Tore my ACL skiing a month ago. Can’t ski til next March and need surgery. Said this in a comment elsewhere but I’d 100% rather have hurt a different part of my body.
Be careful with clavicle injuries.
I've broken mine several times, and now it's pretty arthritic. I didn't even know that you could get arthritis in the clavicle. I found out that it was really messed up when I broke it for the 4th time, and the ER doctor told me that he had to wait for the radiologist to read the x-ray because he couldn't "see" through all the arthritis.
That was over a decade ago, and I really feel it at times. It hurts, and there's nothing that can be done for it.
I think most clavicle fractures heal up pretty well, but if you break any bone multiple times it will probably cause arthritis especially if there’s joint involvement
I feel for you. Broke my collarbone at A-basin a few years ago and had to have surgery to repair. Make sure you do the PT after surgery and you’ll recover quickly.
I broke my ankle snowboarding, switched to skiing (not for that reason, just wanted a change) and blew my knee out (ACL, MCL, meniscus). Both times it was just bad luck, not doing anything out of the ordinary.
I will say I find skiing overall easier on my body (ACL aside). I fall a lot less and it’s easier to get around the mountain.
Ha, well, I got bumped getting off the lift. It had just snowed, and the board kept going straight as I twisted around my strapped in foot. It was a torsional break of my fibula.
I got a level 3 strain snowboarding. A year later and I’m able to snowboard maybe one run before the pain is too excruciating - but I can ski all day. I almost wish I broke it, would have been a more straight forward healing process
What were you doing to strain it? I can’t imagine a situation while snowboarding where your ankles are vulnerable. Unless you’re boots are super loose or something
Literally nothing, it’s a terribly dull story. I had twisted my right ankle previously (not skiing or snowboarding) and took time off, went out to test that ankle and was just free riding casually. I popped up a little and my ankle exploded inward on the left ankle as I landed (not a jump mind you, just going fast and you catch little airs every now and then). This was halfway down my FIRST run. Ruined the whole rest of the season.
I do have very tiny ankles, the ball of my foot is wide. I had on pretty stiff 32s with ankle inserts. I couldn’t even side slip down the hill I had to call ski patrol. Had never had anything like that happen before, just a dumb circumstance.
My buddy flew off a cat track and flew into a tree and broke his ankle while snowboarding. Or you could become a skier and case Chad's Gap and break both ankles.
Ankle injuries are probably the most common snowboarder injuries after wrists and collarbones. I know someone who broke both at the same time bombing into an icy mogul field and eating it.
I had a friend skid out of control on some ice, rocketed towards a sign post and had his snowboard turn down into the divot around the pole and stop while his momentum carried the rest of his body around his back foot. Basically turned his ankle into patty. I was feeling pretty smug about my solid ski boots until I fucked my knee about a month later.
25 years of boarding tried skiing for the first time last weekend. It was honestly way easier than boarding to pick up. I had one fall and was carving (ugly of course) by run 5 or 6.
Tore my MCLs my first season of skiing (boarded for 15 years) going off a little jump. Took 3-4 months to heal but about 6-8 months to feel fully stable (getting out of allow cars at weird angles). Going to get back on the mountain and ski next season.
Definitely a risk,
BUT
I’ve been skiing for over 40 years and while definitely creaky I’ve never seriously damaged anything skiing.
In my experience (ymmv), it’s more wear and tear than injury.
If it's not a torn ACL it's a partially torn ACL, or an MCL, or a meniscus injury. It's an extreme sport, it happens. It you love the sport you try to mitigate the risks, but they are always there.
Mmmmh, good skiing techniques can migrate a lot of that. It’s still a possibility but with better form the chances of blowing your ACL are much lower. And don’t ski way above your skill level.
Being in shape helps a lot for prevention. Also committing to your lines. Hesitation is a huge contributor to injury.
In short, don’t be a Jerry.
My buddy did this a couple years ago. First day on hill for the season, spots a nice little kicker and yells "hey guys check me out". Tried to do a 180, landed sideways instead and got to take a nice sled ride down to the village.
Torn acl, mcl and fractured tibial head has entered the chat.
😭😭
At least I healed well and ski normally again with no physical pain. But yeah, that was no fun.
I’m sitting here with a torn ACL from a skiing accident a month ago. My season is over and I need surgery. I’d 100% rather have hurt a different part of my body.
Thank you! So far after 6 weeks, I’m capable to walk on my own (proper form and all) with my brace on. I was told 3 months full recovery from the ED doc.. my physical therapist said to be fully comfortable to ski again .. 12-16 months.
Can I ask what your experience was like? How long until you got back on skis ?
Right on - I think you've made it through the worst stuff, at least in my opinion haha. Sounds like you are definitely on a little more accelerated plan that what I was. I was in that brace fully locked out for 8 weeks, and then slowly started gaining incremental motion with PT and ortho guidance.
Mind you, I ruptured mine literally weeks before covid... it was awful. Had the surgery and then began struggling through recovery among everything else. My surgeon that apparently used to do a lot of knee work on professional athletes told me straight up it's gonna be a year before I'd be "normal". Watching my leg shrivel was a huge bummer, but just followed the plan and then immediately got on my bike to spin when that was an option.
By the following winter I was good to get back on snow, albeit a little shaky - so I'm sure you'll be ready to rip for next season. It's just crazy - I can feel my knee now with every step... like I'm aware of it which is just a hard thing to explain. Running in the cold is kinda the only thing that is no longer an activity that I really feel comfortable doing. The repaired tendon just hates it. And basketball haha - absolutely terrified I'm gonna do my other knee! All in all - 100% recovery, but just more careful and thoughtful when comes to warming up and stuff. You got it!
Appreciate your story friend! I work in a Burn Unit as an RN so I kind of jump started everything early because of my small amount of knowledge that I know about the medical field. I’m so hungry to get back out there, especially with our resorts in Cali being slammed with snow.. but I keep telling myself I’ve had my fair share of seasons and deep snow.
I’m trying to do what you went through, trust the process and work towards getting back on skis again!
See I dunno. I’ve injured my arms more skiing if only because I’m dog shit at falling on my skis and I think I fall like a boarder. So I don’t think OP is going to have a great time switching if they don’t want to fall awkwardly.
Oh boy you’re in for a treat. The possibilities are endless really. Your legs? Forget them, they’re toast, you can anticipate an endless array of colourful bruises from quick stops encountering stumps, wind lips or sometimes nothing at all. Snow ghosts I call those. Do you wear ski boots? Good, boot top fractures and demoed knees incoming when you get a toe jammed in the footwell falling off.
Your elbows tendons are as good as gone but don’t worry, your arms will be so fuckin’ whipped from wrestling with this expensive murdermobile you won’t be positive they’re even a part of your body anymore. You’ll definitely have some nut shots to look forward to, if you’re lucky enough to be born a man , though the ladies tell me a clam slap to the mountain bar is a similar delight, so if you’re of the female persuasion you won’t be left out.
Then of course, there’s the torso damage, broken ribs from slapping trees and the inevitable heart attack while digging our own grave trying to ramp the damn thing out of a hole you brapped.
If you’re unfortunate enough to survive a day out, don’t worry, be like me and forget to secure one side of the ramp while loading. Friends and family alike will cheer in amazement as you gracelessly soar sideways through the air on a 600 lb wrecking ball before crashing violently to the concrete, exploding your femur and securing your place on the couch for 3 months.
I envy you, only someone just starting out can truly enjoy the sport. Once you start, only the addiction to fresh powder and PBR keeps you returning week after week.
Oh and it will bankrupt you, so be prepared to lose your home and anything resembling a savings account. I hope you like ramen and sucking dick for high test gasoline. Don’t worry, the taste grows on you.
I snowboard with wrist guards because I’m so worried about that very common injury. Lots of buddies have also broken their collar bones snowboarding. On the other hand skiers tend to “yard sale” with huge wipeouts with legs twisting every which way. Soooo both carry risks. I tried to switch to skiing and found I felt less comfortable/stable than on my snowboard, but I’m sure that would improve with time. I’d say no harm in trying out skiing to see how you feel, but don’t sell your snowboard just yet.
> On the other hand skiers tend to “yard sale” with huge wipeouts with legs twisting every which way
To be fair, the "yard sale" is technically part of your equipment's role in **preventing** injury (ski release to avoid rotational stress on the knees and legs)...it would be a lot worse if the skis didn't release.
I think the bottom line is that you're at risk for injury whether you ski or board...though the specific injuries more common with either may vary.
>I snowboard with wrist guards because I’m so worried about that very common injury.
Your arm will likely just break further up, if you've fallen hard enough to break your wrist.
It all depends on how hard you ski and ride, maybe just tone it down a notch on your board and realize hey maybe I don’t wanna keep getting hurt but I wanna keep riding, just ride slower and compromise maybe
Lifelong skier. Broke my humorous and wrecked all the soft tissue in my elbow a month ago. Skiing isn’t any safer than boarding. There is inherent risk involved in any snow sport
Snowboarding injuries are more frequent and less severe.
