 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all, im after a bit of advice, we are visiting family in yorkshire for the new year festivities, and plan on visiting Escape at Castleford, the problem is my 5 yr old has only ever had 1 go on a button lift which was a disaster! So how can i get him used to these type lifts with minimum of fuss and impact to other Skiers? Please note he is a confident competent skier, level 4, learnt at Snowdome Tamworth, and we have just spent a week in Levi, so paying for a lesson to learn a lift is not a option i want to pursue!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I don't imagine they'll let a child who can't use a button safely use the slope outside a lesson.
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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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I don't imagine they'll let a child who can't use a button safely use the slope outside a lesson.
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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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The poma isn't too bad at Castleford, its not too fast and its easier than those ones that are just a bit of a stick on a teloscopic cord. I've seen the lifties help small children before and i think if you ask them they will slow it down for him.
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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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Feldyourno1, if your at castleford there is a dummy button that the instructors use, you may be able to lend it for a minute to demonstrate. as the others say You need to be at a certain level to use the main slope which would have included been able to use the button lift, but if ou still want to give it a go , here my advice
i.e.
pretend to face the same direction as the lift
you bring the button around as if on the cable
stand with your legs wide enough apart to pass poma through
look to your right ( if your using the left poma)
grab hold with both hands and put between your legs ( explain that the liftie will slow it down and help them)
dont sit down
you'll feel a pull as the spring reaches its full extention
keep standing up and look forward as you go up the slope
when you reach the lip of the middle station the lift will seem to slow down as you go onto the flat
once your over the lip pull the button from between your legs and let go.
Move to the right and onto the slope asap.
You can practice using the instructors button and give them a chance to grab, put between their legs, give them a pull across the snow and then ask them to take it back out.
My other advice would be have two adults, one goes first - tells the liftie to slow it down and help, then the litle one goes followed by the second adult.
The first adult gets off at the middle and tells the little one when to get off and encourages them across to the slope. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Why not book a lesson and mention that the thing he'd like help with is the lift? They'll sort you out I'm sure.
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Our wee one started in the snowdome in Glasgow , he was only 3, so just on the baby slope, then had two holidays and some more lessons at Xscape, so by the time he was 4 he was allowed to ski on the main slope outwith a lesson, but he still couldn't use the tow very well, as the holidays had been chairs, and this wasn't a problem with the staff. We just let them know that he wasn't that great on it, but can ski fine. We were on the slope with him. He would get help to get on it, (by staff not us) but half way up it had a pull which would lift him off and he nearly always fell off at that point, they would just stop it while he moved out of the way (my OH was always first up so he could help him at this point). He did eventually get the "feel" of that pull and managed to stay on 70% of the time, after lots of goes. He could get off easily enough at the top, so that was ok.
We did get a bit worried they might get pee'd off at having to stop the lift all the time, but it was at a quiet time (he wasn't in school so it was prob during school hours) so didn't hold many people up. I suppose if it was busy it may have been different, but the staff couldn't have been more helpful, and actually said that they'd help, the person at the top will tell him when to get off etc.
I wouldn't be happy at a resort that wouldn't let someone use the main slope because they struggled on the button lift, as long as they can ski enough to keep in control on the actual slope, they have to get a chance to practice it. I think as long as a queue doesn't get held up too long ie have a few goes - can't do it, let the queue go down - try again, then, especially for little children, give them a chance.
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It might sound odd, but it's also worth bearing in mind the weight of younger kids esp. if the springs in the lifts are bit fierce. I used to ski with a family in switzerland and although their young daughter could ski a black run and she could generally use a Poma, as it was a formative part of their lesson stategy in their early years ski school, she found one of the Pomas difficult to use alone because she didn't have sufficient weight to keep the spring taught and it used to lift her off the ground at certain points of the run!
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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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NB. The OP said the child had learned at Tamworth and reached level 4 whatever that is. How has that level been reached without experience of a Poma? Does Tamworth have one??
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Thanks for the replies, the little one can ski really well, junior club at Tamworth, and he has just been skiing down Reds in Levi with no problem, he can negotiate T bars no probs, but like the previous post its the Poma lift which causes the Dramas! I will give Escape a call tomorrow to see what the best course of action will be.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Gilly28, i'd have a check of the thread entitled "giving tips in a snowdome"...
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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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it's also worth bearing in mind the weight of younger kids esp. if the springs in the lifts are bit fierce.
