surfing vs snowboarding

[soul_skier]

surfing is getting very popular of late, getting to be long lineups and competition for good sets in some popular spots, just find a local to chill with and you'll be fine, that and know your limits and ability

[cj001f]

Dude, Santa Cruz to IB used to be much more localized than now.

because it's mostly gomers from inland now? Lots of people out, not many who can surf (in no sport does the 10/90 rule apply more), so the locals move to their own spots or out of the country.

[Artz]

I grow up Surfing started on the East Coast in 1964. I spent more then 40 years in the line up from The Jersey Shore, San Diego, Hawaii, Mexico and beyond. After a 10 year break I got back in the water this past week. Borrowed one of my nephews Long Boards and paddled out at California St Ventura. In the 1970's if I did that I would have gotten my car broken into and could have been beaten up by the locals. What Gheepup said is true the vibe is a lot better then it was in the 70's and 80's.

Surfing is one of the hardest sports to learn. It is only you catch that first wave and successfully ride it, that you will understand the true meaning of the word stoked! What others have said is very true some skills from Snowboarding will help. But the biggest part of Surfing isn't so much the ride it is learning to read the Ocean and waves. Go out have fun Oh and there is some good Surfing in Alaska. Be careful Surfing can more more addictive then crack

[montanamike]

i learned how to snowboard in one run and surfing is the hardest thing i've ever tried to learn. i didn't grow up anywhere near the ocean so just being out there alone is somewhat overwhelming. half the fun is just getting crushed a bunch of times and trying again i think. Surfing IS getting more popular. when I was out the other day there were two other guys out on the same beach, but i live at the end of the world it seems.

[snwbdrhoon]

everyone's said it. once you're up, you'll feel comfortable.

keep it up. it's a lot more fun IMO than snowboarding.

[bcrider]

Surfing and snowboarding are very similar sports and share many of the same fundamentals in my opinion. The largest common trait is the stance….one foot is placed in front of the other a little more than shoulder width apart. The angles are also very similar. They both are also performed on a single board, no two planks…nor are you feet parallel to each other like in skiing and water skiing (on two water skis).

The balance factor and initiation of turns is similar as well. Lead with your hands, turn with your shoulders and by leaning into the wave or slope A frontside bottom-turn on a surfboard is just like a toeside turn on a snowboard and a cutback on a surfboard is just like a heelside turn on a snowboard.

As others have said, surfing is much more difficult to learn than snowboarding. There’s no chairlift to take you to the top every run/ride and there’s no bindings to hold your feet on the board. You also have to wait for waves and figure out how to read the ocean and catch them (and also wait your turn in the line-up). It’s just a slower process all around.

I actually learned in reverse from what you are considering AK pride. I surfed before I learned to snowboard, not the other way around. My surfing (and skating) background really helped me pick up snowboarding and continue to progress at it. I had the opportunity to snowboard with professional surf photog Aaron Chang and after one run he was asking me where I surfed. I guess it was obvious. Thinking about it in reverse, I’d say that your snowboarding background should help you pick up surfing faster than a skier or someone than neither skis nor snowboards but it’s still going to take lots of effort and dedication to learn. The bright side is that you’ll have so much fun doing so!

Good luck and have fun!

A few more comments.

there's no tomahawking down cliff lines.

But there is getting pounded into the reef or ocean floor, getting stabbed by your board, getting pitched from the top of the wave to the bottom (water isn’t always as soft as you’d expect), etc….

Waves vs. mountains. Waves move and create the power that propels you with a little bit of gravity involved, while mountains stand still with gravity as the only source of power.

The fact that the wave is moving and you’re moving on top of it does make surfing more dynamic in that regard but it can also happen in the snow setting. For example, riding your sluff. The snow is moving and you are moving on top of it.

Conclusion. They are totally different sports but cross over very nicely.

Nicely said.

i learned how to snowboard in one run

Man I love when people spew that shit. So with that reasoning you should be like Jeremy Jones status now right? You didn’t learn to snowboard in one run, you learned how to stand up and not fall on a mellow groomed run. Anyone with a smidgen of athletic ability can do that….but that my friend aint really snowboarding.

