 Poster: A snowHead
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Splitboarding with foldable poles in the backpack could be a good option, but ski and ski poles seem a bit more versatile...
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Splitboarding is great, but it's still not as convenient as ski touring. There is the extra faff of having to transition from split to board. Long flat sections can be a problem still. Edges are not as grippy on uphill. Splitboard bindings are much less efficient for uphill than dynafit style ski bindings.
Some splitboarders are switching to hard boots with dynafit toe bindings now to fix that last issue, (look up phantom bindings if interested). But it's a very expensive solution - especially for those of us where the majority of riding is still from lift.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Chattonmill, People DO buzz steadier skiers and it really annoys me, especially locals ime it seems. About 15 years ago a bunch of 15/16 year old lads in Verbier did exactly that to my OH on a blue near Tsoumaz skied too fast, too close, she panicked and fell quite shook up, actually slightly hurt her knee in the process......the one who saw it as hugely hilarious having buzzed her underestimated his chaser though and got a mighty whack across his shoulders from a ski pole or 2 (who'd do a thing like that?) as he pulled up laughing super pleased with himself about 500m further down the piste and around the corner. He soon stopped laughing....and avoided eye contact as we entered a lift soon after, a few choice verbals pointed in his direction. My OH skied down with her friend and eyeballed him on the lift above, he saw her and looked the other direction, no apology..... 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I've never seen people deliberately "buzz" slower people. Travel too close to them at speed yes, but usually it's not intentional they aren't trying to get close they are just reckless/out of control/travelling too fast. maybe it was a thing 15 years ago like you say. It sounds like you stopped to their level and behaved poorly too - two wrongs don't make a right.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| @Chattonmill, People DO buzz steadier skiers and it really annoys me, especially locals ime it seems. About 15 years ago a bunch of 15/16 year old lads in Verbier did exactly that to my OH on a blue near Tsoumaz skied too fast, too close, she panicked and fell quite shook up, actually slightly hurt her knee in the process......the one who saw it as hugely hilarious having buzzed her underestimated his chaser though and got a mighty whack across his shoulders from a ski pole or 2 (who'd do a thing like that?) as he pulled up laughing super pleased with himself about 500m further down the piste and around the corner. He soon stopped laughing....and avoided eye contact as we entered a lift soon after, a few choice verbals pointed in his direction. My OH skied down with her friend and eyeballed him on the lift above, he saw her and looked the other direction, no apology..... |
In your position I would most probably have done the same thing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yes hitting a 15 year old with a ski pole is definitely the way to go
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I admire boarders doing elegant carved turns. And I still have memories of one wiffling effortlessly thorough trees (on the lower slopes of La Grave, IIIRC). However it took me long enough to become a reasonably competent skier, so I have not been motivated to start over again with a board. Most of my sliding has been with skiers, though.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 16-12-20 17:16; edited 1 time in total
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Board = easy
Ski = much harder
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@Fridge03, Give the lessons a go. You may like it you may not, but that doesn't really matter. The real point is the fun of learning something new.
I did the same some years ago. After years of skiing I took a series of boarding lessons at the snowdome. It went OK and I enjoyed them. However, once in the resort with the fun of hardpacked pistes and the ability to go anywhere, including big mogul fields I couldn’t really see the point of boarding. Well until one day late in April when the slopes were knee deep slush and we decided to give it another go. I haven't boarded since.
A friend does ski and board and is not bad on either. The boarding gear is bang upto date but the skis are over 2m, straight and narrow. He only skis when the pistes are rock hard. Once he has clipped into the board he keeps up with the skiers perfectly and goes everywhere with us. Now to be controversial, he is smack in the middle of the snowboarder demographic – over 50, over weight and has a heightened sense of fashion.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@boarder2020, Yep, wasn't in a mood to reason with a 15 year old dopehead (him and his mates stank of it), understood he'd done wrong and hopefully won't do it again.
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I've done both. I was a good skier when I tried boarding so it was quite frustrating being on the lower slopes, during low snow period and I went back to skiing towards the end of that week. And boy does it hurt when you fall (luckily I had wrist and knee protection) and it's really good for stomach muscles. Found unclipping for lifts quite irritating. Boots are better for apres ski though.
Tried boarding again in powder, on a nice, easy, long slope during a ski road trip and really enjoyed it and a have tried again a few other times since then. I'd do it again in the right circumstances but if you're good at one or the other, then in a big area, I found I wanted to do that and be much less limited. I will board again at some point, probably when the lifts are shut and I can walk the baby slope.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just curious to see how many people do both?
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I’m surprised you have no curiosity about the third, and possibly most interesting, option of telemark?