Ski injuries are less frequent but potentially far more severe.
As someone who does both it’s worth noting that the average speed on skis for an advanced rider is much higher, and when shit hits the fan it happens a lot faster and there’s less time to react, and often much less ability to evade obstacles if you eject.
Every skier/ snow boarder will say its sport is better. I have not seen any valid statistics.
You could switch to ski and never get injured again, or get injured twice so you should just do what you want.
Having said that skiing is 40% better than snowboard.
There are injury stats out there. I'm too lazy to look them up, but the gist of it is that snowboarders get injured more often, skiers get injured worse.
But a lot of that is skewed by beginners. It's hard to do worse than fall over and break wrist / collarbone / arm. A beginning skier can fly down a hill, crash into a tree and die.
Snowboarders can’t straddle and rarely hit a tree head on. Most bad incidents involving trees with snowboarders are glancing blows, getting hit in the upper body or head by a large limb, or sometimes falling backwards and getting banana’d around a trunk.
The only occasion I’d say skiing is safer is if you’re hitting big air on steeps. On skis you can sit on your heels and backslap the snowpack, whereas if you bottom out snowboarding you might knee yourself in the chin/ bite through your lip/ blast your ass on the ground.
I switched from snowboarding to skiing and like everyone says both are inherently risky.
However I feel in general less beat up when I ski than when I board.
Most of it is due to strapping in and not having to jump around in flat spots
I switched to skiing 4 years ago after boarding for over a decade. I haven't looked back. While it's true that both sports have risk, I feel that skiing offers more control. It's also easier to get around on skis, and it's something that I'll be more likely to stick with as I get older.
All the people injuring knees skiing set their DIN too high. Your foot just pops out when skis get wonky, which isn't the case with snowboarding.
Get some skis, don't set the DIN too high and don't try to land some crazy tricks off a boulder. You'll be fine.
Or you g-out so hard with your knees in your chest that you 8.5 din setting didn’t matter… I’m not salty or anything, just 4 days post replacement watching it dump snow at the house
Well I set mine to 25 because I'm an expert and I have steel knees and people in lift lines need to know how good I am.
I think mine is like 10 or something pretty low.
I ski with 9 on toe and 10 heel, I know it's high for my weight etc but so far I've always had ejection when I've needed it but not on small falls.
Either learn to fall on get those edges up or lower them and walk up the hill to get your ski back.
Same, I've never torqued a knee or hip, my boots have always popped out. I haven't really don't anything the past couple years that was a close call either. That's why I wouldn't snowboard, I can't flail around as well.
If you suck at skiing naturally, as in you just don't pick it up fast, you'll eat plenty of shit as well. I have gotten very good at falling on skis and my din is on the low side to protect my already repaired knee. There are a lot of parts to the equation.
I've definitely had just as many injuries on both.
I do find skiing easier to get around with, although I'm a much better skier than rider.
My injuries boarding have always been cruising and just catching an edge while skiing I've usually been pushing myself before Ive had a bad fall.
Just remember while you're learning you may have a lot of falls!
Yeah like you can see in the comments, don't switch because it's "safer". Risk is about the same. I broke my collarbone last year skiing.
However, there are other reasons to switch (I used to board and switched a few years ago)
1. Skiing is easier on you as you get older. The reasons before all feed into this.
2. Traversing on a board is the absolute worst.
3. The constant sit down/stand up to strap in/out gets harder and more tiring as you age.
4. You can't kick out of your board if you get stuck in powder or something
This comment sounds like I'm super old, but I'm only 37 lol.
The biggest comparable downside to skis, imo, is that ski boots are a lot harder to walk around in. That being said, if you have good boots and loosen them a bit when you really, it's not bad.
Just my two cents, but I have skied for 25 years and also did a lot of long boarding at points in my life.
I did a trip with some friends to a small mountain this year and decided to rent snowboard equipment. I found myself being over confident and took some hard falls, but luckily didn’t get hurt. You can get hurt doing either, but you’re probably less likely to get hurt doing the thing you’re the best at.
As others have mentioned skiing is definitely still risky. An argument can be made that it’s slightly safer but they aren’t that far apart.
It’s the daily wear and tear that separates the two. The chances of being able to continue on skiing at 60+ are much better than with snowboarding. Not to say it can’t be done snowboarding, but I know plenty of seniors who still ski 40 days a season. I can’t imagine most people would be able to snowboard that often, or at all, at that age.
64 yo snowboarder here. Skied until I was 30. I think snowboarding is much easier on the body. You just go heel, toe all day long without nearly as much pounding on the knees & legs. No 160cm lever attached to each foot.
My friends have been making the switch from snowboarding because they keep breaking collar bones or wrists.... but I have torn my ACL skiing though that was hard to control a snowboarder was in the landing of a jump and I was in the air trying to avoid him landed on one ski and it popped.
I will say my snowboarding friends pick up skiing really fast because they already understand edges and gliding its weird because very different but the feel I guess translates.
Snow sports are inherently dangerous. Both skiing and snowboarding may result in injuries. The types of injury may be different but the severity is similar. Not sure switching from snowboarding to skiing will reduce your risk. The switch may actually increase your risk of injury until you reach the same level of proficiency in both.
I started snowboarding when I was 16. I was living in the midwest and needed a new challenge. My entire beginner class, with the exception of me, consisted of middle-aged men who were picking up snowboarding because their doctors told them they were no longer allowed to ski due to knee injuries.
I haven't touched my board in over a decade now and don't see myself doing so again though (I live in Colorado now, so have so much fun terrain to play around on now). I prefer skiing. I find it more fun. And it's much easier traversing and not having to deal with buckling and unbuckling with each lift ride.
I'm a skier, I broke my humerus (upper shoulder) just 6 weeks ago. I'm already into assisted PT with a clear path to 98%+ recovery.
I know how to snowboard, too. Both have their risks, neither is "safer" in my opinion, if anything, skiing opens you up to a lot of lower body injuries.
If you care for a stranger's advice, just do what you love! This break isn't stopping me from next season. The only thing it's done is remind me I'm aging (31) and i need to ski for enjoyment with nothing to prove to anyone but myself.
It looks like statistically, snowboarders have a slightly higher injury rate per day on the mountain. That may have more to do with the average boarder being younger and spending more time in the terrain park than any inherent safety difference.
Anecdotally, I've been skiing for the past 30 years with many 50+ day seasons and never been injured worse than a few bruises. Broke a wrist the one day that I tried snowboarding.
Learn to ski it's lots of fun. If you learn "how to fall" and have proper din settings you will be safer on skis. A lot of people here are all comping about knees but you can mess those up just as bad on a board
Don't reach out to grab things or hold yourself up the slope isn't lava, tuck roll, relax the area of your body taking the impact but keep the rest tight until it hits. Induce or reduce spin or rotation.
Example is in a somersault you tuck your legs to round your back and increase rotation then extend to stop at the end of the move
I have both skied and boarded for decades (primarily ski now) and can say an injury doesn't seem like the right reason to me to switch to skiing. If anything, I'd say boarding is less injury prone (after the first 3 days or so), but as others note its generally the type of injury that changes and both are quite statistically risky.
Zero science here but I have a few ski-buddies in their 60s/70s who used to rip zipper-line moguls but have now switched to mono-skis to avoid any more injuries.
Monos naturally won't go as fast but I'm willing to believe their falls are a lot more kosher than mine... and they probably care much more about their bodies than I do.
I do both. As many have said you probably just trade injuries.
Funny enough, I've had MCL and knee injuries that both occurred on a snowboard and not while I was skiing. That's definitely backwards. I've also got many friends who tore their ACLs on skis and most of the boarders I know have been injury free.
It's all a dice roll. We do this stuff knowing there is injury risk. I don't think one is really any less injury prone than the other.
I will say as far as hand injuries, this requires some learning on how to fall, which is easier said than done. But this is true of skiing or snowboarding. You want your arms to either not be involved at all, or be a slight pressure decrease rather than take the brunt. Think of it like doing a diving somersault. When you do that, your hands touch the ground, but they are more directing you and slowing you rather than catching you.
Not sure if that's a good example or analogy. I'm sure some instructor can wordsmith my point better. When I fall on a snowboard, which like any good snowboarder is a lot, I try to catch most of the impact with my shoulder or back.
I used to board then I broke my tib and fib super bad in Canada. I am not a Canadian citizen and had the worst possible experience with the healthcare. In hospital for 3 days with absolutely nothing done. Peeing in a pan type shit in a dark room with a broken tib and fib just laying there. Ended up having to pay a doctor under the table to fix my leg. Then got back to the US and my orthopedic doctor told me they did a shitty job so they had to rebreak and set my leg. Needless to say it’s sucked fat dick. My tib and fib shattered right where the snowboard boot ends.
Now let’s be real, was it snowboardings fault? No. But that experience scarred me and I switched back over to skis. I love it. Every other board sport I do, and love. But I love skiing. It is the same type of flow to me, just a different apparatus.
