Article: Snowboarding for Alpine Skiers

I am often asked by my clients if I snowboard, when I answer yes they often seem surprised. Not only do I snowboard, I am a fully certified snowboard instructor. I started riding very much by accident. I had a friend that wanted to try and I was talked into it. I became a very active snowbroader. I still spend most of my time on skis however, I think snowboarding is a skill worthy of the well rounded alpinist. These are some of my thoughts on why any skier my want to try snowboarding.

When it comes right down to it, snowboarding is much easier than skiing. There is a much higher learning curve. I would say that each day on a snowboard is equal to 3 or 4 days on skis. In one season it is very possible to become an advanced rider. I taught my wife how to snowboard so that she could keep up with me and all my friends. Having started skiing late in life there was no way she would ever fit in with a group of skiers who have been skiing their whole lives.

For me snowboarding offered a challenge that I did not get from skiing anymore. I will never ski like I did when I was twenty four, however each day I spend on a snowboard I do get better. Each year I spend on skis I am not really getting any better, I am just getting another year older.

Snowboarding is easier on the knees than skiing. After long days of hard skiing my knees get so sore I can hardly walk. Snowboarding does not do this to me. For the skier with bad knees snowboarding can provide a much needed break. Also snowboarding does not require as much physical effort as skiing does.

Snowboards are the ultimate tool for powder and carving. Skiing in deep powder is a skill that can take years to master. Snowboards glide though deep snow and crud with relative ease. Without shaped skis carving perfect arcs in the snow is something few skiers in the world can do. Perfectly carved turns can be accomplished with ease by any advanced rider.

So give snowboarding a try. Give yourself at least a few days. It will take that long to get past the point of constantly crashing. Yes you will crash, many, many, many times. Snowboards are not very forgiving at first, but stay with it and soon you will realize riding is actually very easy.