I'm so bummed that SJ closed the "How to decide - skiing or snowboarding?" thread before I had a chance to jump in - so I decided to start this thred....Not to stir the sh&t, but to allow folks to express why they choose one or the other. I'm hoping we hear more inspiration in this thread than defecation.

Good thread SirJib - lets hope it goes better than the last one.

(There were things going on that are not apparent by just looking at the other closed thread as it stands now). Be bummed at the people who caused the problem, not us please.


Anyway for me - I started skiing when I hadn't even heard of anything called snowboarding. It looked like fun and my parents took me to France on a skiing holiday. I was hooked.

Snowboarding hadn't been invented.

I started skiing when my folks bought a house in the mountains of California. Even though I live quite far, I make it back every year in Feb. to continue the tradition. As snowboarding gained in popularity, I gave it a try every year (but only dedicated 1 or 2 days out of the year). It was very painful to go from being a black diamond charger to quivering at the sight of a blue run.

My company had a kick-off meeting in the mountains of New Hampshire and paid for 1 day of skiing/boarding and for a lesson. I decided to give snowboarding another go and took the lesson. The guy that gave the lesson was an old timer and knew Jake Burton personally. He made it really easy to understand what I was doing wrong and helped me to improve in one day more than any of my previous outings or lessons.

That guy gave me the confidence to stick with it and now i'll ski only 1-2 days each season and primarily snowboard.

Last season, I decided to continue to challenge myself by working on switch riding, jibbing, and jumping. Skiing was fun, but snowboarding is a passion.

My friend was into snowboarding. He let me have a go. That was it really. Before then I hadn't actually thought about it much.

Used to skateboard a lot, had friends who had done it in Aus, so when I came to Japan, I wanted to try it. Being a skateboarder I really like the fell of riding sideways, and doing big carves.

No snowboarding when I first got interested in skiing, so a simple choice back then. Since then I've been snowboarding more this last few years. Wanted a new challenge and it looked fun apart from the sitting at the top of the lift which I was determined not to do.

I heard you could meet snowbunnies

I blame my best mates in Hiroshima for getting me into it - now I have more money invested in skiing than anything else.

Hope I wasn't one of the guilty parties - didn't intend to be, though I helped in highjacking it by accident.

Started skiing via a school excursion, then nine years later with a group of workmates decided to go again ... from there it 'snowballed' to a medium-grade obsession.

a mate dragged some of us out onto snowboards because he thought we'd like it. he didn't tell us how to do turn or stop, as he knew that we'd just hurtle ourselves down the hill in our efforts to out do each other. the bugger just sat back and laughed his head off. after a couple of runs he told us how to stop, and by the end of the first day i could get down the hill comfortably.
out of all of us, i'm now the only one who's stuck at it, while the others dredge up the usual excuses for not making a trip to the snow each year. i can't really blame them. snowsports are more expensive than a substance abuse problem, and probably just as addicitive

I always loved snow and always wanted to ski. I never got the chance until I was 23 and finally got my act together. Took a fortnight package to Formigal in the Spanish Pyrenees, came second in the ski school race at the end of my first week. By that time I could tolerably get down the whole mountain.

It's an obsession that's never gone away, although I don't need to be first one up and last one down anymore. I intend to be skiing right into my 70s.

As terrible as the movie and scene was, I remember seeing 007 do some impromptu snowboarding in A View To A Kill and really wanted a go. Then I saw some real snowboarding and just wanted to do it. And did.

Funny thing was I used to do a lot of surfing as a kid, but when I was at school nobody except some bloke called Mr Burton was snowboarding (at least not in Europe anyway) so I went skiing in the Alps. Loved it and decided to stick with it once through the awkward falling-over stage

I work with people with a disability and used to volunteer to take groups of disabled on holidays. I was asked if I would take a group to the NSW snowfields and thought it would be fun. We went to a place called Mt Selwyn and it was very poor snow with only one or two runs open so we went to Perisher for a few days which was better.

I loved it and when I returned to Perth where I lived and worked I told the employees with a disability in Business Service (Employment centre for people with a disability)that they would love skiing, the following year I took a group from my work to Falls Creek and then again every year after for seven years.

I also took my wife and kids once they were old enough and before long I was dreaming of living closer than 3000km away from the snow.

9 years ago a CEO's position came up 360km from the snow so i applied and took the position heading my own Disability service, I now own a couple of flats in Falls Creek and spend way to much time up there.

I took up skiing as it seemed the right thing to do, I have tried Boarding but much prefer skiing, its what you like, there are mo right and wrong answers to the skiing or boarding question.

Oh and now I have discovered skiing in Japan, here we go again ha ha

There was a very funny CBC newsclip from the 1980's about snowboarding (about the evils of it actually) on one of these threads. Anyone know where it is?

I'd like to see that.

I just thought it looked real fun, that's basically it.

I got introduced to skiing at age 3. I remember standing on skis between my dad's legs, watching the snow go by.

Then in Junior High, snowboarding was introduced. As I was a skater, I asked my parents for a board. They said; no, the resorts don't allow them.

I called the resorts. No go.

so I kept skiing, started racing, finished highschool, moved to tahoe. taught skiing, then learned to board, and taught a few lessons as well. I never gave up my skis. Snowboarding just never gave me the same freedom.

Then the shaped ski revolution arrived, then fat skis. And now I just don't have any reason to ride a board at all.

But I enjoy the vids just as much as I enjoy ski vids.

I first skiing with school when I was elementary school student we went for ski trip to Shiga Kogen. Since then I love it so much.

Some friends literally dragged me up the mountain to try snowboarding. I think we decided to try snowboarding because it looked easier than skiing at that time. Anyway, the first 2 days of the 3 day trip I spent them crashing baaaaaad. I was even wishing next morning it would start raining heavily so that I don’t have to go through one more day of crashing.
Surprisingly though, the last day I was able to stand on the board and even linked my turns. I got really into it and bought my first gear as soon as we went back to Tokyo, and went snowboarding again next weekend.

Now I want to try some skiing too.

Still to decide!