Confidence and Success > Fitness/Diet

Skiing or Snowboarding?

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MikeM:
schro: My son ( <----- that one) has said he's interested in snowboarding. When I was into skiing, snowboarding wasn't even an option. Now, it's at least as big as skiing.

If you or you son are doing it for the pure coolness factor, be aware that snowboarding is currently out among the snowsport vanguard (if you care about these things). They moved on to twin-tip skis, then telemark, and even twin-tip telemark some years ago (in the park! you haven't lived until you've seen someone clacking away on twin-tip teles in the halfpipe).

A few questions...
1) At my age (42, but still in great shape), what has the least injury potential, assuming you maintain a reasonable level of control and safe speed? I'm thinking boarding, only because your legs are basically a single unit.

Wear a helmet.

In terms of injury volume and severity, it's my understanding they're both about the same. The key difference is injury type. As mentioned, snowboarders -- especially beginners -- are more likely than skiers to injure their wrists, arms, and shoulders. Beginners are prone to "catching the downhill edge," which can result in a "mousetrap" fall. (You go from being upright to slamming into the ground very quickly.) The best way to avoid wrist and arm injuries is to NOT try to stop the fall with your hands (the recommendation is generally to cross your arms across your chest and absorb the hit with the side of your upper arm). The best way to avoid mousetrap falls is to take a lesson.

True, when you fall on a snowboard your legs turn as a unit, so you're less prone than skiers are to certain kinds of knee and ligament injuries.

It may be a personal thing, but once past the beginner stage, I've found falling on a snowboard to be less scary than falling on skis.

still in great shape

A few words of warning:

Snowboarding is about balance and finesse.

True, you need a basic level of fitness to do it, and once you start improving, having good overall body strength can only help. However, there is a pattern in which usually "generally athletic guys" take up the sport and think they can muscle the board in any situation. As a rank beginner you might be able to muscle the board some and flail it around and think you're doing things right. You're not, and it'll catch up to you if muscling the board is the only technique you have. If you're at war with the board (or the mountain), it'll win. Learn to do things right from the get-go.

2) Which is more fun? I did enjoy skiing very much, but have never tried snowboarding.

Personal preference. I prefer snowboarding. To me snowboarding is exhilarating and pure physical joy.

3) Am I nuts for even considering this? I'd love to have another activity for the family, but the budget is not overflowing.

Not at all. I took up snowboarding a few weeks shy of my 34th birthday and have been doing it for 5 years now. I had been on alpine skis about a dozen times spread out over about a dozen years. I had done cross-country skiing for about 3-4 years, and just decided to try snowboarding on a whim. I knew by my 3rd or 4th day snowboarding that it was the sport for me.

There's some common folklore about learning to ski or snowboard:

Often, new skiers have it easy for the first couple days, then spend a lifetime getting good. Often, snowboarders have it very rough the first 2-3 days, then they're fine. Many snowboarders, unfortunately, plateau as terminal intermediates at this point.

I love the carving aspect of snowboarding (although I haven't made the leap to specialized alpine snowboards and hard boots) and do some fairly decent carved turns for a softbooter. Last season I spent very little time on the snow (work obligations prevented me from going much), but I spent some time learning to ride switch. Moguls are extremely challenging for snowboarders, mainly because moguls are formed mainly by the actions of skiers, who generally take slightly different lines down the mountain. I've worked at mogul riding, but haven't really got it together yet. I'll take the smallest of small jumps in the park, but I don't really like leaving the ground. This is what I want to work on this season -- getting comfortable getting in the air. I don't do rails and such. I've taken a lesson in the halfpipe and done about 10 runs total down the pipe. Let me tell you -- that's some scary stuff. Very intimidating. I twisted my back in the halfpipe once, so I'm a little leery about getting back in.

Anyhow, I love snowboarding and am happy to answer any questions you might have.

(I'm in the Detroit suburbs and ride locally on a 300-foot vertical slagpile. I generally take about 2 trips east or west each year to the big mountains.)

MikeM:
Forgot to mention -- just about every resort where I've taken lessons, there's always some woman snowboard instructor in her 60s. (White hair and all -- like the woman in the Columbia clothing adds.) I swear it's the same woman who moves place to place. Never taken a lesson with her because they usually give her the nervous newbies.

If you look carefully, you will see people your age and older riding.

MikeM:
Once I was about to drop into a halfpipe and was working up the guts to do it. I motioned to the only other person waiting to go before me -- I look closely and it was a woman in her fifties on a snowboard. I said something along the lines of "you go ahead. this thing scares the crap out of me." She said she always found inspiration in the words of some skateboarder who said, when asked in an interview whether he still got scared before a run in the pipe, "If I didn't get scared a little each time, I wouldn't still be doing it."

This was the same day a liftie cheered me because I took a run down the race course. (It was set up with skier gates, not snowboarder gates.) What I didn't tell him was that the only reason I took the race course on that run was that I had just chickened out of taking the halfpipe and given how the trails split it was my only option.

schro:
MikeM,
YOU ROCK.
Thanks for all the great information.
Trust me, I'm not doing this for the cool factor.

I'll be on the look out for the 60 year old lady !  :*))

MikeM:
Hit the slopes yet?

I had my first day out on Sunday (piddly little bump in Michigan). Loads of fun.

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