 Poster: A snowHead
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Cunners, Crikey i ride a mid-wide and i've only got dainty size 8 hoofs! you must've been suffering that day! I've seen wides recommended for anyone over a size 9 or 10.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| rayscoops wrote: |
thefatcontroller, all that heavy boot stuff and not being able to run around, carrying skis and poles, people mixing their skis up and ending with the wrong ones, losing skis after a fall and all that faff putting them back on, millions of lessons just to be able to nip between pistes, dropping poles off a chair lift, walking up stairs  , different skis for different conditions, jeeze .... I just don't get it 
but I will be trying to learn this year hopefully and maybe put in the same amount of time as you have on a board so it should be interesting to see how I get on |
poor skiers in groups with poles jabbing the powder trying to look for a mates ski under there somewhere ? ... 
i dont think i could sacrifice a whole trip just to sking , im not that fussed.. but like i said on those crappy days where visibility is poor ill cart them out and have a few hours on them .. being right footed i figured turning left on skis would be my emergency panic default stop.. but you get so used to riding left foot fwd n facing the right hand side of the slope that to start with i prefered turning right.. this didnt last for long tho
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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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Someone said that on a board you float in powder, I guess that's true, but it's also true for skis, particularly wide skis. You get the choice whether to bounce or float. I enjoy a good bounce or a float, as long as it's nice and deep. Has anyone mentioned what a faff boarding is in powder when you come to a stop or want to get over some flattish terrain?
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I tried to float in powder but ended up sinking waist deep and getting very stuck. Hated the whole experience of boarding.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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mrsfatcontroller, you were very brave going anywhere near waist deep powder when you'd only spent a few days on a board.
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I know a couple of boarders who have gone back to skis with the FAT revolution. Big fat rockers have brought the "float" experience to skiing and skis are more practical for the inevitable traverses, navigating flats or once you get into touring.
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pam w, It was my fault, I asked the instructor if we could have a little play in powder last week. I think he even got a shock as to how deep it was. I went in first, fell and couldn't get my bindings off. I had to crawl out in waist deep powder and we were at 2,600m and it was freezing. Mrsfatcontroller managed better than I did, I was a physical wreck by the time I got out and we still had 2 hours to go in the lesson 
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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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thefatcontroller, I had a slightly similar experience - a pale shadow really - when I fell off half way up a very long draglift and had to hobble over to the piste, across a very flat area of powder. Nobody could have ridden it, it was too flat, but someone younger wouldn't have been so out of puff just getting over there. My son took his girlfriend and me in some powder once - I just couldn't cope and had to toboggan on my board back down to the piste. It is absolutely knackering, that's for sure.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rayscoops, 'hit the pow'? 
You are Whitegold and I claim my £5.
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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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| rayscoops wrote: |
| do you hit the pow on your skis much ? |
Rarely, we are more mileage munchers 'on piste'. Done a bit of off piste but not much.
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thefatcontroller, ditch the boards, get some fat planks and bob's your mother's brother 
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Well at least it is another 2 skiers that now have an understanding of the differences & difficulties. Tolerance for both mediums is one step closer !
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Poster: A snowHead
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Whether your a boarder or a skier you get my upmost respect, and I can relate to the pros and cons mentioned in the above threads.
I started boarding late 2007 at swadlincote dry slope after a couple of years cajolment from friend and neighbour Glen Lawley a freestyle coach of some notarity. initially going for a sking lesson, I found the ski boots I hired crippled me, so the following week I tried boarding and stuck with it simply because the boots were so comfy, (I didnt realise the previous weeks ski boots were just a poor fit). In spring 08 I joined Glen and co for a trip to Laax and the brits.
In my 4 months of boarding at swad, I did feel that I'd reached a point where it just wouldn't come together and I couldnt link turns without eating the matting, so I assumed it would all come together in Laax. It didnt really, I had an amazing time but found that the red runs I was trying to hone my meager skills on were beyond my capabilities and I didn't advance very much. One observation I did make at the time, which made me rue not changing my ski boots on that initial lesson, was that an average skier seems to be able to get around the mountain as easily as an accomplished boarder, (had groups of adults and tots passing me on there ski lessons lol).
