A rebuttle to the snowboarding is dying garbage

www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/...ve-Snowboarding.html

I hadn't heard of this "snowboarding is dying" narrative; seems like an awfully strange conclusion to me. Though there is some irony in the advocates of what was once marketed as the "alternative" snow-sliding sport worrying so much about whether the trendiness factor and participation level is dropping. It seems rather akin to the Apple marketing push as being the "hip, non-conformist alternative" from back when it was, in fact, that, now transforming in to worrying about losing market share since it is essentially the mainstream option nowadays.

I guess I'd ask why they would care anyway? If I heard that the overall tread was "Backcountry skiing is dying out", I would be completely thrilled. Wouldn't that spell less crowding? I guess since I'm missing the back story here, I don't get what the need to form a rebuttal to it is? Does it really change what one, personally, would want to do? It's not like there is any risk of not being able to buy a snowboard or a pair of skis if one becomes less popular relative to the other...

In the 90's I heard skiing was dying out because of the increase popularity of snowboarding but ironically it was the snowboard evolution that pushed the ski technology and helped get that sport back on track.
Seems an article such as the one written is more of a 'hopeful' thought then real news. Seems to be all of these snow sports in the end help one another and don't work against each other as we get so many cross sport innovations.

The idea that snowboarding is dying is ridiculous. The most you can say is that snowboarding's advantages over skiing are a little smaller (since skis have gotten fatter and added rocker). But both sports have their advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, the biggest advantage to skiing is that is works well in the backcountry. If you go on a tour, traversing is much easier, transitions are faster, etc. But snowboard boots are way more comfortable, and there is not much of a substitute for that when it comes to skis. You can ski sloppy Nordic gear (BC boots), but you have to be a really good Nordic skier to go down a steep hill in soft boots but you only have to be a good snowboarder. When you consider that there are way more people that ski on the lifts, and way fewer that tour, it is really silly to say that snowboarding is dying out.

I wonder how many people switch from one to the other. My guess is not many. This suggests that we will see plenty of new snowboarders, especially young snowboarders on the slopes. If you already snowboard, you probably want to take your kid out snowboarding, where you can teach him or her the basics. If you know nothing about skiing, then you aren't going to go that route. Snowboarding has been around long enough to reach this age. My guess it will be around hundreds of years from now, just like skiing.

In my humble opinion from what I have seen over the last twenty years in the back country is that snowboarders come and get into it for a relatively short time due to the snowboard, because it eats up the vertical so fast on the descent and is over so quickly that the uphill trek eventually proves too much effort for the result. Skiers on the other hand in the bc milk the vertical for what they want and seem more inclined to continue on season after season. Perhaps this is only true in my neck of the woods, but I would think it pertinent to most places. The snowboard line is so big and so fast compared to most skiers in the bc who seem to savor the many turns in the powder. I could be wrong, but most of the boarders I used to see around the bc are long gone and not many more have showed up.

In my humble opinion from what I have seen over the last twenty years in the back country is that snowboarders come and get into it for a relatively short time due to the snowboard, because it eats up the vertical so fast on the descent and is over so quickly that the uphill trek eventually proves too much effort for the result. Skiers on the other hand in the bc milk the vertical for what they want and seem more inclined to continue on season after season. Perhaps this is only true in my neck of the woods, but I would think it pertinent to most places. The snowboard line is so big and so fast compared to most skiers in the bc who seem to savor the many turns in the powder. I could be wrong, but most of the boarders I used to see around the bc are long gone and not many more have showed up.

This is not what I see as being a trend by the sport, but the person. I have a couple ski buddies that do BC a lot and everything downhill they do is FAST. I do not ride with them any longer for that reason because I like to take my time, hit weird spots and milk my run for all its worth. Many boarders that do BC these days go the way of the split board so if you see them going uphill you would not even know they are boarders unless you got a good look at their goofy ski's. Splits used to be very expensive but because of the do it yourself kits now they are much more affordable.