Hey, it’s all just sliding on snow. Tele is just another way to do it, one that I enjoy a lot but I would love to try boarding a bit more, especially in non-New England hardpack conditions.
I don’t think you will mind it at all. Western skiing/riding is a whole new ball or wax compared to Eastern; the snow, mountains, trails, and trees are all different. You’ll have a blast.
But I still love a powder day back east. We just appreciate it more. 
When I was a kid, when my kids were kids, and again when my grandkids were kids, we would go sliding down the longest, steepest hills we could find (on pieces of cardboard).
So where did this activity place us in the “sliding” hierarchy?
It, by the way, was a blast. 
I must mention sharing, in my early teens, that piece of cardboard with a cute girl.
Snowboarders have to make blind turns to their forward foot. Skiers don’t really have this blind spot, and traditional slope etiquette doesn’t take it into account. So when a snowboarder makes a turn and a skier crashes into them… it’s not the skiers fault for being in the blind spot of someone downhill… it’s the snowboarder’s fault for cutting them off. Add in the fact that the snowboarder is probably younger than the skier, righteous indignation on both sides… Damn punk kids.
The situation at the top of lifts is largely a matter of design. Sites that have taken into account that many snowboarders will have to stop at the top of the hll to strap in, and provided area for doing this, have fewer problems with crowding.
As for snowboarders leaving assprints everywhere. It takes a small amount of skill to stand around in a snowboard. Also, just like standing around in skis, it’s fairly uncomfortable. Unlike skis, though, it’s fairly easy to sit down and get back up with a snowboard. That’s all there is to it. Skiers don’t form “walrus pods” because they can’t. As for people stopping in stupid places, yeah, that’s not limited to either type. I will grant that snowboarders probably spend more actual time stopped on the hill than skiers… but then again, skiers can’t actually get comfortable and relaxed while stopped.
The changes are brought about by the fact that snowboarders account for the majority of the revenue at most slopes. Snowboarders ski for longer periods of time, and more frequently on average than skiers. And their numbers continue to grow.
Snowboarder groups at the top of the lift are occasionally annoying, but in my experience that’s pretty rare.
I used to go for a yearly ski vacation with a large group of people. We went to Salt Lake City, Whistler/Blackcomb, and Heavenly. The group was typically around 14 people, and I was usually one of the greener (most newbie-ish) participants. At least half were friggin’ experts at both skis and boards, and another half were experts at one skill and bicurious about the other, so there would often be “off-skills” days. These days were my favorite, because I kept my skis and ended up being at about the same level of proficiency as everybody else.
So the average day would entail several 4 or 5 person groups, and every single time there were both skiiers and boarders in my group. This has tremendous advantage for the boarders. When traversing, skiiers can “skate” like ice skaters, so we would give our poles to the boarders so they wouldn’t have to “skateboard”, which entails unstrapping their feet from their equipment.
Occasionally an expert skiier would tow a boarder. I never had the proficiency to skate on my skis powerfully enough to hold my poles behind me towing a boarder, so I’d just give a boarder my poles.
So in my limited experience, the ideal setup involves a group that contains both boarders and skiiers, or all skiiers, but a group of all boarders is occasionally left wanting, as skiiers have the ability to handle flat terrain while boarders do not.
Hmmm. A very small, very quiet, low output jet pack. I sense a market out there. 
I have been skiing since I was seven. I am now 56. I have tried boarding, but found it, I don’t know, limiting.
There is a finesse to floating in and out of mogols or slicing through the woods, that you cannot find scraping across on a board.
TV
Ah, but good boarders can float in and out of moguls and slice through the woods. In deep snow they often can do it better than skiers. Perhaps the fault, dear TV time lies not in the boards but in ourselves.
Last week, before christmas, I watched an episode of The Simpsons where they didn’t have much in the way of gifts. They pretended to cross-country (that stride thing you guys do) on the sidewalk in front of the Flanders’ house so his family would think the Simpsons had gotten new skis for christmas. It was a tender moment. 
It’s a pity that kids give boarding a bad rap.
The problem isn’t boarders per se, but rather many kids (boarders or skiers) not being aware of how their actions put themselves and others at risk.
Problems are caused by standing or sitting about in the middle of a fast run without good cause, or by flailing down a run out of control, or by skidding sideways down a run.
