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Why do Pomas snatch?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just back from a Poma-infested week in Chatel. Some of those Pomas are deadly! I tried all sorts of approaches from trying to be still whenthe Poma kicks in to trying to out-pace it with arush. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to whether the thing will try to jerk you off (innuendo, really?). Anybody know why this happens and how to prevent it?

snowHead
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Chris Bish, just relax and enjoy the intimacy Toofy Grin
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Masque, Yes, but with wet leather gloves I was left empty-handed looking more of a numpty than normal.

snowHead
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I like it. It's the only way I can hit those falsetto notes.
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Chris Bish wrote:
how to prevent it?


http://www.edgeandwax.co.uk/70/ski_touring_skins.aspx
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Tried a poma on the snowboard at New Year. It just spat me off. I walked to the chair instead.
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Serriadh, No chance. I am far too old to walk uphill.

snowHead
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Chris Bish, Mmmm Pomas - a popular lift with the ladies, or so I'm told, can't imagine why. I've had lots of spills from them over the years but if you bend your legs slightly before "take off" you'll probably find you can cope a little better with the "jerk" . Very Happy Very Happy
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Poma Snatch? Sounds like something that afflicts female skiers riding tows with inadequate undercrackers
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High qualty lube and/or an extra internal layer does it wink

Serious response: I'd always thought the viciousness of the take-off depended on how steep the initial ascent was? I've got the impression that drag lifts on beginner slopes were very gentle but where they let you off on say a red run then the track of the drag was a bit steep so needed a bit extra oomph to get you up there.
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briand6868, Absolutely essential, I agree. All the same, those contraptions still seem to pick on me. I have seen people lifted off their feet - or skis anyway. I think the snatch is to do with slack in the tow-line, but would be glad of a scientific explanation.

snowHead
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There always seems to be one that snatches - the one I use.... I'm wondering if the snatchy ones have weakened springs i.e. so that they extend more before "catching" but instead of catching smoothly it's sudden. May be just that - wear and tear.
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Find one with a knackered spring and it'll just run out til you hit the end stop - then whoosh.

Find one with a new spring and it will start pulling you straight away and get you up to speed gently.

Edit: ooh, microseconds!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Chris Bish, You're talking to someone who has sampled the poma delights of La Roz onna snowboard Evil or Very Mad So just Rule 5 man, tuck the lads up high and enjoy the ride
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It certainly looks as if the ones in the Chatel area are quite "experienced". Is it tired springs that take up suddenly rather than progressively? Does my 97kg cause the problem? I would like to know. Surely there is a snowheads engineer that knows how they work.

snowHead
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Chris Bish, I'm a relative lightweight at 80 (ish Embarassed ) kilos and some of them lift me off my feet.
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Chris Bish, I think that altis is correct. I'm not a poma engineer but have an engineering background and the weak spring thing does makes sense.
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no idea about the engineering but you need to keep your knees bent, and keep your upper body well forward - so when it jerks your weight back, you're still balanced. There are some crackers in the Arly Valley - one is the steepest drag still left in France. http://www.espacediamant-ski.net/tkd1_seigneurs.php Rule 5. wink
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Chris Bish, I started a boring "scientific explanation", but without being able to draw diagrams it would just run to paragraphs of nerdy text. And I can't be bothered wink . So suffice it to say there is a spring inside the perch the stiffness of which should be matched to the launch gradient, cable speed, and average weight of the punter. If the punter is significantly lighter (twizzling kids) or heavier (big jerk Razz ) than average, or if the spring is knackered or spring-rate badly calculated (eg perches swapped between lifts willy-nilly) you will not get a smooth ride.

Jerking can be minimize by elegantly skating away from the launch matching your speed gracefully with that of the cable, or you can just brace yourself and take it like a man! Shocked
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It's the knackered spring/damper that causes the problem . . . just lift companies being cheap . . . there are mechanical and hydraulic systems and all of them wear out and need servicing. As far as I can tell, all the money goes to new lifts rather than making the rest anything more than just "safe".
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That makes a lot of sense, thanks. I did notice that some of the Poma set-ups were needing a lot of care with poles tangling and such. Is slack in the line a factor?

snowHead
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Chris Bish wrote:
That makes a lot of sense, thanks. I did notice that some of the Poma set-ups were needing a lot of care with poles tangling and such. Is slack in the line a factor? snowHead

Just the visual definition of 'knackered' . . . as your knackers will attest Toofy Grin
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Chris Bish, We use a poma as its the quickest way to get out of Montalbert (yep La Plagnes lifts are that old) and I reckon it's just a lack of maintenence to the springs, some of the poles snatch some don't if its a really knackered one you can get 3 really good jumps as you leave the lift station Laughing
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Chris Bish, No not the cable tension. It's all down to those pesky springs. The tensioned reelers of a T-bar are a far more forgiving design, but more expensive and higher maintenance. Hence the move to Pomas.
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So..... presumably the extra kg I contribute will give the spring a lot more to do, which is why I get snatched more than lighter types. Why does it alwayscome down to "lose some more weight you fat b@stard?"