When I returned to the UK I found riding the dry slope twice as difficult and hardly touched my board until it snowed here last Feb. The board came back out and I joined Glen and his equally talented mates on several road trips to the golf course and nearby peak district. I managed to get out 8 times in that snowfall, and on my last trip out riding a big field in the peak the turns just clicked in and for the first time since I started I felt like I could point the board where I wanted it go and not visa versa.
I still found the dry slope almost impossible and hardly rode there since Feb 09. When this last dump decended on us, we were straight out in it and what clicked in the year before just came straight back, and within a couple of days I was hitting small kickers flat out and riding down a four foot wide 20 degree path in a local wood with confidence. Yesterday a boarder client of mine joined me for a trip up the snake pass, where despite a night of rain and a massive thaw, huge banks of snow and short 50 degree runs remained, being the only thing to ride i had a go. The steep runs were too steep for me to confidently switch my turns ( thought it might run away with me and dump me in the stream at the bottom). but I did ride them and I know there is no way I would have done a year ago, they were so steep and the snow so deep we had to use our boards to climb the hill like an inclined ladder.
Other than these steep slopes were some huge snow banks, I posted some pics on my face book and someone better informed than me commented 'cool. cornice in the UK' . Again a year ago the thought of attempting anything off them would have been a non starter. However, having noted that the snow in the landing was at least 3 feet deep and the drop in was about 12 to 15, and convinced my self that even if I caught an edge at the top and ended up falling flat on my face, nothing would get damaged. So I had a quick word with my self, strapped in and popped off the edge.
OMG, why did I wait till I was 47 to do something like this. The best feeling ever.
It does frustrate when it just seems that it's never going to happen, I also considered giving it up as a bad job and book some ski lessons instead. But, thanks to some inspirational mates, and the chance to get some serious hours in on UK snow, It's all coming together and I look forward to my next trip to the mountains so so much.
Still going to learn to ski though too.
PS. this is my first time on this site, can I post any photos anywhere on here
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mxer294, welcome to snowheads.  an inspiring story - maybe there's hope for me yet!
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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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mxer294, Welcome to snowHeads I've never done it myself because I'm rubbish at that kind of thing, but I think you can post photos via the 'snowMedia zone' which you can access through the 'snowbase' thing at the top of the home page (sorry, not very specific but I said I was rubbish!)
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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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mxer294, Also just noticed it says at the bottom of this page 'Post with a picture'
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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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Learning to snowboard on the piste is like learning to ski in powder.
The problem with skiers, particularly piste skiers, is they try and do the same terrain as skis when they try boarding.
You really need to keep off the flat tracks and keep to steep blues, reds and blacks (yes blacks) after turning clicks.
You also need to get off the piste into some soft stuff as soon as possible to realize the potential with boarding. (aim 3-7 days)
TBH it took me about 4 to 5 weeks to get flat tracks and boiler plate pistes where as i was riding steep and deep in my second week.
I have just finished my 74th day on a board and can now say i can go anywhere confidently.
I now think more about the snowpack safety than my ability.
Im 43 and snowboarding hasn't been easy for me, my first week was hell!
To get to the same level of on/off piste sking as me, my brother would probably vouch, this takes allot longer, a lot more lessons (i have had total 4 lessons ever, 2 of those on dryslopes *ouch) and the lessons need to be from s**t hot instructors.
If you want to open the Whole mountain, ultimately snowboarding is easier and quicker.
Regardless of which you do, you must go out with people better than you, be that guide, instructor, teenage son or annoyingly good mate 
Tux
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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What tuxpoo, said.
Snowboarding hurts to learn... especially in JANUARY you mad fools! Its hard and icy and not the greatest time to get used to boarding. Its more physical than skiing so fitness is more important (hence more hefty skiers than boarders) but what you get at the end of it is way more enjoyable. I did a week in St Anton with 1 day on skis (lovely ones from the Jennwein Galzig Test Centre) but couldnt wait to get back on my board. Its a totally different experience
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| tuxpoo wrote: |
| If you want to open the Whole mountain, ultimately snowboarding is easier and quicker. |
Better / easier in powder / offpiste yes, but bumps and touring the backcountry are IMHO better on a pair of skis. A good boarder friend of mine (semi-pro surfer) who has been trying to convert me to a snowboard over the last ten years has finally started ski touring.
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DB, I think rockers change the equation. Skiing powder or crust on rockered skis is massively easier than on traditional camber.
