I've noticed theres many people here who have a hefty age difference. Im 16 years old, and ive noticed many of the snowboarders are around this age, while the skiers seem to be a little bit older. I've always wondered how the age groups differ on the types of snow sports.... For example, on my mountains, i see more elderly people doing cross-country, teenagers snowboarding, middle aged people skiing, and young children skiing as well.

So ya... post your experiences/thoughts on how the age groups differ, and what catagory you fall under.

i think the people between 12-30 year snowboard very much but i'm 15 and a die-hard skier. and little kids are also skiing

I don't think age really matters. But then again, you don't see many 60 year olds boarding, maybe that is because boarding wasn't the thing when they started.

It's amazing looking at the 5 year olds with the crash helmets on who just bomb down the slopes!

Yeah the kids don't know any fear :). and i don't think there will be much 60+ boarders over 50 years.

I notice that snowboarders are a younger crowd. I dont think age matters, but older people were never exposed to snowboarding as a kid.

i never took the thought that 'elders' into consideration... i guess it never crossed my mind. But that sure would explain a lot. I guess to find out if there is a 'difference' in what styles and age groups, we'd have to wait for a few years until the generation intoduced to snowboards were the 'elderly'.

Untill 15 years i didn't knew anything about skiing.I only heard the word before.

Well right now i am 24 years and see i am here one of the members of skiing discussion family.

I am 18, been skiing a few times, been on holiday once with a best mate when I was 17 - just us two. It was awesome.

Im also 16 and I've noticed not many people like to ski at this age... They mostly like to snowboard which I do as well but I perfer skiing. Plus all the hot chicks ski anyways and that gives me a big advantage.:p

I'm 25. I've seen kids the age of 9 skiing, and some people up to the age of 50. I dont see much of an age limitation, more of a physical body limitation really.

You guys are young 0.o Well, expect for the 25 yr. old. I'm 19. Wooo kiddies, grow up! lol

I'm 34. Snowboarding was around when I was younger, but certainly not as popular as it is today. It does look like fun, but I figure that I can ski just fine and I have fun doing it. Why would I want to start all over as a beginner by learning to snowboard? Just my opinion, as I am sure it is a lot of fun.

I'm 34. Snowboarding was around when I was younger, but certainly not as popular as it is today. It does look like fun, but I figure that I can ski just fine and I have fun doing it. Why would I want to start all over as a beginner by learning to snowboard? Just my opinion, as I am sure it is a lot of fun.

Very good point, I haven't tried snowboarding just for the same reason. But I suppose maybe a day or two at it wouldn't do any harm :)

I'm 16 and i ski, i have thought about trying snowboarding but never got round to it. I dnt think age matters its jus wotever appeals to you.

As a ski instructor I can tell you I see skiers of all ages. But I do believe the younger crowd does most of the snowboarding. Even the snowboard instructors are usually younger (teenagers). Although I have seen some snowboarders who are well over 60. I think it depends where you go on the mountain too, terrain parks are all the younger crowds usually. You may see older people cruising the blues or greens. Too bad we don't have a worldwide poll on this, it would be interesting to know.

hmm, thats interesting. i do see a lot of teens snowboarding, but i am also a die-hard skier, and i just turned 18 this summer. i see a lot of kids doin both, so i think it is probably half/half but there is an increased amount of snowboarders than there used to be, according to the staff people. i think its becoming popular again

15 year old skiers (sum unus). Rare, but typically not as boneheaded as a lot of same age snowboarders I see.

Yeah the kids don't know any fear :). and i don't think there will be much 60+ boarders over 50 years.

lol my buddies grandfather started snowboarding about 10 years ago and loves it. Kinda cool seeing a 70 year old ripping hard lines on a board. Kinda scared that he's gonna break his hip if he falls though.

I can see him now: hey there whippersnappers, out of my!

Lol, you'd think that but, he wears baggy pants(always has because he can never find his belt) and he swears like a trucker. Kinda cool doing shots with him at mid too.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That must be hillarious.

It's a riot!!!! Sucky part is he's starting to develop Alseimers<---spelled wrong, some times he doesn't remember who anyone is but he can still rip down the mountain with no recollection of anything. I hope I'm lucky enough to be able to ski after loosing my mind.

That is sad, but I am already well on my way to my section eight.

It is definitely sad but I have to admire the man for still doing what he loves.

No wonder he says things like hurry up, he is running out of time.

I had a women in her 70s go past me on a snowboard in Italy once. It's great to know that I can still be out there in powder days in 40 years.

An old woman on a snow board, strange.

The average age of snowboarders today is 23 yrs. Those boaders 13-17 yrs old make up 30% of boarders, the largest group is 18-24, making up 46% of boarders.

If it weren't for snowboarding many of the resorts we enjoy today wouldn't be in business. During the early 90's the cost of skiing and popularity wained to the point where many hills (at least up here in Canada) were facing financial crisis.

Good business recognized the ka-ching factor in catering to this new "fad" and over time resorts began to welcome the boarders and change hill layouts to accomodate snowboarding.

It may be that the younger age group (be it boarding or skiing) are more visible simply because they have a higher disposable income, or their parents do ;)

Whatever the demographics, at least we know we can ski or board well into retirement.

On hardpack, snowboarders are scary. You can hear a fast one for about two second in advance like a huge scraperlike sound. That means out of the way. What percentage of 15 year olds ski?

On hardpack, snowboarders are scary. You can hear a fast one for about two second in advance like a huge scraperlike sound. That means out of the way. What percentage of 15 year olds ski?

Unfortunately, the reports I read didn't delve into specific ages beyond the 13-17 grouping. That being said it'd be safe to say 15 year olds are part of the second largest boarding group.

That scraping sound coming up behind you can be scary especially if the person behind you isn't familiar with the skier's code. The otherhalf has had a couple of wipe outs from skiers and boarders coming up behind him and taking him out. In all fairness, boarders do have a blind spot so they may not have seen him.;)

I ski, not snowboard.

I ski, not snowboard.

Here's a link on demographics for kids who ski

More kids skiing and snowboarding (http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=330)

well tons of people ski and snowboard and i see pleanty of each age group but its all about what type of skiing or riding you do that the age groups realy start to change like for example the realy old people just do groomers and stuff or cross country then the older people all like race and dont like the younger people who freestyle ski and are very weird about it because they know that there type of skiing is not going to hold up much longer and almost all the skiers age like 10 to 17 all freestyle ski

Getting older definitely limits your skiing options. Even at 32 my body won't take the knocks it did 15 years ago.

jullo177. Race programs are still very big for kids who live in resorts and ski a lot (both in the US and Eurpoe). I don't see that stopping anytime soon. They were never a big part of the casual skiers vacation plans. I'm not a huge fan, but I see race skiing as being a pure variation of the sport - 'get down a mountain as quick as you can'. There are no fancy rules, judging, etc. The score is an absolute - like the 100m sprint. The purer variations of sports tend to evolve less over time.

I don't feel older people are weird about freestyle skiing because race skiing isn't going to hold up much longer. Every generation invents its variation of all sports. In 20 years freestyle skiing is going be considered out of fashion and the teenagers will be doing something else. That's great - it moves sports on, keeps new people interested and ultimately gets people out to enjoy the mountain. People bringing in new variations deliberately exclude the bulk of the existing participants as they want to be different. The bulk of existing skiers are happy for them to be different as long as it doesn't interfere with their enjoyment of the sport.

Skiing, since most of the girls like how I am the one teen skiing on the slopes while everyone else is snowboarding =)