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Chairlift issues

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi, i've been snowboarding for about a week at Milton Keynes snow dome and last week visited the alps. While at the alps the first thing i done was take a button up a run to get the feel for my first new board i bought. Then i thought it was time to do a chair...... i skate up to the lift, sit down fine thinking this is going well. Then.. i see the end, i stand up slide a bit and fall flat on my face. So i brush myself down, Ride down, queue up, sit down, see the end, boom, again i fall down. Throughout my weeks visit i think i managed to ride of a chair once successfully. I think the main problem is me rushing to get away as quick as possible.

In 6 weeks i'm going out to the alps again so i beg you fellow snowboarders. How do i get off a chair????! thanks alot.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
snowmanjack, When the bar goes up swivel slighty so sitting on one back bottom cheek (of back foot). Line up board so it is facing direction of travel. When board touches down and chair slows, stand up locating back foot just infront of back binding. Push off from chair with back hand. Stand up, weight towards front of board, ride away.
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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?
snowmanjack, might also help to watch other boarders!
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Quote:

might also help to watch other boarders!


might also help to take a lesson, before you break yourself or someone else. wink
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
pam w, you can get lessons on getting off a chair lift?
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snowmanjack, if you wave your arm/hand from high to low politely to the liftie they will generally slow it down for you until you've got the hang of it!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
snowmanjack, of course! If you sign up for a course of snowboard lessons you'll usually end up going up chairlifts, and if you have a private lesson, you can ask the instructor to go up the lift with you - he or she will help you get in the right position, then stand up positively, with the weight on the front of the board, at just the right moment. The instructor can also indicate to the lift operator that you are a beginner and they can slow it down a bit, if it's not too busy.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
pam w, ok, thank you for your replies Smile
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
snowmanjack, you know when you took your very first lesson and you spent a good bit of time just going in a straight line, with only one foot strapped into the board? Getting off a lift is pretty much exactly like that.

Line the board up, put it down flat on the snow early (while you're still sitting on the chair). Stand up onto your front foot, then jam your back foot up against the back binding and put an even amount of weight on both feet. Push gently off the lift and run completely straight ahead. Don't try to turn or stop, just glide to a natural halt (most lifts have a sensible run-out).

If people are standing in the way (especially those weird folk with a skinny board on each foot, fannying around with their poles), yell at them!
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
All good advice above. I drop my board down before arriving at the lip of the drop-off area, so that when it touches the ground the board is pushed up and I flex my knee up with it, with the board running straight in the right direction. I lift my back foot out of the way until the chair has levelled off, then plonk it on stomp pad. I also keep my hands on the edge of the chair, and let it push me gently forward but also giving a bit of extra balance before moving off. Once you're off, just go with the flow, keep your weight towards your front foot, and if the run-out will let you slow naturally to a stop, just practice keeping your balance until you stop. If not then you might need to turn and dig an edge in - keep your weight over front foot, and also a bit more to toe or heel depending on which way you want to turn.

A very important lesson I learned regarding keeping my back foot out of the way - the first lift I learned on was in Canada, and it was pretty much possible to have my back foot in place on the board as soon as the board touched down. The next year when I went to France, I found out pretty painfully that there was a hell of a lot less clearance between the ground and the chair - I had my back foot on the board, and then got my leg jammed right under the chair as the ground came up to meet it. I had a massive purple bruise from that, and always keep my foot well out the way now :S
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
if you have Flow bindings you might be able to get your back foot in before you have to dismount - makes the whole getting off process less of a gamble as you can actually steer where you want to go. wink
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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.
Of course, you could always try swapping that board for some skis Toofy Grin
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Relax, get your board pointing straight and flat, and just stand up and push off the chair, and relax some more, look up, go straight, and keep relaxing.

You'll be there in no time, just try not to get stressed about falling over, because then it will happen.

If you have got a bunch of skiers with you on the chair, if they are any good, let them go first before you push off to give yourself a bit more room.

Pretty soon you'll be pulling one footed ollies over the top of the people sitting down in your way as you come off.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Some good advice, but hang11 has it. Relax, keep calm, and carry on...........

As with most things boarding, and probably skiing, when you panic is when you'll have most issues.

Once the bars up, swivel onto the opposite bum cheek to your lead leg, 'float' the board, tip up maybe 20-30degs angle, slightly above the unloading ramp, pointing straight ahead, and when you decide to go do it in one decisive movement. DON'T faff about. DON'T lean back. Keep straight. Maybe speak to the other people on the chair on the way up and ask if you can unload first, so as the chair is still 'settled' when you go.

If you can find any features that resemble a unloading ramp, on the pistes, practice on those, on the way down (at least the glide/steer/stop bit), obviously only if it's practical and safe.

Good luck.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Board pointing in sympathy to the slope, not sideways against it, no edge engaged. Stand up straight. Relax. Most of the time just let gravity take its course, and you'll come to a natural stop after a few metres of straight running. Somtimes you might have to drag your back foot as a brake, or slightly rotate the board to let an edge do some braking.

