Here I am looking under my arm for the chair so I can time my lift. Scott starts his approach to the 'Load Here' sign.
Once you are in position at the 'Load Here' sign watch for the chair lift. You can have a buddy count for you such as "3,2,1 LIFT", but I would recommend that you learn your own method to self load. I look down to the ground under my arm. This gives me a small field of view, when the chair lift comes into this small field of view you have a few seconds to time your lift. From the time you see the chair to the time you lift will vary depending on the chair lift. Detachable Quads slow down and give you more time, other chairs are faster thus giving you less time. If the chair is not a detachable I ask the lift attendant to slow the lift to half speed. This is the most critical time of loading, any distraction or blunder in timing will result in a miss-load and they are NOT fun. Make sure the people you are riding the lift with know to give you room and not bump you. As you get better at loading it gets easier and you will be able to counter most bumps and distractions. The time it takes from entering the load area to loading on the chair is about ten seconds. It's not much time, but it is all you need. If you need more time ask the attendant to slow or stop the lift. It is better to have a safe slow load then a fast miss-load that will result in shutting down the lift anyway. I also use rigger extensions on my out riggers. This helps me get all the height I need to get up on the chair lift.

In this photo I plant a nice load and begin to pull down the safety bar, as Scott is looking under his arm for the chair lift. Scott angels his mono to get a better view.

Once you are on the lift seat secure your self. I grab the safety bar right away and pull it down. Once the bar is down I disengage the lift jack on my mono and put my riggers in the ski position. I feel it is best to do this right away because once I start talking or get distracted on the lift ride I am libel to forget and that can cause a problem exiting the chair lift. Your mono should have a safety strap and must have an evacuation strap My mono has an evacuation strap that I can use as a safety strap. I choose to use the safety bar on the lift. If you do not feel secure, use the safety strap and hook your self onto the chair lift. Make sure you give your self plenty of time to unhook the safety strap before unloading the chair lift. It's NOT fun when you attempt to unload and find your self hanging by your safety strap and going around the big wheel.

John plants a nice load on the quad at Hunter.

John likes to lift onto the chair then reach his elbows over the seat back and lock him self in to the lift seat.

John with his riggers up, is ready to dismount.

The dismount or unload form the chair lift is the easy part. Just relax. Riggers in the ski position and lifted up as shown in the above picture. As your ski tip passes the "Unload Here" sign you want to swing your riggers down and lunge your head forward. Don't do this to hard, that can cause the tail of your ski to catch the bottom the chair lift and hang you up. Just a smooth forward motion and you should slip right off the seat. Duck your head as you clear the chair lift. If you are sitting to high the chair might clip your head. It has happened to me, I was warring my helmet so there was no major damage, but I did feel it. You will encounter many different chair lifts out there, some are friendly and some are not. You will learn the way that suits you best to deal with them. To spite the ease of unloading I have most of my problems in this area do to lunging forward to hard and hooking the tail of my ski. I don't do it all the time, but once every few ski trips I blunder a mount or dismount. We all do. Find what works best for you and stick with it.

A clean dismount.

After you have dismounted clear the area quickly.

I very rarely miss-load, when I do it is from a distraction. I prefer to ride a quad with no more then three people. I have done it with four but this will increase the risk of a miss-load or a blundered dismount. If you can, load with one less person then the chair is designed for. This will give everyone more room. On a double chair I like to ride alone. I line my self up in the center of the chair and load. As soon as I am in the seat I grab the two side bars of the chair lift and push my self back into the seat. As soon as I am secure I lower the safety bar. Some older chair lifts don't slow down, I find this method of holding the side bars works good.

Be sure that there are no straps, buckles, back packs or any thing hanging off you or your mono that might get caught on the chair lift. You don't want to be hook on when you unload. The lift ride is a good time to tighten belts, eat a snack, adjust clothing and so on. Just be sure you are done in time to unload.

I recommend that you ware a helmet, especially if you ski in the east, or if you are an extremist. You know speed, bumps, and air. I have taken some hard hits on my head from mouse trapping or hi siding on a icy run. With and with out the helmet. Well, the helmet wins. I might get daring on a soft snow, warm spring day, and not ware a helmet, but I won't be taking big air in the snow park with out my helmet. Most of my mono friends feel the same way. The others, well, what ever. I say be smart and safe and enjoy the whole season. Or be dumb and reckless and spend the season in your chair, on your back, or planted in the ground.

The safety strap and evacuation strap are a must. At least an evacuation strap. If for some reason the chair lift was to stop working the ski patrol will have to lower you to the ground. An evacuation strap with a locking Caribbean will give you something to attach to their life line.

More pics from this day Click here