Old guy's story...intro

Brimstone

Brimstone

Member
I'm 35 and have snowboarded for 15yrs, when I started, and don't argue about it 'cuz you guys are always capping on gapers, skiing was ghey. Plus I had been a part of the skateboarding revolution, sideways people! About 6yrs ago when my oldest son was 4 I bought him a pair of snowblades to learn on. I also picked up a pair for myself because a.) they were cheap and b.) I knew it would be a pain in the arse to teach him to ski when I was snowboarding. He picked it up right away, so did I, probably because we both play hockey and those are some short skis. It was just like ice skating. He has now been snowboarding for 3 years and doing very well. Keep in mind this was during the NewSchool transition phase. Right when daffie/spreads were starting to lose their flare.

Over the last few years the NewSchool thing was starting to catch my attention.

This season my younger son 5 has begun skiing as well. He did not have the advantage of playing hockey so it was rough at first, on top of that he can be a temperamental little booger (a term much lighter than I would like to use). In any case the snowblades proved difficult for him because they're short and don't turn well so I picked him up some 90s and that has been good. During these travails, as I slowly follow him down the hill, I have seen the progression of your sport, watching you guys hit the kickers and spin, spin, spin, hit the rails and spin, spin, spin, and haul ass backwards at 40mph, fly over a 100ft table, spin and land backwards again.

Skiing is no longer ghey.

So being a good dad, wanting my child to have some skiing company and wanting to satisfy my own curiosity, I went out and picked up a pair of 171 Salomon 1080s. Now I am a pretty decent athlete, and a pretty advanced snowboarder. I figured I'd be hitting the booters in the park in no time. Ummmm, not so much. The first time I got off the lift with those long ass, wide, goofy looking planks hanging from my feet I knew I was in for an interesting ride. It was a unique feeling to have my legs try to separate themselves from my body, going in completely opposite directions. After 3 runs and some solid pizza action, burning quads and sore knees, I finally made it, in my mind, to a decent level. Still no way was I gonna be hittin the booters. I could do a bad ass 50-50 on an 8 inch box though...go on dust your shoulders off.

So after a few ski's only days and a few mixed SB and ski days I am feeling good. I don't think I will make a complete transition but I will keep going at it. Getting used to landings has been the most difficult, no ankle flex.

The other day my youngest asked me when he can start snowboarding. After watching our local hot shot pop a muted 7 across the 80ft table, my mind said 'probably never', what came out of my mouth was 'maybe in a couple years'.

Good work fellas on the resurrection and progression of skiing. A once die hard snowboard only shredder from back in the day has now softened and become converted, although not completely, to the dual plank way of life.

Keep it up, and be a good example to the little rippers out there. Watch your language and be respectful. They watch every move you make, especially if you give them some props. If you see my little ripper with the yellow skis while at White Pass, WA, give him a pat on the head and show him some stuff, it's gonna be awhile before his dad can!

 
yeah i snowboarded for a long time, i was a park rat, but a fairly good one. this year i decided it was time to ski cause all my friends did.

my advice, its always easier after you fall trying something, cause once you realize it doesnt hurt, fear is gone. the spinning i might have an advantage because im used to it, but rails were so weird to me at first, because i rode regular and i do rails left foot back. but once i figured it out i can do em both ways. it might have also helped me that i went about 50 days and rode with a friend who is really good.

except his advice always consisted of "turn faster" or "stay balanced"

he'll get and youll get it, for some reason going off jumps switch and landing switch seems more natural to me... no shinbang
 
Keep it up, and be a good example to the little rippers out there. Watch your language and be respectful. They watch every move you make, especially if you give them some props. If you see my little ripper with the yellow skis while at White Pass, WA, give him a pat on the head and show him some stuff, it's gonna be awhile before his dad can!

MOST IMPORTANT THING SAID.

go ahead and cuss, smoke dank and all that other shit when your with your broheems. but out in public realise that if you are decent at all. THERE ARE PEOPLE LOOKING UP TO YOU. they dont ahve to be young either.
 
Last few years I've started to always try to cheer for people from the lift when they throw something cool or fun, regardless of the difficulty. It just makes them happy and promotes going bigger.
 
Fire & Brimstone...I basically got the same story as you.

My passion for skiing was totally reinvigorated. There's a tonne to offer now. I'm originally from Ontario, so skiing/riding there sux anyways, but parks REALLY brought the fun & challenge back into it for me. I usually hang in the park with a guy who's now 34. We could've fathered most of the kids in the park these days, but we still enjoy goofing around on rails, boxes and even landing the odd 7 or switch no spins. When you crash & burn, it hurts a tad longer than it used to, but when you succeed, it still feels the same. That's why I'm into it. Plain and simple.
 