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I don't think a lift in a fridge would have such fierce springs, but it's a good point. My niece was lifted off her feet, for ages, by the drag between La Rosiere and La Thuile. she was a good little skier, and very athletic - a gymnast and dancer - and managed to hang on, skis parallel, ready to come down again, but we didn't take her up there again. I've been lifted off my feet by a drag too (in Plagne 1800, on a quiet day with nobody else using the lift) and failed miserably, crashing to earth in a very ungraceful fashion, much to the amusement of the lift operator, who was no doubt bored out of his mind.
There's something wrong with a system of instruction which can give kids (or anyone else) quite a high level "certificate" if they can't use a drag lift. It's a pretty basic skill. Little kids regularly get dumped off the nursery slope drag lifts here - the instructors, or their Mums and Dads, sort them out. Once they have mastered the easy drags they can graduate to harder ones - just like ski slopes, really.
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The boingiest poma i've ever experienced is the drag on helvellyn - you used to do about the first ten yards airborne!
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You know it makes sense.
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Megamum, Tamworth has a travelator (well 2 actually) so it's step on step off.
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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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The boingiest poma i've ever experienced is the drag on helvellyn
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 there are a couple like that in the Arly valley. Thing is, people do have to learn to use drags, and they have to start with nice easy ones, and work up. I remember one in La rosiere which my boys used to call the "Nutcracker" - the liftie put his hands in the middle of your back and gave you a shove at just the right moment. Riding drags is a basic skill, like doing snowplough turns.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| Gilly28, i'd have a check of the thread entitled "giving tips in a snowdome"... |
Yes I did read that, not sure what your point is though ? Sorry, I'm obviously missing something
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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maggi, Ah! that explains things - thanks!
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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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| Gilly28 wrote: |
| andy from embsay wrote: |
| Gilly28, i'd have a check of the thread entitled "giving tips in a snowdome"... |
Yes I did read that, not sure what your point is though ? Sorry, I'm obviously missing something |
I was thinking that if they won't let people give their kids tips on skiing then they're not likely to hand over their poma button to someone to teach their five year old with.
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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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learning to ski without using a drag lift is a bit like learning to drive in an automatic car. You need to learn to use gears before being allowed to drive a non-automatic car, don't you?
I think andy from embsay is probably right. I can't see much alternative to a lesson - the safest and surest way to ensure he catches up with using draglifts safely, and without being a nuisance to other skiers. The lesson can also be used for other skills development, after all.
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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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We were in a similar position a few years ago, our youngest had spent a couple of weeks of half day lessons at Zell and could happy turn, stop and do the racing snow plough. In order to get her up to speed with the poma we booked a lesson at hemel and advised the instructor what the goal was, 10 minutes on the nursery slope and then the rest of the time getting used to the drag (on and off) with a little ski in between.
No trouble since.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm with the OP here, and wouldn't want to pay for a lesson to learn a poma tow, after all he might get it right away this time, it also sounds like they just want a bit of family fun time and have spent a lot of money already on their holiday. So while a lesson would never go wrong, even if he did get the poma right away, the OP has said he is hoping not to take that route.
Even folk who have learnt to ride a poma can fall off at times. The staff at Xscape didn't have a problem with letting our son get used to it, as I said it wasn't busy, and we wouldn't let a queue build anyway (even if they did let us which would be doubtful), respect for others who have paid their money and all that, I wouldn't want to spend precious time waiting in a queue.
Feldyourno1, Why not call ahead, explain position and see how the centre handles it? Best if you are going at a quiet time, but I guess it will be busy if during the holidays. Our sons main problem was the pull up in the middle section where people can get off (not sure if they will all be the same), he would tend to fall off here, but not a big deal, he would just shuffle out the way and they'd start it again. The liftie put it between his legs on the way up and explained each time what he was doing, at times would leave him to try and do it himself, which he usually didn't , just young, the liftie at the top told him when to get off, no big deal and they were more than happy to help. In fact anywhere we've been the lifties always seem to get the kids on the poma.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| Gilly28 wrote: |
| andy from embsay wrote: |
| Gilly28, i'd have a check of the thread entitled "giving tips in a snowdome"... |
Yes I did read that, not sure what your point is though ? Sorry, I'm obviously missing something |
I was thinking that if they won't let people give their kids tips on skiing then they're not likely to hand over their poma button to someone to teach their five year old with. |
I didn't suggest that, someone else who knows the centre did, I was just giving our experience of a similar situation we were in.
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| Feldyourno1 wrote: |
| 5 yr old button lift |
Quite young for a button lift. Here's one on Cairngorm which is a bit more middle-aged.
[M1 Poma. Photo: Winterhighland.info]
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