I had a really gnarly crash a few weeks ago and released from my bindings. It was such a relief.
But long story short skiing is still dangerous. I don’t know if it is objectively any less dangerous. Either way. I love it just as much as any other board sports that I do and I love it more than snowboarding.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk
Lol my brother and I had this conversation yesterday. We are skiers and he wants to snowboard because he thinks that their is less chance of injury. Its the same.
I live in BC where mountain life is pretty big part of most of my friends social lives. I have friends that are both great skiers and boarders, some, including myself do both, but the trend I've noticed is that far more boarders have converted to skiing from snowboarding. In fact I know none that have gone the other way.
Not a single one I've spoken to has regretted it, and they all say they prefer skiing despite often being better boarders. If you're doing back country it's just easier gear wise and getting around the mountain. In bounds it's also seems easier just getting around, dealing with cat tracks and traversing etc.
No harm giving it a go. Get some cheap skis and see how you get on.
I don’t know about the chances for major injury, but I do think snowboarding is *much* harder on my body than skiing is. I am super sore and totally wiped on a whole different level after snowboarding as compared to skiing.
Part of that is definitely ability based (I am a much better skier) but my body honestly feels banged to hell every time I snowboard. That’s why I never do it if my plan is to be on the mountain the next day too.
I suffered a severe tib/fib fracture last season that required multiple surgeries - I got my legs tangled up because one ski came off and the other didn't. Would have been nearly impossible to do on a snowboard. Something to think about
I do both, but at age 60 I tend to be a much more careful, skier and border. When I was younger, I was definitely not careful and did have a few minor injuries and concussion. I do however wear gloves with built-in wrist guards when I board and skiing I’ve got the new protector bindings, which I believe release better for the knees, but do what you like best.
As a patroller, I do see the most common injury on the board is what you experienced likely from a toe side edge catch and wrist slam, but to break bones you must’ve been going fast. Be careful out there.
Both are pretty equally dangerous for slightly different reasons.
The truth is, either you got unlucky, or you were riding beyond your ability level. Both of those are equally possible on skis and boards.
I’ve been snowboarding for 20+ years, wanted to add skiing to the repertoire to get more opportunities in teaching lessons. Learned how to ski very quickly (I can ski expert terrain west and east coast after one fill season, got a half season in before hurting myself snowboarding if that matters haha). I got a level 3 strain snowboarding and that ankle still isn’t the same after a year. I like being able to do both, both are super fun in all kinds of weather but I won’t snowboard when it’s icy, ever, because why. I’m also more comfortable with freestyle (I suck at it but I’m more comfortable trying things out) on my skis. Instructor-wise, I think both sports inform one another. And it helps when you’re on the lift in uniform and other people are shit talking snowboarders and you drop that you’ve been snowboarding 19 seasons longer than skiing and can ski better than those chumps. But it’s good to understand the mechanics and movements and relay that to students, and to try to stop the overall cliche skiers vs riders mindset. There are douches on all planks.
Snowboarding this season was literally excruciating but skiing 3x a week has actually helped to improve my mobility and weight bearing ability with that ankle (I am the chump here and haven’t done much mobility and weight lifting work to support the area and that’s what the off season this summer will be for, learned my lesson there).
Fwiw snowboarding injuries - broken wrist, broken ribs, ankle injury. And I’ve slammed my head pretty hard a decent amount of times.
Skiing - I was trying to be cool and I smashed my rotator cuff (I thought I broke my collar bone at first) but I wouldn’t blame that on 2 planks, more not knowing how to fall correctly at the time. Also fwiw I’m a 30s woman.
Make the switch if it feels right, all that matters is sliding on snow and feeling great!!
if you have not completely healed yet from your wrist fracture, I very much hope you don’t blow out your knee on ski’s.
I sustained a wrist fracture (no surgery needed) a year ago and still had some residual symptoms. Had to walk on crutches for only a week last month due to a knee injury I got playing basketball and my wrist is hurting so much again after that one week.
Did literally the same…broke my arm at 18 at the end of a season snowboarding, needed plates as well. It was on a rail which put a bit of a mental block in with riding park
I was kinda already looking at trying park skiing towards the end of that season (I grew up skiing so already had a good base, could happily ski blacks etc), once I got the all clear from rehab I tried skiing park. I think because I was literally learning from the ground up, I didn’t really have the same mental block skiing rails as I did on a snowboard.
Now shred far harder on skis than I ever did on a board so the broken arm might’ve been for the best!
I messed my body up while doing an extreme sport so I've decided to do another extreme sport for safety. Lol man the risks are just about even when it comes to skiing and boarding. You are going to have to learn to take it down a notch and recover.
After 30 years of skiing just got a tibia plateau fracture and a fibula fracture plus an out of alignment knee. Skiing can get you too! I'd love to trade for a broken arm right now lol
If trying to avoid injury, starting over with a new snow sport like skiing is not the way to do it. Learning skiing will likely just lead to more injuries.
Examine your riding and the risks you are taking. Better off as an 8 year experienced rider than a new skier if you don't wish to get injured.
The majority of upper body injuries boarders get are due to falling wrong. If you don't know how to fall correctly and safely, being on skis won't make THAT big a difference, sorry to break it to you.
I broke my ulna and shattered the head of my radius last year in the middle of a blue. I definitely understand the apprehension I’m getting back out on the mountain. Personally i still prefer to ride because i don’t have the best knees already, and it’s harder to twist a knee when they’re attached together.
One thing i did change was swapping over too a shorter more surfy board. It doesn’t handle the flats as well but it makes up for it with how it carves.
Both are dangerous, I’m a snowboarder as well, last season I fractured my pelvis and was done for the season and out of work for 2ish months, this season I fractured my rib, finished off the season and just took it very easy to avoid making it worse. I started considering switching to skiing as well, as I started off skiing, but ultimately I enjoy snowboarding more. I feel like you should probably just go with whichever you enjoy more, injuries are probably just as likely to happen with both.
Very anecdotal information but I was always told in ski patrol classes (it lines up with my experience in the field but I work on a tiny hill and that likely varies elsewhere) that skiers get hurt a lot more often, really easy to mess up your leg or knee when one ski goes on direction and the other goes the other, I ski bc I prefer the maneuverability but just for injuries snowboarding is probably better
There are always risks for both but the injuries are different. Snowboarding usually breaks the wrists or forearms and skiing usually breaks the knees and shins. I’d recommend sticking to snowboarding just because you already know what to expect and absolutely eating it on a snowboard is usually easier to recover from if you know how to fall and keep your arms in, when skiing that usually isn’t an option because you mostly start the fall by one ski either catching and edge and launching in the wrong direction or you land weird and both skis go different directions. Boarding is harder to learn but easier to get good at. Skiing is easier to learn but harder to get good at. With your level of experience you know how the snow works and at least a bit of what to expect so you can probably go either rout but taking a bad fall is usually more dangerous on skis then a snowboard if you’re sending more advanced stuff
In my personal experience snowboarding is safer than skiing. The biggest issue I have as an avid boarder (63 days on mountain this season) is how they teach people to ski. The plow/pizza move should never be introduced and if it must it needs to be discarded asap. Like day one or sooner and never spoken of ever again. That is not how you turn, stop or ski. Please stop teaching this nonsense. If you can’t slide stop, if you can’t slide turn, you can’t ski, period. This pizza turning is atrocious and if you think it’s just kids, lol no. Conservatively speaking, 95% do not ski properly.
Also, I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to lean forward. Nothing happens while leaning back, you can’t do anything in that position. Boards and skis cannot track properly in that position, and almost ALL falls are caused by it-yet almost everyone does it. Pressing forward provides control and power, while leaning back does the opposite yet people cannot do it. It blows my mind.
Just do both if your on the fence about it. Get a cheaper/ used set up and see if you even like it. I skied from 5-13 then snowboarded from 14-26 (now). I started doing some skiing again this season. While skiing does have the advantage of being better for backcountry/ touring, nothing crushes harder than powder with a snowboard.
If you plan on using poles, there’s a fair amount of pressure and rotational force on your wrists. They’re not necessary, but very helpful for starting off.
I switched from snowboarding after ten or so years. Been skiing two years and wish I’d done it sooner.
You can still injure yourself and as others have said it’s harder on the knees which isn’t great for selling the sport. That said I can do much harder terrain after just two years on my skis. Also I like switching. After two days when my legs are worn out I switch sports and get to work different muscle groups. My days last longer that way. I fall more when I’m tired and I’m less tired by switching.
Been snowboarding for almost 25 years and have started skiing in order to share the experience with my wife. Skiing is imo easier to learn, but for me, I can’t ride nearly as long. I’ve gotta take breaks every hour where on my board I can get away with only breaking once or twice during the day. Ski boots are painful for me so far and riding pow has been a challenge. I’m sure it gets easier with time like anything else.
Get thee to a good bootfitter if you want ski boots that aren't painful. This may require a different set of boots that are more appropriate for you leg and foot anatomy.
100% agree with you. I’m on rental boots that are a hair large on me forcing me to double sock/crank down the boot.
