With the snowfall that comes with winter, many skiers and snowboarders storm their favorite mountains. While the skiing and snowboarding culture highlights fun and friendliness, people passionately argue over which sport is better.
Snowboarders often have the opinion that snowboarding is more flashy and has more flexibility when it comes to tricks. Lincoln Summers ‘25 said, “With snowboarding I feel like there’s more you can do, and you’re more intact…you can learn more tricks with it and you’re able to progress more.” He snowboards in Las Vegas at Lee Canyon at an intermediate, advanced level and has a lot of experience.
People who tend to choose snowboarding seem to appreciate the flexibility of the sport. Although skiing and snowboarding both allow for flips and jumps, snowboarding offers a more freestyle ride and easy control when doing tricks. With skis, you use two edges that help to carve your way down the mountain in a more controlled manner.
“Skis you get to go faster and you have a little bit more control. I feel like it’s easier to start but harder to be really good at and snowboarding is harder to start but easier to be good at.” Charlie Ehlers ‘27 said. He has been skiing for three years and just recently started snowboarding.
People start skiing and snowboarding at different ages from five years old to their late 30’s. Many different reasons bring people to try the sport. “People who choose snowboarding got into it later. While people who choose skiing, I think their parents put it into them,” Theodora Schumacher ‘26 said. “Because if I could choose, I would choose snowboarding.” She started skiing at a young age, and was introduced to the sport through her parents.
People who join the sports later in life, appear to be highly influenced by the popularity and look of each. “I just feel like snowboarding looks better and when you’re riding a snowboard, there’s more tricks you can do,” Summers said. Snowboarding has a more trick-focused vibe that naturally draws people in. Similarly, Ehlers said, “I think that skiing has more style but snowboarding tricks are definitely cooler.”
Both sports are accompanied by traditional and modern views of the type of culture that surrounds the two. “Skiing has this vibe of being classic for older people, whereas snowboarding is for the young kids, the crazy kids kind of vibe to it,” Mrs. Broz, science teacher, said.
Oftentimes, skiing is viewed as more glamorous, traditional, a luxury experience, as they are associated with more wealthy destinations such as the Swiss Alps, Aspen, or St. Moritz, and it dates back further in history than snowboarding. On the other hand snowboarding has a more youthful, casual, and adventurous look.
Of course when choosing a sport, you always have to consider the risks and safety of it. “They say upper body accidents for snowboarding and lower body accidents for skiing. I’d say it’s a preference. Personally, I felt like I had more control over a snowboard, that I could stop better, but I also crashed more spectacularly on a snowboard,” stated Mrs. Broz.
Snowboarding and skiing seem to have pros and cons that level each other out. Choosing which sport you want to pursue ultimately relies on what you enjoy most. Whether it’s looking cool doing tricks or having a more classical and elegant vibe.
