First came skateboarding, then came snowboarding, and now…snowskating! With this self-explanatory name, the hobby seems laughably easy to master, but do not be fooled. This sport is no laughing matter.
A crossbreed of two adrenaline-packed pastimes, the newest member of the boardsport’s family involves a skateboard deck, sans the wheels, several decent snowfalls, and ample nerve. Although for experienced skateboarders or snowboarders, snowskating may be an easy transition, newcomers beware. Without the support of bindings customary to snowboards, combined with the disorienting speed that comes with speeding down a slope, snowskating is not something to take up on a whim.
There are two versions of snowskating: single deck and bideck. Again, the names of the versions are unmistakably self-explanatory. The first is almost identical to the deck of a skateboard, only with grooves on the snow-facing part of the deck, to enhance easy movement while coasting down the slopes, or grinding onto a rail. Yet, it is rare for a ski resort to allow snowskating, so urban terrain and snowskate parks are where most snowskaters partake in their underground winter sport.
A bideck snowskate looks identical to a single deck, until you flip it over to reveal a lower ski-like deck attached to the bottom of the upper deck. Although bideck snowskating still exists, it is noticeably less popular than single deck. Burton, the once leading producer of snowskates, has even stopped producing bideck boards, but shorter bidecks are still sometimes found favorable when doing tricks and stunts.
Since it was introduced years ago, the extreme winter sport has risen steadily into popularity, even becoming a winter sport in the X Games. As society continues to acknowledge and accept it, snowskating promises to join snowboarding, skateboarding, and all the other board-sports, as an entertaining, thrilling sport.
By Molly Leger, staff writer
