Snowboarding vs. Surfing
I have been snowboarding quite a bit at Lake Tahoe this season. I already have made four trips to Boreal Ski Resort where I have a season ticket pass this season. As far as surfing, I have not gone for two months knowing that I will be doing a lot of it in Costa Rica when I get there in March. I went out Thursday and was totally stoked. Surfing brought me back the feeling I have been missing for months. I have been snowboarding a lot, but the feeling is just not the same.
Surfing is clearly my passion. I love it. I really dig the feeling of catching and going down the face of the wave. The faster the better. Then there’s the cutback. Surfers can sometimes overrun a wave. A cutback can bring you back to the curl of the wave where the wave is the most powerful. A bold move especially if the wave is big and juicy. A tremendous feeling.
Snowboarding vs. Surfing? For me, hands down. Surfing rules any day over snowboarding. I get stoked when I surf, but I have never felt the same way when I snowboard. To those who don’t know what stoke is, stoke is the rush of adrenalin, exhilaration, excitement, etc. all at once. Surfers get this all the time. At least, I do. I have been snowboarding for two years now. I’m not an expert, but I have tried getting stoke. I tried it with more speed. I have tried with steeper terrains, but to no avail.
One thing I have not tried is jumps maybe because of the fear of getting hurt. I must admit when you get older, you don’t take as many chances as you use to when you were a kid. The idea of landing on a hard packed snow doesn’t excite me, though. I rather wipe out on water. I think the chances of getting hurt on a snowboard is greater than on a surfboard mainly because in snowboarding your feet are fastened to the board. In surfing, you can bail out anytime, you just have to make sure you don’t jump in front of your surfboard where it can hit you.
Another reason why surfing I think is better is the fact that no two waves are ever the same. When you are riding a wave, you have to read a wave, you have to adjust to it while it unfurls in front of you. Surfers are like jazz musicians improvising on a wave each one unique in size, speed, strength, and location. In snowboarding, you face the same terrain all the time. Conditions may change from icy to powder, but essentially it’s the same terrain.
This article is not a slam against snowboarding. I love snowboarding and I intend to do a lot more of it for the rest of my life. But, clearly, snowboarding does not compare anywhere close to surfing. Just my humble opinion.
(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
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at the same time though, i feel like it’s hard to compare them because surfing is a lot of waiting around for the right wave & then once you catch it a few seconds later & it’s over & you’re paddling back out again. Lots of wiping out too. Snowboarding on the other hand is a long continuous run to the bottom. You can start & stop whenever you want. You don’t have to wait for the mountain, just the lift. If you know what you’re doing you probably won’t wipe out just from riding the mountain. And even though the mountain doesn’t change like the sea, there’s lots of mountains with lots of trails & lots of ways to ride them, not to mention one good trail is fun over & over again. That’s also part of the appeal of snowboarding perhaps, getting to know a trail so well that you can push yourself farther on it. I really shouldn’t comment on comparing them however, because i have yet to master surfing.
Hey Brian, you have a good point. I think part of the appeal of surfing is it’s more of a challenge to catch a wave instead of just getting off a lift. I also live an hour away from the beach and the waves are free. If I live closer to Tahoe or any mountain with season ticket pass, then I think I prefer snowboarding. The only thing about surfing is having to wear a wetsuit each time I go out. That is why I prefer to go surfing in warm water such as Costa Rica. Another thing is most surfers tend to live their lives a little different than snowboarders. There’s more a surf culture than a snowboarding culture. It’s even more apparent when I travel to remote places around the world and meet other surfers along the way. I dig that — as opposed to just hanging out at lodge and sipping beer with your buddies and getting back home on the road. To each his own. But, I know several people who love doing both sports. I do.
“Surfing is clearly my passion. I love it. I really dig the feeling of catching and going down the face of the wave. The faster the better. Then there’s the cutback. Surfers can sometimes overrun a wave. A cutback can bring you back to the curl of the wave where the wave is the most powerful. A bold move especially if the wave is big and juicy. A tremendous feeling.”
Right on man, well written. I love hitting fat cutbacks right before a gnar gnar barrel! Im out in norcal…representing santa cruz for life! We got pretty descent snow a few hours away…but when I am not in the water, I definitely prefer a skate!
Of course, skating, but I prefer carveboarding.
Hey,ulyssesr and brian i think bolf of u guys are wright that surfing is fun and i do know u have to wait for it to come but thats most of the fun rihgt there just wait for that perfeact wave to ride back to shore.and to snowboarding i dont realy have the passion as i do for surfing like when you wipe out in surfing you dont feel it in the morning the next day like when your surfin the snow…..
Hey i have been surfing for 10 years now, mostly longboarding, some shortboarding, and i have gotten the urge over the last year to try snowboarding. i was previously a skiier, but i wanted to know if my surfing skills would help with learning to snowboard.
Danny, go for it. snowboarding is somewhat similar to surfing, but snowboarding is more of riding on the edges. kind of hard to explain. just go out there and experience it.
“In snowboarding, you face the same terrain all the time. Conditions may change from icy to powder, but essentially it’s the same terrain.”
A real snowboarder will NEVER say that.
“И get stoked when I surf, but I have never felt the same way when I snowboard.”
Just learn to ride.