10 Reasons Why You Should Choose Skiing over Snowboarding this Winter

February 10, 2014

Learn

Taking up a winter sport is a great way to make the cold weather more enjoyable. Both skiing and snowboarding are fun winter sports, but there are solid reasons to choose one over the other. Here are 10 reasons you might want to choose skiing as your cold weather activity of choice.

1. Skiing gives you more stability

If you choose skiing, you will have poles to keep you upright and stable. That makes it easier to stop and catch your breath, or have a quick chat with your friends. Snowboarders have to constantly exert energy just to remain upright. For that reason many beginners find skiing a bit easier.

2. Skiing is not as hard on your wrists

While it is true that skiers tend to suffer more knee injuries, snowboarding can be very hard on your wrists. If you decide to give snowboarding a whirl, be sure to invest in a quality pair of wrist guards to reduce the risk of injury.

3. Skiers do better on bumpy and icy surfaces

Bumpy

Snowboarders do best with deep powdery snow, but that deep powder is often not available at the local ski slope.

When the ski slopes are icy and bumpy, you may have a difficult time even staying upright on a snowboard, let alone doing all those cool tricks.

Those icy and bumpy slope conditions make skiing easier and more enjoyable.

4. You can enjoy the beauty of nature with cross-country skiing

Snowboarding is exciting, but there are times when you just want to slow down and enjoy the beauty of nature in winter. Skiing, especially cross-country skiing, gives you just that opportunity. You can hit the trails and enjoy nature on your own terms, taking as long as you want to move through the snow.

5. Skiing can be a real rush

You might think that snowboarders generate the most adrenaline, but that is not necessarily the case. Skiing actually beats snowboarding and other winter-time activities in terms of speed. If you want to go fast, strap some skis to your feet and hit the slopes.

6. Ski instruction is more widely available

Mobile

While many ski resorts are now allowing snowboarders on to their slopes, not all have pros that can teach newcomers the ins and outs of the sport.

If you are a newcomer to winter sports, you might want to start with skiing, since quality ski instruction is more widely available.

7. Skiing can be easier to learn

If you are new to the snow scene, learning to ski is often easier than learning to snowboard.

This is especially true of the ski resorts in your area have bunny slopes and other beginner-friendly hills for you to learn on.

8. Skiing makes you more mobile

Snowboarding is great, as long as you are traveling downhill. When you get on flat ground, however, it is time to pick up the snowboard and do some walking. Skiers can deal more effectively with flat ground by relying on their poles to get them around.

9. Skiers can enjoy more exciting jumps

While there are plenty of exciting obstacles in snowboarding, skiers have the advantage when it comes to jumps.

Skiers can enjoy a wide variety of jumps, from small beginner-friendly bumps in the flat ground to huge ramps that would give even the most experienced professional pause.

10. Skiing is a bigger technical challenge

If your goal is to get better and better, skiing can give you more of a challenge. There are many more things to learn, and more ways to progress, when you ski. It can take years to master the basics of skiing, and even longer to truly be considered an expert.