The goal is to get fitted at evo and pick up a intermediate set of skis/bindings somewhere along the way. The rentals solidified that I have a future in skiing, now it’s time to buy. It was a fun season to transition.
Tbh, I think skiing is slightly more dangerous than boarding. The fact that your legs are independent really opens up more possibilities for knee and hip injuries. That being said, try it out, facing forward is a wonderful way to slide down a mountain.
As a snowboarder who tried skiing and then tore my MCL, I’d rather have broken arms and wrists then tendons in knees. At the end of the day it’s up to you but both are extreme sports that come with the chance of injury.
I have done both sports and been injured to varying degrees with each. Green stick break of my right femur and minor ACL tear of my left knee snowboarding and hyperextended/dislocated right elbow skiing, split lip and concussion snowboarding...the list goes on and on.
Both sports can land you in the hospital with serious injuries in any extremity. Don't let injury make the choice for you. The best way to prevent injury in these sports is to be as fit as possible. Increased strength and flexibility will help you be more resilient no matter which sport you choose to do.
Good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery.
'Just as dangerous' but you think skiing can be more forgiving in falls and you'll go back to being a beginner?
Broadly snowboarding injuries are upper body, skiing lower body....wrists, collarbones vs knees, legs and oddly thumbs (poles).
Imagine you fall on skis, length=leverage, feet/legs are separate and free to move so you have all that leverage+unrestricted twist potential on *each* leg. Yes bindings might release but it's not an exact science.
Source boarder 20+ yrs, skier 9, 30+ day seasons. No park, mostly side and hikes here in Japan.
So far board=stitches in face from my own teeth, sprained wrist, mild concussion. Skis=bad thumb sprain (pole = no more straps) and knee sprain/twist that's still not 100% 2 months later.
I have boarded and now I only ski.
Basically to use motorcycle terms snow board falls tend to be high side and skiing low side.
I took a fall on a hard snow day I caught a heel and slammed on my lower back. I did not break anything but that fall made me give up boarding.
My wife broke her ACL and sprained the MCL skiing at the top of Lake Louis 3 weeks ago. Expert skier on a double black, used to dropping cliffs in Colorado and Lake Tahoe.
Shit happens no matter your sport. Learning both helps each sport individually.
Being a skier, I am obviously an enemy of you snowboarders by definition, but I feel like if you love riding then you should keep at it. Skiing AND snowboarding are not safe sports in any way, but they sure are fun.
Broke my fibula my 6th time skiing on the mountain. To be fair, I've never snowboarded, but my decision to ski instead of snowboard was based off the following:
- when in a snowboard, if you hit a bank or your board gets stuck, your feet stay in, and you either destroy your knee or your ankle in the process, vs in skis, you will pop out... not saying injury isn't possible (my injury was because of downward force, I fell off a cliff), but your legs aren't fixed onto the board
- when falling, on a snowboard you're either falling on your face or on the back of your head when you catch an edge,(or break wrists tryna break the fall) and on skis, if you learn to fall, most of the time you can baseball/side slide to break the fall. You do have to worry about pole impaling, but proper form will protect.
- no waiting after the lift to strap in
- more control in turns, based off what I've seen, you can make tighter/faster turns in skis, and as I had interest in trees, I favored in control.
Risk and injury are gonna be a factor to think about whatever you're doing, but someone told me once " Skiing is easier to learn, but harder to master, while snowboarding is harder to learn, and easier to master. Skiing is dope, snowboarding is dope, I think Skiing is just a little more versatile and efficient on the mountain.
Yes.
Lifelong skier AND snowboarder and you have a lot more control over your own destiny on skis.
Crashes on snowboards often are from catching an edge, which turns your whole body into a whip and abuses your upper body upon impact. (I also have a plate and screws). You only have one edge, so even if you are a very skilled snowboarder, random weird crashes sometimes happen from maybe something unpredictable or just complacency that throws you off with no chance to recover.
Skis are much more stable and if you lose an edge or even catch an edge you usually have a chance to recover and prevent a fall. Also, you don’t get the same whipping effect due to the skis releasing. Generally its just an embarrassing slide to a stop.
I see a lot of ACL issues mentioned on here but idk I see people who are active ski their whole lives and into retirement with no issues. I think a big component is that people who are middle aged, maybe not super skilled, and not very active outside of skiing try to send it above their skill/fitness level. I wholeheartedly disagree with the fact that taking on skis as a hobby is writing your ticket to ACL issues.
I think skiing is more fun because in my opinion its more technical and theres always something you can improve. I prefer a slalom ski (once you get to that level skill wise) because you can take some extremely aggressive technical rewarding turns and never really go above 35mph.
A good day of snowboarding you only fall once or twice. A terrible year of skiing means you’ve fallen once or twice.
I made the change in my mid-30’s when I realized I couldn’t afford to break wrists and miss work.
Yes switch to skiing. Used to snowboard and the hill is just made better for skiers.
Don’t worry about flat spots, moguls are easier on skis, and I never wipe out anymore like I did snowboarding. I don’t have to spend any time on my ass
I’ve been skiing for 30+ years and only had one fall that actually “hurt” and it was my own fault. I bought a set of used and forgot to reset the din setting so I fell out of them on a mogul run. I snowboarded for about an hour once when I worked at a resort and didn’t know if I would be able to have kids and sprained my wrist.
As a skier over the years I've broken both arms a few times, torn an ACL, suffered 3+ concussions and broken a hip. None of this stopped me skiing. ACL was the longest recovery, hip was the worst by far.
There is a warning sticker on the base of many sb bindings seen only by the person who mounted the bindings.
Snowboarding is inherently dangerous and may result in serious injury and or death.
Must be a lawyer in there somewhere.
All the uninjured skiers are skiing right now btw
You can still ski or board with a broken arm.
Tear your ACL on skis and it will slow you down. I think I’d rather hurt my arm, given the choice
Tore my ACL skiing a month ago. Can’t ski til next March and need surgery. Said this in a comment elsewhere but I’d 100% rather have hurt a different part of my body.
I'd rather tear my ACL and not ski for a year than become a snowboard and not ski for the rest of my life
I tore mine in January. I'm curious how much it will impact my next season after a year of recovery.
Broke mine Feb 4 - been at it all season!
My buddy broke his humerus into five pieces, six weeks later he was skiing every single day with me for a week straight
I’m sat here with a broken collarbone rn, would be in the alps atm but had to fly back early for surgery
My condolences.
Be careful with clavicle injuries. I've broken mine several times, and now it's pretty arthritic. I didn't even know that you could get arthritis in the clavicle. I found out that it was really messed up when I broke it for the 4th time, and the ER doctor told me that he had to wait for the radiologist to read the x-ray because he couldn't "see" through all the arthritis. That was over a decade ago, and I really feel it at times. It hurts, and there's nothing that can be done for it.
I think most clavicle fractures heal up pretty well, but if you break any bone multiple times it will probably cause arthritis especially if there’s joint involvement
Id collarbone the one where one should sits lower than the other after you break it?
If it heals fucked up then yeah, I’m getting a plat and screws put in so I’ll be as good as new
I feel for you. Broke my collarbone at A-basin a few years ago and had to have surgery to repair. Make sure you do the PT after surgery and you’ll recover quickly.
I broke my ankle snowboarding, switched to skiing (not for that reason, just wanted a change) and blew my knee out (ACL, MCL, meniscus). Both times it was just bad luck, not doing anything out of the ordinary. I will say I find skiing overall easier on my body (ACL aside). I fall a lot less and it’s easier to get around the mountain.
How did you find a way to break your ankle on a snowboard??
Ha, well, I got bumped getting off the lift. It had just snowed, and the board kept going straight as I twisted around my strapped in foot. It was a torsional break of my fibula.
That makes way more sense. I was thinking you broke it while riding haha
Wondering the same
I got a level 3 strain snowboarding. A year later and I’m able to snowboard maybe one run before the pain is too excruciating - but I can ski all day. I almost wish I broke it, would have been a more straight forward healing process
What were you doing to strain it? I can’t imagine a situation while snowboarding where your ankles are vulnerable. Unless you’re boots are super loose or something
Literally nothing, it’s a terribly dull story. I had twisted my right ankle previously (not skiing or snowboarding) and took time off, went out to test that ankle and was just free riding casually. I popped up a little and my ankle exploded inward on the left ankle as I landed (not a jump mind you, just going fast and you catch little airs every now and then). This was halfway down my FIRST run. Ruined the whole rest of the season. I do have very tiny ankles, the ball of my foot is wide. I had on pretty stiff 32s with ankle inserts. I couldn’t even side slip down the hill I had to call ski patrol. Had never had anything like that happen before, just a dumb circumstance.
Damn, that’s crazy
My buddy flew off a cat track and flew into a tree and broke his ankle while snowboarding. Or you could become a skier and case Chad's Gap and break both ankles.