I got totally stitched up dismounting from a lift on Saturday. There was a skier each side of me on the lift. When we dismounted, they both ran straight (and hence I had to, since if I tried to turn at all in either direction I would have taken one of them out), and stayed very close to me so I had no choice but just to ride it out. Unfortunately we were all three of us heading straight towards somebody. At the last possible second, the two skiers peeled away left and right like a pair of Red Arrows, leaving me to collide with the gentleman in question and hence look like a tosspot.

Grr.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
In that situation I would have kicked the skiers leg out Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
paulio, ouch!

On the few occasions I go up a chairlift on a board, I go either on my own or only with the OH. If it's too busy to have a chair to ourselves (very seldom) I wouldn't use the board. Never got much good at it.

I did once go down an easy slope, overtaking 3 skiers (who have to be really, really, rubbish for me to overtake them). Slope otherwise entirely deserted, nobody at the chair. So I shuffle up, get myself lined up, push forward as the chair comes round. 3 numpty skiers whizz in beside me. I did warn them on the way up that I am beginner (and I already know they are even more useless). "no no", they say "it will be fine, no problem at all". Which just goes to show how little they know. I couldn't do my rear binding up with all them in the way, so did all the above, glided off the chair in nice straight line so they can sort themselves out. Snow quite slick, straight line taking me over small cliff eventually (well, OK, not a cliff exactly) so I decked it, out of everybody's way.

I try not to get on a lift with snowboarders, because I know the difficulties and some of them are no better than I am. My son, who is a pretty decent boarder, always tries to get on "his" side of the chair, so he has maximum chance of emerging with dignity intact.
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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?
When skiing, if I'm on a chair with boarders, I always try to be aware whether they're left or right foot forward - based on the likelihood that they'll probably tend towards their heel on the dismount, and try to plan my unloading accordingly! i.e. if their heel-side is toward me I'll come off the chair and immediately put a turn in away from them rather than running straight.
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stevomcd wrote:
snowmanjack, you know when you took your very first lesson and you spent a good bit of time just going in a straight line, with only one foot strapped into the board? Getting off a lift is pretty much exactly like that.


Also, I think this is a great point. Maybe spend half an hour practicing scooting around on the flat with your back foot free. That's bound to help a bit if it's a balance issue.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Personally I far prefer surface lifts, because there's no need to have to deal with all the drama getting off them with other people, and don't have to deal with conversing with anybody and I can usually roll a fag on the way up
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paulio, I sympathise with the skier sandwich dismount. I have been caught like that several times. I now tend to go for the end seat of any chair preferably left side as I am goofy and tend to go left on dismount unless there is nowhere to go. If I am caught in a skier sandwich I usually try to talk to them on the lift journey and warn them about the distinct possibility that I will head left as soon as possible. If language is a barrier I will invariably try and dismount first jettisoning myself off like a bullet or last as slowly as possible if there is crowd milling about in the way in the dismount area. I find that if I jostle about on the chair in preparation as clumsily and elbowy as possible coming up to the dismount most people think (realise) that I am totally incompetent and could cause them injury whilst alighting the lift and hence other chair riders give me a wide berth. In fact, clattering about while queueing for a chair lift often has the effect of clearing a space around me and my other boarding compadres resulting in a chair all to ourselves. Whilst this has an attraction in terms of ease of dismount, I prefer not to be treated like some kind of leper and do like to talk to people on the chairs even if it is just a mangled and strangled 'bonjour', so I try to behave a little less like a bull in a china shop nowadays.

snowmanjack, practicing on a mild slope with the back foot out is also excellent advice. Especially learning to stop quickly toe and heel side. I tend to drag my free heel or toe in the snow to control my speed. Also, if it looks a particularly steep dismount I will crouch low as the falls don't hurt so much then. Having some good grippy stomp pads helps too.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
paulio, Schoolboy error - always take the outside seat when loading with any skier douches and especially skier douches who may be your mates who will engineer your precise incident.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I'm a skier but read this with interest having seen some interesting dismounts with friends. I think fatbob has a key point - as a skier I always look at borders and try to make sure I am on the "right" side of them so when they turn they turn away from me....
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Make sure you're the first or last to get off then you get a clear run at it. Depending on the arrival ramp you might have to ride it out for a bit before taking an edge and stopping. If this is the case, just go with it.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
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...and always make sure your highback is down flat - stops it getting caught between the chair and the off-ramp, particularly if the chair isn't evenly loaded for weight.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Richard_Sideways, Oh yes, this is a very good reminder. Had a very nasty moment getting on a chair which pinned the highback underneath it. I now check every time.
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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.
The loose (unstrapped) foot is usually the culprit.
Get that sucker planted in front of your back binding and charge down that exit ramp.
Snowboarding just works better for me when I am forward maybe 60%/40% anyways.
Coming down anything one footed I would say I'm more towards 50/50 balance between my feet.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
When I was learning I used to take up the two middle seats on a 4man chair so I could strap in my back foot- I still think far fewer boarders would fall off chairs if they let us strap in!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

I still think far fewer boarders would fall off chairs if they let us strap in!

