GreenWife can't make her mind up, and we want to go up to the slopes this weekend for our first trip of the season. I want to book her a lesson, but I don't know what of.
The vast majority of the people we know here ski - I can't think of anyone else who snowboards in fact. Included in that number are some beginner ladies who might be good company for her.
I, however, snowboard - at an intermediate level - and could help her out myself if she chose snowboarding.
I've heard skiing is easier to learn, snowboarding is easier to do once you learn.
She isn't a particularly adventurous sort, and whatever she does she won't try and progress too fast.
She has had one day on skis before many years ago, and thought it might be nice to try something different, but I think that is really irrelevant, it was so long ago and brief that she doesn't remember anything from it.
Given all that, any ideas on what would be best?
In that situation ski without a doubt
Easier to get going and have fun at her own pace without getting worked too much, and she will be able to get more tips from your ski friends.
As a boarder don't you remember how punishing learning was? Some people might say that's domestic abuse if you are the cause... 
PS pics or it never happened 
Rule of thumb for snowboarding....
3 days you"re a beginner , 4th day you're an expert.
My son instructs both in Fernie and bashes me whenever I quote this but its true.
(ps I have never made it to day 4 without bruising/breaking something) despite having skied for 25+ years
boarding is way easier to learn than skiing imo. let her try both and see what makes her smile the most
If you were a skier you would probably be advanced .I boarded many years ago and ditched it for skiing .Modern skis allow very fast advancement without the punishment and wet arse and gloves assoiated with snowboards .Was fun at mt selwyn on a snowboard but crap on good ol Aussie hardpack at thredbo and Perisher .Skiing for your partner is the way to go .If you have regular pwder then maybe snowboarding
I haven't boarded but i watch the beginners and they get beat up badly IMHO.
Skiing however has come so far these days. You can now ride in the fun parks and get freestyle with the best of the boarders. I personally think many do it better. (certainly in style)
I'll never forget about 12 years ago i was playing in the area that the Snow boarders were tricking and they would look at you disapprovingly. These days they just cheer and hoot. (sadly not for me, with me they just laugh)
My wife and I had our first week on the snow this winter - we are both 45yo. My wife is very athletic, but in a sporty netball, gym, swim kind of way. I have been surfing for 30+ years and was a keen skateboarder in my teens (so have 'board balance').
I boarded. It took me a full day to get my balance/edge/stopping sorted, and by day three was doing full green runs no issue. By day five I was started to do some carving turns and very hesitant 180's and was doing some blue sections. Having said that, I had more than a few good stacks and could not get those T-bars sorted... and after a week was as sore and bruised as I have ever been...
My wife opted for skiing - and we both had one on one lessons for 2hrs on day one. Where I gradually got better and tried more with my growing confidence, my wife remained uneasy and did not really get into it. Despite being keen, it did not come naturally to her. I think the crowds were part of the problem - other learners getting in the way... and her having little control to stop when required.
As Chrispy says, let her try both and see how she goes...
Give her 100$ and tell her to find a useful bargain at the shops..
ill see you in 12 hours !!!
In my days I used to steer beginners towards skates (very short skis).
Much faster to learn and get some speed. Less chances of twisted knees, falls are less dramatic for newbies, etc. I say used to, since many slopes don't rent them anymore.
Boarding always takes more time to get the basics on day 1, but if someone sticks to it and is somewhat athletic, there's a return on investment around day 3 or 4.
Stick her on a skateboard in the local mall for a day or two firstly. Then go the board
^^^
I actually took my wife longboard skateboarding a few times before we went... it didn't help 
I recon you should get her to ski... its way more fun to watch a skier stack it than a snow boarder :P
(I snowboard, as does my partner - though the progression is quite different between us).
GreenPat,
Go with the Ski option... I think... in this case...
I was the opposite... I persisted with Skiing for about 3 seasons... but when I jumped on a snowboard, it came really easily... Morning 1, got a lesson, fell about twice. Day 1 in total, fell about 5 times... No bruises, no bad falls... But I could already surf, skate, and windsurf... (a little! )
pat - fark that.
Snowboarding. Reasons..
you're not learning on ICE - you're in canada no? A good instructor in lessons from the start in 4 days she'll be just about all mountain. Heaven forbid she might actually really like it and you will have your holidays sorted.
Skiing she will be a muppet for years. You wont want to ride together or on the same terrain. Boarding is easy to learn in lessons. dont try and teach her yourself, no matter how good you are. plus its more fun learning in lessons with others who are at the same level that you can have fun with.
We had a good day on the snow on Saturday morning. She had a skiing lesson and I went off and did a few runs on the board by myself. She seemed pretty happy with it, didn't hurt herself too badly in the few stacks she had - I had more stacks myself than she did. I think she might still try a boarding lesson before she gets too committed though, so she can then make an informed choice. We'll see how it goes.
The sun came out for our trip:
Looking back down over Vancouver and Georgia Straight:
It's pretty cool seeing the ocean from a ski resort. I could have kited Friday afternoon if I wasn't busy at work, wind was cranking. Kiting one day and snowboarding the next within an hours' drive would be pretty cool. One day I might even get both in the same day, a new sort of daily double.
Good decision.
I can ski and board.
The rule I always used was as follows:
Adventurous and soft snow - snowboard
Adventurous with good board-riding experience and hard-pack - board (but with helmet, padded shorts and wrist guards)
Adventurous without board-riding experience and hard-pack - ski
Less adventurous and any snow conditions - ski
If she does try boarding, make sure you give her wrist guards (for the toe edge catch) and a helmet (for the heel-edge catch) and preferably some padded shorts. A lot of people would show up at apres-ski in a wrist cast after their first couple of days on snow.
Photos look awesome. I love Australia, but at this time of year so many friends are heading for the snow for the season and wow do I get FOMO.
Yeah, that brings up a good point. Maybe I should be the one to change what I do. I've already thought that I will throw on a set of skis now and then while I'm here, but I'll always come back to boarding.
Talking to doctor in Queenstown last year he gave me this statistic
(i know your missus is a chick so doesnt really apply, but makes you think)
"if you are a male over 40 and snowboarding for the first time the chance of an injury requiring hospital treatment is 100%" he was saying this as he was re-setting my wrist back to where it normally should be, i was 39 then, what a winner.
Agreed about the icy conditions, dont bother boarding, ski, the falls are to hard learning to board on ice/hard conditions, my lesson learnt the hard way, next time. Looks awesome there have fun
^^ Couple of tracks in the foreground, but you're right. I did manage to get bogged down in a couple of unexpected bits of powder though.
You fall off lots and lots when you're learning to board. Which is fine in soft snow, but icy conditions is like falling on concrete. The board is grippy when you are moving quickly and using the edges. It's all over the place if you're learning and going slowly with the board flat on the ground. I'd suggest if she's not the adventurous type, aim for skiing. Within a very short period of time she will be able to snow-plough her way down the mountain with skis. Although if you do have really good powdery conditions it's pretty easy to pick up snowboarding, you don't have to edge much, the board has heaps of grip and if you fall, you land on soft snow.
go the board
my wife similar attitude but took up boarding
the whole family boards (a family that boards together stays together)
mind you its is in japan
if icey **** = oz, then boarding would not last long for her = too dangerous
both are great - specially on the new skis
From a purely mechanical perspective
However if you have put a lot of ks on your knees - snowboard = 1 edge dominated by 2 knees and 2 legs.
Ski = 2 edges to control - 1 edge per knee and ankle - which is a lot harder on them
Skiing really killed my knees - Snowboarding dished out FAR less damage.
