It is a well-known fact that going uphill is harder than going downhill. The man figured out how to facilitate this process. One of the types of devices for lifting skiers up the slope of the track is a drag lift.

It looks like a cable, closed in a ring system and stretched at a distance of about two meters from the ground between the support columns.

An engine is installed at the top or bottom of the track, which drives it. To climb the mountain, the skier clings to the tow bar attached to the cable in one of the ways provided by the feature of this mechanism.

Hoist modifications

Tow bars, they were also called Poma lifts before, differ in the names of towing rods, which are of two types.

1. Anchor or in common parlance a mop. In this case, it is clear what this device looks like: at the end of the bar there is a crossbar designed to pull two people at once.
2. The plate, as another type of rod is called, with a stop in the form of a round die at the end, is designed for towing one person. Based on the description, you can imagine the outlines of this fruit of engineering thought.

And one cannot fail to mention the Baby Elevator - this is also a type of lifting mechanism, the cable of which, stretched not high from the surface of the earth, has no intermediate supports and moves at low speed.

It is usually used by children and beginners who have absolutely no skiing experience.

In order to use it, you just need to grab the cable with your hands or special plastic brackets.

Safety regulations

To use the drag lift effectively, there are a few rules to remember:

• Before going up, see how more experienced skiers do it.
• To catch a rope, especially at first, it is worth with the help of special assistants, they are usually nearby.
• For stable position, you need to hold on to the bar with both hands.
• If balance is lost, and the fall still occurs, you must release the yoke and roll away from the ascent line.
• There is no need to fuss, rush and interfere with other people with your actions, this can lead to collisions and injuries.

With the development of skiing, more and more people visit mountain resorts with lifts. They come in different modifications, have different names, but still, they all remain a source of danger, which should always be remembered! Holidays in the mountains should bring joy and satisfaction.

How to use the lifts

Ski lifts open the way to the mountains. It is difficult and long to climb the mountain on foot, so the faster you learn to use the lifts, the more kilometers you can drive and the faster you learn to ride. Using hoists may seem daunting at first, but you will quickly learn.

Towing lifts

Most likely, the very first lift you come across on cultural slopes will be of a towing type. The most common T-type tow lifts are called "mops" for their appearance.
A towing hoist is a continuously moving cable, to which poles are attached, at the ends of which plates are fixed (the variant shown above in the photo). In the case of a push-button lifter, the cymbals are attached with a spring-loaded cord, in some versions they are simply attached to the end of the pole. The poles can move continuously along with the cable, or they can accumulate below, waiting for the skier to grab them. In any case, your task is to put the plate between your legs and ride in tow to the top of the slope.

We take a tug
Take both sticks in one hand. Wait until you can take the tug. The operator will tell you about this, or the green light will turn on, or the barrier will rise. Grasp the pole with your free hand. If the lift has poles at the bottom and you need to press a switch to start moving, locate the switch. Slip a pole between your legs and make sure your skis are parallel and wide enough. Get ready to be pulled by a tug, just don't try to sit on a plate!

Take the pole and turn on the switch

Rise
Stand freely, keep your skis parallel, and let the pole pull you.

Get off the lift
Watch for end-of-lift warning signals. As soon as you reach the lift warning signal, use your free hand to draw out the pole that is between your legs. Make sure the pole doesn't hit anyone and release it. Move away from the lift immediately.

Take your time, assess the situation.

When you arrive, release the pole and quickly clear the road.

Peculiarities
Some lifts have a very sharp start! If the skier in front of you soared into the air, get ready to start with a jump. If the cable comes off the winch, remain calm, keep your legs wide, relax and follow the pole. The poles will soon begin to slide down the slope. Hold on to the pole firmly and slow down with the plow. If you fall, quickly clear the way.
Children and very light adults. On old lifts, children and very light adults could be lifted into the air and rotated on a pole a dozen centimeters from the ground ... It can happen in different ways - a 360-degree turn is quite safe, but a 90-degree turn is not. The only way is to try to reach the snow with at least the backs of the skis and hope for a safe landing. This happens extremely rarely, and never happens on modern lifts.

T-type lifts

As the name suggests, a T-type lift looks like a large, upside-down "T" attached to a cable by a leg (mop). Victims line up in twos, when the T-bar approaches, the lifter lowers it down, passing the T-leg between the skiers, and places the bar on their lower backs. Then a pair of skiers begin the climb. T-type lifts were very widespread, although they are now being replaced by more comfortable lifts in most resorts. You will not find them in most resorts. Western Europe and even more so in the United States, but in other countries they are still often used.

Try to find a partner about your weight.

Turn to grasp the base of the bar.

Sit down
Stand next to your partner, hold the sticks from the outside, grab the bar with your hand.

Traffic
Keep skis parallel to each other while towing. Do not push your partner's ski or boot, remember - this is your partner, not your opponent.

Let's go
Decide which one of you will hold the bar while the other gets off the lift: it is more convenient to do this for the one who is on the side farthest from the pivot post.
Be careful when letting go of the bar; it can twist and hit someone while its cable reels into the mount. Clear the lift platform as quickly as possible.

