Beach/surf vs. Mtn/ski for life

[smartyiak]

I just returned from San Diego. Part of the trip included La Jolla, Belmont, Dog Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Coronado, and finally: Imperial Beach. Most of them were too crowded (looking at you La Jolla), but man, I could have never left Imperial Beach. Weather was perfect, waves were perfect, beers were perfect, not too many people, crowd was a little rough...but not too rough. Damn near perfect!





But then there's the mountain. Ski, MTB, cold, snow, beautiful vistas, valleys, rivers, trail runs, hikes, seasons.




If you had to pick only one place to pick...and couldn't go to the other...which do you pick? I know this is a ski site, so the answer is obvious, but man the sun and sand of IB was nice! I've also had good luck at beaches here in DE, in NJ, NC, and Florida...so it's not just a CA thing.

Just curious what others thought.

Aside: who owns the CA beachfront??? Wiki tells me that median income of IB is $49K...you can't get a house within 2mi of IB beach for <$550K....and IB is about as cheap as it gets!

[SumJongGuy]

I've surfed off and on since the early 80s, more off than on though. It's certainly fun and always challenging to surf. Skiing has been more on than off. There are way more places to ski than there are to surf. You won't drown skiing as long as you avoid tree wells and bottomless powder. Finally SHARKS! Especially recently on the East Coast. I do get that the odds of attack are still ridiculously low but also still admit that the seemingly increase in bad attacks this summer is a factor in why our family hasn't been to the beach all summer. We do have a trip to Nags Head (Outer Banks) booked mid September.. Wedding but we're getting there a day early and staying a day after for beach stoke.

I've only surfed Long Island and North Carolina in all my years. Is surfing the same beach 99% of the time the same as skiing the same resort 99% of the time? It seems to me that flying with surf boards is more of a hassle than flying with skis. Not speaking from experience from the surf travel side though.

It's no contest for me though. I will go a LOT farther out of my way to ski than I will to surf.

[liv2ski]

I live in Coronado, which is a bit north of IB and shares its polluted water from the Tijuana river run off. I try and surf north up by Encinitas, so I never get another bladder infection. I love to surf, but the crowds have really put a damper on my enthusiasm for the sport. Skiing, it can be crowded and all you have to do is wait a moment for a clear spot to drop in. Not so in a crowded line up.
The natural beauty of the mountains or the ocean is indisputable. For now I would rather live in a mountain town, but that window will likely close in the next 10 years, as I won't want to deal with the snow at 70.

[glademaster]

Fuck the beach. I only like going to the coast in the fall and winter when it's deserted and stormy. Sand gets everywhere and is annoying as fuck, sunscreen is vile, there are all sorts of people about wearing far less clothing than they should be and it's hot. No thanks.

[BmillsSkier]

And the shorts?

[Marshall Tucker]

Going beach, but then life has kept me in the deep south.

[cinnepa]

not a fan of summer/heat....easy decision.

[SB]

You can find beaches in the mtns iffin youse no where to look

[bodywhomper]

Ocean

I used to frolic in the ocean a lot, mostly San Diego and Orange County beaches and breaks, making many daily and life decisions around getting time in the water, such as packing small houses or condos with lots of like minded people to keep rent low that were walking or riding distance to good beaches. I now live in the foothills and frolic in the hills and mountains a lot.

I have no regrets.

There’s a wonderful physical feeling that I experience from spending time in the ocean (surfing, swimming, bodysurfing, snorkeling, ocean kayaking, etc.) that I cannot replicate doing mountain activities. I don’t run whitewater, so maybe I could find that feeling there, but I’m skeptical. I can’t describe the feeling in detail without getting all woo-woo, but many know what I’m talking about.

That said, the so cal ocean is gnarly with water quality problems. I blew out my eardrum twice due to infections, once in the middle of summer. Constant sinus infections. Winter runoff is no joke. The first two people that I ever met with hep b grew up living and surfing in IB. I also got super sick midsummer from the water in northern Newport Beach. Fuck that shit.

I have a friend that made the decision of ocean. He gave up an easy opportunity for near instant wealth (n woodman was his college roommate). He lives in a small community on the Oregon coast with his wife and kid. He surfs daily, often by himself. They have moderate income jobs, but their community and lifestyle is very simple.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

We lived within sight of the ocean (norcal/socal) for 20 years and we were far from rich, but the economy finally blew us up in 2008 and we had to move to the mountains.

I don't think we could ever go back full time, but it's nice to visit at least once a year.

[old goat]

The trick is buy real estate where the beach will be after all the current beaches are underwater and the mountains have no snow.

[hawkgt]

mountain life for me, I think I would tire on the beach life. hard for me to be entertained for a week trip vacation to the beach.

