Snowboarding is a plot to destroy Western Civilization. It is well known that snowboarders eat babies and worship Satan.

true

I’m happy to ski whatever you put in front of me; groomers, bumps, bumps with ice in the troughs, crud, powder, steeps, the park, or trees. All of it feels somewhat natural for me and I love it all. Even ice doesn’t phase me that much; it’s not fun, but I can always just hockey-slide through it or avoid it with some good route-finding skills. My boarder friend CAN ride all of that, but I feel she really doesn’t love most tree runs, bumps, or even the smallest amount of ice. Not to mention, she seems quite flustered by any amount of having to pop a boot out and skate. I actually am afraid to take her to my favorite mountain, Snowbird, because I remember all the poling I had to do to get to the best runs there. You mention keeping speed leading up to traverses and cat tracks, which I do as a skier too, but you have to be respectful of downhill skiers who have the right of way, even if they’re being oblivious and taking up the whole slope. I see this happen all the time with my boarder friend; I click my poles to let people know I’m passing them, while she ends up getting cut off.

“Hitting ice on a board is scarier and so much harder; I trust the snow to push back and suddenly it doesn’t”, “bumps require so much work to swing my hips around and there’s ice between them” (are you not able to turn on top of the bumps like I try to do?), “I can’t jump-turn down steeps like you can on skis, so I have to bomb some fast S-turns”, “These trees are far too tight to fit a snowboard”, “I can’t stop unless I sit down”. There seems to often be a “this is so much harder on a snowboard” excuse, which is sad, because I want her to enjoy as much of the terrain that I enjoy as she can! And none of this evens scrapes the surface of the shortcomings she feels with snowboard tech: her boots and bindings never feel tight enough, and have to be replaced every couple seasons because parts break and the fabric gets soft, meanwhile I can rock a pair of ski boots for more than 5 years.

Do you really feel the technical shortcomings of a snowboard are as limited as you say they are? I’ve always felt she might be able to learn some more technique to make varied terrain more fun, but I do feel I can’t really suggest much technique since I have zero experience on a board. Perhaps some of this comes from the fact that I grew up skiing the “Ice Coast” where we ski now, and she’s a transplant from Mammoth mountain; I’m used to and unphased by mixed conditions and long flat sections of trail.

A few notes: 1. Excellent article BTW! 2. She does absolutely enjoy almost everything we ski, but I’m always a little sad when I feel I just hit a sick line and we stop for a breather and she says something along the lines of, “That was pretty icy.” or “Those bumps were way too big.” or I look up and she’s somehow avoiding the 5 feet of soft snow on the edges of the trail. 3. Her passion for riding park has encouraged me to hop back on the jumps and boxes after injuring myself on a jump about a decade ago. It’s been quite a beneficial friendship for both of us!

I am both a downhill skier and snowboarder. I started on two planks, then in University could not afford it anymore so took up telemarking/backcountry. I married a cross country ski racer so spent some wonderful years skinny skiing and having a fantastic workout. When we had three daughters they wanted to snowboard so we both took up snowboarding. My three adult daughters are good snowboarders now with hill etiquette ingrained into them and can edge most anywhere on the mountain. I have returned to downhill skiing because my now-husband is a singleminded lifetime downhill/backcountry skier. The hills are there for all to enjoy. Resorts are generally less enjoyable on a snowboard when they are hard packed and icy, especially for novice/intermediate skiers but that is generally the only place to practice. I still think boarding in powder beats downhill skiing for the experience. We ski the Canadian Rockies/Lake Louise mostly and I am now, at age 60, still astounded by the high ground taken by many older skiers, out of ignorance and fear. On a daily basis I carry some fear on the groomed runs because of the speed of downhill racers and boarders. The first rule of the skiers code of ethics is that one is able to stop at any moment, quickly, for the safety of those around. The second is that the person on the down hill/ or ahead, has the right of way. Yet both skiers and boarders come screaming down the hill, some in control, some out, most unable to stop on a dime, if necessary. As a skier I do appreciate the frustration with the inability, particularly of novice boarders, to be able to see a full 180 degrees in front of them. As a result they plan turns where they cannot see as well as skiers. I never noticed it when I was boarding but I do notice it now. However, it also frustrated me when group of young testosterone driven ski racers come barrelling down the hill as though they own it or living out their World Cup imaginary race. Neither make for good or correct Ski Hill etiquette and I propose that every person need to take a one time etiquette lesson prior to skiing on a hill as they are endangering all others on the hill. Lives are at stake with this kind of speed. I enjoy sharing the hill with boarders and skiers. I love watching the learning process and remember being there myself and it is always a reminder when I see a novice that I was once one myself. I do find generally, that older skiers are more rigid in their thinking, stick fast to the need for technical old style parallel skiing and are unable to embrace the playfulness of snowboarding. I know wonderful high level backcountry/ex-racer skiers who have now begun to strap on boards for their backcountry powder experience because of the float ability and are having a blast.

I think its more a case of learning technique as quickly as possible and to be aware and considerate of others on the slope. Saying that I have on several occasions been made to feel ‘lesser’ like an immature teenager by skiers. I guess its each to their own! But sure- we should all be bonding over our love for winter sports.

I think there is no ‘better sport’; only the one which you personally prefer- i wont lie; i chose snowboarding over skiing because i thought it seemed far cooler! but again; each to their own!

interesting, ive been considering dropping snowboarding and buying an AT setup for back country, i already have bad knees though and am an expert snowboarder (25 years), intermediate skier (5 years). but u say it will be harder on my knees? when thinking about getting old and skiing and snowboarding i cant help but think snowboarding would be much harder as u basically have to sit down every time u put ur fucking binding on, where as in skiing there is more control with 4 edges and u dont have to worry about speed as much as u can just push ur way through flat spots.. plus whenever u stop u dont have to sit. so many benefits to skiing in old age. just dont pound ur knees in moguls…

THE ONLY THING SNOWBOARDING IS BETTER AT IS THE SURF FEELING IN POWDER AND JUMPS, other then that skiing is better in every way

im just apprehensive about faffing with splitboards, plus most of the people i know who ski backcountry dont snowboard…

if anyone out there is on the fence on what sport to learn, learn to ski, its easier/better in almost every way

I’ve skied over 20 years and snowboarded for the last 5. No comparison. Snowboarding is much fun and way more difficult.

There are douchebags on both sides but I see it mostly from biased bull-headed Sear-parker wearing skiers.