 Poster: A snowHead
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Just got back from Risoul which has some corking drag lifts, including those up Homme de Pierre, so called because your old man feels like stone once you've been on that drag lift. Any other nominations?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The double drag between La Rosiere and La Thuile takes some beating. Lonnngg and flat. Take a good book.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Tue 19-02-13 18:50; edited 1 time in total
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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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Theres one in La Plagne that goes up a fairly long steep hill, you get to the top of that and realise it keeps going for another 1000 yards  To be honest though nothing beats the catapult style ones in scotland on the nevis range
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Le Seigneur, Flumet. Very long, very steep, very narrow, only way down if you fall off is a short hike through woods followed by descent of a quite difficult and often ungroomed black piste. And try again....
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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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There was one in Glenshee that was a killer. Basically it tried to yank you off your feet, then had a downhill bit which left you moving in front of the pole. So when you received the second yank you fell over.
I did. My husband laughed at me then did the same. We watched several people fall in the same place. The only way to beat it seemed to be to keep taking the pole out from between your knees.
Also a long steep T bar in Sonnenkoft near St Anton. Work of the devil. My husband and I fell off. A boarder fell off above us. Slid down until she bounced off our heads one after the other, then asked which way was down!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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dobby, there used to be half a dozen in La Roz that could launch a 6 year old into orbit or dislocate your hip . . . don't know if they've been sorted 'Sevoliere' and the twin Lievre Blancs were particularly unpleasant.
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Harrier at the Lecht, it does a huge scrotum wrenching initial pull.
Liftie sits back in his deckchair and enjoys the show.
Closely followed by the west wall poma at cairngorm which is one of the few I've seen to spit out boarders & skiers.
Did there not used to be one at Courcheval that banned snowboarders?
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| Russeh wrote: |
| Theres one in La Plagne that goes up a fairly long steep hill, you get to the top of that and realise it keeps going for another 1000 yards To be honest though nothing beats the catapult style ones in scotland on the nevis range |
If you mean the Z (I think), it's been removed now.
Worst one I remember was in Montgenvre, we called it the "kick in the @ss" lift, because it was so violent it launched you into the air, both skis off the ground!
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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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Cretes in la Plagne sheer drop either side for around 50 metres, just some of that orange netting, yep that'll stop me 
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Roca Jack, Portillo - legendary
Face lift, Fernie - right pain in the bum on a board
Never ridden a Kiwi nutcracker which I hear are an acquired taste.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There is one in Stari Vrh, Slovenia that is so steep it actually pulled me off the ground, and when you fall, as I witnessed an older lady do, you hit the big stumps of wood they have all along the side of it. There is nowhere to fall except into the people on the lift behind you,or risk impaling yourself on the wooden stumps. The woman I saw fall was actually bleeding.
I went on it once, and never again.
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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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| Masque wrote: |
| dobby, there used to be half a dozen in La Roz that could launch a 6 year old into orbit or dislocate your hip |
Indeed there bloody well were...mind you, Masque, with your advancing years and medical history, a heated seat, demountable six-seater with protective bubble probably brings you out in a sweat... 
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pam w, One like that in Wengen . . . Tschuggen ?
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You know it makes sense.
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| kooky wrote: |
There is one in Stari Vrh, Slovenia that is so steep it actually pulled me off the ground, and when you fall, as I witnessed an older lady do, you hit the big stumps of wood they have all along the side of it. There is nowhere to fall except into the people on the lift behind you,or risk impaling yourself on the wooden stumps. The woman I saw fall was actually bleeding.
I went on it once, and never again. |
that has to be a winner.
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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 drag (bracke?) next to the park in Are Sweden, gets worse as the day and season goes on, rutted beyond belief, April last year it was pulling you over a pipe and through a run off stream. Not so bad as a skier but saw a lot of boarders with wetter than usual @rses.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Used to be one on swiss side of PdS. Had a 1/4 pipe kicker and that even launched me 6ft in to powder. Must be somewhere around Torgon / Morgins kind of area.
Also another T-Bar that goes downhill too somewhere on the swiss side.
T-bars ftw though.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chasseur, Just to reiterate how scary it was, I was supposed to be watching LB represent GBR at the Pokal Loka, and needed to get on that lift to get to the start, I couldn´t do it  I missed him race.
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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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....although I don't want to discourage anyone from taking their money into some small local economies, there are some belting drags in the villages in switzerland. Arolla (fantastic place - the silence is tangible when you switch off the car engine and open the door) has a surprise when you access the mountain. The pistes are long, go high, and there's not a single chair. I kid you not, we got lifts from the bottom of the hill to the top....and it turned out to be 45 mins on drag lifts. Forty-five minutes. In a biting wind and spindrift. The skiing WAS worth it. But it was quite a price to pay.
Most humorous drag? the one at Courmeyeur with a 45 degree wooden ramp at the end and a 90 degree exit which needs to the actioned in 2 metres of space. Challenging.
Second most humorous drag? The steep one in the woods at Vallandry, relentless....and always a beginner coming off halfway up at the end of the day when it's about to close and it's the only way back to Les Arcs. Sometimes involves a carefully executed jump over a sliding body.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| janeed wrote: |
There was one in Glenshee that was a killer. Basically it tried to yank you off your feet, then had a downhill bit which left you moving in front of the pole. So when you received the second yank you fell over.
