There’s always been a stigma between skiers and snowboarders, especially here in Aspen. Skiers typically hate snowboarders (for no reason), and their only excuse is that it’s a ‘ski’ town. It wasn’t even until April 2001 that snowboarders were even allowed on Aspen Mountain. The debate between skiing and snowboarding is almost sacred to the valley. Every winter, locals divide themselves, defending their chosen sport. But if we’re gonna be honest, snowboarding is, and will always be, much better than skiing. To begin, snowboarding looks much cooler than skiing. Sure, skiing has been around longer, but that doesn’t come close to beating the effortless steeze of carving down fast runs on the mountain. Skiers look like they’re doing an awkward dance, flailing their poles in the air, and kinda just look weird. Snowboarders, however, skate effortlessly like they’re in a highlight reel.
To follow is culture. Skiing gives off the vibes of old-school and rich country clubs while snowboarding feels younger, lawless, and just more fun in general. Skiers have been copying the style of snowboarders for years. From the baggier style to wide powder skis (basically trying to become a snowboard). Snowboarders just look like they’re having more fun than skiers. Sure, there’s a difference between beginners vs. experts, especially in snowboarding, but once snowboarders get the hang of it, they’re precisely cruising down the mountains. On the other hand, skiing is easy to learn, and once mastered, skiers like to take long strides turning across the mountain, especially on catwalks. Skiers on catwalks love to take an unnecessary break in the middle of the run and block any snowboarder from getting past. Maybe once a season you’ll come across a kind skier who offers a pole when they see you about to unstrap your binding.
Oh, and you definitely can’t forget about the gear. Snowboard boots are basically normal shoes. There’s not a single skier I’ve met who doesn’t complain about their boots and talk about how lucky snowboarders are. Ski boots are basically torture devices latched onto your foot. Wanna walk to get your $25 burger without looking like a penguin? Snowboarding wins again. And finally, you can’t yard sale on a snowboard, well, you can, but only if you want to spend $300 on step-on bindings. When skiers have a bad wipeout, their skis, poles, and self-esteem go flying all over the run. Meanwhile, when a snowboarder falls, all their gear stays intact, there’s no frantic hike uphill to retrieve one of your missing poles. Snowboarders are able to stand right back up again, making the experience of falling in front of the skuzz (skier huzz) less embarrassing, and more efficient. So, to the skiers, (which may be 65% of the people reading this) no hard feelings, but we’ve just gone too long acting like snowboarding doesn’t dominate the slopes. Snowboarding isn’t just the better sport, it’s the better vibe. Whether you’re cruising fresh pillow pockets on the Hanging Valley Glades, in the park, or bombing a simple groomer, snowboarding has, and always will, sweep skiing off its damn moguls.
