EeveeCanSki
Certified Ski Diva
One of the things I pride myself on and have received a lot of great feedback from instructors about is that I do well with chairlifts, as in properly loading and unloading. However, I got in a pickle this past weekend with exactly what the title describes, on what could have been a chair set slightly higher than what I'm used to. When came time to unload on one lift, I literally could not feel the ground beneath my feet. I could sense my skis go flat but felt nothing underneath--it was weird, as if I were still floating!
The first time I rode this particular lift, I nearly jumped out of the seat--I lost my balance but my instructor caught me, and said I indeed rose too early. Again, that was because I felt no pressure from the platform beneath.
The second time riding this lift, again saw skis go flat, but felt nothing! That time, I completely missed any window to exit the lift and had an encounter with the stop bar. The vigilant and helpful liftie got me out without incident, and I walked off the lift and met my instructor and we carried on.
I was so embarrassed though. My instructor told me not to sweat it (and quickly forgave me for the colorful words I used during the incident, lol). He was glad I was ok.
I am on the shorter side but not so short--I'm about 5'4" and in boots and skis would be a couple more inches than that. On every other lift I've taken, I've felt the ground lift my knees a little, and hence I'm forced to stand and carry on down the runout. I quite welcome that feeling of resistance since I know I am safe to proceed sliding. However, if I ever feel myself in the situation I've just described above again, what can I do? Has this happened to any of you all? I don't want to avoid a lift and thus miss the experience skiing down what could be a great run for me just because of this one thing.
The first time I rode this particular lift, I nearly jumped out of the seat--I lost my balance but my instructor caught me, and said I indeed rose too early. Again, that was because I felt no pressure from the platform beneath.
The second time riding this lift, again saw skis go flat, but felt nothing! That time, I completely missed any window to exit the lift and had an encounter with the stop bar. The vigilant and helpful liftie got me out without incident, and I walked off the lift and met my instructor and we carried on.
I was so embarrassed though. My instructor told me not to sweat it (and quickly forgave me for the colorful words I used during the incident, lol). He was glad I was ok.
I am on the shorter side but not so short--I'm about 5'4" and in boots and skis would be a couple more inches than that. On every other lift I've taken, I've felt the ground lift my knees a little, and hence I'm forced to stand and carry on down the runout. I quite welcome that feeling of resistance since I know I am safe to proceed sliding. However, if I ever feel myself in the situation I've just described above again, what can I do? Has this happened to any of you all? I don't want to avoid a lift and thus miss the experience skiing down what could be a great run for me just because of this one thing.