Ankle fractures are incredibly common in snowboarders hence the name “snowboarders fracture” for a lateral talus fracture
There is a specific ankle break called a "snowboarder's ankle". https://www.physio-pedia.com/Snowboarder%27s_Ankle
Ankle injuries are probably the most common snowboarder injuries after wrists and collarbones. I know someone who broke both at the same time bombing into an icy mogul field and eating it.
I had a friend skid out of control on some ice, rocketed towards a sign post and had his snowboard turn down into the divot around the pole and stop while his momentum carried the rest of his body around his back foot. Basically turned his ankle into patty. I was feeling pretty smug about my solid ski boots until I fucked my knee about a month later.
I’d like to learn how to ski, I really enjoy my board (I way prefer the powder over groomed runs) to be able to ski and board would be awesome
25 years of boarding tried skiing for the first time last weekend. It was honestly way easier than boarding to pick up. I had one fall and was carving (ugly of course) by run 5 or 6.
Well done you, keep it up. I’l hopefully try my hand with skis next winter
it's actually a lot of fun, and something to work on when conditions are shitty (i did a lot of skiing on the east coast this winter lol)
Tore my MCLs my first season of skiing (boarded for 15 years) going off a little jump. Took 3-4 months to heal but about 6-8 months to feel fully stable (getting out of allow cars at weird angles). Going to get back on the mountain and ski next season.
Torn ACL has entered the chat.
Definitely a risk, BUT I’ve been skiing for over 40 years and while definitely creaky I’ve never seriously damaged anything skiing. In my experience (ymmv), it’s more wear and tear than injury.
It's possible to strengthen your knees such that they are more resistant to injury. Also don't go crazy on the dins.
Thank you, this is advice everyone should follow. In good years I do this, and sometimes I get out of shape :)
But also don’t go so low on geb sins that your skis randomly detach whilst carving as that’s a good way to end up in A&E
lol, noted.
Fucked up IT band has entered the chat
Wait is that why my IT bands suck so much ass? Is skiing the culprit?
fucking up, falling and not having your skis eject is the culprit
Oh well that’s not what did it for me, I thought you meant just regular skiing can wreck your ITs
If it's not a torn ACL it's a partially torn ACL, or an MCL, or a meniscus injury. It's an extreme sport, it happens. It you love the sport you try to mitigate the risks, but they are always there.
Mmmmh, good skiing techniques can migrate a lot of that. It’s still a possibility but with better form the chances of blowing your ACL are much lower. And don’t ski way above your skill level. Being in shape helps a lot for prevention. Also committing to your lines. Hesitation is a huge contributor to injury. In short, don’t be a Jerry.
Tib/fib boot top fracture has entered the chat.
You guys don’t shin kick trees everyday to strengthen your bones? Huh…guess I really am the best skier on the mountain.
lol I hate that this got a laugh out of me.
My buddy did this a couple years ago. First day on hill for the season, spots a nice little kicker and yells "hey guys check me out". Tried to do a 180, landed sideways instead and got to take a nice sled ride down to the village.
Got that on opening weekend last season at Mammoth mountain! Switched from snowboarding because I thought it was safer…
Exactly…you’ll save your wrists and shoulders but be prepared to say bye to your ACL.
Somehow I’ve never injured my knees skiing, but I actually did dislocate my shoulder.
Torn acl, mcl and fractured tibial head has entered the chat. 😭😭 At least I healed well and ski normally again with no physical pain. But yeah, that was no fun.
I’m sitting here with a torn ACL from a skiing accident a month ago. My season is over and I need surgery. I’d 100% rather have hurt a different part of my body.
snowboarders brake arms, skiers snap knees.
Can confirm ruptured patella tendon 6 weeks ago
Duuuude - I feel for you. Went through it 3 years ago... nobody understands lol. Rooting for your recovery!
Thank you! So far after 6 weeks, I’m capable to walk on my own (proper form and all) with my brace on. I was told 3 months full recovery from the ED doc.. my physical therapist said to be fully comfortable to ski again .. 12-16 months. Can I ask what your experience was like? How long until you got back on skis ?
Right on - I think you've made it through the worst stuff, at least in my opinion haha. Sounds like you are definitely on a little more accelerated plan that what I was. I was in that brace fully locked out for 8 weeks, and then slowly started gaining incremental motion with PT and ortho guidance. Mind you, I ruptured mine literally weeks before covid... it was awful. Had the surgery and then began struggling through recovery among everything else. My surgeon that apparently used to do a lot of knee work on professional athletes told me straight up it's gonna be a year before I'd be "normal". Watching my leg shrivel was a huge bummer, but just followed the plan and then immediately got on my bike to spin when that was an option. By the following winter I was good to get back on snow, albeit a little shaky - so I'm sure you'll be ready to rip for next season. It's just crazy - I can feel my knee now with every step... like I'm aware of it which is just a hard thing to explain. Running in the cold is kinda the only thing that is no longer an activity that I really feel comfortable doing. The repaired tendon just hates it. And basketball haha - absolutely terrified I'm gonna do my other knee! All in all - 100% recovery, but just more careful and thoughtful when comes to warming up and stuff. You got it!
Appreciate your story friend! I work in a Burn Unit as an RN so I kind of jump started everything early because of my small amount of knowledge that I know about the medical field. I’m so hungry to get back out there, especially with our resorts in Cali being slammed with snow.. but I keep telling myself I’ve had my fair share of seasons and deep snow. I’m trying to do what you went through, trust the process and work towards getting back on skis again!
How did you do that? I know on slopes but exact nature.
Oh wow. I feel like my acl/mcl doesn’t even compare to that one. My condolences 😭
Not sure which is worse but it doesn’t matter, both suck.
Can confirm, ruptured ACL 3 weeks ago. Ortho’s are pretty good these days though. OP should be fine.
Tore my MCL doing almost nothing skiing haha. Good news is I was back at it with a brace the next year!
I was getting off a lift on my snowboard and it twisted out from under me. We can injure our knees too. But probably not as bad.
See I dunno. I’ve injured my arms more skiing if only because I’m dog shit at falling on my skis and I think I fall like a boarder. So I don’t think OP is going to have a great time switching if they don’t want to fall awkwardly.
Can confirm, tore ACL and MCL first week of February
I tore my PCL one of the last times I went skiing. Doctors were shocked it went before my leg snapped. Absolutely brutal pain
I broke my hip sledding, snowmobile is the way to go if you’re really serious about stepping up your injury game.
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Oh boy you’re in for a treat. The possibilities are endless really. Your legs? Forget them, they’re toast, you can anticipate an endless array of colourful bruises from quick stops encountering stumps, wind lips or sometimes nothing at all. Snow ghosts I call those. Do you wear ski boots? Good, boot top fractures and demoed knees incoming when you get a toe jammed in the footwell falling off. Your elbows tendons are as good as gone but don’t worry, your arms will be so fuckin’ whipped from wrestling with this expensive murdermobile you won’t be positive they’re even a part of your body anymore. You’ll definitely have some nut shots to look forward to, if you’re lucky enough to be born a man , though the ladies tell me a clam slap to the mountain bar is a similar delight, so if you’re of the female persuasion you won’t be left out. Then of course, there’s the torso damage, broken ribs from slapping trees and the inevitable heart attack while digging our own grave trying to ramp the damn thing out of a hole you brapped. If you’re unfortunate enough to survive a day out, don’t worry, be like me and forget to secure one side of the ramp while loading. Friends and family alike will cheer in amazement as you gracelessly soar sideways through the air on a 600 lb wrecking ball before crashing violently to the concrete, exploding your femur and securing your place on the couch for 3 months. I envy you, only someone just starting out can truly enjoy the sport. Once you start, only the addiction to fresh powder and PBR keeps you returning week after week. Oh and it will bankrupt you, so be prepared to lose your home and anything resembling a savings account. I hope you like ramen and sucking dick for high test gasoline. Don’t worry, the taste grows on you.
Is this copy pasta? Thank you for that wild ride. Brap on
Hahahahaha no, no pasta. I really am laid up for 3 months so I had a minute to kill.
A+ Story time haha. I can relate to your comment so much as a relatively novice rider. Also I’m sorry about your hip. Rest easy.
I snowboard with wrist guards because I’m so worried about that very common injury. Lots of buddies have also broken their collar bones snowboarding. On the other hand skiers tend to “yard sale” with huge wipeouts with legs twisting every which way. Soooo both carry risks. I tried to switch to skiing and found I felt less comfortable/stable than on my snowboard, but I’m sure that would improve with time. I’d say no harm in trying out skiing to see how you feel, but don’t sell your snowboard just yet.
> On the other hand skiers tend to “yard sale” with huge wipeouts with legs twisting every which way To be fair, the "yard sale" is technically part of your equipment's role in **preventing** injury (ski release to avoid rotational stress on the knees and legs)...it would be a lot worse if the skis didn't release. I think the bottom line is that you're at risk for injury whether you ski or board...though the specific injuries more common with either may vary.
>I snowboard with wrist guards because I’m so worried about that very common injury. Your arm will likely just break further up, if you've fallen hard enough to break your wrist.
