 Poster: A snowHead
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Does any one have any tips for getting off these ? I just about get off with the grace of God .?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Jump!
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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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Let go!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Make sure you have a good hold with your hand then you can start to release slightly before the get-off point and do it smoothly. If you were getting off too soon then you still have hold for it to pull you the extra little distance. This works well if there's a gradual/shallow approach to the get-off point.
If the get-off point changes suddenly from going uphill to downhill then flexing your legs over the change in gradient can make it smoother, and fractionally increase the time for letting go.
Hope that helps...let me know if this makes sense to you...and for the 2 people above, thanks for the contributions!
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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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No, don't just let go but make sure to wait until the indicated dismount point and if the bullwheel is above you, feed the button or T-Bar smoothly into it. Otherwise you're liable to trip the lift or even derail the cable. It's the careless users or the novices who nervously dismount drags too soon that sometimes end up falling then sliding back down the line into those heading up. So always wait it out to the dismount as that is going to be the point at which your transport is travelling most slowly and over the flattest terrain and won't disrupt the uplift.
If you're using a button, just unhook it from under your bum. If you're sharing a T-Bar, new to it and you're nervous about it, just agree which way you're going at the top and who's going to dismount first then just unhook it from behind your bum as per a button. On the getting off, if you can't already skate, then learn to. Anyone with a half decent ski skating technique will have no problem getting up and off even the most awkwardly angled demounting point from a drag lift.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sat 12-11-11 2:36; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I can't say I've ever had a problem with this even as a child. Make sure you are taking all the tension on your arms and chuck it, most people get in a mess when they try and ditch it then the button/T-part is still pulling them along by the @rse. Well waxed skis may help since the force will be lower due to better sliding of the skis.
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Poles in one hand, drag pole in the other, when you reach the dismount area, pull the drag lift pole down slightly to make it easier to take from under you. If you are confident on the actual uplift, you could practice pulling it down slightly to feel how much tension there is as they differ. Once it is away from under you, hold it for a bit until it feeds back into wheel as Moffatross says.
If I am on a drag I've never been on, I tend to watch the person in front of me, where they get off, whether it is a downhill dismount (they disappear) I prefer when there is a bit of downhill as the pole comes out easier from under you, and whether it looks an awkward dismount, although I don't really have a problem with them. No good mind you if the person in front is a novice! I think to realise you probably have a bit more time than you think on most, panicking and rushing is where you have problems and get in a fankle! 
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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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simon_bates, moffatross, Think these guys sum it up perfectly.
Its a bit of an instictive thing really that should come with time, but on almost all tows they'll have a flatter section for the dismount. At this point take the weight off your bum by pulling on the lift with your spare hand (poles will be in the other), shouldn't be much weight if you do this at the right point, and push the lift down and out from your legs, then allow it to go up in a controlled manner as per the type of lift.
Do instructors not teach these things nowadays? 
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On her first ski holiday my sister hated these things. But with a bit of coaching from me and her other half we persuaded her to give them a go. My basic advice was to wait until she had passed the crest of the slope and it just started to drop away then pull down on the pole and let it retract...
... she was a little eager and ended up letting go just BEFORE the top of the hill, she then started to ski backwards down the slope! After getting my laughter under control I screamed "FALL" a few times then rushed to drag her back up the hill!
More of a 'how not to do it' example, but freakin hillarious all the same!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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^ Hillarious!
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You know it makes sense.
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| Alan R wrote: |
simon_bates, moffatross, Think these guys sum it up perfectly.
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Do instructors not teach these things nowadays? |
Ha, ha, I certainly do, both when I teach at the local dryslope in Edinburgh and in Meribel. It's easier to show what to do with props than to explain though! As highlighted by others, most people do try to get off too early but in my experience telling them to hold the pole for a moment after taking it from between legs means that they can either hold on for the extra second or so if they are about to slide backwards...or release if they feel themselves sliding forwards, or if it starts going round the bullwheel at the top. Getting practice on a beginner drag lift helps to give confidence and 'get the feel' before trying harder ones.
