Bulgaria Ski discussion board

If you're in a gondola then you obviously have to remove the board from the bindings and carry it with you. On chairlifts you remove your back foot (ie if you're a 'regular' then the right, and the left foot for 'goofies') off the board and you use that foot to push yourself off - much like when you skateboard.

If your bindings are secured properly then you should have no problems having the board dangling off just the one foot when you're on the chairlift.

When you get off the chairlift (presuming it's slow enough) you just line the board up as normal (ie so it's pointing to the front) and put your 'free' foot on the stomp pad and just slide away...

Just to clarify.

In Pamps on the Chairlifts boarders carry their board up.

If you're not going to Pamps and it's somewhere they make you ride up with your board, here are a few tips.

When you get near to the end of the lift ride and you are lifting the chairlift barrier up. Slide forward so you are on the edge of the seat.

Put the board down on the ground so it's pointing straight.

You'll be sat slightly twisted at this point

Put your back foot down on your board between your binding.

Slide your foot back so it's hard against your back binding

Hold onto the edge of the seat with your arm that's at the back (left or right depending on whether you're goofy or regular).

Stand up, aquire balance and use your hand to push away from the chairlift.

You should (in theory) just glide away.

In practice the first few times you will fall.

If you do - Stand up quickly and get out of the way quickly.

The easiest ones are the chairlifts with a gentle straight run off at the end.

The next hardest are the ones where you are to come off and turn straight away.

The next hardest are the ones with a steep run off.

A good thing to practice first is boarding short distance on almost flat slopes with your back foot not fastened in.

Get used to doing that and the rest should come easily.

Hope this helps.

It's something that's at the forfront of my mind at the moment.

My boyfriend has been boarding for two years and only at Pamps, so has no experience of having to board off a chairlift.

This year we're off to Canada where you can't carry your board up.

I know it wasn't easy for me when I started out, so I'll be trying to find ways of making it as easy as possible.

Another couple of things that work for me are.

Try (at least the first couple of times) to go up in the chairlift with just one other person.

If the chairlift is full, it just makes it more likely that you're going to get caught up in someone else.

If you have to be on a lift with more than one other person try to sit at the outside, not in the middle, again you will have a bit more room.

If you don't know the people you're on the chairlift with, let them know that you're still learning the art of getting off, they'll hopefully give you more room by getting out of your way.

But don't worry, we ALL fall sometimes !