Advice
Try to find a partner with a wide ass like yours. If you are lifting alone, or if you have to strain every muscle to stay on the lift, move the end of the bar under your outer glute. Lean over your partner's shoulder and ask him to do the same.

Release the bar carefully

Chair lifts
Chair lifts provide a civilized way to climb the mountain, allowing you to rest and admire the scenery for a few minutes. Chairs are usually two, three, or four-seater, fixed on a cable that moves non-stop up the slope. Very comfortable, high-speed, they move rapidly on the rise and slow down warningly for skiers to land.

Sit down
Take the sticks in your hand. Stand so that the approaching seat is exactly behind you. Some slip a little forward so that the rest of the companions take the first hit of the seat. Sit down as soon as the seat touches you. If you managed to avoid hitting a neighbor with sticks in the face, they sat down perfectly. Lower the safety bar as soon as the seat comes off the platform. Try not to drop anything, and if something does fall, remember the number of the next support so that you can orient yourself later.

After planting, hold the sticks neatly.

We leave
When you see that you are approaching, open the safety bar. If you have a fanny pack or backpack, check to make sure they are not snagged on anything. Raise the ends of the skis to avoid snagging on the approaching platform. As soon as the skis touch the snow, stand up and push yourself away from the seat with your free hand. Roll quickly to the side to avoid hitting the head or back with the seat.

Lean forward and push off when the skis touch the snow

Rope cabins, funiculars and more

No special skills are required to use such lifts.

A widespread type of lifts in Russia is drag "with a hook"
A yoke is a specially shaped piece of iron that is used to hook onto the hoisting rope. This piece of iron, which is sometimes a very bizarre design, is usually tied with a strong belt, at the other end of which - to facilitate lifting - there is a small crossbar, which is comfortable enough to hold with your hands or, with the advent of experience, which you can push between your legs and climb onto being towed without loading your hands. One tip: let someone go ahead and ask the next one behind you to suggest how to properly hook on the cable. Usually, not everyone succeeds the first time, so do not get discouraged and try again - it will work out, and rather quickly.

A chair lift is the best option for a snowboarder to climb uphill. Legs are resting, snowboarding does not interfere, the main thing is to dress warmly and enjoy the views.

Landing

Go through the turnstile, determine whether you can carry the snowboard in your hands (most often yes) or you need to fasten one leg (usually in such places, employees do not let a snowboard in without wearing a snowboard), wait for your turn and stand in a line with those who are going to sit on the lift together with you (depends on the capacity of the lift). Usually one chair is designed for 2 to 6 people. Sit on chairlift everyone needs it at the same time, so everyone should be on the same line. Do not run into this line if you miss the chair. Wait for the next one and sit like a human.

When the chair approaches, gently sit on it, immediately putting your legs forward and straightening them so that they do not go under the chair and do not break. Place the board with an edge between your legs so that it does not interfere with the lowering of the safety frame and does not fall on your knee. Gently, smoothly and slowly lower the safety frame, having previously informed the others. Put your feet on the step (if you get it), check that the snowboard does not fall down, usually they look for this so that in any case it is hooked by the mount on the frame. Better to hold it all the way.

Disembarkation

When the chair approaches the upper station, you need to raise the safety frame up in advance (usually this place is marked with a corresponding sign), take the snowboard to right hand and determine in which direction you will run. It is best to sit on the outside of the lift and run there. However, if you are sitting inside, then you should not rush through all the chairs, you still will not have time. Run back to the inner support and walk just behind the chair to go outside. The main thing is not to get in the way of the chair, it will sweep away instantly.

If you have one leg fastened to the snowboard, then you will have to go straight ahead, as skiers do. Get ready, stand on your pivot foot, push off the chair, place your other foot on the board, and gently steer away from the lift. It is important not to fall, because there may be other people behind you, for whom your fall will be an absolute surprise.

Features of the chair lift

Dress warmly - the wind is much stronger on the lift than below. The lift can be stopped, so no one knows how long you will spend there.

Do not drop your snowboard, mittens, phones and other things down - it will be almost impossible to find them. It is better to wait until you arrive upstairs, and there devote a few extra minutes to all the necessary manipulations.

Be sure to lower the safety frame. All the coolness of riding a chairlift without a safety frame eventually leads to tragedy. Falling on stones from a height of 5 meters is not at all cool, so think with your head.

If you are not riding a wheelchair in splendid isolation, but with someone else, it does not matter whether they have skis or a board on their feet, for general safety, be sure to coordinate actions. This is especially true of lowering and raising the safety frame - you can seriously injure a gape lover of mountain slopes.

Or snowboarding can be a real challenge if climbing a mountainside is done on your own. To make climbing the mountain easier, you just need to figure out how to use the drag lift.

What is a lift

Specialized equipment for towing skiers consists of a descending branch that rotates cyclically through the elements of the support structures placed along the slope. The drag lifts contain intermediate supports, for which the athletes are held during the ascent to the top.

