Bibliography

Bibliography

Melnick, Meredith. "Skiers vs. Snowboarders: Who Gets Injured More?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Jan. 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/skiers-vs-snowboarders-more-injuries_n_1242455.html>.

            The Huffington Post has taken statistics from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and compared the injury risks between skiers and snowboarders.  After researching the data presented by the AOSS and found that snowboarders have a much higher risk of injuring their back, wrists, and heads. Furthermore, skiers were seventeen more likely to injure their knees than snowboarders.  The Huffington Post is a world renowned newspaper and a very credible source to draw information from.

"Ski Size Chart & Buyer's Guide." Ski, Snowboard, Wakeboard, Skateboard & the Freshest Clothes. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.evo.com/how-to-choose-skis-size-chart-and-guide.aspx>.

The authors of evo.com are experts in skiing and ski equipment.  They have pooled all of their knowledge together to create a set of in depth charts and graphs to help beginner’s find the correct sizes and types of skis, boots, and bindings.  From decades of experience, the writers of evo.com are an excellent source to draw information from.

"Skiing vs Snowboarding." - How to Decide. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.snowboarding-essentials.com/info/guide/snowboarding/skiing.html>.

Snowboarding essentials is fantastic website for snowboarders with accurate instructions for anything from equipment to expert level courses.  The article comparing skiing versus snowboarding had great detail describing the differences of skiing and snowboarding in first person going down the mountain.

Lund, Morton. "Skiing Heritage -- Alpine History." Skiing Heritage -- Alpine History. International Skiing History Association, 2006. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://skiinghistory.org/classic/history.html>.

Skiing History.org posted a short story, Skiing Heritage (Lund 1996), that gave a nine thousand word summary on the history of skiing.  The author properly listed their sources and where they found the information presented in the story.  The entire process was backed by the International Skiing History Association, a very credible source to find history on skiing. 

Baldwin, Sam. "Snowboarding Vs Skiing: The Dying Feud." - SnowSphere. N.p., Jan. 2006. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.snowsphere.com/special-features/snowboarding-vs-skiing-the-dying-feud>.

Sam Baldwin is the author, editor, and founder of snowsphere.com, he also wrote a book on the feud of snowboarders and skiers.  After researching his name and background, I found him to be a legitimate author to use information from.  He has had a few books published between skiing and snowboarding.

"SNOW AND WEATHER CONDITIONS." Snow and Weather Conditions. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.mechanicsofsport.com/snow_weather.html>.

The authors and editors of Mechanics of Sports have conducted research on the weather conditions suitable for skiing and snowboarding.  All of their columns were laid out properly with in depth information. I found them to be a very accurate source from my personal experience skiing. 

So what is the Solution?

Earlier I discussed the trouble of having skiers and snowboarders on the mountain at the same time.  There is a great deal of preventable injuries that occur every year. So we've addressed the problem, skiers and snowboards should not be on the same slopes at the same time, but how do we fix this problem? There are a variety of way to attack this problem and find a suitable solution.

The first most obvious solution is to band either skiers or snowboarders from the mountain entirely.  This the most extreme of all the solutions and has a lot of negative affects. For one, you are directly discriminating on a group of people, shunning them out.  Resorts would lose a substantial amount of money on lift tickets, rentals, lodging, etc. This idea would be hard to sell to anyone, especially the group being exiled.

Another solution could be creating an alternating daily schedule. This would mean that there would be a new group allowed to use the mountain each day.  This plan is a little bit better in that it does not completely cast out any one.  There is one giant flaw with this flaw though.  If a family or group of friends go on a trip and one person is a snowboarder and the rest are skiers, that person will be spending most of the trip alone.  I think this would cause a lot of people to shy away from the idea of a ski vacation; less people means less revenue for business.

I have come up with what I believe to be the most viable option to solve the ski versus snowboard debacle.  Why not have everyone on the mountain at the same time, but have certain slopes designated to skiers and others to snowboarders, alternating have way through the day when the plows re-groom the snow.  This way no one is left out, and groups of families and friends can use the mountain on the same day. All resorts can stand behind a model such as this because it promotes good health, but at the same time there is no profits being lost.  

Skiing vs. Snowboarding

Skiing and Snowboarding have been associated with each other ever since snowboarding was invented in the 1960's.  But why? Though they both utilize snowy mountainous terrain, they are actually very different in their mechanics.  So what? Well this is actually quite dangerous and puts a lot of people at risk for injury or worse.  To give you an idea of just how different these two sports are lets start with mechanics of skiing.

Skiing is the act of traveling over snow with skis attached at the feet as a sport or recreation.  As skiers travel down the mountain, they use the each edge on the sides of their skies to carve into the mountain back and forth, throwing very little snow around.  The higher the skill of the skier, the tighter the carving pattern will be, showing more control and finesse.  Also, skiers typically have a pole for each hand, allowing for much more control going in and out of each carve.  When it comes to snow, skiers do much better in bad weather conditions such as ice and rifts in the snow. Furthermore, skiers have the ability to stop and start quicker than snowboarders, with an advantage in overall speed and velocity.

