getting off lift

[kriss]

I feel embarassed to admit that after many years of riding(mostly soft boots,now transitioning to carving w. alpine setup)I still have trouble getting off a lift on the heel side. I seem to not be able to make that sharp heelside turn and when I head straight off the lift and try the heelside and I seem to slide with the board acting like a plow blade. help, any hints?

[sierra]

Hi Kriss: Try keeping your body directly over your forward leg and "sitting down" over it by deeply flexing your knee and ankle. I find that if I keep my weight almost 100% over my front foot, I can easily make solid controlled turns in either direction. Another way to make a heel side turn is to put the heel of your rear foot directly over the the heel side edge to push the tail around - this way can, however, cause you to stumble in certain snow conditions.

Getting off the lift terrified me when I was first learning - more than acutal riding. Carving one-footed turns when there is a short distance from the top of one lift to another is now one of those silly little things about snowboarding that I don't think about anymore but is fun nonetheless.
Cheers!

[D-Sub]

assuming you have a decent stomp pad to help? bottom of hardboots is slippery!

other than that...what was said above. since youre in plates you can easily control the board with one foot

[Mellow Yellow]

Do it one foot-disco stylee...

[D-Sub]

what a trip...where;d you get those clear Stratos Pros? I had a pair damn things didnt fit so I sold em to K-Mog...

he's gonna be bummed. We'd never seen em before:)

[D-Sub]

and what makes you switch between those and the raichle? youre in AF600s in the other pics, no? or are they 700s?

[Mellow Yellow]

nope... they're the Stratos in the other pic.... I've never owned a pair of Raichle... my wife has a pair of 123's though. I think I picked them up from Reliable Racing about a year or so ago. I've seen solid color Stratos.... but never clear... sure some others on Bomber have them tho'

Whoops... just realized.. you probably looked at the pic I posted of Helmet.... that second pic is not me!

[D-Sub]

oh. sorry. yeah.

sure wish those Stratos had fit me. lemme know if you ever see em in a 27 (not keen on the ORANGE tho)

[ar(angel]

is that some kinda Alpine Polka your doin' there? ;) I'm hating all those pic's of you in that sweet groom, it's unfair.....Down to the last few days of the season here, and it's stormin' like a *itch. Hoping to catch some sunshine next week so I can get one more day in. They've still got 100" on top and 68" on the bottom due to the recent storms, just wish they could extend the season. I'll give that "disco move" a try if I get back up...:D


Get down!

Paul

[Chubz]

What kind of helmet is that with the flames. I am more interested in the tight chin guard, if that is what I am seeing.

Greg

[D-Sub]

oh yeah...and what kind of mittens are you wearing?

:)

[Mellow Yellow]

sheesh....

Helmet is a Pro Tech... Buy it here (http://www.backcountry.com/store/PRO0002/c7/s52/Pro-tec-Ace-Fullface-Helmet.html?id=nKLWDQzT) I went on Pro Techs site.. seems they don't market it as a snow helmet anymore... it's under the bike section... so they may have changed it a bit....

Mitts are Levels.... only lasted a season.... they're now shoe goo'd... I forsee another season or so out of them.....

[skatha]

Back to topic, ahem.....
The thing that helped me most with the lifts is pushing off the chair...getting good speed helps. Also, I found that holding my rear heel partways off the board so I could shift my weight onto the heelside edge and slow to a stop was also key. Then, you are in a perfect postion to step into the rear binding. My strategy seems to collapse with ONE lift at Winterpark-the dreaded Sunnyside....It's icy and flat!!!

[BobD]

A heelside turn off the lift is just like a heelside turn on the hill wether carved or skidded. If you were skiding out like that on the hill, it would most likely be because you were counter rotating early in the turn.

As you glide off the lift, try rotating your upper body toward your heelside. Your legs and board should follow. Don't let you upper body unwind until the turn is completed. Holding your arms out wide will help. Let your front foot do the guiding, the back foot is just along for the ride.

BobD

[Enzo]

Here's something else to try:
When Erik Beckman dialed in my stance he mentioned that front binding placement is key for a perfectly balanced stance. A good test for this is when getting off the lift....if the tail of your board uncontrollably swings towards the toeside or heelside in an attempt to go straight down the ramp, your front binding may be too far forward or back.

I found that shifting my front binding forward or back just a cm generally alleviated the problem. Once the front binding was in a balanced position the board tracked straight. So, I had much better control coming off the lift, getting on edge, and making heelside or toeside turns with just my front foot clipped in.

[OffpisteHardboots]

My buddies and I figured out that you should always reach for the garbage can, you know the one that is straight in front of you getting off most lifts. That gets your weight forward. That's part one.

Part two is very similar to a good riging style, which is turn your shoulder and lean back just a bit. This applies pressure through the boot to the board,pulls the nose up a bit curving the board and makes it turn. This works real good for easy exits. On Radical steep, rutted, short 90 degree turns like at the top of Kirkwoods Cornice chair in the afternoon, this will get you off the lift and through the turn, but then you'll be hanging way out over the tail, and that's where you really need that stomp pad to be able to use your rear foot to hold your self up.

Dan

[Neil Gendzwill]

I usually hang onto the chair with my hands, allowing my companions to get ahead of me, then I stand up at the last second and give a little shove to get clear in case the chair is starting to turn. That gives me a clear path so I can just go straight.

[jdgang]

i just fall

[RDY_2_Carve]

Originally posted by jdgang
i just fall

I was waiting for that response! :)

I use the same technique as on my freestyle board. Works better if you have a stomp pad (which I don't), but just hang 1/2 of your rear foot off the board and 1/2 on the board. If you want to do a toeside turn then drag your toe, heelside drag your heel. If you want to go straight don't drag anything. Easy as pie.

