 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello.
After ending my day's boarding by climbing the last couple of hundred (steep) metres of my local mountain in order to regain the other side and get back to my car (I'm referring to the Mont Dore - SuperBesse liason on the Massif du Sancy for those who know it), I'd like to ask a question of the collected minds of Snowheads.
How on earth do you cope with a reverse slope draglift (i.e. one that runs downhill for a bit) on a snowboard?
Or should I invest in a pair of snowshoes? 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Steve(Correze), oh you have my sympathies - been there too!
Those bits can be tricky - but normal rules on drag lifts apply - stay relaxed, weight on front foot, don't try and edge or steer - just go with the drag even if you're wandering around a bit - and wait for the drag to kick in and give you a yank in the right direction.
How do you find sliding with one foot out of bindings? Maybe a bit of practice when not on drag would help?
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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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3 different approaches:
1. If you're confident riding with one foot out, then just pop the board round 90° and side-slip to brake (I sometimes do this for a bit on really long drag lifts as it's actually a more comfortable position!)
2. If it's a solid-pole type lift, then leaning hard into the pole can help to stop you moving past it.
3. If it's a short downslope, just go with the flow, ride ahead of the drag's attachment to the cable, then come to a stop on the flat and wait for it to overtake you again.
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Easy, take the drag lift with both feet in your bindings, I ride all drag lifts like that makes everything so much 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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| stevomcd wrote: |
| just go with the flow |
Same as going uphill. Just relax and let it pull you. It might help to lean back a bit and extend the front leg a bit more. If you stay balanced the board can only get so far in front of you.
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It's a fairly long down slope and a narrow piste too, long enough for me to overtake the drag, in fact letting go of the drag and then recovering it when it catches me up on the flat might be an option...
I'm not great on one foot, not bad but not great. I can generally recover from a poor departure on a draglift, but practising more on one foot sounds like a plan.
I did think of trying a sideslip, will definitely give it a go next time the lift is open. I only made two attempts at the lift last week, one one-footed and the second with both feet in. The first time I overtook the lift and was pulled onto my back foot by the pole (which I was holding behind me by that point), the second I fell off the side of the piste. Gave up after that as the climb up the mountain started to look preferable to walking back down the lift track and having another go.
Not having a stomp pad on my board probably didn't help either, that at least is easily rectified.
The drag in question can be seen here:
http://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-1768.html
I'll be giving it another go at the weekend, if it's open.
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