Snowboarders on the other hand have a more difficult carving and controlling their movements.  They have a one larger, heavier board that their feet rest perpendicular on the board.  Snowboarders have to take larger carves into the snow, taking up more room on the slope. Also, snowboarders are notorious for throwing snow to the edge of the slope when they carve because of the surface area of their board.  By throwing the snow to the side of slope snowboarders are stripping the center of the slope of fresh powder, creating a dangerous surface for everyone else on the mountain.

Introduction

Hello! My names Zach Brown, here is a little bit about my back ground in skiing.  I have been routinely skiing every winter since I was four years old.  I'll have to admit that at first I was not skiing's biggest fan, especially since I could not seem to keep my face from falling into the snow.  But my father wanted me to stick with it for at least one vacation, and by the end of it I had had so much fun I was already asking him to come back next year.  Fourteen years later I still find a place to ski at least once a year.  The high light of my skiing career will always be one spot away from qualifying from the junior Olympic speed trials in 2006.

Now that you know a little bit about my background in skiing, I want to talk to you about the in's and out's, the "nitty gritty", but more importantly I want address a problem that I think has gone on for far too long.  Skiers and snowboarders should not be able to use the mountain on the same days. Even though I personally choose to ski over snowboarding, I will be as non-bias as possible.

But first I want to brush everyone up on a little ski history.  I think by talking about the history behind skiing and snowboarding will give everyone a better perspective on why these two do not mix as well as everyone seems to think.  Also, for all of those people who want to pick up skiing I will be talking a little bit about technique and equipment.  Now... lets get started with the debate on Skiing vs. Snowboarding!!

A Little History Behind Skiing

Before this project, I thought I knew a great deal about skiing and it's history, but I was greatly mistaken.  Skiing has been around about thirty five hundred years longer than I had originally thought. The earliest skis found have been pollen dated as far back as 4500 years ago in Scandinavia.  Of course skis these far back were strictly used for work and utility, not for sport and leisure.

The first skiing thought to be for recreation was about a thousand years ago in Iceland.  A painting was discovered and dated back to around 1000 A.D.. The painting depicts a deer of some sort pulling a sleigh full of people with what appears to be four men on skis following the sleigh.  It is astounding to me that with out the utilization of most metals and plastics, these people were able to craft skis that worked.

Skiing did not evolve too much until the last half of the 19th century in Norway.  The Norwegians had created the first organized skiing competitions.  With the desire to increase speed, agility, and overall skill, they Norwegians had invented the first form of telemarketing skis (Skis that did not lock in the heel of your foot). These competitions sparked a vast interest in the world over this new phenomenon, most people had never seen skis before.  Suddenly people were from around the world were flocking to Norway and other snow covered mountains to try this new fad out for themselves.  Everyone knows, where there is supply there is demand, and in 1886 the first Ski Factory was constructed in Norway.  

At the turn of the century, skiing had evolved into a world known sport and recreational activity, and in 1924 skiing became a part of the winter Olympics.  After skiing became a part of the Olympics, everything else is history.  Over the past seventy five years, people have been improving and creating new, better types of skis.  Today skiing is known around the world as one of the most famous winter sports.

Choosing the Correct Equipment

Skiing, such a great activity for recreation and competition. But the first question you should ask yourself when first starting is "What equipment do I need to start with?".  For all skiers, inexperienced or seasoned, the correct equipment is the most essential part of the sport.  Without the correct type and setting on one's equipment you are bond to make more mistakes and potentially set yourself up for dangerous injuries. So where might one start when finding the right equipment for them self? The skies of course!!

Skies range from all different types of lengths, widths, shapes, and styles. The combination of these settings which are right for you depends on your height, weight, skill level, and personal preference.  Without ordering specially designed skies, typically skies are sold from sizes 115cm to 200cm.  A general rule of thumb when buying your skies is that they should be close to your own height.  For example, if you are 5'10 (about 178 centimeters) then your skies should be between 165cm and 185cm.

When choosing a style of ski the only thing that matters is your personal preference.  If you are more interested in speed then straight tipped skies are the skies for you. I personally enjoy parabolic skies which have a more rounded tip on both the front and back. Parabolic skies make it a lot easier to carve allowing for better control and speed regulation.  The most challenging type of skies to use are the telemarketer skies. Telemarketing skies are unique in the fact that they only have one clip on the front of the bindings, leaving the heel of your foot free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VohzGIMdXw

The most important step to remember when choosing your equipment is learning how to correctly set your own bindings. First, you need to look on the side or bottom of the your boots and find the length in mm.  This number will tell you how far away the front and back of your bindings need to be to fit your boot properly.  Next you will want to look at the numbers on the front of your bindings.  The numbers vary depending on the type of bindings and skies; but typically the lower the number the looser the bindings will hold the boot to the skies and vice versa.  You must figure out your own numbers for your bindings, since it is a specific combination of height, weight, and skill range.