Snowboarding vs. Skiing

Been doing both for the last decadee or so, have not been out in two years though now that I am a daddy. Plan on taking the little guy up to the hills for lessons next winter. WIll start him on skis then let him try snowboarding. Afraid he won't try both if he starts snowboarding with all his little buddies.

 

Most kids are on skis to start, then, if so inclined, they transition to the dark side. My lil dood started at 5 on the board. No skis for him.

 

I live in Florida, so I haven't had the opportunity to learn. I'd really love to try either!

 

Trust me if Professional Snowboarders are using them in the park for jibbing and big air comps they are plenty tight. After 10 years of use I could never go back to the ole strap in's.

 

I have been snowboarding for about 9 years now. I love it, I have never been on a pair of ski's except for Cross Country. I'd like to try skiing, not because Im tired of snowboarding but because the chicks that ski are alot more attractive IMO.

 

Was looking for a thread how skiing. Being the around the same age as you (26, right?), I don't know how to ski or snowboard either (and I live in the northeast for crying out loud).


A few newbie questions:
Is it too late to start learning?

How tough is it learn to ski? I'm not talking to be an expert right away either.

How should one learn to do it?

Can you explain the meaning between the marking of each runs/slopes? Blue, green, and black?

Any other advice?

 

I'm happy that people get to enjoy the mountain the way they want to. I do have bones to pick with boarders, and I will not ever put on a board, but to each their own. If I feel the need to, I'll go out with the MonoSki. Everyone has a good laugh at that.

CW

 

Never too late to learn anything.

Reading this thread shows there is some debate which is easier to learn. I found skiing to be easier to learn. I have been snowboarding for about 12 years now. I love it!

Green = Easy
Blue = Intermediate
Black = Expert


Just give it a shot (and take some lessons).

 

I can ski and snowboard: my advice is START!! it's awesome. I prefer snowboarding to skiing....the first time I ever put on a snowboard I was 37 years old.

 

Just remember that the first few times snowboarding can be really rough, so get some lessons.

 

My interest is at skiing right now (I'm sure one I do it, I'll want to move on to skiing). Do you think one should learn one over the other first? How many lessons and "outings" does it take for one to learn and how long til one gets better?

I see the local ski resort (the southwestern part of NY state, not exactly Colorado or Whistler) has a 1 and 1/2 hrs lessons (for newbies to the more advance) for $30 group or $105 for private ($35 for each extra half hour).

What about equipment? Rent at first? Will they provide it for newbies looking to learn?

As for the difficulty, what is the difference between them? Steeper and longer slopes?

 

Another question of two:

What is the difference and quality when skiing in terms of snow quality? I'm guessing fresh powder is the best

Let me make sure I have this right:

Powder: Fresh, un-skiied on snow.
Crud: When more and more people ride through the powder snow and you'll see tracks?
Crust: A harder, slippery/icy surface that develops from icing up (Due to the sun and wind melting the top layer, then freezing it).
Slush: Slightly melted snow.
Ice: Self-explained I think.

What is the difference between packed powder and powder conditions?


Also, does each ski "Region" (say Beaver Creek-Vail-Aspen to Whistler to Deer Valley to those ski regions in Europe) have it's own feel and differences (type and size of slopes, ect.)?

 

Can't help with all the questions, but for the lessons you can rent equipment from the resort, they may be willing to give you a deal for both rental and lesson, but that is up to each resort. For the price of equipment, its better to rent at first, if you think you'll be going more than 3 or 4 times a year see if you have a local shop that will rent for the season instead of renting from the resort each time.

Based on the area you are in, I'm guessing you're looking at Peak 'n' Peek or Holiday Valley? If these are the 2, Peak 'n' Peek is the smaller and easier location imo and is a little more open to beginners than Holiday Valley. I learned at Peak 'n' Peek but would rather go to Holiday Valley now.

Difficulty can be how steep they are and also what sort of terrain they are on, if moguls are involved or not, and the width of the trail at times. I've seen greens which are linger than any black at the resort so not sure length really comes into play much.

 

I've only been snowboarding once and I have never been skiing. This past February I went to Beech Mountain, NC and gave it a go. The first run was bad, real bad. I kept busting pretty much every 15-20 feet. I eventually got the hang of going down the slope like 50 feet then slowing myself down and going further, etc. The slope we were on was like super slick ice so stopping without carving up snow/ice was a little difficult for me. But overall it was challenging but fun.

On my third run, out of only 4 total because there was some tournament going on and the slopes were like Disney World, I couldn't get myself to turn right and started drifting over to a little ditch. I hit some little humpy in the snow and went down pretty hard. After a Dr's visit and 10 chest xrays a week later I found out I separated some cartilage in my chest. No worries though, I'm a tough guy, I'm still looking forward to next time

 

I typed up a long reply, but I think you should buy a copy of Ski magazine. SO much to respond to in your post, I get dizzy.

