Janne wrote how he is a skier but loves snowboarding as well. As Janne said, we both go snowboarding and even telemark skiing in addition to ordinary skiing. In fact we cover all types of skiing related sports, even monoskiing that was popular in the 1980′s. It is also true that our boards are leftovers from Finnish pro riders. The truth is that we have spent all our money on skiing and traveling, and therefore we have always looked for the cheap or free second hand snowboards. It is very expensive to buy all the equipment from stores, so for our budget this has been a very good solution.

Starting snowboarding when you are 25 or 30 or even 40 years old may sound too challenging, and I can understand that. If you haven’t been in snowboarding, surfing or skateboarding scene, it must be difficult to get in it, even just a little. In that case I can only say that forget other people, find a snowboard and a good place to practice, and go for it! Snowboarding is fabulous, and you can never experience riding powder fields if you don’t even give it a try.

Now, why you should go snowboarding if you are already good at skiing? Let me give you three good reasons to start snowboarding or continue it if you have already started.

Reason #1 – Because snowboarding is so much fun!

I’ve been thinking why on Earth I, an experienced and fanatic skier, got interested in snowboarding some years ago. As a kid I went skateboarding even though we were really the first ones skateboarding in Lapland in the 80′s. I remember I liked a lot cruising with my skateboard, just like they do with longboards nowadays. Snowboarding is just like that. Cruising on a powder field with your board is purely a great experience. It is also fantastic on on-pistes, especially if you can set up a slalom track. Carving your board on a hard slope with high speed is something I really enjoy. There are not so many powder days in southern Finland, so that’s why I have got interested in riding a snowboard on on-pistes.

Reason #2 – Because snowboarding supports developing as a skier

I believe all skiing related sports support each other, even ballet skiing which (thank God) has disappeared. I believe that if you go practicing snowboarding, you actually enhance your skiing skills as well. If you as a snowboarder go skiing every now and then, I believe you enhance your snowboarding skills as well. I cannot explain the theory, but I have found out in real life I get better in skiing as I go snowboarding. Could you explain it or do you disagree with me? Leave a comment; I am interested to hear what you think.

Reason #3 – Because snowboarding broadens Your Hobby and You Might Find New Friends

If you have been only skiing for the last 10-20 years, I strongly recommend you to consider snowboarding as a new hobby. It would broaden your mountain hobby and could possibly bring you new friends. As a snowboarder you would step into another skiing related culture in which you might easily meet new people and find new friends. It feels great to get new friends who have a similar hobby. As I started snowboarding, I soon started to understand how my snowboarding friends think and what do they enjoy. Since that it has been much more fun to go skiing or snowboarding with those guys.

Other reasons? Drop a comment.

Photo: singing_sky