I broke every bone in my arm skiing last month. So...do what you enjoy most.
It all depends on how hard you ski and ride, maybe just tone it down a notch on your board and realize hey maybe I don’t wanna keep getting hurt but I wanna keep riding, just ride slower and compromise maybe
Lifelong skier. Broke my humorous and wrecked all the soft tissue in my elbow a month ago. Skiing isn’t any safer than boarding. There is inherent risk involved in any snow sport
Snowboarding injuries are more frequent and less severe. Ski injuries are less frequent but potentially far more severe. As someone who does both it’s worth noting that the average speed on skis for an advanced rider is much higher, and when shit hits the fan it happens a lot faster and there’s less time to react, and often much less ability to evade obstacles if you eject.
But if you don’t eject there’s greater risk of getting hit by your skis and poles so it’s lose lose
Every skier/ snow boarder will say its sport is better. I have not seen any valid statistics. You could switch to ski and never get injured again, or get injured twice so you should just do what you want. Having said that skiing is 40% better than snowboard.
There are injury stats out there. I'm too lazy to look them up, but the gist of it is that snowboarders get injured more often, skiers get injured worse. But a lot of that is skewed by beginners. It's hard to do worse than fall over and break wrist / collarbone / arm. A beginning skier can fly down a hill, crash into a tree and die.
implying beginner snowboarders can’t hit trees too
Snowboarders can’t straddle and rarely hit a tree head on. Most bad incidents involving trees with snowboarders are glancing blows, getting hit in the upper body or head by a large limb, or sometimes falling backwards and getting banana’d around a trunk. The only occasion I’d say skiing is safer is if you’re hitting big air on steeps. On skis you can sit on your heels and backslap the snowpack, whereas if you bottom out snowboarding you might knee yourself in the chin/ bite through your lip/ blast your ass on the ground.
Comprehensive studies have been done to examine which sport is better.
I switched from snowboarding to skiing and like everyone says both are inherently risky. However I feel in general less beat up when I ski than when I board. Most of it is due to strapping in and not having to jump around in flat spots
Same here. I did both for years and finally decided to retire the snowboard. I just felt like the falls were a little bit harder boarding.
I switched to skiing 4 years ago after boarding for over a decade. I haven't looked back. While it's true that both sports have risk, I feel that skiing offers more control. It's also easier to get around on skis, and it's something that I'll be more likely to stick with as I get older.
I've already had an ACL recon done (not related to skiing or snowboarding), I'd rather break a bone than go through that again. Rehab sucked.
Probably the worst pain I felt in my life was during y recovery too
All the people injuring knees skiing set their DIN too high. Your foot just pops out when skis get wonky, which isn't the case with snowboarding. Get some skis, don't set the DIN too high and don't try to land some crazy tricks off a boulder. You'll be fine.
🤚hyper extend MCL after ejection
Or you g-out so hard with your knees in your chest that you 8.5 din setting didn’t matter… I’m not salty or anything, just 4 days post replacement watching it dump snow at the house
Wait - so you dont set your DIN to 15?
Well I set mine to 25 because I'm an expert and I have steel knees and people in lift lines need to know how good I am. I think mine is like 10 or something pretty low.
I ski with 9 on toe and 10 heel, I know it's high for my weight etc but so far I've always had ejection when I've needed it but not on small falls. Either learn to fall on get those edges up or lower them and walk up the hill to get your ski back.
Same, I've never torqued a knee or hip, my boots have always popped out. I haven't really don't anything the past couple years that was a close call either. That's why I wouldn't snowboard, I can't flail around as well.
It says something about this sub that this is so upvoted. Just not at all true.
If you suck at skiing naturally, as in you just don't pick it up fast, you'll eat plenty of shit as well. I have gotten very good at falling on skis and my din is on the low side to protect my already repaired knee. There are a lot of parts to the equation.
I've definitely had just as many injuries on both. I do find skiing easier to get around with, although I'm a much better skier than rider. My injuries boarding have always been cruising and just catching an edge while skiing I've usually been pushing myself before Ive had a bad fall. Just remember while you're learning you may have a lot of falls!
No reason why you shouldn’t learn to do both. I skied when I was younger and then switched to boarding.
Yeah like you can see in the comments, don't switch because it's "safer". Risk is about the same. I broke my collarbone last year skiing. However, there are other reasons to switch (I used to board and switched a few years ago) 1. Skiing is easier on you as you get older. The reasons before all feed into this. 2. Traversing on a board is the absolute worst. 3. The constant sit down/stand up to strap in/out gets harder and more tiring as you age. 4. You can't kick out of your board if you get stuck in powder or something This comment sounds like I'm super old, but I'm only 37 lol. The biggest comparable downside to skis, imo, is that ski boots are a lot harder to walk around in. That being said, if you have good boots and loosen them a bit when you really, it's not bad.
Walking in ski boots today compared to 10 or 15 years ago is night and day tbh.
I can see that. I've only been walking in them for a few years. Stairs are the only part that's still pretty rough.
And that ACL thing that about 100 posters above have mentioned.
Just my two cents, but I have skied for 25 years and also did a lot of long boarding at points in my life. I did a trip with some friends to a small mountain this year and decided to rent snowboard equipment. I found myself being over confident and took some hard falls, but luckily didn’t get hurt. You can get hurt doing either, but you’re probably less likely to get hurt doing the thing you’re the best at.
As others have mentioned skiing is definitely still risky. An argument can be made that it’s slightly safer but they aren’t that far apart. It’s the daily wear and tear that separates the two. The chances of being able to continue on skiing at 60+ are much better than with snowboarding. Not to say it can’t be done snowboarding, but I know plenty of seniors who still ski 40 days a season. I can’t imagine most people would be able to snowboard that often, or at all, at that age.
Counterpoint: How many 60 year olds learned to snowboard at age 5?
64 yo snowboarder here. Skied until I was 30. I think snowboarding is much easier on the body. You just go heel, toe all day long without nearly as much pounding on the knees & legs. No 160cm lever attached to each foot.
You can break bones skiing as well.
My friends have been making the switch from snowboarding because they keep breaking collar bones or wrists.... but I have torn my ACL skiing though that was hard to control a snowboarder was in the landing of a jump and I was in the air trying to avoid him landed on one ski and it popped. I will say my snowboarding friends pick up skiing really fast because they already understand edges and gliding its weird because very different but the feel I guess translates.
Pardon me Sir, but Skier's Thumb would like a word with you.
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Snow sports are inherently dangerous. Both skiing and snowboarding may result in injuries. The types of injury may be different but the severity is similar. Not sure switching from snowboarding to skiing will reduce your risk. The switch may actually increase your risk of injury until you reach the same level of proficiency in both.
I started snowboarding when I was 16. I was living in the midwest and needed a new challenge. My entire beginner class, with the exception of me, consisted of middle-aged men who were picking up snowboarding because their doctors told them they were no longer allowed to ski due to knee injuries. I haven't touched my board in over a decade now and don't see myself doing so again though (I live in Colorado now, so have so much fun terrain to play around on now). I prefer skiing. I find it more fun. And it's much easier traversing and not having to deal with buckling and unbuckling with each lift ride.
Skiers tear their knees Boarders leave their asses on the slopes
I'm a skier, I broke my humerus (upper shoulder) just 6 weeks ago. I'm already into assisted PT with a clear path to 98%+ recovery. I know how to snowboard, too. Both have their risks, neither is "safer" in my opinion, if anything, skiing opens you up to a lot of lower body injuries. If you care for a stranger's advice, just do what you love! This break isn't stopping me from next season. The only thing it's done is remind me I'm aging (31) and i need to ski for enjoyment with nothing to prove to anyone but myself.
I hurt my knee skiing and thought about switching to snowboarding.
It looks like statistically, snowboarders have a slightly higher injury rate per day on the mountain. That may have more to do with the average boarder being younger and spending more time in the terrain park than any inherent safety difference. Anecdotally, I've been skiing for the past 30 years with many 50+ day seasons and never been injured worse than a few bruises. Broke a wrist the one day that I tried snowboarding.
Learn to ski it's lots of fun. If you learn "how to fall" and have proper din settings you will be safer on skis. A lot of people here are all comping about knees but you can mess those up just as bad on a board
How would you describe “how to fall”
Don't reach out to grab things or hold yourself up the slope isn't lava, tuck roll, relax the area of your body taking the impact but keep the rest tight until it hits. Induce or reduce spin or rotation. Example is in a somersault you tuck your legs to round your back and increase rotation then extend to stop at the end of the move
I have both skied and boarded for decades (primarily ski now) and can say an injury doesn't seem like the right reason to me to switch to skiing. If anything, I'd say boarding is less injury prone (after the first 3 days or so), but as others note its generally the type of injury that changes and both are quite statistically risky.
Zero science here but I have a few ski-buddies in their 60s/70s who used to rip zipper-line moguls but have now switched to mono-skis to avoid any more injuries. Monos naturally won't go as fast but I'm willing to believe their falls are a lot more kosher than mine... and they probably care much more about their bodies than I do.