I also have specific tips for getting on and off chairlifts and minimising the fear some people have of them before they've tried them, such as "treat getting on the chairlift like when a waiter helps you into your seat in a posh restaurant" (with some chairs having a rude waiter). Also if nervous when lifts stop, remember that it generally means that the lift operators are awake and helping people so stopping is a good thing.
If in doubt then get a lesson with a suitably patient instructor wherever/whenever you next go and you'll soon have them mastered.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Mountain Maid. That was brilliant.
Learning to use a draglift is about lesson number three after learning to carry your skis and doing a snow plough. It comes just before side slipping and traversing. It is a fundamental skill. Why is that that people struggle so much ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| moffatross wrote: |
No, don't just let go but make sure to wait until the indicated dismount point and if the bullwheel is above you, feed the button or T-Bar smoothly into it. Otherwise you're liable to trip the lift or even derail the cable. It's the careless users or the novices who nervously dismount drags too soon that sometimes end up falling then sliding back down the line into those heading up. So always wait it out to the dismount as that is going to be the point at which your transport is travelling most slowly and over the flattest terrain and won't disrupt the uplift.
If you're using a button, just unhook it from under your bum. If you're sharing a T-Bar, new to it and you're nervous about it, just agree which way you're going at the top and who's going to dismount first then just unhook it from behind your bum as per a button. On the getting off, if you can't already skate, then learn to. Anyone with a half decent ski skating technique will have no problem getting up and off even the most awkwardly angled demounting point from a drag lift. |
next you will be telling us that we arent allowed to do 360's on the way up 
http://video.mpora.com/ep/1VikbaVcm 1.40mins in
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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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Well, you gotta say 'respect' to that knowing it seems about 10x harder for a boarder to stay upright on a draglift in the first place ! 
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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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Thanks for all the helpful replies ! ...I have no problem getting on and no problem skiing off but it is just releasing that hook I always feel it is going to catch me and I am going to be suspended in mid air ! I wish the bar was just straight across , I would have no problem then .
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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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I avoid surface lifts whenever i can as they are not easy to ride with a MONOSKI.
2 plank Skiers would soon become aware of the stability problems if they try riding a surface lift with both skis hard together instead of apart. (Watch out for those ruts)
The trouble is that most UK Lifts Are Surface lifts, Many of which have take offs that NASA would be proud of.
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Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 11-01-12 14:23; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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cc7up - could you not just get one of those mini-mini bigfoot ski things (the ones that are barely longer than your boot) then clip one foot into that and the other into your monoski?
That or just MTFU, we snowboarders have to after all.... 
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The main thing to remeember with T-bars is NOT just to let go - it'll swing round at top speed and potentially hit someone in the head.
I was at the Gorm a year or two back and was almost hit in the face by a flying t-bar from the bloke and his wife/girlfriend in front, up at Coire Cas. I told him this and offered to show him how to do it, but was told to ' off and mind my own business or I'd get a pole wrapped ropund my head' in the expected home counties English accent.
About half an hour later I was sat on a ledge of snow at the top of the run having a cigarette when two little kids came up the lift, aged 8 or 9 at most. They knew what they were doing but the kid who tried to feed the t-bar fell as he did so, and (correctly) stayed down and tried to roll to his side, yet more t-bar users - almost all beginners - were making things difficult for him. Eventually he got just clear and rose to his feet - at EXACTLY the same moment the bloks from earlier was leaving the t-bar without feeding it in. Of course, the t-bar swung into the kids face, cracking his helmet and sending the kid into what looked like unconsciousness.
Ski partrol arrived on the scene pretty quickly - Myself and several other (large male) witnesses had ensured the perpetrator hadn't ski'd off - and I was sure to tell them exactly what had happened and that I had already offered advice which was rudely turned down. I didn't stay around much longer to find out what happened, but I hope to god that the guy had his lift pass removed.
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FAQ
A moment before I moved away, I could feel how the push of the bar just relaxed as we transition from uphill to flat. So the next time when I had to hold the bar, I knew I only need to move it away.
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