In the first Winter Olympics of 1936, skiing was a very popular sport. Snowboarding wasn’t added to the Olympics until 1998. The first professional snowboarder to win a gold medal in the Olympics for snowboarding was Canadian Ross Rebagliati.

Snowboarding now has the icon of Shaun White. White started snowboarding at the age of 6, after he took up skateboarding.  White is largely credited for popularizing snowboarding and making it cool.

In a Lancer Media poll snowboarding is more popular by 13.2%. Probably, the age of the respondents influenced the result.  In the greater population, skiing and snowboarding have about an equal number of fans.

Many skateboarders find snowboarding very easy because it uses the same motions and skills. In the poll, one participant stated that he, “associates snowboarding with skateboarding because I have done that before.”

For those who don’t skateboard or have much experience, newcomers find it very difficult to snowboard. Many who prefer skiing explained that it is a much easier sport. One participant said,“ I could never understand the concept of snowboarding, and I always fall over.”

Participants can increase their enjoyment of either sport if they take lessons.  An introductory lesson for snowboarding or skiing, along with an all day lift ticket, and rental equipment is $87 during the week and $99 during the weekend at Ski Liberty. It is less expensive, $77 in the evening.

A skiing supporter said,“I feel more in control of my speed on the mountain and feel safer being able to fully control my speed rather than snowboarding.”

One common misconception is that snowboarding is more dangerous and more injuries result.

In a study from the Vermont Ski Resort, snowboarders were often hurt more than skiers. According to the National Ski Areas Association, in the 2014/2015 season in Colorado, there were 42 catastrophic injuries: of the 42, 34 were skiers and 8 were snowboarders.

Shannon Loughrey, a sophomore, thinks that, “Snowboarding is more dangerous because if you fall it’s harder to get back up. I’ve heard that if you fall sometimes and put your hands out, you can break your arms. When skiing you have the ski poles to hold you up.”

Most teens seem to enjoy the sport of snowboarding because they think it looks cooler and they all like to shred. Loughrey, says, “I really like it because it is fun and it’s very exhilarating when you’re flying down the slopes.”

Both snowboarding and skiing are great sports, and there are just a few weeks left of the 2016 season. If you haven’t gotten the chance to get out on the slopes this season, don’t miss out!