The ski lifts can be a daunting prospect for first time skiers. Whilst most people will have had the experience of travelling in a gondola style cable car before, the button lift or platter lift is going to be a new prospect for novice skiers. By learning the steps you should follow in using one of these types of lifts, you can minimise the risks of falling over and make your first experience of a button lift a successful one.
A button lift is a surface lift which drags you up the hill along the ground. It does not lift you into the air like an aerial lift such as a chairlift or cable car does. As skiing is an international pastime, it will be useful for some to know that the button lift is known as a teleski in French. The button lift consists of a small round seat or ‘button’ on a sprung pole or retractable cord. The steps you should follow in using a button lift are as follows:
- You need to ski forwards to the starting position – watch the skiers in front of you so that you know where to position yourself.
- Put yourself in a natural skiing position with bent legs. As a first time skier, you will probably not have ski poles, so you don’t need to worry about what to do with these.
- Grab hold of the lift pole as it comes round and pull down on it to position the seat between your legs. There may then be a short pause whilst the ski lift mechanism gets into the right position, but keep alert because when the lift sets off, it can give you quite a jerk.
- Do not put your full weight on the seat and actually sit down. Rather, balance on the seat and let the lift ski you up the hill.
- It is optional whether you choose to hold onto the pole or not, but first-time skiers would definitely be advised to do this.
- Whilst you are travelling up the hill, propelled by the button lift, it is important to keep your skis more or less in a parallel position otherwise you will veer off the path of the lift and would risk falling off the lift.
- As a beginner, it would be advisable to keep looking straight ahead of you. If you start turning round and looking back down the hill, you risk veering off to the side or getting your skis crossed, potentially leading to a fall.
- When you reach the top of the lift and are on flat ground, remove the seat from between your legs but keep hold of it in your hands. When you are secure, let go of the pole or seat and let it fly off away from you.
- Do not remove the seat from between your legs while you are still moving up the hill or you will risk a fall and could endanger the next skier coming up the lift.
- As with a chairlift, ski forwards off the lift and then veer off to the side, so that the skier behind you has a clear path to exit the lift.
- Do not stop as you dismount the lift, as you are likely to cause an accident with the skiers coming up behind you.