snowHead
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Chris Bish, I'm sure I've recently read some drivel on this somewhere recently, and it was because the Poma's are old, the springs worn, and the cables stretched and yes, it is weight related. There's a particularly vicious one in Serre Che. It is very steep and I sweat all the way up in case I come off, as it would not be good to ski back to the bottom.
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In the old days when the only lift from Linderets to Avoriaz was a Poma the queues used to be horrendous. We ski bums knew the bump near the bottom (out of sight of the liftie) where lots of punters fell off. If you were quick you could grab the perch out of their hand as they went down and jump on without queueing Laughing snowHead Toofy Grin
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Hells Bells wrote:
. It is very steep and I sweat all the way up in case I come off, as it would not be good to ski back to the bottom.

Thank god it's not just me Laughing on the steep ones I sweat, pray/chant, deep breathe, hold on with both hands and can't look up when it's really steep Embarassed I hate them!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
sarah, but still better than T-bars!

snowHead
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could anyone try and combine the problems of Poma's snatching and jerking you off with the thread by the 19 year old au pair looking for snowy fun in les Arcs??
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ed123, I think I just 'moistened' myself Toofy Grin
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pam w wrote:
no idea about the engineering but you need to keep your knees bent, and keep your upper body well forward - so when it jerks your weight back, you're still balanced. There are some crackers in the Arly Valley - one is the steepest drag still left in France. http://www.espacediamant-ski.net/tkd1_seigneurs.php Rule 5. wink
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Neither the steepest average gradient nor the steepest maximum gradient in France but it may be the steepest combination of the two (I can't be bothered to check all 1200 drag lifts Happy

The Col d'Ornon Bois Barlet drag you see at 1m06 in this video is steeper.


http://youtube.com/v/aqm8Bgqcz60

Average gradient of 36.85% and Max gradient of 75%.

the resort was still operating in 2013 despite worries of closure.

Here are some steepies in the Haute Savoie

Le Reposoir Chalet Neuf 75%

Thollon les memises: TK Pic de Borée 76%

Flaine: TK du Bois 2 70%

At St Nicolas de Veroce the TK du Gouet has an average of 39,29 % with a max of 67 %

Here is the data for Flumet: Seigneurs: average 38.14 % , maximum 70 %

The lifts "snatch" when there are fewer people on them so there is more slack (as someone above says) and less of a counterbalance when you get on. Obviously they are based on a clamp principal so there is bound to be some snatch when the stationary clamp closes on a moving cable so cable speed and slope have an effect.
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shep wrote:
In the old days when the only lift from Linderets to Avoriaz was a Poma the queues used to be horrendous. We ski bums knew the bump near the bottom (out of sight of the liftie) where lots of punters fell off. If you were quick you could grab the perch out of their hand as they went down and jump on without queueing Laughing snowHead Toofy Grin


And how many of them were "assited" in falling off Toofy Grin
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I'd sooner ride a poma than a ruddy T bar any day.
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one problem with the Seigneur is that if you fall off, you trek through some trees and back down a quite difficult bumpy black run, to the bottom. and try again. No alternative other than an occasional bus to Crest Voland. And it's long.
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pam w wrote:
one problem with the Seigneur is that if you fall off, you trek through some trees and back down a quite difficult bumpy black run, to the bottom. and try again. No alternative other than an occasional bus to Crest Voland. And it's long.


Pam, you just ski back down the track the lift takes, slaloming between the skiers on the lift as you do.

I mean, Dohhhhh!
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alex_heney wrote:


And how many of them were "assited" in falling off Toofy Grin


I can honestly say I never saw foul play (ski-bum code applies), other than the possibly intimidating effect of brushing past a gaggle of day-glo clad vultures hovering over the slightest wobble Skullie! But every perch went up loaded and we didn't add ourselves to the queue Cool
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Quote:

I'd sooner ride a poma than a ruddy T bar any day.

Megamum, you don't snowboard then! Give me a T bar any day, or better still a chair Smile
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Quote:

Pam, you just ski back down the track the lift takes, slaloming between the skiers on the lift as you do

the track is very narrow, full of tree roots, and in places very steep. You couldn't slalom the skiers I suspect - not enough room either side. Most of the people capable of skiing it wouldn't fall off in the first place. wink Skullie The signs saying "si vous tombez", pointing into the thicket, are quite intimidating. Laughing
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