Here’s the situation: I have only skied twice in my life in conditions that many West Coasters would sneer at. Both times were many, many years ago, in fake machine-generated snow, on soft and forgiving East Coast slopes. In one case, I fell so spectacularly (cartwheeling head over skis into the air) that a person on the ski lift above actually shouted down at me to make sure I was okay.

In a couple weeks, I head to Vail, Colorado, where the snow is the real deal, and the mountains are thousands of feet higher than those in Pennsylvania’s White Tail and Virginia’s Wintergreen. I’ll be going with friends who currently reside in Colorado, and who spend every weekend that they can snowboarding. While they shred the triple-zillion black-diamond runs and conquer the K-12 a la Lane Myer, my plan is to take a lesson and baby my days away on the bunny slope. But what I can’t decide regarding my lesson is, skiing or snowboarding?

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member NSXEatr.

I’m leaning toward ski, only because that’s what I’ve done before and something seems more balanced to me about having two points of contact with the ground. But, in polling some of my friends and colleagues, the overwhelming suggestion I’m getting is to try snowboarding.

And, by the way, this trip wouldn’t be possible at all if it wasn’t for amazing late-season ski deals. My friends and I will be staying in an incredibly posh three-bedroom townhome at the Vail Racquet Club for a ridiculously low price, and it’s very possible that it’ll be so nice I won’t even want to leave the house to hit the slopes at all.

But the call of the Rockies cannot go ignored, and I cannot go unchallenged (read: un-humiliated). I’m prepared for some serious muscle ache either way, but I do want to be able to have some fun with it, too. Mainly, I’ll just be happy to be outdoors and in a beautiful place. So what do you suggest—skiing, snowboarding, or something else altogether? Thanks in advance for your advice, and I’ll let you know what I choose in a few weeks.