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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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Is boarding on the wane? Admitedly conditions were not favourable, but during a recent trip to Ischgl the skier/boarder ratio must have 50:1
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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red 27,
I doubt it's on the vane but skiing has become just as "cool" as boarding these days so whereas teenagers used to want to board, they are now just as likely to ski. and so I suppose a certain balance/plateau in the number of boarders is now appearing
Plus, although there are many exceptions to that rule on this forum, as they get older (and if they can do both) people revert to skiing as it is less demanding physically.
I was in Ischgl in December, 50.1 seems harsh to me...but I didn't count! 
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You know it makes sense.
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DB, last run of the day on last trip of the season I was first down a tiring mogul black (Val D with flat run out at the end ?) and left the 5 or 6 skiers struggling down. I even quite enjoy the Swiss Wall and Tortins
I do not think many many boarders really swap and change boards to ride carving boards and hard boots (I assume you mean plastic ski boot type thingy on an 'alpine' board rather than 'stiffer/hard' versions of soft boots) - I may be wrong though because there were loads of alpine boarders in Solden in Dec when I was there, but I know I do not intend riding one any time soon; A boarder is more likely to have a jibby smaller bendy board (low side cut) for tricks and the park, and then a bigger stiffer (higer side cut) board for pistes and off piste, but even the jibby board should be ok anywhere really.
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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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I'll never be putting this to the test, but one advantage of a board off piste must be that if you do need to hike (eg down into gullies, across roads, through farmyards etc) the prospect of doing a couple of miles on foot is not a big problem. The prospect of walking a couple of miles in my ski boots....
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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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red 27,
loved Ischgl as well...
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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'm thinking of taking a snowboard taster at the Chill Factore in the next few weeks.
I had my first skiing holiday this year and although I really enjoyed it I found myself always wishing i'd chose to snowboard.
The only reason I chose to ski this year was because the couple we went away with were skiers and they suggested we ski with them.
Do you think I am better sticking with Skiing for a few years now I have started or jump into boarding while i'm still only a blue run skier?
So many posts on here make me want to Snowboard but loads scare the crap out of me too!
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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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droo, strongly recommend you do the taster - you'll have a better idea then. Plenty of people do both.
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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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Cheers, I think its about £25. Worth it for the experience I guess.
The other reason is that Me and and girlfriend both went as beginner skiers this year but she had a fall in the village on the second day and damaged her cocxyx (sp.) so she couldn't ski for the rest of the week. So next year she will be going as a beginner still, so I figured I could be a beginner boarder and we could hang out more. It would make her happy as she was very bored this year!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Swirly wrote: |
Don't most boards have a shorter radius? E.g. my old empire was quoted at being 9.7m, Interestingly I rode a 6ft Dupraz the other day which had more sidecut than a 152 freestyle board, the sidecut ended just in front of the foot and the massive nose only really came into play in powder: great fun in tight trees for something so long. I think the issue is most boarders don't carve their turns |
Most do have short radii as its makes them easier to turn. The downside is they lose stability at speed and lose float in powder.
I really worked on my carving this year. I was carving OK before but was sliding off speed on the steeper reds and blacks. Going for two weeks really paid off and I was able to leave a single S shaped V in the piste almost everywhere. Once cracked, the extra speed and control it gives is quite amazing. If you want to slow down, just hold the carve and swing round up the slope. This is something you can't do if the board is slipping its edge in the turn. As a result, I'm now riding ice and hard pack much faster and with more control.
Its a skill every boarder should try and have in his backpack.
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| Quote: |
I was able to leave a single S shaped V in the piste almost everywhere.
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I just love sitting on a chairlift watching a boarder do that. Or even admiring the tracks after they've gone.
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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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| Quote: |
Do any boarders here tour in a group of snowboarders only?
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Yes, regularly. I've tried most options, including splitboard, snowshoes and good old-fashioned bootpack.
For long tours or riding with skiers, splitboard is definitely best. Mine performs just fine in snowboard mode (just a little heavy). Not quite as good as touring skis on the way up, but pretty good. Snowshoes are OK, but on steep terrain in deep snow, they're pretty grim. A bootpack with a carefully selected climb up a windswept ridge can often be the best way to get around (often faster than skinning, which annoys the skiers! ). Just keep rotating who has to break trail!
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I wasted 8 years doing it when it was cool in the 90s, just as shaped skis were really gaining momentum. I was good, and I mean really good, yet I still don't get it.
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FAQ