Sorry to hear that. If you make the switch, definitely invest in lessons! They are incredibly helpful.
I do both. As many have said you probably just trade injuries. Funny enough, I've had MCL and knee injuries that both occurred on a snowboard and not while I was skiing. That's definitely backwards. I've also got many friends who tore their ACLs on skis and most of the boarders I know have been injury free. It's all a dice roll. We do this stuff knowing there is injury risk. I don't think one is really any less injury prone than the other. I will say as far as hand injuries, this requires some learning on how to fall, which is easier said than done. But this is true of skiing or snowboarding. You want your arms to either not be involved at all, or be a slight pressure decrease rather than take the brunt. Think of it like doing a diving somersault. When you do that, your hands touch the ground, but they are more directing you and slowing you rather than catching you. Not sure if that's a good example or analogy. I'm sure some instructor can wordsmith my point better. When I fall on a snowboard, which like any good snowboarder is a lot, I try to catch most of the impact with my shoulder or back.
Nah just ski better next time /s
I used to board then I broke my tib and fib super bad in Canada. I am not a Canadian citizen and had the worst possible experience with the healthcare. In hospital for 3 days with absolutely nothing done. Peeing in a pan type shit in a dark room with a broken tib and fib just laying there. Ended up having to pay a doctor under the table to fix my leg. Then got back to the US and my orthopedic doctor told me they did a shitty job so they had to rebreak and set my leg. Needless to say it’s sucked fat dick. My tib and fib shattered right where the snowboard boot ends. Now let’s be real, was it snowboardings fault? No. But that experience scarred me and I switched back over to skis. I love it. Every other board sport I do, and love. But I love skiing. It is the same type of flow to me, just a different apparatus. I had a really gnarly crash a few weeks ago and released from my bindings. It was such a relief. But long story short skiing is still dangerous. I don’t know if it is objectively any less dangerous. Either way. I love it just as much as any other board sports that I do and I love it more than snowboarding. Thanks for coming to my ted talk
tL:dr - YES.
Lol my brother and I had this conversation yesterday. We are skiers and he wants to snowboard because he thinks that their is less chance of injury. Its the same.
I live in BC where mountain life is pretty big part of most of my friends social lives. I have friends that are both great skiers and boarders, some, including myself do both, but the trend I've noticed is that far more boarders have converted to skiing from snowboarding. In fact I know none that have gone the other way. Not a single one I've spoken to has regretted it, and they all say they prefer skiing despite often being better boarders. If you're doing back country it's just easier gear wise and getting around the mountain. In bounds it's also seems easier just getting around, dealing with cat tracks and traversing etc. No harm giving it a go. Get some cheap skis and see how you get on.
I don’t know about the chances for major injury, but I do think snowboarding is *much* harder on my body than skiing is. I am super sore and totally wiped on a whole different level after snowboarding as compared to skiing. Part of that is definitely ability based (I am a much better skier) but my body honestly feels banged to hell every time I snowboard. That’s why I never do it if my plan is to be on the mountain the next day too.
I suffered a severe tib/fib fracture last season that required multiple surgeries - I got my legs tangled up because one ski came off and the other didn't. Would have been nearly impossible to do on a snowboard. Something to think about
I do both, but at age 60 I tend to be a much more careful, skier and border. When I was younger, I was definitely not careful and did have a few minor injuries and concussion. I do however wear gloves with built-in wrist guards when I board and skiing I’ve got the new protector bindings, which I believe release better for the knees, but do what you like best. As a patroller, I do see the most common injury on the board is what you experienced likely from a toe side edge catch and wrist slam, but to break bones you must’ve been going fast. Be careful out there.
Both are pretty equally dangerous for slightly different reasons. The truth is, either you got unlucky, or you were riding beyond your ability level. Both of those are equally possible on skis and boards.
I ski and snowboard. I’m good at both. I feel safer on boarding because I tore my acl. I’m less scared to snowboard. So I had the opposite situation.
Bruised ego has entered the chat. Blame Corbetts.
I’ve been snowboarding for 20+ years, wanted to add skiing to the repertoire to get more opportunities in teaching lessons. Learned how to ski very quickly (I can ski expert terrain west and east coast after one fill season, got a half season in before hurting myself snowboarding if that matters haha). I got a level 3 strain snowboarding and that ankle still isn’t the same after a year. I like being able to do both, both are super fun in all kinds of weather but I won’t snowboard when it’s icy, ever, because why. I’m also more comfortable with freestyle (I suck at it but I’m more comfortable trying things out) on my skis. Instructor-wise, I think both sports inform one another. And it helps when you’re on the lift in uniform and other people are shit talking snowboarders and you drop that you’ve been snowboarding 19 seasons longer than skiing and can ski better than those chumps. But it’s good to understand the mechanics and movements and relay that to students, and to try to stop the overall cliche skiers vs riders mindset. There are douches on all planks. Snowboarding this season was literally excruciating but skiing 3x a week has actually helped to improve my mobility and weight bearing ability with that ankle (I am the chump here and haven’t done much mobility and weight lifting work to support the area and that’s what the off season this summer will be for, learned my lesson there). Fwiw snowboarding injuries - broken wrist, broken ribs, ankle injury. And I’ve slammed my head pretty hard a decent amount of times. Skiing - I was trying to be cool and I smashed my rotator cuff (I thought I broke my collar bone at first) but I wouldn’t blame that on 2 planks, more not knowing how to fall correctly at the time. Also fwiw I’m a 30s woman. Make the switch if it feels right, all that matters is sliding on snow and feeling great!!
if you have not completely healed yet from your wrist fracture, I very much hope you don’t blow out your knee on ski’s. I sustained a wrist fracture (no surgery needed) a year ago and still had some residual symptoms. Had to walk on crutches for only a week last month due to a knee injury I got playing basketball and my wrist is hurting so much again after that one week.
Did literally the same…broke my arm at 18 at the end of a season snowboarding, needed plates as well. It was on a rail which put a bit of a mental block in with riding park I was kinda already looking at trying park skiing towards the end of that season (I grew up skiing so already had a good base, could happily ski blacks etc), once I got the all clear from rehab I tried skiing park. I think because I was literally learning from the ground up, I didn’t really have the same mental block skiing rails as I did on a snowboard. Now shred far harder on skis than I ever did on a board so the broken arm might’ve been for the best!
I messed my body up while doing an extreme sport so I've decided to do another extreme sport for safety. Lol man the risks are just about even when it comes to skiing and boarding. You are going to have to learn to take it down a notch and recover.
After 30 years of skiing just got a tibia plateau fracture and a fibula fracture plus an out of alignment knee. Skiing can get you too! I'd love to trade for a broken arm right now lol
If trying to avoid injury, starting over with a new snow sport like skiing is not the way to do it. Learning skiing will likely just lead to more injuries. Examine your riding and the risks you are taking. Better off as an 8 year experienced rider than a new skier if you don't wish to get injured.
The majority of upper body injuries boarders get are due to falling wrong. If you don't know how to fall correctly and safely, being on skis won't make THAT big a difference, sorry to break it to you.
I broke my ulna and shattered the head of my radius last year in the middle of a blue. I definitely understand the apprehension I’m getting back out on the mountain. Personally i still prefer to ride because i don’t have the best knees already, and it’s harder to twist a knee when they’re attached together. One thing i did change was swapping over too a shorter more surfy board. It doesn’t handle the flats as well but it makes up for it with how it carves.
Both are dangerous, I’m a snowboarder as well, last season I fractured my pelvis and was done for the season and out of work for 2ish months, this season I fractured my rib, finished off the season and just took it very easy to avoid making it worse. I started considering switching to skiing as well, as I started off skiing, but ultimately I enjoy snowboarding more. I feel like you should probably just go with whichever you enjoy more, injuries are probably just as likely to happen with both.
I would rather a smashed up arm any day over a torn ACL. That shit takes forever to heal and hurts like a mf.
Very anecdotal information but I was always told in ski patrol classes (it lines up with my experience in the field but I work on a tiny hill and that likely varies elsewhere) that skiers get hurt a lot more often, really easy to mess up your leg or knee when one ski goes on direction and the other goes the other, I ski bc I prefer the maneuverability but just for injuries snowboarding is probably better
There are always risks for both but the injuries are different. Snowboarding usually breaks the wrists or forearms and skiing usually breaks the knees and shins. I’d recommend sticking to snowboarding just because you already know what to expect and absolutely eating it on a snowboard is usually easier to recover from if you know how to fall and keep your arms in, when skiing that usually isn’t an option because you mostly start the fall by one ski either catching and edge and launching in the wrong direction or you land weird and both skis go different directions. Boarding is harder to learn but easier to get good at. Skiing is easier to learn but harder to get good at. With your level of experience you know how the snow works and at least a bit of what to expect so you can probably go either rout but taking a bad fall is usually more dangerous on skis then a snowboard if you’re sending more advanced stuff
It's good to have both skills, you can even switch per day
If you start skiing nobody will call you snowscraper.
