# Lift Anxiety...



## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

Hi I'm Stephanie.
I feel like a dork for introducing myself,  but anyways..
I have always wanted to snowboard but never got a chance to do it until about 2 years ago when my boyfriend took me up to the mountains. I live in greater Vancouver so it's pretty blasphemous to start riding at teh age of 20 but that's what happens when you have an over-paranoid mother as a kid. I've played sports all my life but now I'm becoming obsessed with snowboardig. 

My friends say I've caught on incredibly quick (iunno?). I've gone about 9 or 10 times over two seasons and I can make it down the mountain pretty fast and pretty well. 

But I gotta say... the lifts kill me. Getting off usually isn't a problem but I'm always so nervous I'm going to biff it - and sometimes I do, maybe it's a mental thing?


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

haffajappa said:


> Hi I'm Stephanie.
> I feel like a dork for introducing myself,  but anyways..


Don't worry about your age. I started just before my 52nd birthday, on Seymour. And yeah, getting off the lift is the snowboarder's nemesis. But it does come.

Also, I think Snowolf meant "try NOT to obsess about it..".


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

mpdsnowman said:


> U know what my problem on a chair lift is...Im afraid of heights. Ohh I can handle a gondola or tram type lift but the standard chair still gets me nervous the first ride of the day...


Bet you're overjoyed with windy days :laugh:


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> Looking far out toward the horizon and not looking down does help. The safety bar is also good for people with this fear.


Plus the whole time you were snow boarding, not one person fell off the lift correct. So it is safe, breath deeply and make small talk with your chair buddy. It will help to keep your mind off your anxiety.

-Slyder


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## bamorgan7 (Jan 10, 2010)

I have been snowboading for atleast 3 years. I am scared of heights but after awhile I get used to it, but it doesnt help when you have friends trying to push you off the lift, so now I ride the lifts by myself.


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## oneshot (Oct 8, 2010)

get over it..

i say this in an endearing way  lifts lead to powder.. or go get a snowmobile and watch your anxiety triple!


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

bamorgan7 said:


> I have been snowboading for atleast 3 years. I am scared of heights but after awhile I get used to it, but it doesnt help when you have friends trying to push you off the lift, so now I ride the lifts by myself.


punch him in the gut once and he'll know you are serious about not messing with you about/on the lift.

-Slyder


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

Snowolf said:


> I am not a fan of heights; lifts don`t bother me at all, but rock climbing ain't my thang. Have a buddy who likes to harass me about it. This summer, I found out that he is deathly afraid of snakes; all snakes not just the rattlers. Well, I fixed his ass. One evening on the river, I found several harmless Garter snakes and when he was not looking, threw them into the tent. I waited for him to turn in. Within minutes the screams began......:laugh: He has declared a total truce now about my fear of heights...


Your sick man.. you can't take a joke, screw you! lol... sorry I could see that giving me a heart attack :laugh:


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

If I did anything even vaguely resembling that to my wife (or anything involving snakes) you'd need a seance to talk to me.


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## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

One thing that can help with Lift anxiety with getting off is to bone up on your boneless(riding with back foot loose). Find a nice mellow green run or practice area where they teach beginner students and try riding down it boneless. Start of by trying a simple traverse on toes and then on the heel side of the board. up the game by trying a j-turn(board point down the hill or an angle down the hill turning up the hill after a few feet. then try some s-turns. The stronger your boneless is the stronger you will be getting off the lift.

Don't worry about falling getting off the lift. We all end up doing it no matter what the skill level every once in a while.


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

gjsnowboarder said:


> One thing that can help with Lift anxiety with getting off is to bone up on your boneless(riding with back foot loose). Find a nice mellow green run or practice area where they teach beginner students and try riding down it boneless. Start of by trying a simple traverse on toes and then on the heel side of the board. up the game by trying a j-turn(board point down the hill or an angle down the hill turning up the hill after a few feet. then try some s-turns. The stronger your boneless is the stronger you will be getting off the lift.
> 
> Don't worry about falling getting off the lift. We all end up doing it no matter what the skill level every once in a while.


