# I’m afraid of riding the chairlift...



## StanDarsh (Jan 18, 2020)

I snowboarded for the first time this week. After about an hour my buddy said I was ready for the greens and possibly some blacks. I guess skating and wake boarding my whole life helped me learn quickly. So I jump on the lift by myself, and once I got to 30-50 feet high, I look down and almost have a full blown panic attack. I got off the lift correctly without falling, and Make it down the green run my first time. Had an absolute blast, but couldn’t get on the lift again. I’m not scared of heights usually, but sitting on that janky chair had me nervous as hell.

Are there any resorts where there are enclosed lifts/gondolas? Anyone had this fear and gotten over it? How?


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## NT.Thunder (Jan 4, 2020)

Grab some ear buds, put a kickass playlist together, watch everyone else rip and pretend you're that good and enjoy the ride....

Certainly better then fighting a T-bar to the top.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

I feel you. I'm afraid of heights if I don't have solid ground under my feet, uhm... or butt. I'm not afraid standing on top of a cliff or having to bootpack exposed ridges.

Especially chairlifts in US and Japan made me super nervous, the ones with no foot rest and no bar. I always put one arm behind the back rest to grab something to avoid that I'd slip off, which puts my mind at ease. And... DON'T LOOK DOWN.

Gondolas make me nervous, too, btw.


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## StanDarsh (Jan 18, 2020)

neni said:


> I feel you. I'm afraid of heights if I don't have solid ground under my feet, uhm... or butt. I'm not afraid standing on top of a cliff or having to bootpack exposed ridges.
> 
> Especially chairlifts in US and Japan made me super nervous, the ones with no foot rest and no bar. I always put one arm behind the back rest to grab something to avoid that I'd slip off, which puts my mind at ease. And... DON'T LOOK DOWN.
> 
> Gondolas make me nervous, too, btw.


I don’t think it’s fear of heights. I was just on a roller coaster last night with no problems. I think it’s a fear of falling. I’ve stood at the top of skyscrapers and looked down no problem. I’ve climbed walls and bungied off with no anxiety. Having something tethering my safety from the ground helped me, I think.

When I tell people this, they think I’m crazy, but when I was on the lift, I had this urge to jump. Like I didn’t trust myself to not jump. I didn’t want to jump, I knew it was stupid as hell, but when you have a panic attack, you want to leave the current situation you’re in. I had to grip the chair and close my eyes and wait for the feeling to pass.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

StanDarsh said:


> I snowboarded for the first time this week. After about an hour my buddy said I was ready for the greens and possibly some blacks.


Don't do black on your first day. Wait a couple of days.



StanDarsh said:


> When I tell people this, they think I’m crazy, but when I was on the lift, I had this urge to jump. Like I didn’t trust myself to not jump. I didn’t want to jump, I knew it was stupid as hell, but when you have a panic attack, you want to leave the current situation you’re in. I had to grip the chair and close my eyes and wait for the feeling to pass.


It's called Gap sickness and it's not uncommon


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Drink heavily.


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

It takes more balls to come on here and admit this than to get back on the chair.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

It's not unusual, but you do get over it. When I first started, the lifts on Seymour made me nervous (and they're no big deal). Now I don't feel anything on the chairs on Whistler, and some of those are sub-orbital.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I remember the urge to jump off as well. Maybe jumping will give you more control than falling? It'll certainly get you off of the chair in a hurry. A few weeks ago I got stuck on a lift that broke down, and I was thinking about jumping again. An hour and a half later I was safely on the ground. That's the worst a chair has ever treated me.

It does get much easier the more times you're on a lift and nothing happens. Honestly, riding the flying couches is one of the largest perks of going to a resort. When was the last time you fell off of the couch?


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## rocky clark (Dec 11, 2019)

StanDarsh said:


> I snowboarded for the first time this week. After about an hour my buddy said I was ready for the greens *and possibly some blacks*.


