Ski or board? What can be an ostracizing decision that defines how you recreate in the winter for years to come. It’s common to decide around three to five years old and stick with it until 50-70 years old.
Many people continue to use the same board type throughout their career, without a thought of switching. This type of decision stems from how many years of progress you’ve put into that specific sport. Meaning if I were to switch after six years of snowboarding to skiing, I would be giving up all of my experience and starting from scratch. I have been snowboarding on and off for the last 10 years of my life. I love snowboarding and hope everyone tries it at least once in their lifetime. I mostly love hitting the mountain on my snowboard. I find that compared to skiers, a snowboarder can reach a higher speed and it is significantly easier to learn tricks in the terrain park. But although I enjoy snowboarding, there are also caveats: FLAT SPOTS! MOGULS! GETTING OFF LIFTS!
These three disadvantages are what I call the triangle of doom for a snowboarder. I want you to think of that last time you got to the top of a lift. Were there snowboarders off to the side sitting on their butts freezing? Well the thing is, they are watching you with superfluous amounts of jealousy. The next time you get off that chair lift just know you have it easy, and that goes for the clip in binding snowboarders too.
Moguls: a snowboarder’s second worst nightmare. Now, I don’t talk for other snowboarders when I say this, but if I see a run with moguls I will try my hardest to never step foot on that run, EVER. While it might seem over dramatic at first, I want you skiers to know us snowboarders can’t turn as fast or as angled as you. A mogul serves as a lose-lose opportunity for me, burning knees or a close call into some trees. It also seems that you skiers love to make moguls near the best runs. #HighAnxietyhasrightstoo.
Now, flat spots can be based on the type of snow and the terrain of the mountain. Luckily enough, Monarch Mountain only has a few of these, but trust me, as a snowboarder, they affect me every day. I’m pretty sure flat spots are looked down upon by all, but it’s especially hard for us snowboarders for one reason. We don’t have poles! Now, I’m sure if you’ve been to a mountain, you’ve seen a snowboarder doing “the walk of shame.” This walk of shame is when the snowboarder unstraps their back foot and hops to their destination. Every snowboarder has had to do this at least once.
Well, despite all things I despise about snowboarding, I believe that I just might stick with it. I know that this shows the bad side of snowboarding, but I just picked the worst parts. Snowboarding is an exciting and energetic sport. I encourage everyone to pick up a mountain sport, whether it be snowboarding or skiing.
