Posted on 10/20/2001 7:46:41 PM PDT by 1L
Haven't really found the exact answer on newsgroups so I thought I would post here for some of you mountain men (and women). I have been skiing twice: once in Spring of '99, and again late in 2000. I didn't really care for it either time. I have several problems: first, stopping. I can ski fine, and my technique is fine. I don't fall, but I don't trust myself to stop well enough that anytime I start going with any rate of speed, I get into a wedge (snowplow) to slow down. This keeps me in control, but tires me out. Also it puts a lot of uncomfortable pressure on my knees; second, after trying about 8-10 different pairs of boots, I can't find anything that is even remotely comfortable. The boots are torture on my feet and shins and walking in them is absolute hell.
After seeing some snowboarders last year, I am beginning to think that's for me. I used to skateboard as a kid, the boots (I've tried on) are much better, and I feel like I can stay in control better. I know learning is a bit difficult and I'm prepared to put in the time to learn. What I want to know is: are there any of you who have experienced what I have? Everyone I've read on newsgroups that said they switched said they like boarding better, but they also said they liked skiing.
One thing: Most riders think it's insufficient just to cruise down the hill without doing (or at least attempting) some tricks. But don't try anything inverted (board over head) -- that's too dangerous.
P.S. This is from watching my kids. I'm old school and OTH.
you need to perfect the glock rocksTM panic stop.
it’s very simple, really. merely raise your left ski and cross it over your right ski, at
a 45 degree angle, then firmly plant both poles between them. guaranteed to stop.
Speed is no problem. Running into trees and people are. Think of it as riding a motorcycle: everyone knows the throttle is on the right handle and turning it is no problem. However, shifting and breaking requires some coordination and a little practice. One of my problems is also that I've done a great deal of water skiing up to several years ago. That involves leaning back and stiffining up, contrary to snow skiing.
I don't think from my limited experience that boarding is noticeably less hard on the knees than skiing. However, one main advantage is that at the end of the day, not having had your feet in those ski boots for hours and having nothing more to carry home than the board (you can walk in snowboarding boots without difficulty), your lower legs feel a lot better.
If you're worried about injuries make sure you wear wrist guards because it's easy to break your wrist when you fall from a snowboard. Otherwise, it's probably less dangerous than skiing.
I spent twelve years in northern Alberta pretending to *like* winter sports (I mean, gosh, nine months of winter and three months of "poor sledding", ya gotta do something!) Now that I'm back home in Oklahoma, y'all can have your snow all ya' want... I'd rather dodge falling desks any day!
[aomagrat, I guess that is a comment that would fall into "you had to have been there" to appreciate?... funny comments on parachute thread!]
Sounds like your trying to hold yourself back as you ski and you wind up with your weight on the backs of your skis. This makes it much harder to control your turns and your speed and you wedge the ski tails out to slow down.
I know nothing about snowboarding so I can't help you there, but it doesn't sound like you'll enjoy it any better if you keep holding yourself back. If you do try skiing again, keep your hands in front of you and try to feel your weight pressing forward as if you were skiing on the balls of your feet. This will allow you to transfer your weight more easily on the skis and carve turns by keeping the weight on the downhill ski. If you carve turns rather than sliding and skidding the tails of the skis, you will feel much more in control.
From the sounds of your description, if not executed with care, it could result in a man speaking in a permanent falsetto voice...
you are assuming that anyone who performed the panic stop would survive.
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