Have you ever tried to switch from skis to a board or v-v?

[billski]

Slide out - don't just drop and use your arms/wrists.

I'll bet that many people who have a rough start are victims of not falling properly, thus explaining all the banged up and bruised stories.

 

[dmc]

I'll bet that many people who have a rough start are victims of not falling properly, thus explaining all the banged up and bruised stories.

Or not taking lessons.. Or listening to friends and riding a trail way over their heads..
I really recommend a beginner lesson... they are usually free...

I learned in 88... There were no wrist guards... Bindings were very rudimentary.. Boots were Sorels with ski boot liners.. We all survived..

then main thing i learned then and I pass to people is to just relax and "ride it out".. Don't fight a fall but don't fall because you think your going to fall..

 

[Cannonball]

I'll bet that many people who have a rough start are victims of not falling properly, thus explaining all the banged up and bruised stories.

Not exactly. In skiing falls are relatively slow and you have time to 'fall properly'. When you are learning snowboarding you WILL catch an edge. When that happens you will fall so instantly and so hard that there is virtually nothing you can do to 'plan' it. The advice about pads is very good.

I agree with what others have said...I have been in car accidents, football games, ladder falls etc that were no comparison to the beating taken the first few days of riding. Actually, the hardest falls tend to come just as you are getting the hang of it. Before that you aren't going fast enough to really experience the 'mackerel slap'. But when you catch a heel side at higher speeds....you won't know what hit you.

good times

 

[4aprice]

Boarding is tough to switch to as its much harder the first 5 days or so compared to someone's first 5 days on skis ever.

But once you link a couple turns in a row together, snowboarders progress much faster than skiers. You can become an expert rider quicker if you ask me.

This is what I've been told. I've never been comfortable with the sideways stance. I couldn't get down a skateboard but I could get around on inline skates. I've never been board skiing and never wanted to go through the learning process so I never tried, but I have urged my kids to. My daughter, the ski instructor, has gone out with her friends and has fun with it. She claims that she still likes skiing more but wants to buy a board. My son, the racer and park rat is defiantly against trying it. He rides a skateboard around the driveway so I just don't understand. It certainly looks like fun and there some impressive boarders around. Just don't screw up my bumps:razz:

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[gorgonzola]

That's cause your an old bastard!!!!

The fall I took the last day of the season last year STILL hurts,,,sux gettin old.

f*ckin eh right - old's kool

i hear ya tho, i did a double ejection to face plant hard the first day of last season doing some stoopid sh!t and ended up with a pinched nerve - still have numbness in two fingers :-o

haha yea the mackeral slaps are the one's i remember - catching a toe side edge at speed

 

[dmc]

f*ckin eh right - old's kool

i hear ya tho, i did a double ejection to face plant hard the first day of last season doing some stoopid sh!t and ended up with a pinched nerve - still have numbness in two fingers :-o

haha yea the mackeral slaps are the one's i remember - catching a toe side edge at speed

Toe side slam is the worst... I blew my shoulder out on one..

 

[Juiced]

I switched 3 years ago from skis to a board. I probably will never go back. I just have more fun on a board, but I'm not sure why.

 

[Juiced]

Toe side slam is the worst... I blew my shoulder out on one..

Oh yeah. I've fallen face first a few times. Not fun.

 

[dmc]

Oh yeah. I've fallen face first a few times. Not fun.

I try my hardest to avoid those types of falls...

 

[dmc]

I switched 3 years ago from skis to a board. I probably will never go back. I just have more fun on a board, but I'm not sure why.

It hard to explain... But I'm with ya..

You should go back to skiing every once and a while... It is a lot of fun!

 

[Juiced]

It hard to explain... But I'm with ya..

You should go back to skiing every once and a while... It is a lot of fun!

I've thought about it and may do that this year. I sold my skis last year when I realized I like boarding more, but may pick up another pair.

 

[dmc]

I've thought about it and may do that this year. I sold my skis last year when I realized I like boarding more, but may pick up another pair.

problem is - ski technology changes fast.. My issue is all my ski stuff is now old.. And probably dangerous..

 

[RENO]

problem is - ski technology changes fast.. My issue is all my ski stuff is now old.. And probably dangerous..

I bought new skis 5 years ago. Used them 1 morning. :lol:

 

[neil]

Toe side slam is the worst... I blew my shoulder out on one..

Yep, nothing fun about catching a toe side edge while facing down the mountain. It's how I broke my collar bone last season.

 

[KevinS]

Boarding is tough to switch to as its much harder the first 5 days or so compared to someone's first 5 days on skis ever.

But once you link a couple turns in a row together, snowboarders progress much faster than skiers. You can become an expert rider quicker if you ask me.