Such equipment is driven by electric drives. The design provides for standby engines running on diesel fuel, which are used in the event of a line blackout.

Types

Drag lifts are divided into structures with intermediate supports in the form of a "plate" and "anchor". The first ones are represented by metal fasteners movably connected to a cable, which contain a disc holder at the end. For the latter, in fact, skiers grab onto when lifting.

Drag lifts with intermediate supports in the form of an "anchor" differ in a similar design. The only difference is the T-shaped end, which can be used as a holder by several athletes at the same time.

Features of operation

How to use the drag lift? Photos of the correct fit are presented in this material. With regard to the operation of such equipment in practice, sitting on the platform, it is recommended for beginner snowboarders to detach one leg from the board anchorage, using it to perform maneuvers during the ascent. Skiers are somewhat easier to cope with this task.

However, you can jump onto the drag lift with a snowboard without unfastening the mounts. It is enough to jump to the landing facility and grab the tow bar. Each ski enthusiast chooses the optimal way of ascent for himself, based on convenience and personal safety considerations.

1. It is best to load with service personnel who can help you catch the tow bar and position yourself on the intermediate support.
2. For a secure lift, it is best to hold the mount with both hands.
3. You should not sit with the weight of your whole body on the anchor or disc mount of the lift, since the latter serve only as auxiliary supporting elements.
4. Once seated on the lift, you should try to relax and maintain even breathing, which will save energy for the subsequent descent from the top.
5. If a fall occurs, release the tow bar immediately and roll to the side. Such foresight will help protect yourself from injury and will not create an obstacle for the skiers walking behind.
6. When it is necessary to climb only to the middle of the mountain peak, it is enough to unload the grip of the attachment with the cable in advance when the desired point is reached and rather step aside.
7. Before using drag lifts, it's worth looking at how other, more experienced athletes are doing the job.

Finally

The secret to successful operation of the drag lift is the need to perform calm, judicious actions. Many skiers struggle with fear when looking at the massive mechanical structure. Therefore, when landing on a support, inexperienced athletes instinctively grab the first element that comes to hand, which is the main mistake.

Given the oversight that causes the fall, the main thing is not to cling to anything. After all, otherwise, you can drag for a long time behind the intermediate support.

After all, a drag lift is nothing more than a moving cable. Only practice helps in conquering it. After several ascents and a complete mastering of the principles of operating the mechanism, you can proudly call yourself a real skier.

It's good when on ski resort there is a chair lift. You just need to net, relax and hold your equipment tightly so that it doesn't accidentally fly down. In fact, this does not happen so rarely. Take a close look, and you will probably begin to notice here and there. ski poles lying alone right under the lift.

However, many resorts and smaller lodges are more likely to have drag lifts that require skill from you. It is quite difficult for beginners to master them. But, as they say, to be afraid of a yoke - do not ride on the slopes.

How does a drag lift work?

The installation is a ring system with a tensioned cable. It is supported by supports installed at a distance of about 2 meters from each other. Motors are installed at the lower and upper points. The task of the skier or snowboarder is to grab the tow bar at the start. In theory, everything is simple, but in practice, everyone falls: someone at the beginning of the rise, someone halfway.

Types of drag lifts

Lifts differ in the shape of the boom. There are two main types:

• Anchor (in common people - "mop").
• Poppet ("plate").

There are no special differences in practical terms, but it is a little more convenient to climb on the "mop".

How to learn to ride the tow bar

Without certain riding skills, you should not rush. While climbing on the tow, you still have to keep your balance and keep an eye on the road. It is important for skiers to keep their feet together with their toes pointed straight ahead. Snowboarders will not be able to completely relax either. Care must be taken not to catch on the edging and, if necessary, go around small obstacles in the form of stones or bumps.

Snowboarders often get up with one leg strapped on. It should be yours leading leg... The one that is more convenient to "steer". That is, the one that will be in front. However, at first it is better to master the yoke with two legs fastened to the board, this gives at least more confidence. How, then, can you get to the starting point? See how other riders do it. Most of them jump funny. To avoid this, you can simply pig the lift worker to roll you to the desired point.

Do not reach for the yoke, otherwise you may lose your balance. Wait a couple more seconds and grab the barbell only when it is a little closer than at arm's length. Get ready for a dash. It is at this moment that many lose their balance and fall. If this happens, immediately release the yoke, crawl to the side, and then return to the start. Don't hold on to the "mop" or "plate" as if your life depended on it.

A common mistake is trying to sit on the yoke. You shouldn't do this because this is a tug, not a seat. You don't need to pull the cable either. Just look ahead and keep your balance. There is no need to strain your hands. Hold the barbell with no extra effort.

Snowboarders need to shift the center of gravity slightly to the dominant foot. If you load the back, the board will begin to unfold, bringing the moment of close encounter of the rider with the snow. You also don't have to try to get on the edge. Ideally, the board should slide flat on the belly.