[lemon boy]

heh, I just got totally kookalicious earlier this week during a conference in huntington beach.

the first words out of both instructors' mouths was "do you snowboard?" Of course the answer is ummm no. I think the biggest difference is that the water moves and while stationary the board is animated and bobbing once things start moving it is a little more similar. I was able to stand up a bunch of times unassisted and ride to the sand so I'm exactly like beginning skier. I also got drilled into the sand and my back hurts like I tomahawked down great scot.

[skierX]

never ever worry about how well you surf.
haveing fun is the only thing that matters.

good luck

[montanamike]

Man I love when people spew that shit. So with that reasoning you should be like Jeremy Jones status now right? You didn’t learn to snowboard in one run, you learned how to stand up and not fall on a mellow groomed run. Anyone with a smidgen of athletic ability can do that….but that my friend aint really snowboarding.

no, seriously, snowboarding is not hard. and don't make fun of me just because my instructor hasn't signed me off on black diamonds yet you jerk. after next season, i'll be ready for the black diamonds, then you better watch out because i'm going to go real fast and not fall. not even once.

[snwbdrhoon]

heh, I just got totally kookalicious earlier this week during a conference in huntington beach.

that's awesome! good for you.

[jfost]

no, seriously, snowboarding is not hard. and don't make fun of me just because my instructor hasn't signed me off on black diamonds yet you jerk. after next season, i'll be ready for the black diamonds, then you better watch out because i'm going to go real fast and not fall. not even once.

here's the deal as I see it:

In every sport you have to pay your dues to be good. if you've never caught your toeside edge and "scorpioned" your board into the back of your head, you havent lived on a snowboard...

If you haven't been told off by a furious "local" at a new break, then gotten seperated from your board trying to get through the break, then been spun under, not knowing which way is up 'til you taste the sand, you haven't surfed...

etc. for every sport out there, it is the whole package of experience that drives us all - so no, you can't do one just because you are good at another! But I agree - there are crossovers in many of the TGR activities. Even being familiar with lifts from skiing can be a tremendous help when learning to snowboard, but will never make up for paying your dues...

edit: / 2 month old sermon on what we already know...

[tuffy109]

let's quit with the group hug shit already

[Alpine Dreams]

Take a lesson from a local, that's what I did in Cabo. I had never surfed before and in about a hour I was up and riding waves. I don't think I could have ever got up if I did'nt have this guy in the water with me giving me step by step instructions!

[Superstar Punani]

Snowboarding is gay.

Surfing, as in standing up on a shortboard, gun, or towboard is not.

Snowboarding = bodyboarding

Skiing = stand up surfing on a shortboard, gun or towboard.


Don't hate me 'cause it's true.

[whatcomridaz]

towboarding is surfing? Its wanna be wakeboarding, I mean shit even Parks has riden Teahupoo on a damn wakeboard.

Skiing is to stand up surfing as pounding a dude in the pooper is to heterosexuality.

Snowboarding is gay.

Surfing, as in standing up on a shortboard, gun, or towboard is not.

Snowboarding = bodyboarding

Skiing = stand up surfing on a shortboard, gun or towboard.


Don't hate me 'cause it's true.

[tuffy109]

Its wanna be wakeboarding

hahahaha, when have you ever seen a 40 foot wake?

that' parks shit was beyond laughable. wakeboarding is the gayest of gays, but just above rollerblading.

[Jiehkevarri]

Hah.

[off-topic but just a few thoughts...]

SP's dislike against snowboarding is pretty funny.

Have you guys ever thought that maybe snowboarding is actually MUCH harder than skiing:

- Try snowboard hahnenkamn in the DH race speeds...
- Chad's gap was once believed "undoable" for snowboarders
- Spinny/flippy stuff - how many different rotations have the world cup aerialist done???(vs. snowboarding)
- All the new routes/extreme stuff...two edges vs. one edge
- Speed skiing records vs. snowboarding's fastest clocked speeds

etc.

It's pretty likely that the top athletes in both sports are quite level in their physical cababilities. Right? So how come many things in skiing seem so much EASIER?