Dont bother with a lesson for snowboarding. Its all learning balance on an edge. Once you get that feel, and instructor wont make you any better on a snowboard. I feel the exact opposite for skiers. Instruction can be crucial to getting over the intermediate hump.

I agree with your first point (skiing is easier at first, but harder to master. snowboarding is harder at first but easier to master), but disagree that you shouldn't take lessons. Lessons are always a great idea if you get a good instructor, even at an advanced level.

I skied for 8 years, and then I snowboarded for 7 years. I bought skis at the end of 2008/09and used them once, and realized I had completely forgotten how to ski. Last season I put a more concerted effort into skiing again and did probably 20 days on skis and 45 on a snowboard. Skiing started coming back to me after about 4 days on the snow, and I pushed past where I was before after about 10-15 days (and with the help of a bumps lesson).

While I'm happy to do just about anything on a board, I'm still struggling with bumps and tight trees on skis, hopefully this year I'll even it out. I also refuse to do park stuff on skis, it hurts way too much.

If possible, I bring both gear and decide what to do based on the conditions. If there is fresh snow I'm on a snowboard, there is absolutely no comparison between the two sports in powder. I have Line Prophet 100s, which have relatively good float, but it still feels like slogging through mud instead of surfing over powder. If you haven't snowboarded on a day with over 12" of snow and some steep terrain, you just haven't seen all that a powder day can offer.

But on hard pack days, I'd rather have my skis and rip down some groomers at significantly faster speed than you can get on a snowboard. These days if it isn't a powder day I'm on skis, and I assume that will only increase this year being on the east coast instead of the west.

Bumps on skis are a lot more fun (though so freaking hard).

Trees are somewhat of a wash, you can go faster on a snowboard but if you get stuck somewhere, skis are more versatile for getting out of flat spots or getting moving again.

All my snowboard friends are pumped I ski now, because on flat spots I can give them a push or pull.

As for learning, either way you need to put in 5 or 6 days in a single season to get anywhere with it. And you need to accept that you won't be good at the other sport immediately. It takes some grinding to get there.

 

[Juiced]

I agree with your first point (skiing is easier at first, but harder to master. snowboarding is harder at first but easier to master), but disagree that you shouldn't take lessons. Lessons are always a great idea if you get a good instructor, even at an advanced level.

I skied for 8 years, and then I snowboarded for 7 years. I bought skis at the end of 2008/09and used them once, and realized I had completely forgotten how to ski. Last season I put a more concerted effort into skiing again and did probably 20 days on skis and 45 on a snowboard. Skiing started coming back to me after about 4 days on the snow, and I pushed past where I was before after about 10-15 days (and with the help of a bumps lesson).

While I'm happy to do just about anything on a board, I'm still struggling with bumps and tight trees on skis, hopefully this year I'll even it out. I also refuse to do park stuff on skis, it hurts way too much.

If possible, I bring both gear and decide what to do based on the conditions. If there is fresh snow I'm on a snowboard, there is absolutely no comparison between the two sports in powder. I have Line Prophet 100s, which have relatively good float, but it still feels like slogging through mud instead of surfing over powder. If you haven't snowboarded on a day with over 12" of snow and some steep terrain, you just haven't seen all that a powder day can offer.

But on hard pack days, I'd rather have my skis and rip down some groomers at significantly faster speed than you can get on a snowboard. These days if it isn't a powder day I'm on skis, and I assume that will only increase this year being on the east coast instead of the west.

Bumps on skis are a lot more fun (though so freaking hard).

Trees are somewhat of a wash, you can go faster on a snowboard but if you get stuck somewhere, skis are more versatile for getting out of flat spots or getting moving again.

All my snowboard friends are pumped I ski now, because on flat spots I can give them a push or pull.

As for learning, either way you need to put in 5 or 6 days in a single season to get anywhere with it. And you need to accept that you won't be good at the other sport immediately. It takes some grinding to get there.

I agree that skiing is easier to start and harder to master and snowboarding harder then easier to master, but also look at the fact that I think it is MUCH easier to become an intermediate skier then snowboarder. From my own experience and others I've seen it just seems this way.

 

[billski]

Is a board setup cheaper than skis? You don't need no stinkin' poles. One more thing not to lose!

 

[dmc]

Is a board setup cheaper than skis? You don't need no stinkin' poles. One more thing not to lose!

Everytime I ski now - I skate off without poles all the time... Pretty funny actuall;y...

 

[billski]

Everytime I ski now - I skate off without poles all the time... Pretty funny actuall;y...

too funny!
then again, it shows one very skilled dude!

8)

 

[WWF-VT]

Is a board setup cheaper than skis? You don't need no stinkin' poles. One more thing not to lose!

Biggest difference is the cost of boots. I have a son on a snowboard. His board was $450, bindings around $200. His discounted boots came in at $189 which is dramatically less than ski boots.