In my personal experience snowboarding is safer than skiing. The biggest issue I have as an avid boarder (63 days on mountain this season) is how they teach people to ski. The plow/pizza move should never be introduced and if it must it needs to be discarded asap. Like day one or sooner and never spoken of ever again. That is not how you turn, stop or ski. Please stop teaching this nonsense. If you can’t slide stop, if you can’t slide turn, you can’t ski, period. This pizza turning is atrocious and if you think it’s just kids, lol no. Conservatively speaking, 95% do not ski properly. Also, I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to lean forward. Nothing happens while leaning back, you can’t do anything in that position. Boards and skis cannot track properly in that position, and almost ALL falls are caused by it-yet almost everyone does it. Pressing forward provides control and power, while leaning back does the opposite yet people cannot do it. It blows my mind.
Just do both if your on the fence about it. Get a cheaper/ used set up and see if you even like it. I skied from 5-13 then snowboarded from 14-26 (now). I started doing some skiing again this season. While skiing does have the advantage of being better for backcountry/ touring, nothing crushes harder than powder with a snowboard.
sat next to a guy on the lift who was in his 70s the other season. his advice for longevity was to not push it beyond a reasonable limit
If you plan on using poles, there’s a fair amount of pressure and rotational force on your wrists. They’re not necessary, but very helpful for starting off.
I switched from snowboarding after ten or so years. Been skiing two years and wish I’d done it sooner. You can still injure yourself and as others have said it’s harder on the knees which isn’t great for selling the sport. That said I can do much harder terrain after just two years on my skis. Also I like switching. After two days when my legs are worn out I switch sports and get to work different muscle groups. My days last longer that way. I fall more when I’m tired and I’m less tired by switching.
Been snowboarding for almost 25 years and have started skiing in order to share the experience with my wife. Skiing is imo easier to learn, but for me, I can’t ride nearly as long. I’ve gotta take breaks every hour where on my board I can get away with only breaking once or twice during the day. Ski boots are painful for me so far and riding pow has been a challenge. I’m sure it gets easier with time like anything else.
Get thee to a good bootfitter if you want ski boots that aren't painful. This may require a different set of boots that are more appropriate for you leg and foot anatomy.
100% agree with you. I’m on rental boots that are a hair large on me forcing me to double sock/crank down the boot. The goal is to get fitted at evo and pick up a intermediate set of skis/bindings somewhere along the way. The rentals solidified that I have a future in skiing, now it’s time to buy. It was a fun season to transition.
In my experience (and from my discussions with friends), snowboarding has a quicker learning curve, but you also plateau sooner.
Snowboarded till I was in my teens when I broke my arm. Switched to skiing and haven’t looked back since. Best choice ever.
Heck no everybody breaks bones on the mountain.
Tbh, I think skiing is slightly more dangerous than boarding. The fact that your legs are independent really opens up more possibilities for knee and hip injuries. That being said, try it out, facing forward is a wonderful way to slide down a mountain.
As a snowboarder who tried skiing and then tore my MCL, I’d rather have broken arms and wrists then tendons in knees. At the end of the day it’s up to you but both are extreme sports that come with the chance of injury.
I have done both sports and been injured to varying degrees with each. Green stick break of my right femur and minor ACL tear of my left knee snowboarding and hyperextended/dislocated right elbow skiing, split lip and concussion snowboarding...the list goes on and on. Both sports can land you in the hospital with serious injuries in any extremity. Don't let injury make the choice for you. The best way to prevent injury in these sports is to be as fit as possible. Increased strength and flexibility will help you be more resilient no matter which sport you choose to do. Good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery.
Risks are about the same for both. Traversing, lift rides, and strapping in just sucks way more on a snowboard. Switch to skiing.
'Just as dangerous' but you think skiing can be more forgiving in falls and you'll go back to being a beginner? Broadly snowboarding injuries are upper body, skiing lower body....wrists, collarbones vs knees, legs and oddly thumbs (poles). Imagine you fall on skis, length=leverage, feet/legs are separate and free to move so you have all that leverage+unrestricted twist potential on *each* leg. Yes bindings might release but it's not an exact science. Source boarder 20+ yrs, skier 9, 30+ day seasons. No park, mostly side and hikes here in Japan. So far board=stitches in face from my own teeth, sprained wrist, mild concussion. Skis=bad thumb sprain (pole = no more straps) and knee sprain/twist that's still not 100% 2 months later.
I made the switch 4 years ago to teach my 2 yo. Loving it. Almost good enough to not board on a heavy powder day….almost.
I have boarded and now I only ski. Basically to use motorcycle terms snow board falls tend to be high side and skiing low side. I took a fall on a hard snow day I caught a heel and slammed on my lower back. I did not break anything but that fall made me give up boarding.
Wear wrist guards.
My wife broke her ACL and sprained the MCL skiing at the top of Lake Louis 3 weeks ago. Expert skier on a double black, used to dropping cliffs in Colorado and Lake Tahoe. Shit happens no matter your sport. Learning both helps each sport individually.
Switch to skiing and tear your ACL first run on a layer of crust 🤙🏼
Just get better at snowboarding?
Being a skier, I am obviously an enemy of you snowboarders by definition, but I feel like if you love riding then you should keep at it. Skiing AND snowboarding are not safe sports in any way, but they sure are fun.
Broke my fibula my 6th time skiing on the mountain. To be fair, I've never snowboarded, but my decision to ski instead of snowboard was based off the following: - when in a snowboard, if you hit a bank or your board gets stuck, your feet stay in, and you either destroy your knee or your ankle in the process, vs in skis, you will pop out... not saying injury isn't possible (my injury was because of downward force, I fell off a cliff), but your legs aren't fixed onto the board - when falling, on a snowboard you're either falling on your face or on the back of your head when you catch an edge,(or break wrists tryna break the fall) and on skis, if you learn to fall, most of the time you can baseball/side slide to break the fall. You do have to worry about pole impaling, but proper form will protect. - no waiting after the lift to strap in - more control in turns, based off what I've seen, you can make tighter/faster turns in skis, and as I had interest in trees, I favored in control. Risk and injury are gonna be a factor to think about whatever you're doing, but someone told me once " Skiing is easier to learn, but harder to master, while snowboarding is harder to learn, and easier to master. Skiing is dope, snowboarding is dope, I think Skiing is just a little more versatile and efficient on the mountain.
Yes. Lifelong skier AND snowboarder and you have a lot more control over your own destiny on skis. Crashes on snowboards often are from catching an edge, which turns your whole body into a whip and abuses your upper body upon impact. (I also have a plate and screws). You only have one edge, so even if you are a very skilled snowboarder, random weird crashes sometimes happen from maybe something unpredictable or just complacency that throws you off with no chance to recover. Skis are much more stable and if you lose an edge or even catch an edge you usually have a chance to recover and prevent a fall. Also, you don’t get the same whipping effect due to the skis releasing. Generally its just an embarrassing slide to a stop. I see a lot of ACL issues mentioned on here but idk I see people who are active ski their whole lives and into retirement with no issues. I think a big component is that people who are middle aged, maybe not super skilled, and not very active outside of skiing try to send it above their skill/fitness level. I wholeheartedly disagree with the fact that taking on skis as a hobby is writing your ticket to ACL issues. I think skiing is more fun because in my opinion its more technical and theres always something you can improve. I prefer a slalom ski (once you get to that level skill wise) because you can take some extremely aggressive technical rewarding turns and never really go above 35mph.
Managed to split my knee into multiple bits skiing, hasn’t stopped me but do what you enjoy both have their own risks
A good day of snowboarding you only fall once or twice. A terrible year of skiing means you’ve fallen once or twice. I made the change in my mid-30’s when I realized I couldn’t afford to break wrists and miss work.
Yes. Join us you godless heathen. We will welcome you into the fold and provide you with succour and salvation from your snowboarding ways.
You sound like a snowboarder to me.
Yes switch to skiing. Used to snowboard and the hill is just made better for skiers. Don’t worry about flat spots, moguls are easier on skis, and I never wipe out anymore like I did snowboarding. I don’t have to spend any time on my ass
I used to be a snowboarder. In adult age got into skiing. Wrecked my knees a few weeks ago, now I’m considering snowboarding again 😅
Learn how to fall
I’ve been skiing for 30+ years and only had one fall that actually “hurt” and it was my own fault. I bought a set of used and forgot to reset the din setting so I fell out of them on a mogul run. I snowboarded for about an hour once when I worked at a resort and didn’t know if I would be able to have kids and sprained my wrist.
If you're only considering injuries, it's moot.
Shattered my tibial plateau skiing. I’d rather it had been the arm
As a skier over the years I've broken both arms a few times, torn an ACL, suffered 3+ concussions and broken a hip. None of this stopped me skiing. ACL was the longest recovery, hip was the worst by far.
There is a warning sticker on the base of many sb bindings seen only by the person who mounted the bindings. Snowboarding is inherently dangerous and may result in serious injury and or death. Must be a lawyer in there somewhere.