[neufox47]

Fuck the beach. I only like going to the coast in the fall and winter when it's deserted and stormy. Sand gets everywhere and is annoying as fuck, sunscreen is vile, there are all sorts of people about wearing far less clothing than they should be and it's hot. No thanks.

I’d be miserable in long pants on the beach too.

[BCMtnHound]

We spend a week each summer in the Sunshine Coast islands, a week tidal fishing on the west coast of Van Is, and live a day’s drive away from the ocean in the southern Cariboos/northern Monashees. Not a beach fan myself, but the ladies love it. Best of both worlds I think. No need to forego one for the other.

[fastfred]

beaches are all white trash
mtn towns all the way, at least the people are sohpisticated

[dunfree]

the nice thing about the beach is you don't really need anything. sure there's lots of people looking to sell you shit, but you don't need much other than rudimentary clothing (shorts & t-shirt if its someplace warm) and a surfboard or a boat/kayak or a fishing rod. you can make pretty serviceable versions of all 3 of those in a small shop yourself.

the mountains are beautiful, fun, in part because they are harsh. You need warm cloths to stay alive. Recreational tools are comparatively complicated. There isn't much living in the winter; there's a short growing season in the summer.

[stalefish3169]

Got say Portland is treating me well. Being equidistant to surf and snow is pretty awesome. Even though we're not top tier for either really, were certainly above average.

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[ColMan]

Mountains. Grew up in CA and at the beach a ton. The lineups were pretty bad, even in the early 90's and 10x worse today. That was finally what drove me away from the beach. Well that and getting stuck in the Sierras during an 80" storm skiing bottomless pow for days. I go back to CA every year for a couple weeks and while it's great, I quickly realize why I left (especially with traffic + insane taxes thrown added in). I also have found that I really enjoy all 4 seasons instead of 1.

[Micol]

my limited experience is that beaches are better and more affordable in places like dominican rep...but rather be split dif parts of year...

[schindlerpiste]

In a perfect world, I'd say 9 mos. in the mountains (July-Oct., Jan.-May), 2 months on the sand (Nov, Dec.) and 1 month (June) in Germany. I have not been able to live like this for awhile, but now that my companion is gone, I plan to do this for the foreseeable future.
RIP Tucker

[SB]

At the beach you are far more likely to run into sharks with fricken lazer beams on their heads.

[liv2ski]

In my hood, my home is likely considered a scrapper by many of my neighbors, as it was built in 1948 and isn't a McMansion. I suggested to Mrs L2S we sell it and buy a nice place in Mammoth and Cabo. Kind of best of both worlds for me. She told me I was high.
Not sure I want to surf in sharky ass Oregon, but no people around sounds nice.

[altacoup]

I grew up in Seaside Oregon, great surf. Bad and deserving reputation as mean locals in the line up if you’re not from there. Back in the 90s when the locals were really enforcing the scene it was pretty damn fun as the break wasn’t that crowded. Cops cracked down on the real nasty enforcers, although you’ll still get bad looks and yelled at you’re not likely to get tackled on a wave like the old days. The crack down combined with wetsuits becoming light years better and internet forecasting has made even cold weather spots crowded. When the point is on it’s so crowded these days that it takes all the fun out of it. Surfing a good break with just a few friends is awesome and basically never happens. Plus if you want good surf, not longboard mushburgers, you have to wait and wait and wait and sometimes you can go a whole fall/winter with only a handful of good days while the rest of the time you’re just jonesing.
Great thing about skiing and mountain biking is that you can have fun when conditions are perfect (way harder to do surfing). I’ve had plenty of awesome firm snow days. I generally ski pretty much every day there’s skiable snow in the Wasatch. Best thing about skiing here is that as long as you know where to be there’s usually only a handful of days each winter that truly suck. More days than not the surf sucks. Whether it’s fast firm groomers, windbuff, jump lines, corn you’re having fun and then there are the powder days. I’m pretty sure I skied at least one line of untracked powder every day last year from January until mid March. Unless you live in Indo with a nice boat to chug around in there’s no way you’re getting barreled that many days in a row. The trails right now are blown out and dusty, but yesterday I did a armstrong>pinecone> pinecone>cmg lap in park city and it was awesome, no crowds so I could ride fast.
So basically I can get out and recreate more days and have fun with the mountain life than being back home on the beach. Sometimes I miss being at the beach but more often than not I much prefer the mountain life. If I could spend June-August in Oaxaca or Indo that would be sweet but would also require winning the lottery.


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[bodywhomper]

Why y’all limiting yourself to discussion of stand-up surfing. There are plenty of other ways to enjoy oneself at a beach and in the water.

Like building sand castles. Or throwing sand at your friends (or strangers). :P

[SumJongGuy]

Like building sand castles. Or throwing sand at your friends (or strangers). :P

I especially like to throw a bunch of leftover sandwich pieces and chips all over so the seagulls mob the area as we are leaving

Well, not really but I've thought about it more than once..