I agree, but I need an entire 4 man chair to strap in my back foot. Embarassed I invariably strap in the back foot on a drag lift - and have never been challenged by a liftie. Not only am I far less likely to fall off, I can get out of the way far faster if I do - it's so much easier to do a roll and get the board out of the way. I know I should practice scooting around with one foot in, but I find it uncomfortable. My age is my excuse (and it works really well with lifties, who will take pity on an old lady).

The only time I almost did myself a major injury, snowboarding, was getting off a chair with only the front foot strapped in. I fell - which is no big deal - but the free end of the board dug in some deep snow and created a massive lever effect on my strapped-in knee. It was OK, just a very nasty twinge, but I thought I'd had it.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I can't manage to get my back foot in on a chair lift either I must say. Back-foot in on drag lifts is good.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Big thing I had to learn was remember when you learn to board and you should do most of your turning by weighting the front foot, not the lazy way of kicking out the back? That's what you need to do to steer with one foot in, steer with the front because it's pretty difficult to kick out the back when it's not actually attached to anything..

It does get easier, I've had 3 weeks away plus fridge time at MK and Landgraaf (which has a chairlift) and have gone from terrified of charlifts, particuarly the smaller ones that don't slow down for you to get on or off, to being fine with them most of the time.

Persevere, and get yourself some decent crash pants and knee pads for the inevitable occasional disaster plus be prepared to laugh at yourself and get back up as fast as you can with a big grin on your face and you'll feel much better.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I usually ride chairs and drags with my back foot in, never had a problem with the lifties. It helps having K2 Cinch bindings so I can just click in and go. If I have to scoot I'll sit on the left side of the lift and then kind of twist my left foot around so my tail is pointing forwards on the bar and get my foot in that way (then drop my feet down, wait til everyone dismounts and hop off the chair with a 90 degree turn). I only really do it so I can head straight off (if the terrain at the top allows without having to do that hopping like an army man in Toy Story move Smile)

As far as dismounting with the back foot out I think when it clicked for me was when I realised I had to do any and all steering with my front foot. Oh and always take an edge seat, not only does this allow you to ride off where you want (within reason), it'll also mean that you can get your board up on the rest or on your loose foot on long lifts. I made the schoolboy error of sitting in the middle of a lift a couple of weeks back and my board was too big to fit in the gap between the rests, my calf and ankle were killing by the time I got to the top.
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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?
I dismount as above, always try to be on one of the outersides if a 4 person lift,
And place my free back foot on the stomp pad, and go in a straight line or out of harms way, until I can stop,

Like it has been said it comes with practice, could practice just gliding along the flat with your back foot unstrapped, till you get a feel n use to it, button lifts give you loads of practice,

Most. Lifts in resorts have a large departing Point
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I can sympathise. I am generally a skier (shh) but have started to dabble with boarding. Had a few lessons, seemed to be picking it up great but do struggle with the chairlift dismount.

I find that I struggle to dismount in a straight line flat, not engaging either edge. A slight wobble on the run off slope, an edge catches and boom, Im over. I guess it just takes practice, but even with an instructor beside me, the slightest wobble from a lumpy bit of snow or the chair unweighting is enough to make me fall. I manage a clean dismount maybe 1 in 5. It doesn't help when someone charges through the lift gates at the last minute and blocks me in the middle of a chair...I always try to get an outside seat, so I can engage an edge and steer away. I properly freaked out once when that happened, and did a spectacular stack on the dismount as the numpty had left me no room at all!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
My top tips for dismounting from a chair cleanly are

1. Get an outside seat if possible, I'm not overly bothered which one, but outside is preferable.

2. Hold on to the chair after dismounting, let everyone else (particularly skiers) go on ahead, then give yourself a push-off when the exit ramp is clearer.

I'm not saying this will always work, but it works well for me. There are only fixed chairs at my local resort, not detachable and today the exit ramps were narrow to say the least (two weeks of high temperatures). GF is not a strong skier, so holding back until I could see where she and others were going was by far the best approach, not to mention that she appreciated the space Wink

I'll only launch myself off first if I'm convinced that everybody else is going to make a pig's ear of it.


Biggest problem for me is the person who has inevitably fallen or stopped exactly where I'd like to go at the end of the exit ramp... clear the lift exits, please!
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This skill should be mastered on a gentle incline that runs to a flat spot with front front strapped and rear foot un attached (i.e at the bottom of a nursery slope) then once mastered you can transfer the skill to getting off a chair.

head up looking at a fixed point in the distance,

front arm out pointing to that spot in the distance (it helps get your weight forward)

Back arm raised too over the tail of your board

Keep riding in a straight line forward until the board slows to a stop


http://youtube.com/v/PAiJNr97C6g&feature=related

NB yeah as previously mentioned sit on the outside chair, this way if you do fall you can crawl, scramble out of the way quickly
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