Any Skiers/Boarders in the forum?

[JoshT]

Not an avid skier by any means, but the 3 or 4 times I've gone I enjoyed it. All of my skiing had been done on the east coast. Last trip was in 2006, to Winterplace Ski Resort in West Virginia. Also been to Boone in NC and Snowshoe in WV, and I believe one other place but can't recall where.

Been saying for the last 4 or 5 years that I was going to go again, but always found an excuse in school or work to put it off. Well this year I didn't give myself the opportunity. On Wednesday I booked a trip to Vail, CO for the 19-22 of this month. Doing something new all around, a few firsts on this trip.

First time

• skiing in real snow
• flying commercial by myself (I prefer driving)
• commercial flight with more than one stop
• further west than Alabama (been north as far as NY, but never west)
• dropping this much money on a trip at the last minute

While I'm doing all these firsts, wandering if I should add another to the list. First time snow boarding? All I've ever done is ski. Never been too sure about strapping both feet to the same board, but have to admit that it does kinda look fun. Not sure if I want to take a chance and try a board or if I want to stick with what I know and get the skis. How hard is the transition from skis to a board?

 

[cvar]

Never tried snowboarding, but we noticed how many boarders seem to spend an awful lot of their time just sitting on their butts, in the middle of the ski run. Such a bloody nuisance. My neighbor's kid broke his wrist while snowboarding, 2 years in a row. The only injury I saw carried off the ski hill last week in a stretcher was a snow boarder. Coincidence? I'll just stick to skis. If you do try a board, I'd suggest wearing wrist braces.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/skiing/a/aa122600a.htm

 

[Destroyer000]

iam a snowboarder up here in the northeast. whiteface mountain in wilmington ny is my backyard. if its your first big trip and all that id stick to skiing for the time being get comfortable with that before diving into something else.. thats if you enjoy skiing. ive never done it . my gf was the opposite cant snowboard to save her life but can ski great!

 

[JoshT]

Well I went and choose to stick to skiing. Good trip overall, but I should have just stuck to skiing in the northeast. The country out there is beautiful, but I don't think the skiing was any better than it has been here. Also didn't help that I spent the first two days of the trip trying to adjust to the altitude, and after my 6 year hiatus my knees and ankles were killing me.

Next year I'll be more ready, and I'll stick to the north east. Might even try boarding.

 

[cammeddrz]

SKIBOARDER, and RANGURR are both instructors. I bet they'll chime in