Since kids tend toward these practices more than adults, and since kids tend to board rather than ski, board parks (a.k.a. adolescent day care) are the best thing since sliced bread, for they keep the problem kids off the slopes and out of trouble.
The more kids who sit about in a park, the fewer remain to plop themselves down in the middle of traffic on the runs.
I’m into telemarking – Super-G, bumps, and kite.
Richard Culpeper
Past member, Canadian National Ski Team, Telemark Division
A small place I used to ski at did not permit boarders. One of the children of our group wanted to snowboard, so I talked the owner of the place into letting my try it for a few weeks, just to prove to him that nothing bad would happen. That was the thin edge of the wedge, and by the end of the season, boarding was permitted.
Lift areas had a problem with skiers aging, but young skiers not taking up the sport. Snowboarding brought new people to the lift areas. To a fair degree, snowboarding has benefited lift areas. Kids on boards are often annoying and hazardous, but they pay the freight.
Sunrise is in half an hour. I’m off to the hill. Wheeeee! 
I’ve been skiing since I was about 10 (largely on dry (artificial) slopes at first, due to being English). I’ve taken up boarding in the last couple of years as a new challenge, really - I was at that stage where my skiing didn’t really improve in the week or two I could spend each summer (and I no longer did any racing) so I wanted the thrill of learning something new again. Ideally, my boarding will get good enough that I can switch from two planks to one as the conditions warrant.
Tell you what, though - snowboarding hurts a hell of a lot more than skiing does! On skis, if you catch an edge, chances are you can recover — heck, even if one ski pops off you have a decent chance of staying upright unless you’re on some nasty terrain — but on a board… one error and BLAM you’ve got a new bruise before you even know what’s happened 
It’s fun, though…
I Tele myself. Tried snowbording once. Had a lesson. It’s like having someone tie your shoelaces together, blindfold you, and then push you down all day.
I’m a modest man but I must say, you should ski next to me on my board. You won’t hear any scraping or thrashing about. Form and finesse are learned behaviors, and ones that I respect highly when boarding. I try to move like water around the moguls, with them if you will. I know you know what I mean, having skied as long as you have.
Hey, I’m impressed at the number of pinheads on this board. Anyone here spend time on Teletips?
can anybody comment about the male/female ratio of skiers vs snowboarders?
Why do I have the impression that boarders are 95% male (and young)?
That was probably an accurate statistic 15 -20 years ago when boards were new. But it seems like it’s still true–or am I just fixated on the obnoxious ones, and ignoring the “good” boarders. (Can you tell I’m prejudiced?)
I’ve been skiing for 25 years, and I ain’t never seen any reason to give up my graceful skis for a clumsy wide board that is just too awkward looking.
Human beings are built to move their legs and feet independently of each other–not have them both locked togther and hop like kangaroos.
Besides, it looks like a lot harder work! It seems like you have to heave your whole body in order to change direction, instead of just leaning a bit and turning my ankles. Can an old guy (almost 50, not athletically fit) learn to do it?
I’m 35 and have been boarding for 15+ years. I saw it as an opportunity to do something new, and I was immediately hooked. I still ride sticks from time to time, but I stick with the board. My wife does too. We are both finesse boarders, we are not out for speed but more for perfect form. And I think it is much easier (once mastered) to remain fluid on a board than skis. I try to remain like water around the moguls, and have even had younger skiers and boarders come up to me in the lift lines and ask how I did this or that, or how long I’ve been skiing. I always tell them the practice makes nearly perfect, and when you think you have it done 100%, think again, cuz there is always room for improvement.
Yes you can do it at nearly 40.
Snowboards are also controlled by their edges. While I suppose you could heave and flail to turn, you can also just flex your calves. Balance on your toes, you turn towards your back foot. Balance on your heels, you turn towards your front foot. Flex your feet in opposite directions, and the board starts to turn perpendicular to the direction of travel (I.E. braking maneuver). It’s really not very much work once you get proficient. Anything you do with your upper body is mostly about not falling down.
Don’t get me wrong, you will fall down A LOT while learning. It’s a hell of a workout doing push-ups and sit-ups all day to lift yourself off the ground and get going again. Fun though.