 Poster: A snowHead
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this should make some of you laugh at me,do you have to ski on/ski off the lifts or is it possible to walk on and walk off,i ask because last year when i was attempting to board i fell and broke my arm when i come off the lift and dont fancy doing it again,i would like a couple "dry runs" before i ski on/ski off to build my confidence back up
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ouch!  Yeah walking on walking off should be OK, i think, the lifts are used in the summer to walkers and bikers, so there shouldnt be a problem.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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cheers for the speedy reply and info,good point about the walkers,must be able to walk off if they do,unless they make them ski on the grass(would be funny to see) 
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Though it is always a bit of a scramble - ski off is easier.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Depends on type of lift. On some you MUST take your ski off and walk in/out.
Most, perhaps all, chairlifts I have seen in the ski season do not allow people to walk on and walk off. Suppose they did allow it then where you you put your skis and poles? Would you want to carry them for the whole journey? Would you want someone else to carry them? Consider how many poles, hats and gloves you have seen that have been dropped from a chair lift. Would you like to risk adding your skis to these collections?
Have a look for the chairlifts in the beginners areas of the resort. Some resorts have slower lifts on their novices slopes and those lifts have easy entry and exit areas. Go with a friend and let them take your poles for your first ski away at the top, so you can avoid one worry and concentrate more on balance.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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notverygoodatskiing, and be careful that when you ski on that you don't go too early and end up with someone on your lap - the lifties don't like that for some reason.
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Most won't allow it...but your dry run could be from a cable car/gondola?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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looks like i will just give it a go and hope for the best,must remember to just keep leaning forwards,stupid thing is is that i know i can do it because ive done it loads of times,just my confidence shaken from the damn boarding accident(note to self,if good at something such as skiing,dont try bloody boarding and mess your confidence up)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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notverygoodatskiing, As everyone has said - depends...
Pomas/Buttons/T-bars - No - impossible
Gondolas/Funiculars/Cable-Cars Yes - compulsory
Chairs - depends whether they are detachable or not. The faster the lift the more likely it is that the chair disconnects from the cable and goes onto a slower moving transport system at either end, so you could walk-on and off.... except the lifties would poke you with sharp pointy sticks and you mate would drop your skis laughing, or on the head of some poor sucker as the chair went along...
So it ain't going to happen.
Find an express lift (detachable -"debrayable") as the chair will be moving slower at the end (but not one of the weird French moving-carpet ones which do not detach) and go up with one friend on a 4-chair at a quiet time. You will be fine.
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i can do pomas easy,infact just last week was the last time(xscape)
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You know it makes sense.
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notverygoodatskiing, you'll be fine. Remember, charis on a board are hard....chairs on skis are easy
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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my confidence is getting higher with every reply,thank you
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Poster: A snowHead
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notverygoodatskiing, you'll be ok. I was terrified the first time I went up on a chairlift but I was fine in the end.
When you get the top and your skis touch down, just stay relaxed, stand up, and you should just slide down the unloading ramp slowly thanks to gravity. You'll be fine!!
*CSJ has just realised that snowhead has ever seen her on a chairlift (skis on) which means she'll probably muck it up at the EOSB* LOL
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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notverygoodatskiing, I can sympathise with you every step of the way. This is still something I have not tried -I had been in resort 4 days last Feb, before I plucked up courage to ride the chairlift - then to see what was at the top I took the toboggan with me and rode down - I never did get up there with ski's on - its blue all the way down, but I'm not that confident. I can imagine the heap that I will be when I arrive at the top with skis on. In Lenzerheide it was ski's off and in the cable cars (they're dreadful things and sway when they go over a pylon rather terrifyingly – funnily enough the small 2 person jobs seemed less sway-y than the big 30-40 person one that went up the top) – my first experience with a large cable car was up the Corvatch on a summer holiday when I want to see snow in August – my friends took me up to see the glacier – I almost didn’t get there because it meant getting back into a car at the halfway point – it took several stiff drinks J) The only lift I’ve got to grips with so far is the tellerlift? (button type job – you pull it down and tuck under your buttocks). My instructor showed me what to do. My friend keeps threatening to take me on the sesilie lift (T bar), but again there is the worry about what to do at the top. I think I will get the instructor to go through all these with me first. So don’t worry you most definitely are not alone with you apprehension.
crazy_skier_jules, will there always be an unloading ramp that will be easy to stop at the end of the gravity bit? Or will some chuck you off straight down a hill?
Sorry to dent that confidence notverygoodatskiing.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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That was my concern too, but the ones in Val d, were really gentle. Possibly a little too flat though. Always had to get off quick as some of the learners in our group had a habit of colliding with everyone else or hanging on to them. So actually, you'll probably have to push yer self a little too.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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so what do we think,just do it and see what happens? whats the worst that will happen,might break another arm,o well the last one only took 6 months to recover 
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notverygoodatskiing, do it! You'll have two planks to balance on this time instead of one - just keep them straight and apart (but not too much) when you get off!
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i think i will definately be able to do the "apart" bit,but how far apart and how straight is anyones guess
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Hip width. If I go on a larger than 2 person chairlift, I tend also to try and get to one of the far sides, that way I can sort of steer away from the others when I get off so 1. It gives THEM more room, and 2. It gives ME more room and can stay away from possible collisions.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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stoatsbrother,
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Megamum, No - some chairlifts drop every 1000th chair into a Crevasse... :
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Oh very droll.......LMAO here....... 
