If you're thinking of starting a new winter sport, you should know that the two most popular are skiing and snowboarding. There's a bit of a healthy rivalry between these two sports, so you should consider which one you want to take up carefully.
You may be an accomplished skier looking to start up snowboarding or vice versa, in which case you'll know firsthand all about your own sport. However you may also want to cross the divide and dabble with the other sport. In any case, here's a guide to the differences between these two magnificent pursuits.
Similarities
Let's start with their similarities. Both of these winter sports are downhill pursuits performed on snowy mountain or hill sides. They are both incredibly popular and create hours and hours of fun. Mountain ranges all over the world play host to some of the most outstanding resorts with dedicated professionals, budding amateurs and countless holiday makers, travellers and visitors all hitting the slopes either to ski or snowboard. So, what are the differences?
Equipment
The main difference between the two is the equipment used. Skiing, the more original of the two sports, uses two ski boards that are strapped to each foot with bindings. These boards are much thinner and longer than in snowboarding. Feet are placed forwards within the bindings, and skiers propel themselves downwards, using ski poles to help with navigation. For snowboarders, they just use one board, which is wider and not as long. Both feet are attached to the board using bindings, just like with skiing but your feet are placed side by side on the same board.
Bindings
For skiers it's much easier to release their feet from these bindings; however for snowboarders it's much more difficult. The different placement of the feet makes another difference between skiing and snowboarding. The former feels a lot more natural where as snowboarding can be more difficult to pick up. However this depends on the person as some people may find snowboarding much easier to pick up.
Terrain
The types of terrain that either sport can be performed on also differ. This is because of the equipment used as previously mentioned. As skiers are using both feet and have ski poles to help propel and navigate, they can perform on various terrains, performing over moguls and through wooded areas. Therefore skiing is good on bumps and ice. Snowboarders on the other hand perform on terrain that is a lot smoother due to the limitations of their control. Therefore snowboarders prefer powder and heavy snow.
Injuries
As a consequence of this, skiers do often suffer from more knee injuries than snowboarders because the motion is a lot harsher on the knees. Having said that, snowboarders can suffer from wrist injuries too, this is due to the force of their falls. When stationary there's a difference between the two sports as well. For skiers, their poles can act as support when stationary; however for snowboarders they are usually sat down when not moving as they have no support from poles.
Falling Down
When trying to master either sport, you'll be spending a lot of time falling over. Now for skiers it can be much easier to get back up, however you have to gather more equipment. For snowboarders, getting back up can prove to be very difficult and certainly takes time to master; having said that, you have much less equipment to look for and gather if you do fall over.
Both sports are fantastically exhilarating and whilst the objective of these downhill winter sports is similar, they also differ tremendously in terms of equipment, technique, style and culture. Snowboarding is the new kid on the block, having been created in the 1970's or you could go for the more traditional, yet equally as popular sport of skiing. It is generally considered that skiing is easier to pick up than snowboarding, yet snowboarding offers something different to the winter sports enthusiast. Both sports have their army of followers, but which one will you choose?
