# lift tips for a newb



## HouseMuzik (Dec 22, 2008)

Okay guys.. feel kind of like a dumbass.. but any of you have tips (or words of encouragement) for getting off a lift? I can't seem to figure it out.. grr.


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## Rocan (Dec 3, 2008)

HouseMuzik said:


> Okay guys.. feel kind of like a dumbass.. but any of you have tips (or words of encouragement) for getting off a lift? I can't seem to figure it out.. grr.


use the search function, top right... 

its not that hard... try youtubing it lol


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## HouseMuzik (Dec 22, 2008)

well search didn't really help.

Found this
YouTube - Beginner Snowboard Lesson Part Two

one of the moderators


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## Jenzo (Oct 14, 2008)

1) Dont wear that hat! Itll catch the wind and throw you off balance :laugh:

2) Keep weight on front foot

3) Let the chair gently push you off and secure your foot on the stomp pad. Concentrate on keeping your weight forward do you go forward.


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2008)

Make sure you seperate from those you ride with. I see people pushing each other right after they get off and everyone falls. Left Seater goes left, Center seater goes straight and Right seater goes right.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

as you ready for the exit ramp, yell "noob" or "gaper" or blow your bear whistle. btw dont look down or look at your feet...look where you want to go.


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2008)

wrathfuldeity said:


> as you ready for the exit ramp, yell "noob" or "gaper" or blow your bear whistle. btw dont look down or look at your feet...look where you want to go.


bwahahahha! good shit right ther!


what i do is kinda hold myself steady with my back hand on the chair as i stand up & then i let the chair kinda push me forward & then i kinda push off with my hand.


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## HouseMuzik (Dec 22, 2008)

lol! yeah pretty much i should.. or "get out of the way before somebody gets hurt"

Watching that video i saw a few things i'm doing wrong which may be screwing me up. tnx anyways..


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## snowsam17 (Jan 14, 2008)

when i first started i kept falling when i would get off the lift because i would try to control my speed and turn too sharply. I found that, as you get off the lift, you just have to relax and let ur board take you down the ramp without worrying about speed or anything. Dont try to stop urself with ur back foot either. Then once you have cleared the unloading ramp steep yourself in the right direction with subtle shirts in weight. You dont need to rail a one-footed carve. Just lean a little bit and you will go in the general direction of where you want to. Basically, for me, i just had to stop being nervous while getting off the lift and relax, and it seemed much easier than it did at first.


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## Rocan (Dec 3, 2008)

N~R~G said:


> bwahahahha! good shit right ther!
> 
> 
> what i do is kinda hold myself steady with my back hand on the chair as i stand up & then i let the chair kinda push me forward & then i kinda push off with my hand.


i do the same when i get off..


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## sedition (Feb 8, 2007)

Snowolf said:


> It`s all about becoming proficient at one footed glides. Learn torsional steering wwith the front foot. Bend your knees more; too many people stand up too tall. Lean a little forward as if you had a 1 foot piece of rope tied to the nose of your board and were hanging on to it. Keep upper body stacked upright over the top of your board and turn your head to look where your are going, not your shoulders. Lead with the front shoulder.


All of the above, but there is a good way to practice this *BEFORE* you start getting off the lift. Here is how; When you get to the bottom of a given trail, unstrap _further_ away from the lift than you normally wood. Start skating, and then just put your back foot on the board and ride it as long as you can (doing everything Snowolf said above). This will help you learn all the mechanics of how to get off the lift, but on a leveler surface with better snow conditions.


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## alf (Mar 14, 2008)

Snowolf said:


> Bend your knees more; too many people stand up too tall.


This is a huge one. I've been boarding off-and-on for a few seasons, but I just realized this saturday that I was doing that. Getting down low made all the difference between barely being able to turn plus trying not to slide out versus riding almost like when I'm strapped in. Hurray for reading this forum


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## Phenix_Rider (Dec 24, 2008)

I'm 6'2", with really long legs that tend to get caught under the chair. Most lifts seem to be made for 4' nothin midgets. I have to keep my board way up and out or my knees take a beating. I don't run a stomp grip either, so I have to push back against my rear binding. It helps to ratchet down the unused straps so they don't get tangled or stomped.