Ah, thanks!
I was thinking the other day I really got to practice that (though I didn't know that was the exact term haha)
I can do it okay sometimes, but i hate ppl seeing me fall! I'm so self conscious i think that really messes me over, which is dumb of course!


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## treymchattie (Aug 6, 2008)

dont worry about falling when you get off the lift, the attendants should be trained to know to stop it in time. you may look a little silly but we are riding pieces of wood down a mountain. its all silly.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Best spill I ever had getting off the lift was when I was with my daughter. She lost balance coming off, grabbed me for support (bad idea) and we both went down in a heap. We actually got laughs.


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## Qball (Jun 22, 2010)

haha you gotta love a good chain reaction fall coming off the lift. One day my buddy somehow forgot how to get off a lift and fell damn near every time that day! He knocked me over like three times until I decided I was going to make sure I was ahead of him no matter what.


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## Karasene (Oct 20, 2010)

gjsnowboarder said:


> Don't worry about falling getting off the lift. We all end up doing it no matter what the skill level every once in a while.


I'd say day 1 at Sunday River last month had an 85% failure rate for all the ice coast diehards trying to get off the lift. It was pretty ridiculous, The top lift was a 45*pitch slope striaght on to solid ice (it was the only run that day with not much snow) that stopped with a right hand turn about 20 ft ahead. Why they didn't take that rope down to give people more room was beyond me. But after embarrassing myself I stood there and watched almost every single chair after me wipe out every time. It was awesome knowing that the whole lot of seasoned riders were also having just as hard of a time. 
It happens to all of us. Don't let people get to you. I'm sure you'll kick that lift's ass by the end of this season!

EDIT: Was reading Jay Peaks weather forcast and accidently put Jay instead of Sunday River. Woops! Trying to jump the gun. lol


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

Individual spills aren't that bad... when we were learning and had 5 of us get off the chair at the same time... boy those were some spectacular crashes... I learned who not to sit beside quickly


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

Karasene said:


> I'd say day 1 at Jay Peak last month had an 85% failure rate for all the ice coast diehards trying to get off the lift. It was pretty ridiculous, The top lift was a 45*pitch slope striaght on to solid ice (it was the only run that day with not much snow) that stopped with a right hand turn about 20 ft ahead. Why they didn't take that rope down to give people more room was beyond me. But after embarrassing myself I stood there and watched almost every single chair after me wipe out every time. It was awesome knowing that the whole lot of seasoned riders were also having just as hard of a time.
> It happens to all of us. Don't let people get to you. I'm sure you'll kick that lift's ass by the end of this season!


last month at Jay peak?


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

As long as I feel like I'm secure heights don't bother me. For example, I love rollercoasters, but If I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, I get these horrible pictures in my head of falling off or someone pushing me. I think it's the self-preservation part going into overdrive.

Strangely, at the same time not having the bar down doesn't bother me at all. I guess heights for me are situational.


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## Karasene (Oct 20, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> If you ever want to get a full dose of empathy for what your student goes through, try riding the lift one footed switch. Our training director made us do that in a clinic. Kind of funny to see a group of instructors all piled up at the top of the lift.......:laugh: But it really does give you a feeling for what your student is going through the first few times off of a lift...:thumbsup:


haha been there. Gotta love cramming on a full chair as the only goofy rider. I will say we deff fit better when I started unhitching my front foot. Not as easy as I thought at the top.. I think I lasted 3 runs before I had enough. :laugh:


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

Yeah Goofy has some definate disadvantages. I hate busy days on the hill ridding the singles line. At least untill I get to the top and duck into the woods. Then all is forgotten.


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

the trick to riding goofy is to sit on the right side of the chair, and push the person to your left as you're getting off... then watch the domino effect as you glide away like the goofy champ that you are


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

InfiniteEclipse said:


> the trick to riding goofy is to sit on the right side of the chair, and push the person to your left as you're getting off... then watch the domino effect as you glide away like the goofy champ that you are


If only the singles lines didnt always put me at the left end of the chair.