‘Free the heel’
(A beard is optional)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Find good snow. Get lessons for an entire week on a board. Don’t get on skis during that time. Come home. Think about it. Then make your decision.
I’m happy to do both. As I had rubbish ski lessons and great boarding lessons, I preferred boarding. Went back to skis with children, don’t know where I am now.
People can be selfish on either.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Board = easy
Ski = much harder |
Dunno about that.
I grant that once mobile on a board you can access more of the mountain with the power of side slipping, but how many really good boarders do you see on the slopes ?
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You know it makes sense.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| ......Some splitboarders are switching to hard boots with dynafit toe bindings now to fix that last issue...... |
Some of us were using a setup like that 20 years ago 
I used a very flexible Dynait TLT Twin buckle touring boot (better with crampons than softboots) and the Dynafit toe piece on approach skis.
Only mate that still snow-boards and tours with us on his splitboard uses Karakoram bindings
https://www.splitboardbindings.com/2020/03/11/flex-lock-double-your-edging-power/
And as @Orange200, says, don't play at it, you have to put the skis away for a week rather than just a couple of days for 2 to 3 hours
And you're never to Old to Snowboard - feature written by my OH
https://stylealtitude.com/too-old-to-snowboard.html
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Wed 16-12-20 17:49; edited 1 time in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not sure there is a reason to learn to board now. Boards are great for lift accessed powder, which no longer lasts. Splitboards are considerably worse than touring skis and splitboards really struggle on flats. It's a function of snowboards being designed for enjoying yourself in a resort and skis originating as a means of getting about in the snow.
Re buzzing people. Obviously this is a bad thing to do. That said, the better skiers I know tend to aim either directly at or slightly behind the downhill skier they are trying to overtake. This is because by the time they arrive at the space previously occupied by the downhill skier, the downhill skier has moved on. If you aim for the gaps then you are aiming for space that someone else might move into. By contrast, aiming for where people are is a safe way of predicting where there will be space several seconds down the line - assuming they are moving. Massively counterintuitive but effective.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Fridge03, on original topic, long term skier and went with nephew with intention of boarding, he a mountain boarder and not snow.
Booked on a Thursday, travelled Saturday to Cervinia for cheap and late availability trip, took just my ski boots in case of dropping out.
Hired boots board etc and whole week lessons booked, both comically bad when first standing on a board.
Great instruction from skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic Italian "ski" school, initially much falling and nursery slopes navigation. Skills quickly build as spending full days on boards, moving from mid station platue return to village from day one gently. Top of ski area and return by red runs by end of week. The instruction was excellent, didn't even think about touching skis all week.
Learnt a huge amount, enhanced skills for skiing too and understanding tolerance from both disciplines. Still better at skiing than board as longer on them but both continue to develop. Absolutely worth doing and would recommend for you to get stuck into it.
Strapping your feet together gives you a real, mind over matter, path to evolve another skill set. Familiarity with snow sports helps as you can take that for granted and leave you completely free to concentrate on learning.
As others have posted, big skis give so much more toward how i perceived a board would with kit available, but it still doesn't give the same feeling, which is very different.
Definitely worthwhile you trying and finding out for yourself. The control movements can be so very small and subtle as you build skills, which before I'd not considered.
Greatest single thing for me (or my interpretation of personal development throughout) is it really hones your balance and made me feel that if you don't use it, then you effectively give it away. That's hugely positive I feel.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| gorilla wrote: |
| Re buzzing people. Obviously this is a bad thing to do. That said, the better skiers I know tend to aim either directly at or slightly behind the downhill skier they are trying to overtake. This is because by the time they arrive at the space previously occupied by the downhill skier, the downhill skier has moved on. If you aim for the gaps then you are aiming for space that someone else might move into. By contrast, aiming for where people are is a safe way of predicting where there will be space several seconds down the line - assuming they are moving. Massively counterintuitive but effective. |
I agree with that but be ready to stop or divert if they stop or do something unpredictable.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Interesting article @Weathercam, It appears that boarding is thought of as a young person's pastime in North America whereas in Europe I perceive it as a middle aged pastime, something to take up when your kness have had it. I'm not sure why but you rarely see young people boarding in the Tarrentaise resorts.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I agree with that but be ready to stop or divert if they stop or do something unpredictable.
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Yes. Everyone has to be in control. Skier ahead always has priority.
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The trouble with aiming behind someone is they might suddenly stop, whereas it’s physically impossible for someone to suddenly speed up, so it’s safer to aim just in front. The quicker you can pass them the less chance anyone has to change direction.
