Everyone when they want to start skiing or snowboarding has to pick between which one they want to do. We wanted to research this topic to make it easier to choose between the two and we found Phil Teare from the Ski Gathering did an experiment on skiing vs snowboarding. During his experiment he found out that on average skiing is easier to learn and harder to master, while snowboarding is harder to learn but easier to master.
Learning to ski your first week: Learning to ski for the first week is a lot of fun. Most people pick up skiing relatively fast. On your first day a beginner could be able to more than likely be able to make quick turns down beginner slopes. By the end of your first week you will have the ability to go down steeper and more experienced slopes. Skiing is a very technical sport that requires good balance, good lower body strength, and a fast reaction time especially at higher speeds. The most decorated olympic skier Kjetil Andre Aamodt says, “I am always trying to perfect my technique and make the perfect turn” according to The Olympic.com
Learning to snowboard your first week: Snowboarding is the opposite of skiing. The first 2-3 days of starting snowboarding consists of falling a lot. It feels like you are in your own world as you are taking tumble after tumble. it’s also one of the most exhausting sports physically and mentally. Mostly because of having to pick yourself up every few minutes. For some people after a couple of days it clicks and suddenly snowboarding doesn’t seem too challenging.
Health: There was a four year study by Terence M. Davidson from the National Library of Medicine. The study shares a comparison with Ski injuries and Snowboarding injuries, Snowboarding and Ski injury patterns changed significantly between the two groups. Snowboarders were more likely to suffer specific injuries like the wrist (19%) and ankle (16%). Most ski injuries involve Knee (39%) and thumb (4%) injuries with those being the most common injuries.
If you plan on going for a one week trip on the slopes, skiing is the better option. If you prefer to go at high speed with more control or gentle cruising, skiing is the better option. But if you’re the kind of person who prefers hitting every jump and performing cool tricks, snowboarding would be your preferred choice. In the end, both options have their pros and cons. You should try both to see which one is for you.