Your buddy is an idiot


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## Radialhead (Jan 3, 2018)

I feel your pain. The only way I can cope with chairlifts is to hook my arms over the back, clench my teeth & stare at the highest point of land. I spent this week in La Clusaz in the Alps & it was bliss as there are loads of bubble lifts; I managed the whole week without having to use a chairlift.


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## Jennifer Crew (Jan 17, 2019)

Slide you butt all the way to the back of the chair, and not only dont look down, dont watch the empty chairs coming down either. How the chair is hanging, its really is hard to fall, unless you lean fwd, or chairs are swinging out of control. Looking at the empty chairs going down however makes an impression of possibility of falling off the chair.... 
if you stay on the same lift and go on it multiple times, you get more comfortable with time. And if you can just relax enough and have a small talk with people you are riding up, things are easier.


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## StanDarsh (Jan 18, 2020)

Donutz said:


> It's not unusual, but you do get over it. When I first started, the lifts on Seymour made me nervous (and they're no big deal). Now I don't feel anything on the chairs on Whistler, and some of those are sub-orbital.


Well I’m really looking forward to getting to that point as well


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## StanDarsh (Jan 18, 2020)

Radialhead said:


> I feel your pain. The only way I can cope with chairlifts is to hook my arms over the back, clench my teeth & stare at the highest point of land. I spent this week in La Clusaz in the Alps & it was bliss as there are loads of bubble lifts; I managed the whole week without having to use a chairlift.


That’s awesome. Any resorts in the US with lifts like that?


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## StanDarsh (Jan 18, 2020)

BoardieK said:


> It takes more balls to come on here and admit this than to get back on the chair.


Lol ya well I’m willing to risk some cool points to get over this.


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## pixxie stixx (Jan 20, 2011)

If I’m on a lift by myself, I will put the bar down, and have it between my legs like a baby would in a shopping cart. I’m too short to reach the foot rest, so this gives me some feeling of stability. If I am not able to do this on a lift because there is not enough room, and people are in each open spot, then I crank my music up and try and get zoned into that and not the fact that I am on the lift. Good luck! Hopefully the feeling of riding down helps you overcome the uneasy feelings on the lift. It does for me.


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

Maybe this will make you feel more comfortable?
Haha, cause honestly, you can't really get much more comfy on a chairlift.
If the chair ain't full, I'm pulling my board off every time.
Sometimes if my chair is full, I pretend it's my first day & fuck up the order.
So I miss that chair & have to get the one behind it.
And since it usually is full, I just get my own chair.

I've been doing this for more than 20 years & I've never even come close to dropping it.
At least one hand stays on it @ all times.

Do this all day & you can ride an extra 4 or 5 hours.
It's so damn good I thought I'd make a little tutorial haha

TT


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## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

timmytard said:


> Maybe this will make you feel more comfortable?
> Haha, cause honestly, you can't really get much more comfy on a chairlift.
> If the chair ain't full, I'm pulling my board off every time.
> Sometimes if my chair is full, I pretend it's my first day & fuck up the order.
> ...


And that's a good way to increase your chances of falling or even worse getting your pass pulled. That's the kind of move some ski patrol won't even give you a warning for just instant pass yank.


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

lab49232 said:


> And that's a good way to increase your chances of falling or even worse getting your pass pulled. That's the kind of move some ski patrol won't even give you a warning for just instant pass yank.



Pfft, Little girls and grandmas can do what I did.
This is next level retard shit haha


TT

__
http://instagr.am/p/B5tEV36Ijw2/


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

timmytard said:


> Pfft, Little girls and grandmas can do what I did.
> This is next level retard shit haha
> 
> 
> ...


Next level fo sho. Damn dude. Crazy lack of fear.


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## SkunkonToast (Dec 19, 2017)

All well and good untill you hit a tower. Those wheels will fuck you up.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

OP, so your fear is, fear of your impulse control...or lack there of...btw how old are you? Do you have a history of doing impulsive self destructive things?....like snowboarding? lol Perhaps embrace the foolishness of snowboarding...but draw the line at jumping off the couch.


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