Ski or Snowboard for Your First Time? Honest Advice from an Instructor Who Teaches Both
Lots of people arriving in Hokkaido for their first trip agonise over the same thing: ski or snowboard? As an instructor who teaches both, let me give you the honest version.
First impressions
Snowboarding looks cool, skiing looks elegant. That’s most people’s first reaction. Don’t choose by looks yet. Keep reading.
Difficulty: two curves that cross
In the beginner phase, skiing is easier than snowboarding. From first steps to parallel turns, the feedback is dense and rewarding, and you’ll feel the joy of sliding on day one.
Snowboarding is the opposite. The first two days hurt. You fall on your backside until you question your life choices. The hard parts are the two fundamentals, side-slipping on the toe edge and the J-turn from straight run to heel edge, and they need two or three days of dull repetition. But somewhere around day three or four, something clicks. The moment you can link edge changes, the door to snowboarding swings open and progress becomes rapid.
So the curves look like this:
- Skiing: fast at first, slower later
- Snowboarding: slow at first, fast later
By the intermediate stage (twenty or more days on snow) it flips, and skiing becomes the harder one. The further you go, the harder skiing gets, because you’re managing four edges while a snowboard only has two.
How to choose, in one line
| Your situation | Choose |
|---|---|
| Over 30, afraid of falling, this may be your only ski trip | Skiing |
| Young, want cool photos, likely to keep doing this | Snowboarding, the two painful days are an investment |
| Bringing a child under six | Skiing, easier to stand, more confidence |
| Only two days on snow | Skiing, you’ll be sliding on day one |
Busting a myth
Ignore the old line that “snowboarding is cool, skiing is uncool”. In Hokkaido powder there are more expert skiers than expert snowboarders, and the people floating most beautifully through the trees are almost all on skis. When we snowboarders head into the backcountry, it’s skiers who break trail and lead the rescue. We tease skiers when we’re on a board and tease snowboarders when we’re on skis, but when it’s time to admit who’s boss, we’re quick to call them big brother.
Two more facts
Technically, at the same skill level, skis give you more speed, control and stability. But skiing has one fatal flaw: you can’t sit down to rest. When you’re tired you just stand there. A snowboarder can sit down anywhere, any time.
The ending
Of course, only children choose. I do both: when I’m tired of snowboarding I ski, and when skiing gets me down I go back to the board.
The Japow Academy instructors ride and teach both. If you’re not sure, try skiing on day one and switch to snowboarding on day two without changing instructor. Still torn? Send us your age, how often you expect to ride in future and your plans for this trip, and we’ll choose for you.
- Next in the series: Must-have gear and apps for skiing in Hokkaido