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## Failed_God (Oct 29, 2009)

i have falling getting off the lift more times then i can count. Its not that big of a deal we have all done it a hundred times.
the worst was one time i ended up on a double with a random skier chick (slow lift not high speed) chatting the whole way to the top took about 15 minutes. and wouldn't you know at the top of the lift i bail and and look like a huge ass.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Failed_God said:


> i have falling getting off the lift more times then i can count. Its not that big of a deal we have all done it a hundred times.
> the worst was one time i ended up on a double with a random skier chick (slow lift not high speed) chatting the whole way to the top took about 15 minutes. and wouldn't you know at the top of the lift i bail and and look like a huge ass.


u should have gotten her number before getting to the top...saying something like "hey give me your number, cause I'll probably bail and then you won't be impressed" then when you crashed...she'd think u were cute little boarder....and you could call her right away saying you need help


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## Failed_God (Oct 29, 2009)

hindsight is 20/20 and if i tried something like that now my g/f would kick my ass.


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

wrathfuldeity said:


> u should have gotten her number before getting to the top...saying something like "hey give me your number, cause I'll probably bail and then you won't be impressed" then when you crashed...she'd think u were cute little boarder....and you could call her right away saying you need help


Slick.... i'll try it, let you know how it goes


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Snowolf said:


> If you ever want to get a full dose of empathy for what your student goes through, try riding the lift one footed switch. Our training director made us do that in a clinic. Kind of funny to see a group of instructors all piled up at the top of the lift.......:laugh: But it really does give you a feeling for what your student is going through the first few times off of a lift...:thumbsup:


See, now I suggested that for people last year for a little extra switch practice and a guy tried it and got pissed at me for it :laugh: To me it's more awkward getting on the chair switch than getting off of it.

To the OP..If you can get your binding straps out of the way maybe try putting your foot in the binding but unstrapped for a little extra control. If you're not using one, a stomp pad can help too. Don't be self-conscious about falling getting off the lift like that though, we all did at some point, just get up and skate out of the way asap. Around here (I swear it happens every week) we get someone who falls getting off the lift and lays there laughing while my chair is about to unload, don't be that person


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## Karasene (Oct 20, 2010)

InfiniteEclipse said:


> the trick to riding goofy is to sit on the right side of the chair, and push the person to your left as you're getting off... then watch the domino effect as you glide away like the goofy champ that you are


haha I gotta try this! I need to find ways to get people back for all the white washes I've been ambushed with last season. I'm riding solo minding my own business when little do I know someones lurking on my backside waiting for me to look over and WHAM a wall of snow straight to the face. I don't know why I cant do the same thing back I always get caught in the act! The chair lift idea. Perfect :thumbsup: :laugh:


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

InfiniteEclipse said:


> the trick to riding goofy is to sit on the right side of the chair, and push the person to your left as you're getting off... then watch the domino effect as you glide away like the goofy champ that you are


I think I should plan this out for the Jay Meet. Now who do I get on the chair with for the best effect?


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## Glade Ripper (Nov 12, 2008)

Mysticfalcon said:


> I think I should plan this out for the Jay Meet. Now who do I get on the chair with for the best effect?


Grab Dan and I and make sure we are the first ones so we can get everyone else to pile up on us. I will pull them down if they don't fall on their own :laugh:


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

Did you just say you want to pull Dan on top of you?


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## Felice (Jul 3, 2008)

I have been at this snowboarding now for a few a couple of years and I still have butterflies everytime I approach a lift. My partner is much better at it then I--he just gets on and off no problem. I, on the other hand, am alway trying to find a neutral/natural centre point of balance, which means I am never really ever 'ready' to disembark.

If anyone can make a suggestion as to how to overcome this little glitch I would appreciate it.

