Skiing or Boarding?
Discussion
If I were you, skiing, as then at least once you get to grips with it you can go out with the rest of the group. Otherwise you may be stuck with a group of random people who don't speak English...
Have you thought about taking lessons before you go at either a local dry ski slope or going to either of the indoor real snow Xscape ski slopes?
Have you thought about taking lessons before you go at either a local dry ski slope or going to either of the indoor real snow Xscape ski slopes?
I skied as a little kid but (rather shockingly) haven't done it for 4 years or so now, not since I started snowboarding.
I think snowboarding is initially harder but once you know the basics its much easier to progress. Skiing is easier to begin with... but to progress is harder.
Both are really fun!
I'd say do what the people you're going with are doing - which is skiing - luckily that happens to be the easier of the two to srart with.
perhaps try a few lessons here in the UK before you go?
whatever you do, enjoy yourself!
I think snowboarding is initially harder but once you know the basics its much easier to progress. Skiing is easier to begin with... but to progress is harder.
Both are really fun!
I'd say do what the people you're going with are doing - which is skiing - luckily that happens to be the easier of the two to srart with.
perhaps try a few lessons here in the UK before you go?
whatever you do, enjoy yourself!
Oh - but if you want to do snowboarding then go for it. You can snowboard alongside skiers no problem - all they get all whiney when you sit down for a rest because of your aching calf muscles. ignore em anyway. Make sure they are educated about snowboarders approches to going down pistes. Many of the skiers i've met (often with rather large differences in velocity) out on the piste don't seem to understand the path a snowboarder will take down the hill is different to that a skier would - this is why they crash into me... as with driving, your job is to look after the people further down the hill than you.
Snowboarding is supposed to be easier to learn (I've only been on one once as I'm a die-hard skier), But if your Friends have 1 season or more of skiing under there belts you won't be keeping up with them after 1 week (unless you are extremely gifted). If you've got the budget for it try to take some lessons while you are there. Skiers and snowboarders are notorious for over-estimating their friends abilities after half a day on the slopes and talking them into a slope that's beyond the beginners abilities, don't get sucked in
If you have never done either you will find muscles in your legs that you never new you had, so m1spw's suggestion to get some time in before your trip is a good one, altitude will zap your strength very quickly if your not accustom to it. Have fun and keep the waxy side down..
If you have never done either you will find muscles in your legs that you never new you had, so m1spw's suggestion to get some time in before your trip is a good one, altitude will zap your strength very quickly if your not accustom to it. Have fun and keep the waxy side down..
Yeah I'm definitley going to get some lessons before I go! Luckily Im not far from one of those real snow places so I'll try and get a least a few hours practice.
Tbh, Im pretty sure Im going to go for the boarding...like Trooper says, I wont be keeping up anyways so I may as well look cool!
Tbh, Im pretty sure Im going to go for the boarding...like Trooper says, I wont be keeping up anyways so I may as well look cool!
MrFlibbles said:
Tbh, Im pretty sure Im going to go for the boarding...like Trooper says, I wont be keeping up anyways so I may as well look cool!
Ah, but apparently we skiers are now cool again and boarding is becoming passe, or so I'm told...
I ski and I've never boarded, so I can't comment on which would be better for you, but lessons beforehand are a definite either way. Perhaps try an afternoon of each, as you're close to an indoor place, and see which you get on with better?
10 years ago boarding was without doubt the COOL
thing to do,skiing had an old time rigid learning regime that was outdated and v difficult to learn, Austria being the main culprit i beleive for taking the veiw that your ski's had to be glued together or YOU VER NOT CORREKT. Things have changed now and with huge development in ski tech the old rigid planks have been chucked in skips and newer type carving or 'parabolic' ski's have become the norm. Technique has become much more relaxed, no longer is it necasary or correct to have skis close together, a gap has to be mantained to use the curve and flex of the ski to turn. Skiing is COOL again. Skis are now much shorter and easier to use, Freestyle skis are probably the coolest option, wether in the fun park along side boarders, off or on piste, mostly twin tipped for riding'fakie'(backwards) or spins. There is nothing that can be done on a board that cant be done better, faster, higher on skis.(can you guess my preference)
That said if i was 18 and starting out i would probably want to board! . My eldest boards and we have great fun mixing the two together. It is mainly the old school skiers who tut and moan about boarders(you can spot them in flourecent one peice suits)so dont let that worry you at all. You lay all over the piste if you want to, it gives us something to turn around.
There seems to be a lot more youngsters skiing than boarding now, but then prehaps they will be fortunate enough to learn both, which would be fantastic.
The main thing is to try it? With modern teaching progress is rapid and the enjoyment factor is huge.