Great Thread...I think everyone should at least try both. I think of Eric Pollard and how he good probably be pro at both sports...I know most of the guys here at GIV ride both Skis and Boards. Its good to know people are realizing that whatever you can do to ride down the snow can be a good time...lets go have fun and teach our kids to have fun too.
 
I like to hear stories like this. Thats awesome that you have a open mind and want to try new things. Ive been skiing my whole life and not once have i tried snowboarding, but i want to just to see what its like, and get a whole new aspect of the mountain. Its always fun to learn/try something new, and to the youngins, keep hucking dont let anyone tell you what to do and just ski to have fun.
 
Verno - That's a good point about the sense of accomplishment. Success always feels good.

No doubt about the pain. It takes much longer to recover now. I think I need to start doing some yoga or tai chi...

Rasta - As far as giving snowboarding a shot, be prepared for a bit of pain. I think it takes a bit longer to get the hang of but I also think, once you get to a decent level, it's easier on your body. My knees & quads are feeling it big time after a couple of runs skiing but never after boarding. I can't imagine trying to bust down a mogul run=several days to recover. I'm still trying to muster the courage to slide the flat rail.

Good to see I'm not the only dad checkin out the scene.
 
Well said. Being a bad@$$ mutha%&*$#@ is easy, but being a good role model and better yet great father is where its at. I hope on day i can rip with my kids like you.
 
rad post. i have to hand it to the boarders, me and my friend switched sometime this year and its fucking HARD. anyone who is able to legitamitely ride both and stick with it i repsect.
 
Very good post.

I'm a father of almost three year old girl and 33.

I snowboarded pretty much exclusively from ~94 to -99 and then couple of years almost even amount of both, like 20/20 days.

Been only skiing since then. I got some mogul background but still I feel that it's easier to make steezy moves on a board. I got some back broblems and didn't jump much in 2003 and 2004 seasons and after going to park after that it seemed like the sport had changed alot. Everyone was going really low, hands hanging, relaxed, different grabs, switch everywhere, hitting rails like a walk in the park etc. You could say snowboard style. I felt like a total gaper even though I have spun fives&sevens in the past and could still 3 the biggest jumps in the parks (here). Just stylewise I was the old mogul skier, the pencil steeze relict...:)

Only this year I'm been really giving attention to style and finally mastered some new styles moves. But it required some serious analyzing from videos and really giving a thought what to do (never done much of that earlier, I have to admit. I just skied and thought that my style is just my style no matter how ugly).

So, I guess my point was that it's much harder to make ski tricks good looking. Hell, you have those two planks and poles sticking everywhere. I felt like with snowboard it was much easier to get compact and relaxed in the air. And I might give snowboard a try in the near future again, just for some variety.

It's all good.

 
I think you're exactly right. Style on a snowboard was/is much more free. The restrictions of the rigid boots, long skis and poles don't exist. But looking at these guys over the last couple years making skiing schmoove and buttery is what got me into it. Watching DuMont bust a truckdriver 5 stiffed out, 15 ft out of the pipe blew me away. Now if I can only figure out how to land in ski boots......
 
Nice post man. I'm almost yr age and remember being chided as a two planker on Baker when all my friends were board monkeys in the early 90s. Yah. The sports are equivalent now in style and skiing is pushing some limits beyond boarding now. Being able to separate the legs -- like in skateboarding!! -- is key to developing tricks. But hey -- face it-- boards are a pain in the ass in the backcountry. Either it's a split board (somewhat dangerous and basically poor skis) or slow as hell snowshoes. That's why I stuck with it. Skiing is good for travel... especially out West--!
 
YEah dude makes me want to go to white pass!! if i see him i will for sure give some encouragement!! right on good story dad
 
wow...this thread is one of the best i've seen in a while. i hope i can be like you when i grow up man, cereally. once i get out of ontario of course. but yeah some more props for skiing and snowboarding. i tried one planking one time and its hard as hell. might get out there some more on my dads... yeah he snowboards. but man, this thread made my day. : )
 
agreed but gotta do what ya gotta do. i live in oly, it's not really "close" to any mountain. i'll be at stevens this weekend staying at my sisters house in bothel
 
i kinda think snowboarding is easier in some aspects and harder in others..... but mostly easier i did snowboard for 3 years btw
 
Good fatherly advice to tell us to watch our language and be respectful, where a few sentences prior you state "Skiing is no longer ghey"

...just a pet peeve of mine.

 
ghey is not bad language, and it's not like there are a bunch of 5 year old on the site, im sure he has seen how we talk on here sooo who cares...
 
