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Which is more difficult - skiing or snowboarding?


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It's a difficult one.   With snowboarders general brain size being considerably smaller, even though the actual action of snowboarding is easier, perhaps relatively for them it's about the same leve

I reckon you can ski from day one but not snowboarding. For example, a 3 yo can go on a ski but not a snowboard. Ski is just a extention of your feet. I mean its longer shoes with slippery soles yo

I think the question should be - which is more fun.

After all that's what it's about, right?

 

:thumbsup:

 

Definitely.

 

I went through a period once of actually not really enjoying the skiing. It was all about technique and not much about fun.

I decided to snap out of that particular mindset and now it is 100% about fun.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been skiing until now but last year had a go on a snowboard, found it surprisingly easy. Had a lot of fun as well. Not sure how much me being skiing had to do with the ease compared to someone new coming to it.

I think I might mix it up again next winter given the chance.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have been skiing for the best part of 20 years and a few years took up boarding.

Within a day I was doing all right.

Found the new sensation quite fun actually.

I switch around now and enjoy both.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I've been skiing until now but last year had a go on a snowboard, found it surprisingly easy. Had a lot of fun as well. Not sure how much me being skiing had to do with the ease compared to someone new coming to it.

I think I might mix it up again next winter given the chance.

I'd say a fair bit of crossover knowledge.

Snowboard Instructor son has been picking skiing up at lightening fast pace.

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Nah ... well before I started skiing!

 

IIRC they are cross country racing skis, aka "toothpicks". Never had a go, and no real desire to!

 

Anyway, why you pickin' on me for? What did I ever do to you to deserve that? :eyes:

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not really as snowboarding would win without a discussion!! :p

Only if you "enjoy" spending a whole lot of your life sitting on your bum in the cold!

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not really as snowboarding would win without a discussion!! :p

Only if you "enjoy" spending a whole lot of your life sitting on your bum in the cold!

who sits on thier bum?

I do up my bindings while standing, and if I stop on a run to wait for buddy's I wait on my knees looking back UP the slope. Never never never sit with my back to the oncoming skiers/boarders. I value my kidneys!

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Yeah, but we all know mama bears are smarter than the average bear! :lol:

 

Next time you get off a lift, look at the "roadblocks" just at the edge of the offload area - they'll be boarders sitting on their bums strapping in and covering the whole entire exit run (or at least better than 80% of it!)

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Amen DiGriz! And normally blocking the entire crest of the hill so a boarder is either called a tool for squeezing through them, or has to stop, unclip and scooch up politely saying excuse me...wtf!

 

Had a pair of skiers 'walk' across the very base of the fixed pair ramp in Thredbo last week, no kidding...could not have got closer to it if they tried. Where did they think we could go other than right into them? A hard toe edge right from me, and an excuse me to get them to shuffle faster from my buddy plus a hard right meant there was no carnage...but Srsly?

 

Six of one, half dozen of the other...inconsiderate is inconsiderate, board or ski.

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I figure we all have our moments when we fail to practice consideration, but some people seem to make a career out of it...skiers/boarders/drivers./pedestrians/cyclists, doesn't matter. It's just the 10% rule.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I really don't think there's much difference between the two in terms of difficulty. Yes the first day or two of boarding might be difficult if you are not athletic, but if you're not athletic, you're not going to be very good at skiing either. I instruct both, and people tend to get a bit further on boards earlier, but that's because it's easier to just slide on your heels down a steep slope than make a wedge if you are nervous about turning.

 

Personally I prefer skiing because it's what I am better at, and snowboards just aren't as good for accessing back/slackcountry as skis, you can't traverse as well, you can't deal with flats as well, and you can't really skin easily either, though split boards are apparently getting better. Boarding powder is definitely easier than skiing powder though, even with fat skis.

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I learned to do both (skiing first and at a younger age) and thankfully settled on the only correct choice. skiing. but that's a different story.

 

I think as a beginner skiing is easier, as you can stand up and slide with very little instruction. the transition from that to making slow plow turns is a relatively easy one. The beginner stages of snowboarding is awful really, it is difficult to stand, seems impossible to turn, and the slightest error sees you catching the edge and putting you right back to where you belong.

 

On the flip side, once you are past beginner stages and can control yourself competently, the transition to advanced skiing is a rather difficult one, with a lot of fine points to be learned, and I felt that snowboarding at a higher level came quickly after those first few days.

 

my 2 cents

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it's easier to just slide on your heels down a steep slope

 

:naughty: :veryangry:

 

Haha, I'm talking more about the part on Aspen/Green in Hirafu after windy corner, than overterraining students down anything that anyone would care about getting scraped off. Hirafu's so flat that a bigger problem is boarders traversing the hell out of the place.

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What do you mean by that Jimmer?

"Boarders traversing the hell out of the place"

 

I would have thought the only people really inconvenienced by flat area traversing would be the boarder themselves, and that it occurs in places where it is fairly inconsequential to the snow cover...?

Flat spot between Hanazono restaurant and the lift.

Holiday run back from Hanazono to Gondola station.

The last little bit back up to the hooded triple.

Bottom of Konayuki to skiers left (ok, maybe that would tick skiers off as that is quite a powder pocket)

Most inbounds places, if you get stuck something went wrong.

 

Or are you talking about outside the resort?

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The bit that annoys me most is gate 4, where lazier/less skilled boarders traverse progressively lower and lower, resulting in crossing a bunch of traverse lines at the start of the run. Less of a problem, but still a problem, is people who start at the top of super ridge and just traverse their way down to the base of super. I understand a bit there, as it's a short run if you ski it fall-line, and it is off camber, but really people should traverse to the section they want along the top, then ski it fall-line. It's a problem more in Hirafu because it's flat, where I am now (Chile), if boarders can't traverse properly in some sections, they tumble over a selection of cliffs, that seems to be incentive enough for everyone to behave properly.

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So by traversing you mean side slipping on heel or toe edge across the face of a steep slope causing tracks across your powder, rather than scooching along a flat with your back foot out because it is so flat?

 

So the criticism of Niseko being 'flat' causing this problem comes in where?

 

I get it that it is annoying that virgin deep pow gets tracked widely across rather than lots of narrow tracks allowing the virgin pow expereince to last longer, but that happens everywhere, and offenders can be on two planks as well....seen it done numerous times, people using the entire open width to carve out thier track that everyone else then has to ski through. Meh! Part of the expereince. :wakaranai:

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