Thank you.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Ya know, the real problem isn't the getting off the lift, it's just not being used to skating with your back foot out of the binding. Skating on flats while pushing yourself doesn't really count. And if you're like most people, the only practice you get on a slope is when you're leaving the lift.

If you can find a very very gentle slope on your mountain with a flat at the end of it, try practicing the skate there, for like a half hour or more.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

getting off is a process, not an event.

trick for getting off the chair is to:
1. ready yourself by scooting half off the seat, the front half of your bum hanging in the air.
2. have your board pointing straight forward.
3. as you stand, stand straight-up but relaxed...back straight, shoulders closed/parallel, knees slightly bent with your center of gravity over the center of the board (don't bend over or have your bum sticking out...stinky butt), firmly place your rear foot on the stomp pad without looking, look straight ahead same direction as your board...as if merely gazing at the lovely mountians (do not look at the ground or your feet...otherwise you will fall down), put your rear or trailing hand on the chairlift seat just to steady yourself as you stand up and glide off.
4. just glide straight and don't try to turn or slow down and just let the board naturally slow down (after you're get better, you can use your toe of your rear foot to hang a little over the toeside about 1 inch and then as you are slowing just gently press your toes down to slow down and it will gently turn you toeside or do the opposite for heelside). 

Some folks prefer to put their rear/trailing foot next to the front binding...i.e., feet together, which also works well in that it weights the nose more. Practice just by skate/glide around 1 footed and experiment with different foot placement and pressuring with your toes...it doesn't take much...but don't look down at your feet.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Donutz said:


> Ya know, the real problem isn't the getting off the lift, it's just not being used to skating with your back foot out of the binding. Skating on flats while pushing yourself doesn't really count. And if you're like most people, the only practice you get on a slope is when you're leaving the lift.
> 
> If you can find a very very gentle slope on your mountain with a flat at the end of it, try practicing the skate there, for like a half hour or more.


^this...learning to ride a bit of distance 1 footed will save you alot of energy during the day...you will find lots of places where it just easier to ride 1 footed instead of strapping in and out all the time. I'd say try riding the entire bunny hill/run 1 footed or at least a good 1000 feet or so. By doing this you will gain subtle/soft skills that will apply in other areas of riding.


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## lannalee802 (Nov 11, 2010)

Just be happy your not this guy. I would be more worried about this!


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

lannalee802 said:


> Just be happy your not this guy. I would be more worried about this!


OMG......
:laugh:


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

Donutz said:


> Ya know, the real problem isn't the getting off the lift, it's just not being used to skating with your back foot out of the binding. Skating on flats while pushing yourself doesn't really count. And if you're like most people, the only practice you get on a slope is when you're leaving the lift.
> 
> If you can find a very very gentle slope on your mountain with a flat at the end of it, try practicing the skate there, for like a half hour or more.


We might get snow on Saturday! I mean down here... 
If we can get enough this winter (as they say we might) I'll prob find some nice small slopes around the neighbourhood and practice if I can't make it up to the mountain.


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## J.Schaef (Sep 13, 2009)

InfiniteEclipse said:


> the trick to riding goofy is to sit on the right side of the chair, and push the person to your left as you're getting off... then watch the domino effect as you glide away like the goofy champ that you are


Hah.

I am THE goofy rider amongst my buddies haha. I used to do this frequently, now I am not allowed on the right side unless I am in the singles line haha.


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## Glade Ripper (Nov 12, 2008)

Mysticfalcon said:


> Did you just say you want to pull Dan on top of you?