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| gorilla wrote: |
Re buzzing people. Obviously this is a bad thing to do. That said, the better skiers I know tend to aim either directly at or slightly behind the downhill skier they are trying to overtake. This is because by the time they arrive at the space previously occupied by the downhill skier, the downhill skier has moved on. If you aim for the gaps then you are aiming for space that someone else might move into. By contrast, aiming for where people are is a safe way of predicting where there will be space several seconds down the line - assuming they are moving. Massively counterintuitive but effective. |
This cul de sac is obviously OT but since when has that ever stopped sHs. The above is absolutely true in a an "entropy" situation on a slope you have best chance of navigating by passing slightly behind other rendomly moving objects. Problem is skiing behaviour is very difficult to articulate in words - the same statement made by two people may represent entirely different behaviour in the real world, one a skilled skier passing safely all slope users , the other a marginally in control skier with an inflated sense of ability and self confidence.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| AL9000 wrote: |
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Just curious to see how many people do both?
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I’m surprised you have no curiosity about the third, and possibly most interesting, option of telemark?
‘Free the heel’
(A beard is optional) |
I watched the Ski Sunday episode where they featured it last season. It does look amazingly graceful to watch the pros do it. I'm afraid my knees probably won't thank me for giving it a go!
I do already have the beard tho....
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I'm afraid my knees probably won't thank me for giving it a go!
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Funnily enough, that’s precisely what scared me off. Looks like hard work.
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I do already have the beard tho....
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Right! Your name’s going down on the list!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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This cul de sac is obviously OT but since when has that ever stopped sHs. The above is absolutely true in a an "entropy" situation on a slope you have best chance of navigating by passing slightly behind other rendomly moving objects. Problem is skiing behaviour is very difficult to articulate in words - the same statement made by two people may represent entirely different behaviour in the real world, one a skilled skier passing safely all slope users , the other a marginally in control skier with an inflated sense of ability and self confidence.
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Call it a character flaw if you want but I kind of assume you guys know what you are doing. Also by "slightly" I'm aiming for a few metres.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| gorilla wrote: |
Not sure there is a reason to learn to board now. Boards are great for lift accessed powder, which no longer lasts. Splitboards are considerably worse than touring skis and splitboards really struggle on flats. It's a function of snowboards being designed for enjoying yourself in a resort and skis originating as a means of getting about in the snow.
Re buzzing people. Obviously this is a bad thing to do. That said, the better skiers I know tend to aim either directly at or slightly behind the downhill skier they are trying to overtake. This is because by the time they arrive at the space previously occupied by the downhill skier, the downhill skier has moved on. If you aim for the gaps then you are aiming for space that someone else might move into. By contrast, aiming for where people are is a safe way of predicting where there will be space several seconds down the line - assuming they are moving. Massively counterintuitive but effective. |
You have explained it much better that me 
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Ahh snowheads... to paraphrase Orwell,
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There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always— there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of overtaking an enemy who is hapless.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine an infinite line of skiers, perfectly turning in synchronicity to the tune of 'Popcorn' — forever. |
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You know it makes sense.
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@Fridge03, I’ve been doing both on and off for a while (20 yrs) - started skiing, moved to boarding after about 10 yrs as stuck on the skiers ‘intermediate plateau’, thoroughly enjoyed the freedom, then got back into skiing, and now ski at a level I enjoy..... (bit of touring, heli, jumps etc).
I like both. They feel different. Granted, a powder day is ‘good’ on skis, once you can ski well.... took me 5 yrs of 2-3 trips a year to get to the level that on a snowboard took about 2 weeks. In particular, the cruddy side f piste stuff that is sh*t on skis is actually quite fun on a board, even if you’re not that good...
We’ve taken ‘early intermediate’ boarders down routes that have been ‘quite challlenging’ to ski well.... cos its just easier on a board. Conversely, to ski a pisted run well, and fast, on a board takes skill and bravado.... there’s a reason most skiers are faster on piste.
I usually say the learning curve for boarding is shorter and steeper -once you’ve spent 3 days falling over, and you can turn....that’s all you _need_ to do on a board.... the rest is just style & tricks.
I still love the feeling of carving on a single edge..... or floating down.... but now where I go offpiste, I’m glad I’ve got two independent feet.
In short, both sports have merit, and both give you a ‘view’ on mountains, and life, that is worthy of the pursuit.
Top tips? Padded shorts, and stay away from icy slopes and dry slopes if you’re learning boarding. Helmet is de rigeur.... baggy pants and stopping on the piste is optional. All the cool kids ski now.... and touring boots are nearly as comfy as skis.... but.... but.... I miss my powder board.....
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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My son, now 10, has been doing both. Sometimes he would switch them midday He enjoys both and picks depending on terrain and weather. He would also transfer skills all the time. So a person can definitely enjoy both, they have their pros and cons. Or if you want stg in between get skiboards (but the proper, wide and twin tipped american stuff).
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FAQ
