn to Snowboard, you can pick ski-ing up anytime.

And if you want to wind them up ask them ‘Dude what’s with the poles?’

In fact, what are the poles for Cap’n they’ve redesigned skis to be more like two snowboards, why the heck do they still tote them about, is it a deliberate policy to look stupid? Because it’s working. 😆

Not sure which school got the Crystal contract this year. Plenty of Serre Che tips in the S&S 2013-2014 thread, though!

Neither. The win win option for yourself and all the dicks that’ll sneer at you out on the slopes whether on a board or ski’s.. is a splitboard!

Sorry, it didn’t answer the question :O) Go heads or tails on a coin and do the other the next season and go from there.

If you’re going yo go every year then ski. If not then board. Skiing requires more technique and a greater range of techniques and, fitness so unless you’re going to do it every year you’ll always feel like you’re learning and never progressing. Boarding is easier to pick up from the off so if you have a few years off you’ll be back up and running again quicker. No science to this suggestion, just a different opinion.

Snowboarding wins for me. Riding powder with your friends cannot be beaten.

However if you start doing helidrops and backcountry on skidoos it becomes very very expensive. Best feeling in the world though.

I do think though that to master skiing is way tougher. I mean, going backwards off black kickers. Wowzers.

661 impact shorts FTW

And if you want to wind them up ask them ‘Dude what’s with the poles?’

In fact, what are the poles for Cap’n they’ve redesigned skis to be more like two snowboards, why the heck do they still tote them about, is it a deliberate policy to look stupid? Because it’s working.

We were noticing this going up the lift today. With modern skis people don’t really do anything with their poles, just vaguely wave them about.

And point with them, so you have to duck so as not to get clothslined!!

Learnt to ski as a child ( well slide down a hill in the rain avoiding the grassy bits and snow fences as it was Scotland) and did it or first few trips to the alps.

Then started snowboarding and have only been on skis a couple of times since. Going this year and may have to switch to 2 planks again as oldest child may have a few lessons and it is so much easier to help them when you are on skis.

Kind of concerned about it as reached a level quite a bit above where I was on skis on the board and not looking forward to not being able to nip off and play in the powder.

However been a couple of years with very little snow and I do think skis may be more fun then. Plan is take the board and then hire skis out here if needed.

Go on conditions. I was in exactly the same boat as you, I was determined to board. It was really icy and tbh I had a difficult week. Guys on skis had a much better time on the hard pack piste.

Skiing is less standingsittingstandingsitting than snowboarding which *does* get on your tits when you’re getting to grips with it.

“If you’re going yo go every year then ski. If not then board. Skiing requires more technique and a greater range of techniques and, fitness”

Seriously?

There is some snowboarders that have progressed beyond the majority of side slipping resort riders you see.

I have just as much fun boarding* on pistes as off.

*yeah BOARDING.

side slipping resort riders

Don’t do this.

One of the biggest barriers to entry for boarding is having lessons with the ESF!

Seriously, finding a good instructor can be hard – and if you’re just starting out how are you supposed to know? My first week of boarding was an agonising bruise riddled write off thanks to useless tuition.

I doggedly learnt to link turns on my pathetic local dry slope before going again and when I next hit snow I was away. (I’ll never go on a dry slope again though.)

As for which is for you? Well, boarders are the mountain bikers of snow (slower, bumpier, fallier, harder, cooler, having fun) skiers are the roadies (We go faster! We go further! Stop having fun and look at my GPS plot!).

I have just as much fun boarding* on pistes as off.

*yeah BOARDING.
Who let the gapers out? 😀

“If you’re going yo go every year then ski. If not then board. Skiing requires more technique and a greater range of techniques and, fitness”

Seriously?

There is some snowboarders that have progressed beyond the majority of side slipping resort riders you see.[/quote]

Nah, I got up early to watch the olympic slopestyle qualifiers this morning, turns out those guys just ride for a week a year Ed was saying, Jamie Nichols (Team GB) just blasted straight into the finals with a cab 1440 he got taught by one of the guys in ESF after he got his turns linked… piss easy.

As for which is for you? Well, boarders are the mountain bikers of snow (slower, bumpier, fallier, harder, cooler, having fun) skiers are the roadies (We go faster! We go further! Stop having fun and look at my GPS plot!).

Nah…

The boarders are the fat biffers who have hired a massive downhill bike thinking they are going to be hitting massive drops and huge gap jumps but actually spend all their time on easy runs and then drinking when they could be riding.

The skiiers are the people on all mountain bikes, riding with style on the stuff that the fat biffers at the bar whish they could do. And then party harder after the days riding is done.

The roadies are cross country skiiers. Weirdos.

But what about cross country snowboarders? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w7sVSMbjyM

There is of course the third option… Blades…
Instant learning curve… Transition to ski’s is much easier…
Got the wife to red runs on skis in under a week with just a few days on blades… and no ESF to worry about!!
Other that than I’d agree that boards rock when there is powder…
But as I have a board I would say that…
Err I also have some blades for the days when I’ve had enough of the edge holding burn!!
Going to go into hiding now for mentioning blades…

There is of course the third option… Blades..

That’s like flying to a nice restaurant in a foreign country to sample their wonderful food, then ordering a bottle of Buckfast to go with it.

🙂

There is of course the third option… Blades…

I think there is one thing that all skiiers and boarders can agree on is that blades make you look like a Parisien peado.

(They also screw up your technique and turn you into the sort of skiier who breaks every run up into a series of straight lines and hockey stops)

I think when i comes to blades, this is the point where every one else on the mountain agrees on something! I mean, what is it with those stupid bloody rasta hats…..

Edit: like what he said!

As for learning to Snowboard, I don’t want to blow my own trumpet (I kind of do really), but i learnt to ride in a morning!! 😀 I had ridden skateboards a fair bit though so that probably helped.

I think there is one thing that all skiiers and boarders can agree on is that blades make you look like a Parisien peado.

But it just looks exactly like skiing but with shorter skis? Are you saying that the only thing that stops you looking like a Parisian Peado is a bit of extra plank at your feet?

There is of course the third option… Blades…

No. Just no.

Going to go into hiding now for mentioning blades…

Full props for the suggestion, I can’t believe how judgmental everyone has been over something that should only have practical implications. I don’t think blades make you look stupid.

There’s no ‘one is better than the other’, if you can ride well at your chosen discipline – that deserves respect. It’s the mountain snobbery that pisses me off about winter sports.

But it just looks exactly like skiing but with shorter skis?

Snow blader

Skiier

The boarders are the fat biffers who have hired a massive downhill bike thinking they are going to be hitting massive drops and huge gap jumps but actually spend all their time on easy runs and then drinking when they could be riding.

The skiiers are the people on all mountain bikes, riding with style on the stuff that the fat biffers at the bar whish they could do. And then party harder after the days riding is done.

The roadies are cross country skiiers. Weirdos.

Brilliant!

I could post a picture of a shit skiier, it doesn’t prove anything.

Here’s a picture of a better snowblader: