My son is off to Northern Arrizona Univ. next year. Curious if knowing how to surf shortens the learning curve to snow board…
I have snowboarded for over 20 years and did a lot of skateboarding as a kid. I know a few people who have surfed and also snowboarding so the opinion below is based upon personal opinion and from conversations with others. The answer generally is…
Yes and No.
Yes - Broadly speaking the stance in relation to the ground/wave and ability to balance is similar. Many years ago I shared a chair lift with a skier whose son was an editor of some surfing magazine. This was back in the bad-old early days of snowboarding and he had a lot of questions for me about snowboarding (Can you really control that thing?). We shadowed each other over many runs, him at first following me to see how I controlled a snowboard and later me following him as he wanted to see if I could keep up with his turns, etc. At the end one of his comments was that my body motion and balance seemed very similar to surfing (his experience and from watching his son).
No - I say no because although one could make a parallel between snowboarding and skateboarding (or surfing) as you again maintain a similar directional stance and balance it really is substantially different. Movements on a skateboard or surfboard that effect changes in direction, etc., do not directly translate to the same type of movements and balance necessary to effect changes in direction on a snowboard.
Hope that helps, be willing to answer any follow-up questions, etc.
MeanJoe