Board AND ski???

[evil]

Ok, so here's the question.
Who here ski's and boards?
What's your thoughts on that?
Are there certain mtns, conditions, anything, that dictates what's on your feet?
What's your ratio of the 2?
Basically, I started as a kid on skis, went to a board (as a teenager, go figure), then got back into the 2 plank scene about 5 years ago, heavily last season.
If it's powder or gnarly terrain I'm usually on a board but for everything else it's skis.
I would say my ration is an even 50/50 now though it looks like skiing actually has a chance to be the heavier # this season.
Was just wondering how many others switched it up.

 

[Moe Ghoul]

Never boarded and have been tempted to give it a shot for the past few years. Seems like the motivation isn't there becasue I rather be shredding the gnar on skis instead of getting over a learning curve. I do know that I'd board facing right.

 

[dmc]

I board... Ski... and tele....

I skied for a bunch of years... tried riding in the late 80s... did both for a while... started to ride only.... then about 4 years ago i started getting into telemark skiing.. Now I'm getting fitted for new ski boots...

I'd like to do more skiing this year.... I like to go fast....

 

[Greg]

I board... Ski... and tele....

I skied for a bunch of years... tried riding in the late 80s... did both for a while... started to ride only.... then about 4 years ago i started getting into telemark skiing.. Now I'm getting fitted for new ski boots...

I'd like to do more skiing this year.... I like to go fast....

We gotta get you ripping bumps again!

Just look at you. You ooze radical.

 

[gladerider]

i ride and ski. skiied a bunch of years but for the past 2-3 years i've been riding mostly, squeezed in 1 day of skiing each year.

 

[JD]

I ski. Back country snowboarding is too gear intensive and prohibatively expensive for what we do in the east. If I rode lifts I would prolly have taken the time to learn...but for shuffling around in the bushes looking for ski lines around here, they just aren't the tool.

 

[WJenness]

I just ski. My gf does both. She can rip on skis, less so on the board. Not sure if the board was used at all last year. Season before was split 70/30 between skis and board respectively. I bought her new skis for Christmas last year and she stuck with those all season.

-w

 

[Johnskiismore]

Just ski, everytime I think I will give a shot for a day, I think of the skiing that I will miss

 

[bobbutts]

Skis for bumps/ice
board for powder/woods

about 50/50 last season.. was mostly boarding for a few years after skiing exclusively for a bunch b4 that.

 

[Greg]

Just ski, everytime I think I will give a shot for a day, I think of the skiing that I will miss

+ one billion

 

[Starter Jackets Rule!]

Ski/Board/Alpine Board/Tele Ski.http://forums.alpinezone.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Smile
But I do not play the drums!
This season I plan on getting my Tele turns down pat.
while the boards that I own collect dust, after all if it were hard it would be called skiing!

 

[mondeo]

Ski only. I always say I figure I'll learn how to board when I get old...like 30.

But I've got a few friends that are want to learn to ski this year. I figure I might learn to board while they're learning how to ski; that way I can actually hang out with them on the slopes and not be held back.

 

[Starter Jackets Rule!]

Ski only. I always say I figure I'll learn how to board when I get old...like 30.

But I've got a few friends that are want to learn to ski this year. I figure I might learn to board while they're learning how to ski; that way I can actually hang out with them on the slopes and not be held back.

When you do get around to trying it ..Get and stay Forward!
LOL!

 

[Glenn]

I did both in high school. I was racing at the time and on the mountain 4 times a week. Skiing that much at the same mountains (Blanford and Berkshire East) had me looking for something new. So I raced and practiced during the week and started snowboarding on the weekends. A few buddies boarded too, so we'd hit up the local hilly golf course on snow days. This was early to mid 90's and we had some pretty damn good winters in Western Mass.

I was spending a lot of time on the mountain back then so switching back and forth wasn't an issue. I did both right through about 1/2 of college. Then those fancy "parabolic" skis came out and I sold the board. I was also working at a ski shop at the time, so flipping gear was easy when you were getting it for a tick over cost.