Yes, who wouldn't want that sexy man beast on them 

That just got me excited and I just did one push-up, you guess what kind . *hint: Rooster :laugh:


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

Karasene said:


> I'd say day 1 at Sunday River last month had an 85% failure rate for all the ice coast diehards trying to get off the lift. It was pretty ridiculous, The top lift was a 45*pitch slope striaght on to solid ice (it was the only run that day with not much snow) that stopped with a right hand turn about 20 ft ahead. Why they didn't take that rope down to give people more room was beyond me. But after embarrassing myself I stood there and watched almost every single chair after me wipe out every time. It was awesome knowing that the whole lot of seasoned riders were also having just as hard of a time.
> It happens to all of us. Don't let people get to you. I'm sure you'll kick that lift's ass by the end of this season!
> 
> EDIT: Was reading Jay Peaks weather forcast and accidently put Jay instead of Sunday River. Woops! Trying to jump the gun. lol


That's kinda like one of the lifts on Seymour, one of the mountains I hadn't been to in a while - and anyways hadn't been there since I could ride properly so never went on many of the lifts that took you further up the mountain... So you could imagine my surprise when I got to the top and saw a comparitively steep drop that curved to the right! I ended up smashing into my boyfriend who twisted his ankle... But by the end of the night I got off it okay... That first time was scary though!!


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

A strangers recommendation leading to falling friends everywhere... haha beautiful. 

_Re: getting off the lift
_I stopped falling when I started pushing my back leg against the inside of my back binding when getting off... I'd recommend trying that if you guys don't have stomp pads to step on


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

haffajappa said:


> That's kinda like one of the lifts on Seymour, one of the mountains I hadn't been to in a while - and anyways hadn't been there since I could ride properly so never went on many of the lifts that took you further up the mountain... So you could imagine my surprise when I got to the top and saw a comparitively steep drop that curved to the right! I ended up smashing into my boyfriend who twisted his ankle... But by the end of the night I got off it okay... That first time was scary though!!


Are you talking about the top of Mystery chair?


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

You get over the fear after awhile. Thats not to say my heart doesnt skip a beat sometimes.

There's something about the upper lift at Skibowl that scares the jeebus out of me, add in some wind and im holding on for dear life


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

Donutz said:


> Are you talking about the top of Mystery chair?


Yes, yes I am!


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## Qball (Jun 22, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> You want a real challenge of your one footed gliding skills, ride Blue Chair at Meadows sometime....


That thing is scary! I think the ramp has more vertical drop than some resorts in the Midwest.


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## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

InfiniteEclipse said:


> A strangers recommendation leading to falling friends everywhere... haha beautiful.
> 
> _Re: getting off the lift_
> I stopped falling when I started pushing my back leg against the inside of my back binding when getting off... I'd recommend trying that if you guys don't have stomp pads to step on


+1 for excellent advice. This is the prefered method anyway since in gives you a better base from which to balance. Having your feet closer together as was mentioned in an earlier post will just make those people act like a pogo stick when they hit a bump when getting off.


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## c_mack9 (Jan 9, 2009)

J.Schaef said:


> Hah.
> 
> I am THE goofy rider amongst my buddies haha. I used to do this frequently, now I am not allowed on the right side unless I am in the singles line haha.


HAHA im goofy too. when my buds get exit anxiety, i like to put my hand on their chest and pretend im gonna push em. they freak the shit out.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

haffajappa said:


> Yes, yes I am!


Mystery can be a little daunting because of the slope coming off, and because it curves a little to the right immediately. And frankly the lifties do a pretty piss-poor job of keeping it smooth. But if you practice your skating on a gentle slope for a while with your back foot firmly against your back binding, and if you come off the chair slightly on your toe edge (for regular riders), you'll be ok. The nice thing is that there's a little bit of uphill just before the Manning run starts, so stopping is easy. Making the hard right to go off to the Mystery run was hard to learn, but again, practice in a safe area.

The one that freaked me out when I was starting was the Brockton chair. It's a gentle slope coming off the chair, but the glide area is only maybe 20-30 feet long, then it dives into the beginning of the run. And of course there's always a bunch of gapers standing there, so you really have to have turning control.


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## lisevolution (Sep 20, 2007)

Lol, the exit slopes out west are like double diamond runs here on the east! They're almost always steep and have a short run off. Definitely makes things interesting.