Wish you the best of luck D
thing to do,skiing had an old time rigid learning regime that was outdated and v difficult to learn, Austria being the main culprit i beleive for taking the veiw that your ski's had to be glued together or YOU VER NOT CORREKT. Things have changed now and with huge development in ski tech the old rigid planks have been chucked in skips and newer type carving or 'parabolic' ski's have become the norm. Technique has become much more relaxed, no longer is it necasary or correct to have skis close together, a gap has to be mantained to use the curve and flex of the ski to turn. Skiing is COOL again. Skis are now much shorter and easier to use, Freestyle skis are probably the coolest option, wether in the fun park along side boarders, off or on piste, mostly twin tipped for riding'fakie'(backwards) or spins. There is nothing that can be done on a board that cant be done better, faster, higher on skis.(can you guess my preference) That said if i was 18 and starting out i would probably want to board! . My eldest boards and we have great fun mixing the two together. It is mainly the old school skiers who tut and moan about boarders(you can spot them in flourecent one peice suits)so dont let that worry you at all. You lay all over the piste if you want to, it gives us something to turn around.
There seems to be a lot more youngsters skiing than boarding now, but then prehaps they will be fortunate enough to learn both, which would be fantastic.
The main thing is to try it? With modern teaching progress is rapid and the enjoyment factor is huge.
Wish you the best of luck D
Go to the indoor place at Tamworth - its wicked !! Have a go at each and see which you prefer...
It's really worthwhile getting used to putting boots on, walking with ski's etc, so you don't waste time with the basics on your holiday.
My GF had 4 lessons there and when we went on holiday she was already a competent skier. When we went on holiday we could go straight up the mountain and enjoy skiing straight away.
Whereas I on the other hand wasted the first 3 days of my 1st holiday pratting around in the slush on the nursery slopes at the bottom of the mountain, being overtaken by 3 year olds. Indoor slopes weren't around in the old days, and I hadn't even seen a ski or ski boot before I got to the hire place!
On the 4th day I was fed up being left behind while my mates went up the mountain, so thought I'd follow them, accidentally ended on a black run and nearly died !
It's really worthwhile getting used to putting boots on, walking with ski's etc, so you don't waste time with the basics on your holiday.
My GF had 4 lessons there and when we went on holiday she was already a competent skier. When we went on holiday we could go straight up the mountain and enjoy skiing straight away.
Whereas I on the other hand wasted the first 3 days of my 1st holiday pratting around in the slush on the nursery slopes at the bottom of the mountain, being overtaken by 3 year olds. Indoor slopes weren't around in the old days, and I hadn't even seen a ski or ski boot before I got to the hire place!
On the 4th day I was fed up being left behind while my mates went up the mountain, so thought I'd follow them, accidentally ended on a black run and nearly died !
I'd say go the boarding route due to the steeper progress curve. If you can get half a dozen lessons or so in before you go away you'll have a chance of keeping up with them after a couple of days.
It's cool either way now that most people have got over the whole skier v boarder thing. Even though I haven't been on a pair of skis since I started boarding in about '93 I gained a new respect for skiing after my season in Fernie.
It's cool either way now that most people have got over the whole skier v boarder thing. Even though I haven't been on a pair of skis since I started boarding in about '93 I gained a new respect for skiing after my season in Fernie.
Personally I would say do which ever one you fancy most as a complete beginner you will have no preconceptions of what to do, both are good fun.
The only thing I would say is that button / drag lifts can be a little tricky for beginner boarders, but boarders tend to use soft boots which are much easier to get on with.
Sometimes getting a decent ski boot which fits properly can take some time.
The only thing I would say is that button / drag lifts can be a little tricky for beginner boarders, but boarders tend to use soft boots which are much easier to get on with.
Sometimes getting a decent ski boot which fits properly can take some time.
Having done both, I prefer skiing. I make it akin to cars + motorbikes - Skis = more flexibility if it goes wrong, more stable. Boards = infintely cooler, much more painful if you stack it, People on skis will not understand why you have to do things differently to them
Reasons I went with skiing -
1. Mogul slopes. About 2000 times more fun on skis
2. Easier to manouver in woodland - tree trails are great
3. Ability to stop in a straight line - lost count of the amount of times ive approached a lift queue on a board and had skiers flank me making it completely impossible to stop without cutting them up / stopping in front of them
4. You dont fall over just through tiredness (holding a decent edge with knackered calves at the end of a day on a board is harder than it sounds)
5. More spectacular wipes - skis and poles to fly off in all directions
Reasons I went with skiing -
1. Mogul slopes. About 2000 times more fun on skis
2. Easier to manouver in woodland - tree trails are great
3. Ability to stop in a straight line - lost count of the amount of times ive approached a lift queue on a board and had skiers flank me making it completely impossible to stop without cutting them up / stopping in front of them
4. You dont fall over just through tiredness (holding a decent edge with knackered calves at the end of a day on a board is harder than it sounds)
5. More spectacular wipes - skis and poles to fly off in all directions
Would you prefer broken wrists (boarding), or buggered knees (skiing)?
Take you pick.