I'll give it a shot again some day. I still have my Burton boots which I sill use to when snowblowing. Those damn things are warm and comfy! I'll hit up craigslist every so often and looked for used boards.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

did the soft boot thing for a few times then got on a race board with hardplates and my ski boots...got stuck on the tail at the end of a turn on a 163cm rossi race board (the purple one with 2 VAS plates) and got sent into the woods...that's when I realized I liked hardplates much better. rode enough to get comfortable on blue terrain...then twin tips came out, skiers were allowed in half pipes and now the board gathers dust in the basement. having way too much fun on skis to do anything else. I'll get a tele set up when my 3yr old is ready to solo the blues and we can be on a similar level.

 

[gymnast46]

board ski

50/50 Board and Ski sometimes on the same day. Check out my avatar.

Have had pretty good success on both.

 

[skiboarder]

I use the board for soft snow-corn or powder. I love to ride in slush bumps. When the conditions are hardpack, I ski. I find I am more comfortable going fast on skis. Two planks make me feel more secure at speed. I think that skis are a superior tool for the steeps because it is easier to turn them quickly. All in all, I love doing both.

 

[hardline]

I ski. Back country snowboarding is too gear intensive and prohibatively expensive for what we do in the east. If I rode lifts I would prolly have taken the time to learn...but for shuffling around in the bushes looking for ski lines around here, they just aren't the tool.

i dont know if i really agree with you. i can de-ski and be solid in the the same time as skiers are ready to go down hill. unless you one of the those guys that rip their skins of while balancing on one ski.

traversing sometimes is a biatch but when im touring i got my poles right there. alot of times i will just ride with my pole collapsed.

gear intensive? what would a splitty carry more than you? i can't really think of anything.

riding my board when exploring just makes me look at the terrain in a way that makes it most rideable. granted there are areas that you gota go up hill, poles with big baskets give me the leverage in need. but if you got to re-skin a good splitty should be reskined just as fast as you but when im exploring i am never really rushing so it has never really made a difference.

 

[djspookman]

I ski/board/tele, in about a 30/60/10 mix, all depends on my mood for the day. I used to ski/board 50/50 when I was working at smuggs a few years back. Taught kiddo ski lessons, then after the lessons, went out on the board. Also used to bust out the board on pow days, but now that I have some really obese skiis mounted up for tele, I take those out on the pow days.

dave

 

[atkinson]

I do them all, depends on the season how much of each. For a while, all I did was tele and snowboard, but that ended when I realized that alpine was still fun too. AT got heavily into the mix in the last five years as well. And I picked up a splitboard last fall.

I've been skiing (alpine/xc) since 1979, teleing since '83, first tried snowboarding in '85 and after coaching these sports for the last 20+ years, it has become apparent to me that each discipline has many similarities and few differences. Flex and extend. Look ahead. Don't lean uphill, move down the hill. Finish turns to control speed. Mix carving and skidding movements, depending on terrain and snow conditions. A tele turn is a toe-side turn, a revers-a-mark is a heel-side turn. We're all just sliding around on p-tex.

People who claim that one tool is better than another are only speaking for themselves. Look at the top people in each sport, they ride their gear to the outer limits of imagination.

If you think skis are better for the steeps, check out the routes that Jeremy Jones rides; spine lines that don't even look possible and near-vertical faces that he essentially free-falls down, while still maintaining control. Clearly, one stick has its advantages. And he seems pretty comfortable at speed too. Mach-loonie down Alaskan peaks ...

If you're all righteous about dropping the knee because it's cooler/more versatile/lighter/more-in-touch/etc., do a randonee race and watch the Dynafit crowd blow by you or enter a mogul contest and get schooled by kids whose feet seem glued to the ground, except when launching a sick air. Even Dylan Crossman locks his heel on a regular basis.

If you slide sideways because it makes you feel superior to your straight-sliding brethren and sistren, check out some footage of Bode or Nobis or Babic. Totally out of this world.

If you're an alpiner who thinks that fixing the heel fixes the problem, try to keep up with someone like Crossman on his tele gear. He did win the MRG Vertical Challenge one year on them, beating the entire rest of the field, regardless of gear.

However, if you slide for fun and don't worry about how many sticks you have on your feet, you're on the right track. If you are looking to experience the joyous feeling of learning new ways to approach winter sliding sports, I encourage you to find a good coach and be prepared to want more gear.

John
www.sugarbush.com