Switching from Skiing to Snowboarding

If you’re a skier looking to change things up, it turns out your skiing experience can make it easier to learn how to snowboard. You’re already familiar with the mountain resort environment and the concepts of edging and carving, and you’re already used to descending the mountain quickly. With this experience, you can reach the intermediate stage faster than someone who has never been on a mountain, though it’s different for everyone.

The Basic Differences

Though the differences between skiing and snowboarding may seem obvious, keep in mind we just want to be thorough.

– Skiing uses two “boards”, snowboarding uses one (we had to get that one out of the way)
– Skiers have poles to help them stay upright and standing when they’re not moving, whereas snowboarders constantly have to sit or work to remain on edge while they’re not moving
– Snowboarding is a lot easier on the knees than skiing, but is harder on your wrists
– It’s more difficult to get through flats on a snowboards, since you have no poles to help you out
– Snowboards work well in powder and crud, while skis are better in bumps and ice
– Once you’ve figured out how, it’s easier and faster to get up after a fall on a snowboard
– When you snowboard your feet are stuck together, which can be hard to get used to since you can’t step forward or backward to keep yourself from falling
– When you ski you don’t use your feet very much, but when you snowboard a small movement in your ankles can be the difference between standing up and eating snow

Starting Out

It’s always a good idea to take a few lessons, but if you don’t want to invest in those you can watch plenty of online tutorials (like this one or this one), or do some reading on your own.

Some tips to get you started:

– You are going to fall, probably a lot
– Staying low can help with your balance
– Get yourself some knee pads, wrist guards, and a helmet to keep from seriously injuring yourself.

We hope these tips help you out. Let us know how it goes!

Photos via www.bocatc.org and www.snowlife.org.uk