I've always been a skier, and will always be a skier, but my lil bro started snowboarding when he was 8, he is insane on a snowboard (he's 12 now), and he tried skiing for the first time last year. within about 3 hours he was sliding boxes to switch, and doing grabs over 30 foot jumps. This year he bought a new snowboard, and just bought skis, he's hooked. There is no difference between skiing and snowboarding, they are two apples from the same tree, and its good to see people are catching on to that.
 
i foget who said this but i heard it somewhere "Skiing is a lot easier to start at then Snowboarding, But its a lot easier to master snowboarding than skiing"
 
Thanks for the props, and good job with the fathering thing. My dad is also a skier/boarder and, while I never bothered to pick up a snowboard, his time and enthusiasm in introducing me to snowsports has made me the dedicated skier i am today. Your kids will definitely be grateful some day.
 
I actually have taught skiing and snowboarding (and tele) for over 20 years. And have heard this type of story quite a bit. I always tell parents it just depends on the strength of the individual child what and when they start. As we all know snowboarding is a bit trickier to balance when you learn, the skiing stance is a bit more natural.

On the other hand statistically snowboarders are injured far more often in the first few days ( I think something like 87% of all reported snowboard injuries happen in the first two days someone boards) where the opposite is true with skiers. As skiers improve and ski faster their injury rate rises.

The end result is I think kids should do both if they can, but if they are going to start to board, get 'em on early where while they are younger they are less likely to get hurt due to their flexibility and the fact they don't fall quite as far as us 39 year old boarders do....I have lots of kids in my classes that do both and just choose by what the conditions are like what they want to do...

Allot fo these stats are available on the National Ski areas association website (www.nsaa.org) .
 
Thanks for the props all. Heading up to the mountain tomorrow with another dad, sans the kids, to have our own little play day.

I got my little guy some Head Mojo 107s for Christmas. He's stoked and we'll get him up there next weekend. I'd like to find him some sweet kid's outerwear, anyone got any laying around?

My comments about watching your/our language referred more to curbing the unchecked strings of profanity that seem to occasionally stream from the mouths of some of us. I had been prone to occasions of that in my youth.

Peace.
 
Went up to the hill last Friday with a buddy that is a SOLID skier, not a newschool guy, but an all mountain ripper. It was a pretty good pow day so I rode my snowboard in the morning so we could both get the max enjoyment out of the snow. I brought my skis up as well. I was looking forward to the opportunity of skiing with someone who knew what they were doing. I switched to skis mid day. It's now Tuesday and my quads have finally returned to normal. IMO skiing is definitely more physically demanding than snowboarding...maybe it's just my inexperience but I was dying. I learned a ton from my buddy. Proper techniques that would take awhile to learn on my own: sinking into turns, proper weighting/un-weighting and proper pole position/plants. Maintaining the 'ski' position, butt down and knees together, became more and more physically exhausting. Going through powder, no chance. We went through plenty of 'chowder', chopped up powder, and that was the hardest part. It was a great experience and I look forward to the day when I am confident enough with the planks to hit some kickers and float through some pow.

If anyone knows of any sites or outlets for some good instructional materials pass it on.
 
this is an awesome story...skiing is the way to go.

if you keep skiing with people who know what they are doing and are helpful you will catch on very quickly and learn a lot...

good luck to you and your sons
 
when im a dad im going to start my kid out racing just to get him a solid start on actually "skiing". but when hes not racing i will tote him around and hit jumps with him hopefully hooking him on the jumps. then when hes like 10 or so ill ask him "son, do you want to not do racing and just hit jumps and free style or stay in". and we will see from there
 
You sound like a mad cool dad lol. I also snowboarded for most of my life but I skied from like idk 5 - 9 yrs old, then I picked up snowboarding and have been doing it since (I'm 15 now). Watching the Winter X and everything made me want to try skiing because all though big steezey tricks get you stoked. I decided to pick up skiing again because it looked so fun and cool in general, plus a lot of my friends do it, so I got some 171 Line Invaders this season and I'm loving it. Ya, getting used to skiing was weird at first because you really do have these 2 long planks on your feet. I had to get my turning down and my stopping but since I've been snowboarding for so long I picked up fast because the basics are pretty similar. I even hit up the box f/s and b/s going sideways. But ya, I was having fun and I was enjoying myself and I definitely look forward to going skiing again this Friday and Sunday.
 
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