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## fletcherhead (Dec 4, 2008)

make sure u have a stomp pad...it makes things earier


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## Phenix_Rider (Dec 24, 2008)

fletcherhead said:


> make sure u have a stomp pad...it makes things earier


Only if you have a good one. A lot of them get so hard they don't grip in the cold. I've been thinking about adding some of the single metal spikes.


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## HouseMuzik (Dec 22, 2008)

fwiw... i tried to do this tonight with everybody's suggestions. With my friends i think i was too nervous haha.. (they're all like 5+ years experience) but after they left and I took a few runs and the one time i got off and came down without falling.

haha i kinda jumped around a lil like an idiot cause i was all excited i finally didn't fall and realized there was people around haha

oops lol -- i can't still deal with those higher speed lifts.. my friends took me up those and it was a little much.. the damn thing just threw me off practically haha


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## boarder3 (Dec 4, 2008)

Bending your knees is very important. I also hold onto the lift as i stand up to keep my balance. When I feel ready I gently push up. You have more time than you think, there is no rush. Just make sure if you would fall you get out of the way as soon as possible. ITs not big deal, happens to everyone once in a while. One more tip..try to communicate with the people with you on the lift to find out what direction they will be turning. easy way to avoid a crash.


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## DragonXero13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Last season when I just started snowboarding, I bought my own gear and all the works. At the time I didn't have a stomp pad. Just recently, I had no idea that I was supposed to/could set up my binding to control how much toe or heel over hang I had. I didn't know that my bindings weren't in the middle of my board and all that stuff. In my opinion, I think all of these factors contributed to my learning process and how I accelerated. Now that I have a good new board, learned to set up my bindings correctly, and got the Dakine Pyramid Stud stomp pad.

What I do when I'm getting off the lift are:
-Brush off the extra snow where my rear foot is going to be to gain traction
-Have one ass cheek on and one off
-Once my board hits the ground, I look down because my board is not straight and I'll straighten it and put my foot where the stomp pad is and put some extra pressure against my rear binding as well
-I'll have my hand on the seat because it sort of gives me a line to where I'm going to move and than once I'm at the point where the ground starts to decrease in level, I'll push off of the seat while keeping my board straight
-Like SnowWolf said, keep your knees bent and just move straight a little bit without touching anyone else to knock off yours and their balance.

I find it easier going heel side than toe side when stopping, but it's still possible.

GL with getting the hang of it.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

Snowolf said:


> It`s all about becoming proficient at one footed glides. Learn torsional steering wwith the front foot. Bend your knees more; too many people stand up too tall. Lean a little forward as if you had a 1 foot piece of rope tied to the nose of your board and were hanging on to it. Keep upper body stacked upright over the top of your board and turn your head to look where your are going, not your shoulders. Lead with the front shoulder.


Wow, you sound exactly like the guy from the video!


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## HouseMuzik (Dec 22, 2008)

^^^ this is what was causing me to fall. I figured that out on my own... pretty much every time i get off lately i'm now pretty much doing it.. a lil wobbly sometimes but i'm not on my butt anymore


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2009)

I agree with snowsam and snowolf, it's all about loosening up, staying on your board off the lift, and letting it slide. Also, don't try using your back foot to stop, for me I just kind of lift up my toes on my front foot (at least that's what it feels like), and the board turns and comes to a stop.

Edit: Oops, apparently the toe thing I mentioned above is called torsional steering


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## WolfSnow (Oct 26, 2008)

Came across this which might help-
YouTube - Beginner Snowboard Lesson Part Two

*-WolfSnow*


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## Felice (Jul 3, 2008)

Is there a video clip of this torsional steering element? My board is always getting away from me,even with a stomp pad. I ride Goofy but find my body is out of alignment when I am ready to leave the chair. I still fall, and always to my left. Go figure.


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