Be aware that if boarding you will require mandatory baggy trousers, headband and dredlocks and must at all times address everyone as "dude" in a fake American accent, oh and remember the ideal place to 'park' you board is in the middle of the piste on a blind corner
Take you pick.
Be aware that if boarding you will require mandatory baggy trousers, headband and dredlocks and must at all times address everyone as "dude" in a fake American accent, oh and remember the ideal place to 'park' you board is in the middle of the piste on a blind corner
Ahhhh, the Skiers Vs Boarders tit for tat slagging match has begun! It's like arguing about fox hunting...
It's already been recommended, but I'll reiterate it: Go to Tamworth / Xscape and try both, see which one you prefer. Then once you've chosen a 'camp' you can come back here and slag the other one off
It's already been recommended, but I'll reiterate it: Go to Tamworth / Xscape and try both, see which one you prefer. Then once you've chosen a 'camp' you can come back here and slag the other one off
Raify said:
Ahhhh, the Skiers Vs Boarders tit for tat slagging match has begun! It's like arguing about fox hunting...
It's already been recommended, but I'll reiterate it: Go to Tamworth / Xscape and try both, see which one you prefer. Then once you've chosen a 'camp' you can come back here and slag the other one off
I have absolutely no problem with borders..... .....as long as they stay of my piste
I think you'll find boarding way easier to start than ski-ing. I went through all this with my kids (who at 15 and 17 ain't too much like kids any more). Both started skiing, but my daughter also then started boarding. There is no doubt that although for the first day or so you spend more time on your butt on a board than on skis, after that, you will progress much faster on a board.
But here's the big difference. Whan you are at a fairly low/intermediate standard, you simply will not cope with the steeps on skis. Period. So if you're skiing with a mixed group there are places where some folks can go and you simply can't. On a board, even after a day, you can get down pretty much anything on heel-edge. Not fast, not pretty, and it messes up the slops for the skiers
, but at least you can go pretty much anywhere on a board with very little technique/experience. Which is perhaps one of the reasons boarders get some bad press. Runs that were previously limited to strong intermediate/expert skiers now have first-week boarders on them.
But, if you just wanted to do what was easiest, then we'd all be driving automatics I'd never consider boarding (too old to change now anyway), but there is no doubt that you'd keep up with an experienced group quicker on a board than skis.
more's the pity When I was taught, part of the training was to ski with a newspaper or magazine locked between you knees.
Ah, here we come to one of my great GOM bugbears. I've always looked on skiing with a wide stance poor technique. Sure it works. Sure it's easier, but it it the best technique? I always think it's a bit like lazi speling, or bad dikshon. It works, coz peeple still understand wot ur sayin. Theres no law against it, and sum foks R happy wit it. And no dowt all these text-stylee shortcuts make it quicker to rite 2. WKD M8. But it isn't proper English. And to my mind all this wide-stance technique isn't 'proper' technique.
So, no problem if that's how folks want to ski, but I don't think you can justify it on technical or performance grounds...it's just easier. I can't recall ever being 'out carved' by anyone with a wide stance - quite the opposite. It's a bit of a 'young folks thing' I guess. Bah humbug.
>> Edited by tvrolet on Thursday 1st December 11:12
But here's the big difference. Whan you are at a fairly low/intermediate standard, you simply will not cope with the steeps on skis. Period. So if you're skiing with a mixed group there are places where some folks can go and you simply can't. On a board, even after a day, you can get down pretty much anything on heel-edge. Not fast, not pretty, and it messes up the slops for the skiers
, but at least you can go pretty much anywhere on a board with very little technique/experience. Which is perhaps one of the reasons boarders get some bad press. Runs that were previously limited to strong intermediate/expert skiers now have first-week boarders on them. But, if you just wanted to do what was easiest, then we'd all be driving automatics
I'd never consider boarding (too old to change now anyway), but there is no doubt that you'd keep up with an experienced group quicker on a board than skis. R TOY said:
Technique has become much more relaxed, no longer is it necasary or correct to have skis close together...
more's the pity
When I was taught, part of the training was to ski with a newspaper or magazine locked between you knees. R TOY said:
a gap has to be mantained to use the curve and flex of the ski to turn.
Ah, here we come to one of my great GOM bugbears. I've always looked on skiing with a wide stance poor technique. Sure it works. Sure it's easier, but it it the best technique? I always think it's a bit like lazi speling, or bad dikshon. It works, coz peeple still understand wot ur sayin. Theres no law against it, and sum foks R happy wit it. And no dowt all these text-stylee shortcuts make it quicker to rite 2. WKD M8. But it isn't proper English. And to my mind all this wide-stance technique isn't 'proper' technique.
So, no problem if that's how folks want to ski, but I don't think you can justify it on technical or performance grounds...it's just easier. I can't recall ever being 'out carved' by anyone with a wide stance - quite the opposite. It's a bit of a 'young folks thing' I guess. Bah humbug.
>> Edited by tvrolet on Thursday 1st December 11:12
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