They should have lift training at Sandia Peak here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have the hardest lifts I've ever been on for sure. Old school two person chairs that don't slow down at all, and then they dump you on like a 35 deg hill. I've seen some serious carnage there! Fortunately it was never me! Now when I get on these high speed detachable things I have zero problems.

Got a great video of three coworkers in a row getting their a$$ kicked by the same lift. It was classic. It's like 4MB if I can find a place to host it I'll post a link!

JPW

[marz]

Ride only Trams, Gondolas, Majic Carpets ;)

[D-Sub]

Originally posted by RDY_2_Carve

Got a great video of three coworkers in a row getting their a$$ kicked by the same lift. It was classic. It's like 4MB if I can find a place to host it I'll post a link!



EMAIL IT TO ME! I want to see this one:)

I have webspace. can host no problem until bandwidth probs come up...shouldnt tho

[Allee]

I like to be on the outside of the chair, where I have a bit more room to peel away from other people. I like to surf off straight as well, I can turn really well to toeside but if I try to turn to heel I always make a mess of it.

Like Neil, I wait until all the skis have gone and then push off at the last minute. I've found that skiers often don't realise (or don't care) that when you're in a crowd coming off the chair, you're a lot less balanced and a lot more prone to getting knocked over. If in doubt and wobbling, grab the nearest skier ... (works for me).

I swear by my stomp pad. it's the best invention ever for getting off the lift in one piece.

Some good tips here- things to try this weekend.

[mnovak]

What about practicing some heelsides with only your front foot in the binding? I admit that I did this when I started because of problems getting off the lift when I was on the side which required a quick heelside. Looks kind of strange, but after a few times, I got pretty good at one foot riding and I had no troubles getting off the lift after that.

Skiers and boarders on the same chair? Deserves a whole thread to itself!!! (BTW -- I am a pretty strong skier too so I think I get some extra slamming rights!)

[corey_dyck]

Originally posted by RDY_2_Carve
Now when I get on these high speed detachable things I have zero problems.
No kidding! All the lifts around here are the old non-detachable chairs that other resorts practically give away. Couple that with steep and icy ramps at the exits and you have some scary lifts.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to unload at Whistler when I was there!

[kinpa]

Originally posted by mnovak
What about practicing some heelsides with only your front foot in the binding?

I agree! I know you don't want to go back to the beginner hill, but sometimes that can be a good thing. Practice with one foot on the shallow train and try to build your confidence.

The bit about hanging on to the chair and letting others go first is a good thing as long as you remember to push off.... don't hang on to long and get all your weight back.

And what do you do if you're in the middle of a quad and people start comming in around you????? I got the sh*t knocked out of me once (even with a helmet on) when my friend on my left (a beginner snowboarder) and two skiiers we didn't know on the right closed in on me. That's kinda scary.... let alone, VERY embarrassing when they stop the lift!

[BlueB]

When I started snowboarding (on softy) I use to fall a lot getting out of chairs. Generally, applying a bit of drag on the side where I want to turn helps. Putting the foot down on the snow results either in a fall, or in a 90deg skid turn and stop (very useful sometimes). Rear foot solidly planted on the stomp pad helps a lot, especially to hold the straight line.
I find it much easier on the hard boots. More control and easier to turn to heel side than on softies. Leaning a bit back helps.

Boris

[SWriverstone]

1. Always get on the far left of the chair (I'm goofy) so I can toeside off and away from everyone! :) (Even if you have to elbow someone out of the way to get that far left seat!)

2. Grab whoever is next to you and hold on to them. :D


But seriously, I find it helps if I get an early push off the chair and slide down with some speed (rather than waiting 'til the last minute, then dumping off the edge of the chair). I went this whole season without any kind of stomp pad---not by choice, more by laziness! But I found sliding my boot back until it braced against my rear binding helped too.

Also: John Phillkill (jp1) had a great solution for a stomp pad---he just covered the entire width of his board between bindings with a solid piece of rubber grip-mat. Might add an ounce or two of weight, but it gives you a "big target" to step on!

Scott

[RDY_2_Carve]

Got this in an email. No idea who it was....

Best way to get off a lift! (http://home.comcast.net/~johnpaulwynn/skilift.wmv)

:cool: :D

[SWriverstone]

Hi RDY_2_Carve---I clicked your link and something loaded up in Windows Media Player...but it was blank. (Maybe it's my system?)

Scott

[Allee]

Bee-yoo-tiful. Poor bugger!

[Phil]

That happened to me once. I was teaching at Blue Marsh before I came to Roundtop. I was giving a lesson and had forgotten to take my keys off of my belt. My keyring was a big carabiner. Somehow it all got wedged into the chair. I was hanging by my belt a good 6 feet in the air. My student, who was a beginner, got off just fine! Maybe he should have been teaching me.

[skatha]

I was on the left of a beginning skiier-I was rocking the green hill, man, and the instructor asked if I wouldn't mind helping one of his student skiiers. I said "no problem". Flash forward, the lift ramp is coming. I'm telling this little girl to lean forward once we get there and she'd be fine. We get to the ramp. I'm riding away but she's not-I didn't know until her skis caught me around my neck and slammed me back into the lift(chair circles to the left).
It happened too quickly for me to tense up and get hurt, so I'm laughing and making sure the little girl is okay. Her instructor is having a hernia, tripping all over himself--"I'm sooooo sorry, ma'ma. Are you okay"....

This year I got some snowblades. I've never skiied, but I was doing okay sidestepping up the hill and turning down the fall line. Time for the lift. I got nervous near the ramp-afterall, I've never gone down a lift ramp facing forward. Yes, I wiped out!!!!