Skiing and snowboarding: Many people do both now

The relationship between skiers and snowboarders might still be a bit icy at times, but a versatile group has discovered there's more than one way to get down the mountain.

"Before, you were either a skier or a boarder. Now people do both," said Greg Ditrinco, editor of SKI Magazine. "It's a new phenomenon."

The crossover is being led primarily by snowboarders who are finding they can do more with two boards on their feet than one. Skis allow for more tricks in the pipes, and for more accessibility in the backcountry, where flat terrain is a boarder's nemesis.

"There are a lot of people going back to skiing because skiing has become fun again," said Abigail Slingsby, who teaches both boarding and skiing for the Steamboat Ski and Snowboard School in Colorado.

That fun factor comes from the technological advances in today's skis, many of which, ironically, were borrowed from the snowboard.

Boarding started gaining popularity about three decades ago, but many thought it didn't belong on the ski hill. Boarders were considered rebellious. Skiers were accused of being elitist.

As time passed, snowboarding earned legitimacy and acceptance. It became an Olympic sport in 1998, and today, only three of the 325 most popular resorts nationwide ban snowboarding: Deer Valley and Alta in Utah and Mad River Glen in Vermont. "Those in the industry really view the turf wars as over," said Ditrinco. "If you talk to the kids, they say: 'Ya, we ski, we board, we hang out together.'"

While the younger generation tends to be more welcoming, some older skiers still have a hard time with boarders.

"It's not as bad as 10 years ago, but there are still awful stereotypes," said Slingsby, 39, who previously taught at the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort in British Columbia.

Graham Potter, 25, agreed. He spent more than 100 days each of the past two winters on the snow at California's Mammoth Mountain before moving to Steamboat. He said his behavior is the same regardless of how he's getting down the hill, but it seems to attract more attention when he's on a snowboard.

"I ski obnoxiously fast, weave in and out of people, and hit as many obstacles as I can," he said. "But there is definitely still a stigma when you're on a board."

Despite the bias, Slingsby said she is increasingly finding that her students crossover in their winter sports. "There's always a group that does both," she said.