You have booked transport and hotel, you have bought glasses, a helmet, and warm clothes, and you are looking forward to a week in the high, snow-covered mountains - maybe in Norway or Sweden, maybe in the Southern European Alps. But what should you have under your feet when you race down the well-prepared slopes - skis or a snowboard?
To answer this question, we have gathered a number of important things to consider before you invest your hard-earned money in equipment, so you are sure to have the right gear under your feet when you hit the slopes!
It's my first time on a ski holiday - what should I choose?
If it's your first time on a ski holiday and you're unsure whether to snowboard or ski, the short (and correct!) answer for most people is: Choose skis over a snowboard. You may have heard it from friends or family who have been on a ski holiday before: "Skiing is easy to learn but hard to master. Snowboarding is hard to learn but easy to master." In that case, your friends and family are right. It is significantly easier for beginners to learn to ski than it is to learn to snowboard.
As a completely new snowboarder, you will spend a lot more time on your... backside than if you start on skis. This is primarily a consequence of the limited freedom that comes with having both feet strapped to one board instead of two. On skis, you have a better chance of catching yourself with one of your legs if you're about to fall, thereby reestablishing balance, whereas on a snowboard, you sometimes have to accept that you will fall without being able to catch yourself with anything other than your arms, upper body, and yes - your backside.
When skiing is easier to learn as a beginner, it is largely because it requires much lower speed to turn and maneuver compared to a snowboard. This is especially important when considering that turning is the easiest way to slow down when racing down the slopes, making it a more comfortable experience for many beginners to learn to ski.
Additionally, skiing is quite straightforward. Literally. When you ski, your head and eyes are facing the same direction as you are moving, whereas on a snowboard, you usually have your head turned 90 degrees to the right or left - something that can become tiring over time for some.
What is better in the long run?
Although it can be very challenging to learn to snowboard at first, it still has its advantages. Once you have mastered the basic techniques associated with snowboarding - where turning is the most important (and difficult!), there isn't much more to it. On a snowboard, you will find that it is mostly your personal courage regarding speed and balance that sets the limits, provided you have learned to snowboard at a level where you can safely descend the slopes.
On skis, as described, you get off to an easier start, but there will be room for improvement in your technique for a longer time than is the case with snowboarding. However, this is not necessarily a disadvantage. There is a particular joy associated with gradually achieving a better, more elegant technique on skis, allowing you to overtake your family and friends with increasingly smaller gaps between the skis, more graceful turns, and a more confident position during downhill runs when the speed really picks up. Who knows - maybe you'll also feel brave enough to make an overtake backward, on one leg, or with a little jump over a snowdrift off-piste?
As a skier, you can look forward to a relatively easier start than on a snowboard, where it will feel harder to develop your skiing over time compared to snowboarding, which doesn't require much development once you have the basic elements of the technique in place. In the end, however, there is also better potential for development on skis, which generally have the potential for higher speed, tricks, and refinement of technique.
The practical differences
One often forgets the very practical differences between skiing and snowboarding when their differences are discussed, but for some, this can be a decisive factor. When you're not flying down the slopes like a native alpine boy or girl, the snowboard has a practical advantage in that snowboard boots are very similar to regular winter boots, which are much less clumsy to walk in compared to ski boots, which for most people can feel heavy, stiff, and yes - clumsy. At the same time, it's a bit easier to manage one snowboard when walking around with it, as opposed to two skis and accompanying poles.
But there might be a good reason for the hassle! Skiers can effortlessly push themselves forward and past snowboarders on the flatter stretches of the slope with their ski poles, where snowboarders look like fish out of water. Try to imagine standing on a skateboard without wheels. Then imagine standing on a snowboard without a downward slope. Unfortunately, the two things are not so different.
Moreover, most skiers find it significantly easier to get off the ski lift compared to snowboarders, who are sometimes seen performing the special "face-in-the-snow-snowboard-trick"... (Note: There is a corresponding "backside-in-the-snow-ski-trick". However, this is significantly less common)
What is the right choice for me?
In the end, it depends on you, your preferences, and your hopes for your ski holiday.
On the mountain, some parts of the terrain may be better suited for skiers, while other areas are particularly well-suited for snowboards. Skis are most people's first choice, and therefore they are also more common on slopes worldwide compared to snowboards. If you're going on a ski holiday with a group of skiers, it might be a good idea to join the community and invest in a pair of skis so you can plan the same routes down the mountain together, making the trip as enjoyable as possible for everyone.
You naturally have plenty of opportunities to explore mountain tops, valleys, and all sorts of slopes in between on both skis and a snowboard, but you are likely to reach a level where this is possible on your own much faster if you choose to ski rather than snowboard. Similarly, skis are the safe choice if you prefer relaxed runs down not-too-technical slopes, where you can enjoy skiing and the beautiful nature at your own pace.
Snowboarders are perhaps especially known for taking advantage of every little opportunity for a small jump (even on flat stretches) and for slicing through thick layers of powder snow as well as well-prepared slopes. This is indeed easier with a snowboard under your feet, but if, as a skier, you would still like to try your hand at either off-piste or the terrain in the ski park, it's worth checking out our ultimate ski guide, where you can learn more about the difference between piste, off-piste, and park skis, so you are sure to have the right equipment with you when you go on a ski holiday.
Have you decided to ski? Why not do it as cheaply as possible?
One must face the fact that skiing is an equipment sport - for better or worse. There is, of course, nothing that beats the feeling of being equipped with the coolest gear from head to toe at high speed down a technically demanding slope, so all eyes on the mountain are on you with an intensity as if you were Hansi Hinterseer giving an intimate concert at Nykøbing Nursing Home.
This feeling can quickly become bittersweet when you realize what you have to pay in most stores to be the best-equipped man or woman on the slopes. Were you, for example, aware that in some ways it's cheaper to wear a Rolex watch than it is to buy new ski equipment?
In other words, you have to be careful when dressing for the ski season, because fortunately, it doesn't have to cost a fortune to get cool ski equipment that, in addition to fantastic ski experiences, can give you respect and envy among the mountain's other skiers. By investing in a pair of used skis, you can save a lot of money. Both compared to new skis and compared to the rental price. Unsure where to start? Read our good advice for buying used skis.
Or check out our large selection of skis right here!
