Snowboarding vs Skiing: Which Is Right for You?

If you’re looking for excitement in the snow, you should check out winter sports like snowboarding and skiing. Both sports involve going down snow-covered slopes at fast speeds. However, they are different. Snowboarding has your feet confined to a single board with your body turned sideways. Skiing, meanwhile, has each foot on its own ski, while you hold poles in each of your hands to guide yourself down the hill. Both possess their own challenges. With this guide, you can help determine whether snowboarding or skiing is best for you.

You might find being a beginner skier to be easier than being a beginner snowboarder. This is in part because skiing is more similar to walking than snowboarding. With skiing, you and your legs are facing forward, and you can guide yourself fairly easily as you get accustomed to them at low speeds or simply walking on the level ground. Plus, if you find yourself falling over, you can bring out a leg to catch yourself. Comparatively, snowboarding can be something of a shock to your body. You’re turned sideways and won’t be able to see absolutely everything that’s ahead of you. Additionally, recovering from a fall on a snowboard is all but impossible. You just need to make sure you can fall with at least some kind of grace to minimize injury.

The further you go with skiing, the more difficult you might find it becomes. Going down high slopes at fast speeds, you have to keep your skis in mind. They need to stay parallel and not cross with one another. It’s also much more difficult to turn with skis. On the other hand, a few lessons on a snowboard allow you to get accustomed to the body sensation. From there, you can make your way to more challenging runs with minimal concern.

On a bodily level, snowboarding and skiing have different demands. Skiing’s demands on your legs mean you need to keep them in top shape so that you can guide yourself more easily. While snowboarding is less demanding on your legs, it does require more upper body strength to help you balance and move better.

Ultimately, the decision to take up snowboarding or skiing is up to you. Skiing might be easier to adapt to at first, but in the long run, snowboarding tends to be less demanding. Whichever you choose, you’re bound for some exciting times.