Skiing vs. Snowboarding: Which is Easier to Learn?
On a trip to the Italian Alps this Winter? Then some of you may be in the dilemma of choosing between two of the most popular winter sports – skiing and snowboarding. For those who have never attempted any of these sports, it could become a challenging decision. Yes, they may involve manoeuvring through the snow, but they’re both completely different. Us, at Albergo Miramonti, will make that decision much easier for you, so here is a breakdown of the differences between skiing and snowboarding.
“SKIING IS EASIER TO LEARN BUT HARDER TO MASTER”
As the saying goes, “Skiing is easier to learn but harder to master.” To an extent, this statement is undoubtedly true – for most snowboard beginners, it may be daunting to balance and keep your feet stuck to the board, but on the other hand, with skiing, it’s straightforward to use both of your legs as you do with regular walking. Therefore, for most people, despite any wobbly tendencies, can more-or-less get on the snow with no problem. So, to get moving in skis, the main elements that need to be considered are one; leg separation, and two; your bodily position. Leg separation involves the ability to keep your legs parallel to each other, as well as being able to lift them. Then, bodily positions refer to being able to maintain a sufficient stance to keep your body upright and stable. For beginners, we suggest you start with smaller slopes, in the Aprica Ski Resort which is extremely near to our hotel, offers many different types of slopes suitable for any level – and if you can, do take some lessons!
DEVELOPING SKILLS
Within a week-or-less, skiing beginners should be confident in the snowplough, as well as making some turns. But once the honeymoon phase is over, that’s when it starts getting difficult. For skiers who wish to advance to much more challenging moves and slopes, you will find that it can become much harder to proceed to the next step. Why? It takes some time to be confident in your own coordination, as well as getting the hang of all the new moves presented to you. Progressing your skills will certainly take some time to master. Despite this, once you start moving up the skill ladder, you will feel highly accomplished! Want to know a few tricks? Read our article on Beginner Ski Tricks in our blog.
FITNESS LEVELS
Whichever sport you choose; it will require you to be very fit. Skiing tends to be very demanding on the legs and thighs, as you will need these muscles to manoeuvre and turn on the slopes. Therefore, prior to your skiing trip, you should do some exercises or sports that will help strengthen your lower body. A sport we recommend is cycling; cycling can help develop your leg muscles without putting too much pressure on your knees and joints. Otherwise, any leg-focused exercise will be of great help also. Near our Alpine Hotel, you can find the Mortirolo and Stelvio Pass – both very picturesque places to cycle.
“SNOWBOARDING IS HARDER TO LEARN BUT EASIER TO MASTER”
Snowboarding, on the other hand, is considered “harder to learn” but “easier to master”. Snowboarding is particularly difficult to get the hang of at first, especially with its very restricting movement and limited peripheral vision. When you’re learning how to snowboard – expect to fall down many times! Without a doubt, you will feel like giving up at some point. However, we encourage you to keep getting back up and trying again. The most essential skills you need to learn is being able to stay balanced as well as perfecting your edges. Furthermore, the bodily stance for snowboarding is inherently challenging also, to ski, you should keep a straightforward posture, allowing you to see what’s in front of you as well as your sides. However, snowboarding stances are side-on; this means that a snowboarder’s peripheral vision is essentially 50/50. This will definitely take a little bit of getting used to.
PROGRESSION
Once you’ve passed that steep learning curve, progressing in snowboarding should be relatively straightforward. All the critical skills needed to snowboard have all been covered in the honeymoon phase (1-2 weeks), therefore, once you decide to move onto much more challenging slopes, it should be a matter of testing those necessary skills. Whether you’re a beginner, or whether you’re an expert – the fundamentals of snowboarding do not change. The only things left you’ve got to try and improve on are balance and speed.
FITNESS LEVELS
While leg muscles are equally important to snowboarding – there should be more focus on the core muscles. Strong core muscles will enable you to balance and turn with ease on the snowboard, all while also preventing you from falling on the snow. To improve your core muscles, we recommend you take up classes such as pilates, paddle-boarding or even Hiking in the Alps.
Travelling to the Italian Alps anytime soon? Why not stay at Albergo Miramonti? We are a small, luxury boutique hotel will fantastic amenities that include a Hotel Spa and Cigar Lounge.
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