Blog | MountVacation.com

If you’re a newbie to the slopes—like I was just two years ago—then you may be wondering which sport to try, which club to join or where to even start. Two of the most obvious on-the-slope sports is skiing and snowboarding, so never mind all the seemingly hundreds of other choices out there. Natural skills aside, put a checkmark next to each that befits you from the options I’ve listed below.  I recommend not writing on your monitor with a permanent marker, as you may change your mind later.

Mark your answer choices and add up your total As and Bs.

Attitude:

• I love to thrash and tear. I want to go fast, turn hard and fly high. I’m out to impress and give some attitude. (A)
• I am out to have a good time but also enjoy the slope time with friends or family. I love to go fast when I’m ready and don’t mind small (but not high jumps). I’m not out to impress anyone and don’t mind if the craziness stays at bay. (B)

Balance:

• I use to skateboard or surf or wakeboard water ski. If not, I feel very comfortable with one foot in front of the other. I have natural sense of balance and don’t fall over easily. (A)
• I have much better balance with my legs at shoulder width apart. I use to go roller-skating and feel comfortable in this position—more than one foot in front of another. I think two poles would help me keep my balance. (B)

Time:

• I want to learn quickly and hit the slopes ASAP. I don’t mind taking one or two hours of classes, but after that, I want to make the most of my ski holiday. I don’t want to spend all my time in the hotel, that’s for sure! (B)
• I have more time than not. I don’t mind spending a week or more just learning to stand up. I can come some high altitude resort (in the French Alps or Austrian Alps, for example) as often as needed to improve. (A)

Soreness:

• I don’t want to be bruised. I don’t mind falling forwards a few times, but just want an easy way to bail out if I run into trouble. Stopping quickly is important to me just in case someone crosses my path. I want to be able to hit the slopes the next day without being beaten and bruised from the previous day. (B)
• I don’t mind a few yellow or purple bruises scattered on my body. I don’t mind falling backwards and expect my tailbone to ache by morning. Being sore is part of the learning curve and I’m willing to take stiffness to better my skills. A broken bone doesn’t scare me whatsoever. (A)

If you’ve got more As than Bs, then you should try snowboarding, as you are tougher than the rest of us, of course. I actually got more Bs, so if I were starting anew, I would definitely want to give skiing a whirl before even attempting snowboarding. I’ve tried snowboarding since taking up skiing, but find that all the variables just add up against me. I don’t like to thrash, I hate lower back pain and I just don’t have time to learn all those cool 360 degree turns and flips. I want to go fast and do so much better with my feet and legs to the side rather than in front of one another, even though I love surfing. You, though, may be one or the other—skier or boarder—or a mix of each—which makes you very talented. Skiers go faster but boarders look like they’re having so much fun.