Two feet is better than one

Imagine you’re standing on the summit of a mountain in the Rocky’s, snowboard in hand. With the wind howling, you sit down and start to buckle your board to your feet. While you do this, you contemplate which path you will take down the mountain. Your options are restricted, this is only your third year on a board. All of a sudden you feel a spray of snow on your face, as a younger skier no older than 12 flies by you and drops into a very difficult run. You watch and notice that despite his age he is a very progressed skier. You decide to follow him down his path, although you fall and the board won’t detach from your feet. Your legs cannot move freely as you fall and you injure one of your knees. Later that day you see the skier and learn that this is only his second year. Realizing that due to him skiing rather than snowboarding, he was able to progress much faster with lower risk of injury. Skiing as a sport is a much better use of your time than snowboarding due to a smaller risk of injury and a faster path of progression.

When it’s time for a parent to take their child to the slopes they are faced with a choice: skiing or snowboarding. Most parents with safety in mind, choose to put their child on skis.

The reason for this is because skis have a certain technology that snowboards don’t. Skis have a releasable binding. When you ski, you wear specific ski boots that will snap into your bindings and attach you to the ski. When a skier falls or perhaps goes off a jump and lands with too much pressure, the binding will automatically detach one’s feet from their skis. Being detached from your skis allows you to fall freely and reduce the risk of injury. Snowboards, however, do not have this feature. When you fall on a snowboard you’re strapped in and are likely to twist a knee or an ankle.

Skiing, as many people know, is an easier sport than snowboarding. This is due to the use of two feet separately rather than having both feet stuck in place. The use of both feet is great for beginners. If they start to fall, they can easily stick a foot out to balance themselves.

Another reason skiing is easier is based on the body position of the sport. When skiing you face forward and have full vision of what is ahead of you and allows a greater sense of your peripheral vision. On the other hand, snowboarders have a very limited field of vision. Since a snowboarder rides in a sideways position they can only see the side that they are facing and what’s ahead of them. This handicap in their field of vision can allow for serious injury to occur.

Skiing and snowboarding go hand in hand. Almost anywhere you see a skier, a snowboarder will be found nearby. While there is a love to be found in both sports, there’s also danger.

Skiing is a safer option and one will find themselves improving at a much faster rate. With greater skill one can experience far more while exploring a mountain. Why would you slow yourself and increase the risk when you can simply strap on a pair of skis and experience the mountain to the fullest extent while maintaining safety.

There is only one correct path to take and that is skiing.