I did. My husband laughed at me then did the same. We watched several people fall in the same place. The only way to beat it seemed to be to keep taking the pole out from between your knees.
Also a long steep T bar in Sonnenkoft near St Anton. Work of the devil. My husband and I fell off. A boarder fell off above us. Slid down until she bounced off our heads one after the other, then asked which way was down! |
Agree on this one, when the kids were small they nick named this lift 'Mary Poppins' Because they 'flew' most of the way to the top spinning round on the button without touching the ground. Landing was always a bit hit a miss, depending on which way they were facing !
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| prog99 wrote: |
| Harrier at the Lecht, it does a huge scrotum wrenching initial pull. |
The times that I have used it the initial jerk helped you to clear the section of the lift track without snow.
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LH HH
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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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| Quote: |
it was so violent it launched you into the air, both skis off the ground!
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I know several of those.... as long as you're expecting it's OK as long as you get put down again quickly.
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Extreme left of Hochgurgl- the T-bar of doom.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Worst drag lift.....Wengen.
Masque, I think it was II
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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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A few in Flaine are pretty brutal, around the Stade and above, great for keeping trayboys away 
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| Piccadilly wrote: |
If you mean the Z (I think), it's been removed now.
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Dont recall what it was called but good to hear its been removed
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You know it makes sense.
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Sideshow_Bob, I'll 2nd that, was on one of them 2 years ago, right on the +45 degree section and it stopped, left hanging on for about 10mins, then bailed out as there were no signs of it moving, glad I did it stayed like that for another 20 mins 
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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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I recall the button on Raise lifting a 10yr old girl 12 inches off the ground for a few yards. She stayed upright, dangling helplessly, but the button spun her round so she was facing downhill, then lowered her gently back onto the snow.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Tanzboden above Black 2 in St Anton
Looking to bring our 9 year old down a blue after lunch in whiteout, got a tiny but lost ( only a tiny bit)
It's ok says dad, there's a lift along here that gets us back to the top
Oh it's a drag, never mind
Actually it's a Tbar says ( screamed ? ) 9 year old who then swore / screamed blind she can't go up them (she has done)
Mind you
White out
Steep
Knee deep loose snow for me
Hence waist deep loose snow for her
Another dad on 3rd attempt with son on snowboard ahead of us
Portents not good
Best thing we ever did was falloff after 100m, even if we did have to try and side slip and snowplough back down said steep deep lift path to the annoyance of the spotty 10 year old manning the lift
Quarter mile walk uphill later we then went down Black 2 with no probs at all...
Got a chair couple of days later past the drag/T - after the place where we fell off it just got worse and there was no way back - how is that for fate ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Le Fornelet (?) out of plagne montalbert? Seen multiple snowboarders pulling an 'assisted' front flip off it. I missed two before I could keep hold of one on launch (I worked as an instructor on a dry slope for years, I've never had problems with a drag before or since) and it left my boyfriend with mild groin strain and a knee sized bruise to both inner thighs after he decided he was going to make it on his third attempt come what may! Unsuprisingly we have never been back
The one in vallandry is nowhere near as bad ime.
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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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près de bois in Serre Chevalier.
1. is super steep
2. it pulls, slows almost to a stop,and then launches you forward again without any warning
3. you need to navigate over a narrow bridge right at the start
4. it goes through pretty dense trees so if you come off you are pretty well stuck, and also they cant get any machine up there so it becomes rutted.
It was not a lot of fun on a snowboard (I came off twice right at the start and then stayed on all the way). However, there was a helpful lifties, which is definately rare in France!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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My favourite tbar experience was in Zermatt in the intineries off Rote Nase. I was on this Tbar by myself and I'm not very heavy and there are a few dips on the way up. The rope shortened and then didnt seem to want to lengthen again resulting in my being airbourne for quite sometime before I fell off!
The Tbar on the Glacier is unpleasant also. Slow, Flat (amost down hill) and very cold when I was there!
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Don't like Gros Murger in La Tania, vicious start and long, don't really see the point of it as there is the gondola and last few times I have been there it has been closed anyway.
Didn't much like Ripaille in Les Crosets either, steep then flat and repeat and repeat, windy and long. Couldn't really see an alternative. At least you can choose button or T bar (the button is the best bet, stops less than the T).
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| ed123 wrote: |
| Extreme left of Hochgurgl- the T-bar of doom. |
Agree with this one - a lovely slope to ski once you got up it but the T-Bar was awful
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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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Prés du Bois , Serre Chevalier. Usually only open when the resort is busy, although it give some access to some nice tree skiing that is relatively untrackd. Not only is it steep, but you have to negotiate a mogul field to get to it. Yanks the arms out of the sockets on the way up, and has many warnings on how steep it is as you wait in the (thankfully) small queue . Alternative is the long queue at Cretes drag (also quite fierce with an awkward dog-leg), or a ski down to Villeneuve for the Casse du Beouf.
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a.j., Nah the real winner (for La Plagne) was la Charmettes (replaced in 2006 by the La Roche chair) which was so steep it had warning signs along it's length pointing the way through the forest back to the nearest piste should you fall off! It was fed by the Emilie Alias piste which was a black, I reckon mainly to stop beginners getting to the Charmettes drag!
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FAQ
Yeah, I agree you do get due warning, but I still think it's a winner!