How would a snowboarder perform on a professional downhill skiing course?

Question

I was watching some word cup downhill and it got me thinking... How would snowboarder v skier times compare? Would it be too fast to attempt on a board?

Answer 1

The snowboarder would not be able to hold the speed or momentum of the turns and would probably be injured before the finish.  Ski speeds reach towards 100 KPH as an average with peaks of 130.

Answer 2

Downhill skiing uses really long skis.  The length of the skis is longer than anyone would use on any non-downhill course. The minimum ski length for men in the world cup is 215cm (for men) with a minimum sidecut radius of 45 meters. Downhill racers typically exceed 80mph.  Long heavy skis are needed for speed and stability.

Typical all mountain skis have a sidecut radius of around 15m and all mountain snowboards have a sidecut radius of around 7-9m. Snowboards are shorter than skis.

On a snowboard, you will pick up too much speed if you go all out.  There are jumps/gaps in downhill races, and on a snowboard, you will probably have too much speed to land them, due to the length of the board.

Skis would be faster, but if you try it on a snowboard, you will have to slow down alot to prevent from losing control.

Answer 3

too fast

Answer 4

skier would be faster

way faster