Quote:
Originally Posted by catcher22
I snowboard as well. I skiied twice before I was even a teenager but didn't hit the slopes again until I started snowboarding well into my 20's. I got lucky - a bunch of my college friends were learning at the same time and some of them were really good who always tagged along and taught us correct techniques. It was however very difficult to learn to snowboard in my 20's. I tell people that if I was just a few years older, I probably would have given up. It was a painful 2-3 SEASONS learning to snowboard. Around the 3rd to 4th season, I wasn't falling at all. At the time I was infatuated with snowboarding. I remember going to the slopes 2-3 times a week just to learn the new sport. I honestly love snowboarding.
Fast forward 10 years to today and I'm just getting old lol. I'm actually getting a little bored with snowboarding and am trying new techniques, jumps, switch riding, etc. I've wanted to learn to ski for the past 2-3 seasons, but never pulled the trigger simply because I own 2 snowboards and all the gear.
Some advice I would give is to try to travel to different mountains around the world and ski on them. I didn't realize at the time, but east coast skiing is shit. It's literally learning to ski on ice. The mountains and snow in Whistler is different than California. The mountains and snow in Colorado is different than Pennsylvania. Snowboarding in bowls and on glaciers is quite different. If you stick to your one geograpic area, you'll never learn to traverse different types of terrain.
Also, for buying skis, look for demo specials on sale. They're often one or two seasons out, barely used, and can be bought for a great price (usually a couple hundred).
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If you can ski on the East coast, you can ski anywhere. I grew up racing in Vermont but have skied in a few places (heli-skiing, glaciers during the summer, backcountry, etc) and have not encountered a terrain that has truly given me pause aside from admiration.
With regards to the skis themselves, its highly subjective and I wouldn't solicit the advice of random strangers online as far as specific skis (this also extends to boots and other equipment). What works well in one type of terrain may not work well elsewhere and your skiing style and ability plays a huge role.
For example, I currently have one main pair of skis that I use and they a basically a beer-league racing slalom ski. Super-stiff but I like the responsiveness and edge-holding they have and they fit the majority of the skiing I do here in Vermont which is mainly icy or hard-pack groomers with some moguls/glades mixed in. I have an aggressive style so making the effort to get those things to turn is fun and rewarding to me. An intermediate skier probably wouldn't like them because they are not forgiving and they would not be great in the soft, ungroomed stuff out west due to the narrow width. Also, different size skis of the same model will have different turn radii leading to a different feel. I demoed a pair of GS skis last week and in the 183 length they were fun for a little while but quite leaden underfoot but when I went to a 176 length they were more lively and well-suited to everyday skiing.
My point being is that there are many choices and if you happen to have a good shop near you they can point you in the general direction of some skis that would suit you. Demoing them is the way to go. My local shop does a demo day every year with 5 or so vendors and you can swap out a bunch of different skis to see what you like--I try at least 5 different ones every time they do it. Then, I wait until the end of the year and buy them on sale or buy some used demo skis for 50% off.
The rest of the gear I will buy on an as needed basis and buy the best available with the intention of keeping it for a long time. I ski a lot so its worthwhile. Since I already have everything its only a few items each year and everything is more or less top of the line and pretty minimal expenditure in the grand scheme of things. Consignment sales at ski shops or the mountain is a good way to get stocked up initially if you are starting from ground zero.
I could go on and on. The best thing is to have a shop you know and trust--especially for boots.
Edit: Forgot to add that lessons are invaluable and take as many as you can. Don't listen to your friends advice on technique unless they really know WTF they are doing and don't ski above your ability. With skiing (like with cars) peoples egos get involved and its nice to learn from someone who does it for a living rather than a person who might only ski 5 times a year and and has an inflated sense of their ability.