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Megamum, in an entire resort I didn't come across one which chucked you downhill. Although if you think about it, chairlifts are going uphill so the loading ramp is going to usually face uphill when you arrive and therefore not go down for very long. And some have a fence about 10 or so metres away from the unloading ramp.
You have to keep your skis straight as you ski away from the chair, but soon as you can without endangering anyone, just snowplough to ease to speed off.
Larger cable cars etc will swing more because of science. More mass to swing and more surface area for the wind to affect.
They key with lifts is PRACTICE. Anyone who's seen me larking around on the poma at Castleford (I like to try and copy Jono's tricks, not as good as him though) wouldn't guess that a few years ago I was TERRIFIED of ski lifts. Once you get the hang on them it's easy though, they take the hard work out of getting back up.
Good luck people!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Megamum, crazy_skier_jules is right, the more you do it the easier it gets, except when you get used to the nice slow ones which are a doddle, then you get an old one which totally wipes your knees out! 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| ...cable cars (they're dreadful things and sway when they go over a pylon rather terrifyingly... |
If anyone doesn't like cable cars and fancies some aversion therapy, then I would recommend the final car up to Hafelekarspitze in Innsbruck. There aren't any pylons, but it does go 400m up over a very short distance - it cured me, normal cable cars just seem tame now! Oh, and I think chairlifts are much scarier to look at than ride - they are much easier than t-bars to dismount.
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I used a chairlift in Brand (Austria), about a hundred years ago, which required one to put one's skis in a holder on the back of the chair in front (having removed them first). Needless to say, the landing zone was like a skating rink and I came a real cropper at least once. It worked like that on the way down; IIRC, skis were worn on the way up.
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You know it makes sense.
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notverygoodatskiing,
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When you get the top and your skis touch down, just stay relaxed, stand up, and you should just slide down the unloading ramp slowly thanks to gravity.
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Just a small piece of advice. From all my 20 odd years of experience, I think the biggest problem most people have when unloading from a chair lift is that they try and stand up too early. There is no reason to stand up as soon as your skis touch snow, sit, chill out for a few seconds and only stand up when you are getting close to the down slope.
Pretty much every chair I have ever ridden has a flat section followed by the down slope. If you stand up as soon as you touch snow (on the flat bit) you then have to propel yourself along until you reach the down slope where gravity takes over. It is during this propelling stage that most people get off balance and (if they are going to) fall over. Go on admit it, every one of you can visualise the scene, person stands up, arms swinging all over the place, poles impaling people on either side, catch an edge, down they go taking with them everybody else (usually still impaled on the ends of the poles  ) Trust me, if you stay seated for 1-2 extra seconds, when you stand up you will effortlessly slide away, no frantic shuffling of feet, no getting smacked in the calves by the chair, no need to grab hold of the people either side to pull you along. Just dont sit for too long otherwise you may find that you are heading back down the hill or are left with a 3 foot drop onto the down slope 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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richmond, The chair in Arinsal was (is?) like that, this being the one that takes you from the top of the village, there used to be two lifties at the top that you linked arms with and they swung you out the chair beofre collecting your skis. you could only get one set of skis in though so if a load of you had taken your skis back to the village you could have a wai for them to arrive.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Big G, Aye at Arinsal they built a gondola.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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one of the old smaller chair lifts in AdH has something approaching a 'cresta run' exit, gave me a shock on my board i can tell you !!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rayscoops, I can't think of any specific examples but there have been a few on my board where I've had momentary concern, there were definately some that plunged straight down a slope when I was a skier but they never worried me.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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One of the reasons I am an ex boarder is because getting off lifts on skis is sooooo much easier, almost too easy. You will be fine.
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Muffin, I am so with you on the t-bar comment - I hate t-bars anyway, they're evil  Robbie can testify to this one as she has seen me hyperventilating and trying to stay upright and getting off, unless they're reasonably flat is hell. Mr geetee pushed me off the steepest section of the Horstmann T on Blackcomb (he maintains I fell off) as he was being pushed off by me (or so he says)
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geetee, I don't mind T-bars per se, just that as I'm normally on one with Mrs M, then I do the chivalrous thing and a) get on the worse side and b) let her get off first - both of which make T-bars a pain!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I think the worst chair I've yet encountered is at Val Cenis. I don't know what it's called but it arrives at roughly the same point as the Moulin gondola. The off-loading point is about 15 feet in the air so there's a wooden ramp (snow-covered, thankfully) like a giant child's slide to get you from the chair to ground level. Very scary when you arrive for the first time without having been warned.
The lift to the highest point in the Valmeinier sector (Gros Crey?) offloads on the top of a ridge. As you disembark the chair, straight ahead is a bit of flimsy orange tape and then a massive (like 1000m) drop into the valley beyond. It gave me a fright one foggy morn...
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You could try a bit of both which is what I had to do a few years ago. 30 feet up on a 4 person chair with some mates and one of my skis fell off. Got to the top and, needless to say, ended up in a big heap along with my friends.
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FAQ
If you think getting off a chairlift with ski's is difficult, getting off on a board is even more so 
