Henry Hester Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do any of you toe bale peeps click in on the lift? I find a cannot come off the lift without being hooked in first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 I find I fall to my death when I try this. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Sounds like some one leg training is in order. Can you ride a tbar ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Henry, no, bad idea. I have some suggestions I give to those struggling with the unloading situation. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 I find I fall to my death when I try this. in the interests of science, would you please share your technique for coming back to life? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 I used to do that while holding onto the back of the seat with my other hand. Then one day the back of the seat lifted up and I fell about 30 feet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do any of you toe bale peeps click in on the lift? I find a cannot come off the lift without being hooked in first. it's something i've only ever managed on one particular (fixed-grip) chairlift, but the off-ramp is such that i can stand, skate, click in the rear (yes, stepins FTW) and glide off on a parabolic arc of smugness. at any other unload station it's not going to happen. learn to skate with only your front foot in, and from there learn to glide on the flat with your rear foot between the bindings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 If you are unsteady at unloading or you don't trust your seatmates, I have found hanging back to the last second a good solution. Then you can just go straight which is easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbedle Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Agree with the hanging back a bit, that always helps if you are unsure of the people around you. The high speed lifts always give me a problem and I tend to hang back a bit just so I can push off the lift with a little bit of speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do several full runs with only one foot in. It will fix your one-footed issues right quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Henry. So, step one. Make sure you have a good stomp pad, Dakine "Spike" is my favorite and works well. (young bucks, save beating your chest here and telling us how lame stomp pads are) Get a stomp pad and put it on!! Step two: do not try to turn right after standing. Just stand up with most of your weight on the front foot , place your back foot on the spike pad and then just point it straight. You will just roll out and come to a stop. Yes, do this on chairs that have a run out first. You can get the hang of gently turning after you become comfortable. Try to get the seat on the chair that is to the right or left extreme. You want to end up on the outside of the turn that most riders will take at the top to avoid routing conflict. With all due respect to my Boss "Jim Callen" , he is a young , super fit, type A , with a gagillion vertical feet under his alpine belt. Attempting to make a full run with one foot out is a good way to increase your chances of collecting a twisted knee. Please do NOT do that !! Bryan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Stomp pads are lame [emoji12] The danger of clicking in on the lift is that the back foot hardboot can get caught between the chair and the ramp on offload. I learned the hard way how much that sucks. I agree with most of what Bryan said. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do several full runs with only one foot in. It will fix your one-footed issues right quick. I used to rely on stomp pads at first but with more experience I have found that they now serve little purpose for me when I get off a lift. I use my stomp pad primarily for getting snow off the bottom of my boots. When I was starting out the main thing I learned about unloading was to never put my free foot down and rely on controlling the board with my attached foot. While hanging back and being the last person off the chair is a workable strategy, I often use the last bit of momentum from a detachable chair while pushing off strongly with my arms to zoom off the chair before anybody else. I agree with Jim as long as the full run is on the bunniest of bunny slopes. I think it can be illuminating to go up the magic carpet and take a run with only the front foot in. I often do this when evaluating a new setup. If the board isn't easily controllable (not necessarily carveable), then something is clearly wrong. Once this feels good I lock in my rear foot and show those 5 year-olds who's boss. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 If you are unsteady at unloading or you don't trust your seatmates, I have found hanging back to the last second a good solution. Then you can just go straight which is easier. <laughs> I usually work the opposite way: I like to be first off, so the other people (I usually ride alone) can't get in my way. My approach is to push off hard with my free foot, skate with the other one, then I'm away from the other people so I can do what I want. Which may be clip in directly if I'm lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucasgo Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Practice skating. Flexed bent front leg for absorbing what comes, and get your balance. I like pushing off before the rest of the people on the lift. Maybe my board and bindings are right, maybe it's the experience, but I don't drift or track, so I don't use stomp pads. Far more fun to swing that back leg around, flailing and kicking so nobody runs over my board. I've had the experience of getting boot stuck under the chair during dismount, don't really want to do that. Clipping in toe bails is still a zillion times faster than straps. Tip - heel side down the mountain and dig in that edge (standing still, across the fall line) makes it a lot easier to engage heel bail and thus clip in as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyt. Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 If you are riding detachable chairs, there should not be too much of an issue. The older chairs like the ones here on east coast have an unloading ramp like a ski jump! Pretty much icy and skied off as well. I try and go straight towards a mound of softer snow at the end of ramp where I can sink an edge and come to a stop. Back foot on stomp pad, weight centered. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crote123 Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 <laughs> I usually work the opposite way: I like to be first off, so the other people (I usually ride alone) can't get in my way. My approach is to push off hard with my free foot, skate with the other one, then I'm away from the other people so I can do what I want. Which may be clip in directly if I'm lucky. +1 pushing off ahead of everyone. You're not bound into a trajectory set by your seatmates. I don't use a stomp pad but I usually push hard a few times with my back leg and then I put my rear foot between the bindings to glide to wherever I nned to, I find this position gives me enough control off the chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Often if you scream loudly as you are standing up "I'm out of control!!!", people will clear a path for you. I've actually taught a few snowboarders and unloading is one of the hardest things to learn. Weight on the front foot is key. A good practice is on flat ground, push off with your free foot and try to see how long you can balance on the other, without putting your free foot down for as long as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Hard to steer a glass board with only one foot. Harder still on a newer decambered metal board. My approach had been to fight for the left side of the chair (I'm goofy) and turn left . Since switching to a Skwal and riding the tbars it has force me to adapt I have learned to steer with some degree of confidence. Pushing off the chair always help to clear swiftly to avoid getting clipped by the chair. Leaning forward to load the tip of the board gives you enough grip to turn by leaning you body left or right . It won't be pretty at first but you will eventually develop into a pro. Rely lean into your boot cuff. Leaning back will only give you grief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 While racking up vertical for a Jimmy Heuga Challenge event, most of the team clipped in prior to exit; usually both riders per double chair. Not standard practice, but it saved a few seconds per run. Last board with stomp pad was a PJ 6.2 with Variplates. Unless you're doing something fundamentally 'wrong' (like facing directly forward with your torso as you stand up, or trying to stand when your front foot is out and ahead of you), instability on unload is mostly related to equipment setup. When you get that sorted, gliding around one-footed should be cake, regardless of board construction. Until you get that resolved, refrain from riding anywhere else on one foot unless you're fond of leg taffy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Rob speaks wisely. I cringe when I see people doing various things like that. One little slip and you die. My second day of hard boot riding was at a tiny hill that allowed you to board the lift with both feet strapped in. Worst ride ever! The directional/asymmetrical stance means that the entire weight of the board and your other leg is borne by your rear knee. Try sitting on something with both feet clipped in to simulate it. It sucks. If you have step-ins you can align your foot and clip in as you touch down, but it's risky. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Henry. Come up to Mammoth/June for MLK weekend. (Next weekend) Talk to Carlo and Brooke on coming up too. We can ride. It will be fun. Bryan was spot on. Stomp pads are your friend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Hester Posted January 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Ok. I'll switch to a one leg ride off. Thanks for the feedback. Great exercise on using this forum to improve. Btw, I'm a 40 year boarder, always in plates, always clipped in first. I've been pinched bad by the chair and rear boot a few times. If the off ramp is long and icy, it's a 80% chance of a back slam or worse, leg split which hurts after a replaced hip. I just have to man up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Well, this turned into an eye-opening thread from what could have been a simple "No, don't do it - bad idea!" / "Oh, OK" exchange. I haven't been on hard boots in 20+ years (and really, they were of the pantywaist variety) but don't recall the handling being noticeably different from soft boots on exiting the chair. Since I'm planning an admittedly stupid and reckless experiment with hard boots sometime this season, it sounds like I can expect it to be a failure before I even head down the hill. So, is it really that different getting off the chair with a hard boot set up? As an aside, I don't know if I'm the only one, but when my Hazelwood was delivered, it bucked me a couple times getting off the lift. I learned a very valuable lesson in de-tuning that day. Hasn't happened since. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcousticBoarder Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 For me my hardboots are actually easier to ride off the lift one footed. My soft boot board also has a high gloss finish with no stomp pad (too lazy to get one), so put too much weight in the back and down you go... As beckmann and a few others stated, if your setup is correct, you should be able to unload one footed no problem, not even putting weight on the back foot. Personally, I always use my back foot as a break/ turning leverage... I also unload last, and prefer to be on the outside of the chair with toes out (for me as regular, the far right) Magic Carpet/ super flat bunny slope is a good idea, should try that myself to improve my one footedness as I am not too confident myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.