3 day vacation - blow dust off skis or snowboard?
 

I'm in my early 40s, and haven't been on skis in 20 years. In high school,
I was a hot dog on the intermediate slopes, and could make it down most
black diamonds without bodily injury, but that was 20+ years ago and only
skiing once or twice a year. My wife and son have never skied (we're all
southerners).

A friend in Utah has invited the wife, my son and I to visit or a few days,
and we're planning to spend 1 to 3 days on the slopes.

So - Should we ski or snowboard while we're in Utah? With which are we most
likely to be able to enjoy the most with only a half day or day of
instruction?

--

http://www.gopchoice.org/

Userb3 wrote:
I'm in my early 40s, and haven't been on skis in 20 years. In high school,
I was a hot dog on the intermediate slopes, and could make it down most
black diamonds without bodily injury, but that was 20+ years ago and only
skiing once or twice a year. My wife and son have never skied (we're all
southerners).

A friend in Utah has invited the wife, my son and I to visit or a few days,
and we're planning to spend 1 to 3 days on the slopes.

So - Should we ski or snowboard while we're in Utah? With which are we most
likely to be able to enjoy the most with only a half day or day of
instruction?

If I have it straight, you've never snowboarded but you were at one time
an intermediate skier, and your wife and son have never done either.

I think if it's only a day or two on the slopes, you'll definitely have
a more fun time dusting off your skis or more appropriately renting some
modern equipment.

Snowboarding has a quicker learning curve than skiing but unfortunately
it is also more painful. After a half-day of instruction if someone is
athletic/talented they may be getting around OK but more likely they
will still be falling a lot and those beginner snowboarder falls are
hard and painful. Learning to ski is a slower path to feeling confident
on the tougher slopes, but there aren't as many falls and they aren't
near as abrupt/hard.

If your wife is the same age as you she would probably prefer a slower
learning curve with less falls and so I'd suggest skiing. Unless she's
the adventurous athletic type then she may enjoy snowboarding and be
willing to take a lot of crashes. If your son is a teenager or an
athletic kid over 8 he probably will want to snowboard and can take the
pain. If he's a young kid put him on skis.

If you plan more trips, everyone should maybe consider what they want to
do in the future. If they want to snowboard, an investment in pain now
may be worth it.


Neil

Neil Gendzwill wrote in
:

Thanks

--

http://www.gopchoice.org/

Userb3 wrote:
I'm in my early 40s, and haven't been on skis in 20 years. In high school,
I was a hot dog on the intermediate slopes, and could make it down most
black diamonds without bodily injury, but that was 20+ years ago and only
skiing once or twice a year. My wife and son have never skied (we're all
southerners).

A friend in Utah has invited the wife, my son and I to visit or a few days,
and we're planning to spend 1 to 3 days on the slopes.

So - Should we ski or snowboard while we're in Utah? With which are we most
likely to be able to enjoy the most with only a half day or day of
instruction?


I'd say if this is your only trip go with the skis. You'll pick it up
again in no time. If you have another trip planned, two weekends is
probably enough to get a feel for snowboarding and get down any piste in
a controlled manner.

It might be more fun for you to learn with your wife and son. You'll be
waiting for them all the time if you are on skis.

Octes

"Userb3" wrote in message
...
I'm in my early 40s, and haven't been on skis in 20 years. In high school,
I was a hot dog on the intermediate slopes, and could make it down most
black diamonds without bodily injury, but that was 20+ years ago and only
skiing once or twice a year. My wife and son have never skied (we're all
southerners).

A friend in Utah has invited the wife, my son and I to visit or a few
days,
and we're planning to spend 1 to 3 days on the slopes.

So - Should we ski or snowboard while we're in Utah? With which are we
most
likely to be able to enjoy the most with only a half day or day of
instruction?

--

http://www.gopchoice.org/

I think for ease of learning and enjoyment everyone should probably be on
skis, however, if your son is an adventureous one, he may enjoy snowboarding
while you ski. The problem with that is the different types of snow sports
which may not be able to share the same instructor.

When I first learned, my friends had all skiied or snowboarded before and I
was a beginner snowboarder. I'd like to say I held my own pretty well.

-Bruce

All three of you can learn to snowboard together, it will be fun. No gain,
no gain :-)

-Steve
--
"Userb3" wrote in message
...
I'm in my early 40s, and haven't been on skis in 20 years. In high school,
I was a hot dog on the intermediate slopes, and could make it down most
black diamonds without bodily injury, but that was 20+ years ago and only
skiing once or twice a year. My wife and son have never skied (we're all
southerners).

A friend in Utah has invited the wife, my son and I to visit or a few
days,
and we're planning to spend 1 to 3 days on the slopes.

So - Should we ski or snowboard while we're in Utah? With which are we
most
likely to be able to enjoy the most with only a half day or day of
instruction?

--

http://www.gopchoice.org/

"Userb3" wrote in message
...
I'm in my early 40s, and haven't been on skis in 20 years. In high school,
I was a hot dog on the intermediate slopes, and could make it down most
black diamonds without bodily injury, but that was 20+ years ago and only
skiing once or twice a year. My wife and son have never skied (we're all
southerners).

A friend in Utah has invited the wife, my son and I to visit or a few
days,
and we're planning to spend 1 to 3 days on the slopes.

So - Should we ski or snowboard while we're in Utah? With which are we
most
likely to be able to enjoy the most with only a half day or day of
instruction?

--

http://www.gopchoice.org/

Ski! You'll appreciate the time spent skiing (it's almost like riding a
bike) as opposed to the time spent learning.

On the other hand, if you want to learn how to snowboard, you've got the
opportunity to spend three days at it (that's a lot of practice time)
setting you up for your next snow trip.