When I first started skiing, the skiing vs. snowboarding argument wasn’t around yet. I was three years old, and I started racing by the time I was twelve. I loved it.

But after I strapped on a snowboard for the first time at thirteen, I didn’t put on a pair of skis again for the next twenty years.

I love both skiing and snowboarding. During my many years riding in the Northwest, mainly British Columbia, Alberta, and Montana, I never had much trouble with people because of my choice of ride.

Then I moved to Utah.

I started riding there, as well as in Colorado and California, and suddenly everything changed. I began getting a lot more attitude from skiers. Not all skiers, of course. Most were perfectly fine. But it was more than I had ever dealt with before.

I was randomly insulted for no reason. I was often treated as if, because I had one board instead of two, I couldn’t ride anything technical. The assumption seemed to be that all I could do was slide around in the park and hit jumps.

I don’t want to sound like I think I’m some amazing snowboarder. I’m not. But I had a season pass every year since I was small enough to fit into ski boots, and that kind of experience goes a long way.

And I’ll admit, it feels pretty great when I rip past one of those big-talking weekend-warrior skiers in a mogul field, or drop into a chute without hesitation while they stand at the top mustering their courage.

As a writer and photographer, I’ve ridden with a fair number of pros. I’ve rarely, if ever, heard this skiing vs. snowboarding snobbery from them. I think it’s because people who reach a high level of performance don’t feel like they have anything left to prove. They just see fellow snow riders as athletes with the same strange passion for flying down mountains at insane speeds.

There’s a kinship in that.

The people who seem most invested in the argument usually feel like they have something to prove. And I suppose if they could prove it on the mountain, they wouldn’t feel the need to do it in the gondola or at the après bar.

But that’s just a guess.

Let’s Make a Few Things Clear

I think the skiing vs. snowboarding argument is ridiculous.

I don’t care what anybody rides. I’m cool with anyone who likes spending a day on the mountain. Snow-jock douchebags excepted.

I also don’t really care that a handful of ski resorts ban snowboarders. I’m not a fan of exclusionary business practices, but if certain hills want to build their identity around tradition, nostalgia, and purity, then more power to them. There’s plenty of other terrain out there for me.

What does bother me is the attitude some skiers carry toward snowboarders.

I’ve experienced it firsthand. During one ski and snowboard tour, I was often guided around mountains by former and current competitive skiers. Most of them were gracious. We would ride together for a few minutes, and they quickly realized I could go basically anywhere they could.

Some were not so open-minded.

They would sneer when they saw the journalist they were supposed to guide had one board strapped to his feet instead of two. They’d say things like, “That’s a great spot, but we don’t want to go there. The traverse is too long,” or, “No, we can’t go there. There are too many moguls.”

I found myself having to defend my choice of ride before we had even made a run together.

I had to explain that I could traverse. I could carve across an icy slope. I could keep up on a cat track. And yes, they could hop off the chair and start skiing right away, because I would be able to catch up after taking five seconds to strap in my rear foot.

By the end of the day, some of them would say things like, “I’ve never ridden with a snowboarder like you,” or, “You’re not like other snowboarders. You can actually ride.”

That sounds like a compliment. It isn’t really.

There are a lot of snowboarders who can navigate a mountain just as easily as a skier. We can go almost anywhere and do almost anything a skier can do. I’ll admit, in a few situations, we have to work harder. Traverses and flat cat tracks can be more annoying on a snowboard. But that is not the same as being incapable.

The Real Differences Between Skiing and Snowboarding

There are real differences between skiing and snowboarding. They just are not the ones people like to yell about.

The differences are technical, emotional, and cultural.

Technically, skis are more functional. Skiers, please try to contain your delight.

With skis, you have more independent control. You can move each leg separately. You can skate. You can push with poles. You can handle certain traverses and flats with less effort. In some situations, skis simply give you an advantage.

That much is true.

But in the vast majority of situations, a skilled snowboarder can overcome those differences with effort and technique. A good snowboarder is excellent at preserving momentum. He chooses his line carefully, pumps through bumps and grooves, and keeps speed where a skier may not even think about it.

So yes, skis are technically more proficient in some ways. But a good snowboarder can still access nearly all the same in-bounds terrain as a skier.

And then there’s the feeling.

This is subjective, and there’s no right answer for everyone, but it is the main reason I prefer snowboarding.

The same things that make snowboards slightly less technically functional are also the things that make them feel so damn good. Snowboarding feels smoother than skiing does. More fluid. More connected.

When you are floating through deep powder, carving across fresh corduroy, or dropping over a steep roll with your stomach climbing into your throat, managing one board feels natural in a way that skiing never did for me.

I’ve even heard hardcore skiers admit the appeal of a big fat snowboard on a powder day. Watching a rider throw slow, floaty S-turns down an untouched pitch makes the appeal pretty obvious.

Skis may have a slight technical advantage. Snowboards, to me, have a slight experiential one.

That is why I ride one.

Where the Bad Blood Really Comes From

The biggest issue is cultural.

The worst stereotype paints snowboarders as punk kids who took skateboarding onto the snow and now exist mainly to ruin everyone else’s day. In this version of reality, snowboarders are reckless, technically sloppy, loud, aggressive, and completely unaware of anybody around them.

Are there snowboarders like that?

Of course. I’ve met them. You’ve met them.

There are skiers like that too. And soccer players. And bakers. And doctors. And policemen.

Douchebaggery is not limited to snowboarding.

The problem is that a small, loud, highly visible group of snowboarders gets used to define everyone else. Park riders spend their time near busy lifts, on busy runs, in the most visible areas of the mountain. They are the snowboarders casual skiers are most likely to notice. Some of them are great. Some are obnoxious. But they do not represent all snowboarders.

Most snowboarders are not spending the day cutting people off, scraping snow off every slope, or flipping the bird at families in slow zones. Most are cruising groomers, hunting powder, riding trees, or just trying to enjoy the mountain like everyone else.

A few myths especially need to die.

Snowboarders do not automatically scrape powder off the mountain. Beginners sideslip. So do skiers when they are on terrain beyond their ability. A snowboarder sideslipping down a steep pitch removes snow. A skier doing the same thing removes snow too.

Snowboarders do not ruin moguls. Bad riders ruin lines. Good riders, whether on skis or a board, work through them with control.

And no, snowboarding is not just for aggressive teenagers. It has been around for decades. Riders now include kids, parents, professionals, and retirees. My father loved snowboarding at sixty-eight. I’m thirty-five, I have a job, I pay bills. Very glamorous stuff.

Can We Be Friends?

Most skiers are totally cool with snowboarders.

But some make accusations that are flat-out ignorant. I have met those skiers. They assume the worst before we even get on the chairlift. They roll their eyes because they expect to wait for me. They lecture me about traverses, moguls, and how snowboarders ruin their favorite runs.

And almost every time, once we actually ride together, the attitude changes.

That should tell us something.

Judge the rider, not the gear.

Skiing and snowboarding are different. Good. That difference is part of what makes mountain culture interesting. But neither one makes you better than the other. It just means you chose a different way to get downhill.

And really, once you are standing at the top of a good line with snow beneath you, does the argument matter that much?