dmc
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And further north I travel the more terrain is open and more woods are available.....
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Snowboarding in serious decline?
- Thread starter Boston Bulldog
- Start date
And further north I travel the more terrain is open and more woods are available.....
kcyanks1
New member
While my sample size is not great, and my observations spread some years, I've noticed very few snowboards at Sugarbush (at least South) and Stowe, and more at Jay and Gore (has been a few years since I was there). Haven't skied southern VT in a long time. As far out west, my most recent trips have been to Jackson (was there a number of years straight up until the year before last), and skiers are a big majority there it seems.
C-Rex
New member
Did you not read my disclaimer? :wink:
I'm the same way. I've kept all the boards I've ever owned so you could say I have 6 but 3 are retired. My last years day2day is now my rock board. I want to add a split at some point when the funds situation allows. I generally keep my boards for 3-4 seasons, although my last Custom went 5.5 because it kicked so much ass and I wanted to spend more money on going riding than buying gear.
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C-Rex
New member
I understand the "obvious" reasons. Easier to get around on skis, less changeover time from skinning to decending, etc. But ususally people go to the backcountry to find powder, and IMO, nothing beats snowboarding on powder. So I think it's worth the extra changeover time to rock a splitboard instead of going over to the "light side". It's all down to preference in the end. I'm not going to convince a hardcore skier to convert anymore than a skier is going to convert me. But I think those just getting into sliding on snow will go with what's easier to learn (skiing) unless the people they go with are primarily snowboarders. Since there's more skiers to begin with, it's easy to see why skiing is growing and not snowboarding.
Cannonball
New member
I snowboard 30-50+ days a year. My wife does the same. And we bring our 3 nephews boarding a bunch of times during the year. For the 5 of us I have probably purchased about 20 snowboards in the past 10 years. Of all those boards only one was purchased new at a store. So despite hundreds of days on the slopes, including adults and kids, we would barely register at all in this data set.
How many other folks do you know snowboard? Have any dropped the sport for skiing? Why? And have you considered switching? If so, why not?
Sorry for the questions...just interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic since you are so active.
Cannonball
New member
I don't mind the questions.
It's hard to say how many other people I know that snowboard (too many to count up). Of the many, many people I know on the mountain, I'd say it's slightly skewed towards skiers. Although most of my friends do both. I ski and snowboard. So far this year I have 3 days boarding and 2 skiing. My season ratios are typically 75% board, 25% ski. If I had to only choose one I would snowboard.
I don't know any snowboarders who have dropped the sport for skiing. I do know some snowboarders who have essentially dropped the sport for other pursuits. I'd say that's not quite as true for skiers that I know.
As to the Backcountry perspective. I went from tele, to AT, then this year I bought a splitboard. I still have the AT gear but I doubt I will maintain it, and will probably exclusively split. I'd just prefer to be on a board when I'm in the woods. Plus my split setup is much lighter (and cheaper) than my AT gear.
I have no idea what the real trends are. There are definitely a lot of younger kids getting into skiing right now. It seemed like a few years ago they would have been snowboarding. I imagine it's like anything else....cycles that come and go.
I think that is a good point that people do both sports.
WWF-VT
Well-known member
An interesting note to the Boston Globe article is that they contacted a shop that sells both skis and snowboards. They should check into what is happening at snowboard only shops for a valid view of the status of snowboard sales. My son is an avid rider and the staff at a typical ski shop does not have the product knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport that you'll find at shops that are dedicated to snowboarding. He has purchased all of his gear for the past several years at dedicated snowboard shops.
The less people do it the cooler it will become again 8)
Savemeasammy
New member
I wonder how much the twin tip skis erode snowboardings' market share? I would guess that many snowboarders get their start because they want to ride the parks (I can tell you that my 6 year old is in love with parks!). Perhaps having the option of getting twin tip skis takes away some market share that might otherwise go to snowboarding?
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steamboat1
New member
I'm a skier so I'm not an expert on snowboards. I know the one shop I frequent most often has the shop split into two sections. Ski's, boots & skiing apparel are located in the front section of the shop with it's own dedicated staff. The back end of the shop is dedicated to snowboards, gear & apparel with it's own separate staff. They used to have a separate building on the property dedicated to just snowboarding but I guess that didn't work out. The building is still there but it hasn't been used in years. I would think that the people they hire are well versed in the separate disciplines since they only work in that section. Much of the staff has been there for years.
C-Rex
New member
This is a good point. I have also found that shops selling both are usually biased toward skiing, both in knowledge and selection. While a lot of older people are snowboarding these days (I'm 32), I'd say the majority of "adults" ski. So as a business, I can see them rather cater to people with more disposable income then a bunch of kids who will do a lot of looking but much less buying. And when they do buy, I'll bet its actually the parents making the purchase, and those parent's are not going to buy them a new board every year just because of some small technilogical advancement when they have a perfectly good board at home.
Cannonball
New member
I should mention one other thing about this article. I am very familiar with the shop they quote (Sportworks in Duxbury, MA). Although I like the guys there well enough, it is probably the last ski shop in all of New England that I would consider to be representative of the industry as a whole. First of all, they are located in a flat, coastal town in southeastern, MA. The closeest mountains are 2-3 hours away. Secondly, Duxbury is a very homogenized, very high income, very white town. Given their location, they are only servicing people from their town. Nobody is driving out of their way to hit a ski shop in Duxbury. I'm not saying any of this as a critique of the shop itself. But wouldn't it make more sense to get your stats from several high volume shops located in ski country if you are going to make generalizations about the industry?
Very true. That echos my concerns as well...especially their comment about how Mommy and Daddy can allow their kid to dress cool and still ski without having to worry about them becoming a snowboarder. :blink: Seems like a dumb thing to say. And I think that they should consider online retailers in the mix as well.
Boston Bulldog
Member
Yeah, the Globe should have found a better point of reference before writing this article. I grew up in Hingham, which is essentially the same town as Duxbury, and the amount of "true" skiers or snowboarders is quite low there as well. Most purchases and rentals in a South Shore ski shop would be made by locals, people who aren't the best representatives of the New England snow sports scene. lol
Loon and only Loon is their mountain of choice down there.
mbedle
Well-known member
One question I have is how do they actually know the ratio of snowboarding/skiing at a resort? I can't say I ever remember being asked when buying a ticket if I was skiing or snowboarding. I am assuming that these percentages are based on rentals and potentially small limited surveys. I was just up at the local hill yesterday and to me it seemed like the majority of the people on the slopes are snowboarders.
St. Bear
New member
You don't need to ask people, you can just observe.
I honestly think that the article was based on (previous) NSAA data that we've seen and discussed and that they merely were looking for someone to serve as anectdotal evidence. In typical Globe fashion, they just did a quickie and went to this one shop rather than canvassing the New England region. It is what it is.