Suffice to say, in generalities, powder is the "best" to a lot of people. They don't know why. True powder days are rare. So, to the locals, powder days are the days we live here for. Many don't want groomed or hard-pack, they just want the feeling of "bottomless" powder. Done right, it is like floating and you never touch hard ground. That also means you don't have that reassuring feeling of terra firma underneath you. It also requires a slightly modified stance and technique. Not radically so, but if you're not used to it, it can feel a bit awkward at first. However, powder days are the holy grail. Get out early, get fresh tracks and get off the mountain before the terroristas show up.

Your definitions are generally correct, and I'd make some amendments for accuracy, but you're fine with those defs. The only one I'd specifically comment on is crud. It's a broad term. However, to me crud means a mix of highly alterable snow conditions. Hard-pack, wind-blown, drifting powder are all possible in crud. But, more commonly, crud is stuff that's already been cut up, catches tips and sometimes ejects you forward over the bars. Each has their own def, though, I suppose. And, crusty, may only be surface crust. The under-layer may still be powdery/grainy. Depends on if you break through. Ice? Also use boilerplate and bulletproof.

Packed powder v. Powder. Powder is snow that's fallen. It will get tracked out. If enough skiers go through that section, it will pack-in. Or, it may get groomed. Think in these terms: powder is soft and fluffy and packed powder is what powder becomes. Can be hard-pack or soft-pack, depending. Soft-pack (equivalent to recently groomed) lets you edge and carve easily. Hard pack requires more effort to get and edge as it's packed more firmly due to grooming, volume of skiers or weather conditions.

Yes, many ski resorts have a different feel. I live in Vail. Very different than Aspen. Or Steamboat. Or Breckenridge. Or Deer Valley, even. Europe's on a totally different level in many ways. Their mountains are scary and dangerous. Most skiing is Off-Piste, which means you're on your own if something goes wrong. I've skied in France (Chamonix and Val d'Isere), mainly, but the resort towns in Italy (Cortina, etc.) and Austria (Gstaad, Kitzbuhel, etc.) are similar but different. Each has its own charms

CW

 

Learned to ski in my early 30's. Went out west about 4 trips a year. Was a avid skateboarder as a kid and always wanted to try snowboarding because of the similarities , sorry I never tried it. Now at 50 stopped skiing the last 2 years. Started to worry about falling and knee surgery.
I guess now its just beaches and bikinis . When your young and fearless try anything once. Almost anything.

 

I haven't skied for a few years, but used to be a level 2 FIS ski instructor, and used to regularly hit the slopes 80+ days a year.

Tried snowboarding about 4-5 times and didn't like it at all. Perhaps if I was an rookie skier trying out both sports to see what I liked the best I might have migrated towards boarding, as it is very difficult and time consuming, not to mention expensive, to become an expert skier as opposed to learning snowboarding. That factor, IMHO, is the only reason snow boarding is so popular. I spent $2,000 a year on new skis, bindings and tuning because after 75+ days you eventually kill the properties designed into in a pair of boards if you are aggressive and fast.......versus the guy (or his parents) who buys a board for $200 and gets 3 seasons out of it flopping around in the powder.

Personally I found it way too slow for my liking, found that you lacked a lot of control while being strapped down to one object versus two, and overall it just didn't appeal to me. Not knocking it, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I did while on two boards. I ski on 210 cm super G race skies and putting on a board was like going from a Ferrari to a Greyhound bus.

 

Old Skool! I hung up my long, skinny sticks years ago. Donated the whole lot of my old race boards to charity. You need to try some of the new skids. All the benefit with half the work!

CW

 

Close Holiday Valley and Kissing Bridge are the two close ski resorts. Peak 'n' Peek is close, but it's about 45 minutes longer of a drive in comparison to the other two. Most people from my area will go to KB or HV.

I was thinking of renting first as well. Kind of dumb to invest money into equipment before trying and getting a hang of it.

 

Thanks. I wonder if they have a "Skiing for Dummies" book.

 

Nothing supplants actual boots on the ground! Go. Check. Them. All. Out. Please report back and let us know what you think.

CW

 

Holiday Valley has excellent programs for noobs. Just do it.

I rented for my first day on the mountain, after that I've only used my own gear. For the record, I started riding ten years ago and I was already old at that point.

Off topic--last season I did this crazy stance analyzer thing and it suggested a different set up. I gave it a try and it's a little different. The upside is that it gave me tons more control.

 

Will do. I got a friend that might be interested in learning as well, so we might do learn together.

Do the lessons teach you how to select and use the equipment? Technique?

Just have to wait for the snow.

I will check out Holiday Valley. I was thinking Kissing Bridge might be better suited for a noobie (not quite as crowded as HV and I heard HV was a little more resort-like, but you would know better on if the actual skiing itself is better or not.


The reason I asked about the book is just to about the terminology.

 

We're skiers. Always have been, always will be ;-)

Snowboarders: please don't sit down in the middle of runs, especially over blind crests. Please sit at the edges of runs if you must.

When skiers sit, we sit at the BAR!