Actually I haven't thought this before but this came out on similar argumentation with one very experienced snowboarder. His view was that snowboarding is only easier than skiing in powder snow, but otherwise skiing is much easier...based on the facts like mentioned above.

My personal opinion is "apples and oranges"...and this kind of comparison is pretty useless in the end, I guess. Anyhow, there's always many sides on things.

[whatcomridaz]

hahahaha, when have you ever seen a 40 foot wake?

that' parks shit was beyond laughable. wakeboarding is the gayest of gays, but just above rollerblading.

nope I've never seen tow in surfing do a osmosis 540 either. I've seen tow in wakeboarding on 20-25' and it was every bit as silly, as the jackasses strapped in to their surfboards. End of the day one of the most difficult things in surfing is popping and managing the drop particularly when its double or triple overhead. towing in takes this out of the equation.

Rollerblading is the sport of trolls and faggotry. Its crazy how so many great skiers fruitboot to train in the offseason

[Superstar Punani]

towboarding is surfing? Its wanna be wakeboarding, I mean shit even Parks has riden Teahupoo on a damn wakeboard.

Skiing is to stand up surfing as pounding a dude in the pooper is to heterosexuality.

Towboarding = not gay
Wakeboarding = gay
You = Gayer than Liberace, Freddie Mercury and Richard Simmons combined. Balls bounce of your chin you flaming cocksmoking turd burglar.

SPLIT,KOOK!!!

[bodywhomper]

Snowboarding = bodyboarding

Skiing = stand up surfing on a shortboard, gun or towboard.

forgot one, bodywhompin' = ??? [other than mouthful of sand, broken collar bone, instata-barrel]

[snwbdrhoon]

Hah.

[off-topic but just a few thoughts...]


- Try snowboard hahnenkamn in the DH race speeds...
- Chad's gap was once believed "undoable" for snowboarders
- Spinny/flippy stuff - how many different rotations have the world cup aerialist done???(vs. snowboarding)
- All the new routes/extreme stuff...two edges vs. one edge
- Speed skiing records vs. snowboarding's fastest clocked speeds

the majority of your comments are a function of skis surface area (190+cm length) vs. snowboard surface area (160+cm length)

the flippy stuff? snowboarders are doing 1260s (or whatever) as well... not sure what the aerial people are doing (and honestly who cares)

the new routes/extreme stuff - definitely two edges are better than one.

[bcrider]

yaaaaaaaaaawn

[whatcomridaz]

Towboarding = not gay
Wakeboarding = gay
You = Gayer than Liberace, Freddie Mercury and Richard Simmons combined. Balls bounce of your chin you flaming cocksmoking turd burglar.

SPLIT,KOOK!!!

Me thinks the Kook, is the cum guzzzler who even though he can deep throat two dudes at once can't get enough testosterone to hit little Jim's. Why don't you stop thinking about new ways your dog can penetrate you from behind and hop on your air chair and tow into some gnarly shit bro. Its got the same hydrofoil technology that Lance uses.

Keep those Water Lice off the waves or at least step it up a notch with extreme tow in tubing

Edit to add some stoke of barbados surf

[TBski]

Snowboarding is gay.

Surfing, as in standing up on a shortboard, gun, or towboard is not.

Snowboarding = bodyboarding

Skiing = stand up surfing on a shortboard, gun or towboard.


Don't hate me 'cause it's true.

lol, so where does tele skiing fit in there? stand up paddle in ?

[Ak_pride]

BUMP, here's another question, which is harder on the knees? I spent 2 months in costa rica 2 winters ago and did a fair amount of surfing, super fun, but also super hard, definitely got humbled a few times. Standing up and timing is definitely the hardest part, once I stood up I could usually ride in a straight line anyways. I tore my acl last spring and had surgery in may, I've been thinking snowboarding a lot may not be the best this winter and thought surfing would be easier on the knees. Anyone have experience surfing after knee surgery? wear braces? or not necessary, I would still wait till at least 6 months afterward to try it, probably even 8, anyways thanks for any info/experience anyone might have, or feel free to touch on the original subject again