I'm also a goofy rider and my wife is not so when I get stuck on the right side when riding the lift with her it has created some interesting lift exits.


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

lisevolution said:


> Lol, the exit slopes out west are like double diamond runs here on the east! They're almost always steep and have a short run off. Definitely makes things interesting.
> 
> I'm also a goofy rider and my wife is not so when I get stuck on the right side when riding the lift with her it has created some interesting lift exits.


One would think that after all this years they would came up with a riders dedicated device to avoid those falls for beginners, and avoid slow downs on chair lines. Hmmmm time to get on the drawing board.


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## swilber08 (Dec 29, 2009)

I get lift anxiety when I know im gonna try a new trick on the way down :dunno:


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## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

pawlo said:


> One would think that after all this years they would came up with a riders dedicated device to avoid those falls for beginners, and avoid slow downs on chair lines. Hmmmm time to get on the drawing board.


 They have...its called education and practice. But a lot of people don't practice and don't get educated. Because lift riding is such a small part of riding and definitely is the *thrill* of riding it doesn't get the attention it should. Resorts try to groom evenly there ramps and set-up angles to ease the process of getting off but it isn't always feasible for them when just taking a little bit of time to practice the skill or sign up for a lesson would take care of the individual's issue.


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## Derek (Dec 30, 2008)

YouTube - 'Frozen' Trailer HD


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

pawlo said:


> One would think that after all this years they would came up with a riders dedicated device to avoid those falls for beginners, and avoid slow downs on chair lines. Hmmmm time to get on the drawing board.


already done

Strap Pad® - Secure Traction Snowboard Stomp Pad


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## Halborr (Oct 5, 2009)

Derek said:


> YouTube - 'Frozen' Trailer HD


I might have nightmares about that now. Ugh. Although, what sad excuse for a resort isn't open during the week?


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

wrathfuldeity said:


> already done
> 
> Strap Pad® - Secure Traction Snowboard Stomp Pad


Saw that and it is cool..but that assumes that you already know how to ride...I was thinking more about a device attached to the chair itself, like a handrail or something.
But yes that strap is dead on if you're a beginner...Looks like it works.


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

Halborr said:


> I might have nightmares about that now. Ugh. Although, what sad excuse for a resort isn't open during the week?


That's a terrible movie.
For more reasons than one.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Halborr said:


> I might have nightmares about that now. Ugh. Although, what sad excuse for a resort isn't open during the week?


Manning Park. Actually, I'm being unfair. They're only _half_ closed during the week. They close the orange chair. Unfortunately, the orange chair is the good one. The blue chair is lame. So they might as well be closed.

Manning, I've noticed, also has a very low number of snowboarders out of the total clientele. Maybe because they don't have much in the way of park or jumps?

Did I mention they're in receivership? I'm sure it's coincidence.

And it's unfortunate, because it's a great place to go (on weekends). We stayed there for 4 nights last winter -- rented one of their cabins. You can sleep up to 8 in a cabin if you all like each other, and it costs about $250 a night so that's pretty cheap per person. There's a full kitchen so you can save money on meals, and a free shuttle takes you to the slopes. So WTF are they doing poorly? Management and marketing, IMO, sucks.


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## treymchattie (Aug 6, 2008)

at bear i like to strap in both feet and ride off the lift directly to the run, mostly so i can dodge the gapers and other people falling. i know you arent supposed to and i havnt seen any signs so i just do it until someone tells me otherwise. it works out for the better because it gets experienced boarders out of the way of the less experienced


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Chair-strapping is pretty hard to do with other people on the chair... Unless maybe your rocking flows.


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## anti-bling (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry to go off-track to the original post
Haffajappa (you half-Japanese?) just go to one of the local hills and take a lesson. They will teach you how to get off a lift and have you practice a bit before you actually try it. That should take all of 10 minutes, and the rest of the lesson can be spent upping your skillz.
If you get put into a group lesson, make sure you let the instructor know that you specifically want to work on getting off lifts.

Enjoy the winter. Van is a nice place to live and ride, i used to work at Cypress myself.


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## Karasene (Oct 20, 2010)

treymchattie said:


> at bear i like to strap in both feet and ride off the lift directly to the run, mostly so i can dodge the gapers and other people falling. i know you arent supposed to and i havnt seen any signs so i just do it until someone tells me otherwise. it works out for the better because it gets experienced boarders out of the way of the less experienced


I do this also.. but only when I'm riding solo. Like Hobomaster says its not really ideal when your riding with other people and pretty damn hard to coordinate. Besides I enjoy strapping in at the top. It gives everyone a chance to re-group and put their game faces on. Not to mention the oppurtunity for strangers to join in on a run or two. I always thought this was something that made snowboarding more of a community on the mountain vs. all the point and shoot skiiers out there. I dunno. :dunno:


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

gjsnowboarder said:


> They have...its called education and practice. But a lot of people don't practice and don't get educated. Because lift riding is such a small part of riding and definitely is the *thrill* of riding it doesn't get the attention it should. Resorts try to groom evenly there ramps and set-up angles to ease the process of getting off but it isn't always feasible for them when just taking a little bit of time to practice the skill or sign up for a lesson would take care of the individual's issue.


Agree with you, not an issue for me either, just typing away. 
But the lift can be tricky before you learn. I remember that.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

Snowolf said:


> You want a real challenge of your one footed gliding skills, ride Blue Chair at Meadows sometime....


Yea i think ill pass. Ive only seen blue open a few times, and the times it was it cut the MHM line down so far i just stood there because blue is so slow i passed people who were already on the chair lol. 

Ive seen a few people really twist themselves up coming off that chair....


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## swilber08 (Dec 29, 2009)

I try to slide my back foot in (I have flow's) because if I don't I can feel the weight stressing my left knee...i try to be pretty cautious about my knees


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

anti-bling said:


> Sorry to go off-track to the original post
> Haffajappa (you half-Japanese?) just go to one of the local hills and take a lesson. They will teach you how to get off a lift and have you practice a bit before you actually try it. That should take all of 10 minutes, and the rest of the lesson can be spent upping your skillz.
> If you get put into a group lesson, make sure you let the instructor know that you specifically want to work on getting off lifts.
> 
> Enjoy the winter. Van is a nice place to live and ride, i used to work at Cypress myself.


Yeah I am... My father is Japanese. He's just taken over the sushi bar at mount washigton, btw *shameless plug* If anyone is up there, stop by!!

Thanks for the info. If we really do get a good dump in the lower mainland (been snowing off and on today, waiting for it to stick!) I am going to find some small hills nearby and practice with one foot strapped in!!


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> Haffajappa, take a look at this article I wrote a few years back regarding the chairlift....:thumbsup:
> 
> http://www.snowboardingforum.com/tips-tricks-instructors/778-basic-how-snowboarding-guides.html#post4985


Thanks!! 
I saw some of your videos on youtube btw i never made the connection haha.
They are really informative!


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

I think like, I usually get the hang of it. I'd say that I fall maybe, 2 or 3 out of every 10 times on the lift... But I need practice evidently. I think I'll try the thing with pushing against your back binding...


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## Chris2347 (Nov 7, 2009)

What helped me a ton was at one spot on my hill, theres a lift about 50 ft from the lodge on a slight downhill - so 1ft'n down that all the time helps a lot - I think it probably helps with regular riding as well


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## jmacphee9 (Nov 11, 2008)

not afraid of heights or anything but many snowboards im sure would agree with you especially when they are new...i still dont particularly enjoy....i stay on the lift a sec longer so i have a clearer path to get off when the chair is full..


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## haffajappa (Nov 4, 2010)

So we went up to Grouse Mountain last night and I'm happy to say i didn't fall once off the lift! 
I think everyone's right if i tell myself i'm going to fall the whole way up then i'm going to fall.

I also pushed my back foot against my binding that helped a lot!!!


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