Basic Procedures to learn WITHOUT ski instructor !

Please do not laugh when you read this one.

It just happened to me.

Here is another procedure which all skiers should practice before skiing season or else you will look silly when this happens to you.

Friend comes to see me with a sheepish look on his face.

He took ski boot liner out of shell and now can not get it back IN shell.

There is a hard way and a easy way to do this.

Most skiers do the hard way, forcing, twisting liner into boot shell.

I will give you the easy elegant way to do this.

But first some advice.

Never try to place a liner into a cold ski boot. You will hurt yourself. Cut hands and twist back.

Step 1. Make sure there is plastic foot bed still in shell ( often they fall out )
Step 2. Heat boot shell for 4-5 minutes with heat gun, hair drier or best with a boot heater.
Step 3. Get friend to spread top two buckle straps as wide as possible
Step 4. Sprinkle baby powder ( picksy dust will do also,,,,,Peter Pan type will do,,) into boot shell
Step 5. place your hand into boot liner and with other hand make sure tongue is well centred and top cuff is tight.
Step 6. With toe section first slip into shell.
Step 7. Test liner with your own foot.

Voilà. Practice this at least three times,,,so you look like an old pro.

The ski lift procedures

I know,,,,I know all you great skiers will laugh at me on this one.

Getting on ski lifts IS so simple to you.

But to beginners it is a stressful situation and rarely do instructors take time to teach these techniques. Did you notice the term THESE ?

Why the these ? That is many ways to,,,,,,

It is because there are many types of lifts with various ways to approach lifts.

You must observe others and adapt what will be given here.


The most archaic lift ( for those who will go to exotic places like India, Lebanon, Siberia, China ( upper parts), etc,,,,
Yes these still do exist,,,,,the rope tow! ( ok ok I hear the laughing back there)

99% of skiers will never have the chance to try this form of torture. It involves a rope which is lopped around a drum at top and a geared pull drum at bottom.
The rope never stops, thus you must approach rope carefully, lift right elbow ( assuming rope is on right), allow rope to slide between right hip and right elbow.
Place ski poles together on left arm.
When you are ready , set grasp rope with both hands and be ready to be projected like a rag doll or a puppet by rope.

Skiers who had done this ( there are just few now) are not sure if lift up is more exciting than ski down.

Do not bend over at waist.
Do not spread legs apart
Do not look back at girlfriend who is yelling,,,,
Try to stay on track while rope is trying to pull your arms out of the shoulder socket.
One small hint. No amount of yelling, pleading or crying will stop this rope from tearing your arm off, so just let go of rope if you fall.

I repeat let go of rope !

In most modern countries this form of skier torture has been banned. That id why you must go to exotic ski countries to try this form of "pleasure".

It also explains why some older skiers have unusually longer arms.

In the next post we will present an other "older" lift called POMA which is still used in some countries but only for expert skiers in steep avalanche regions.
Women under 13 are not allowed on these types of lifts.

pavelski wrote:
The most archaic lift ( for those who will go to exotic places like India, Lebanon, Siberia, China ( upper parts), etc,,,,
Yes these still do exist,,,,,the rope tow! ( ok ok I hear the laughing back there)

99% of skiers will never have the chance to try this form of torture.

Skiers who had done this ( there are just few now) are not sure if lift up is more exciting than ski down.


In most modern countries this form of skier torture has been banned. That is why you must go to exotic ski countries to try this form of "pleasure".

:shock: :shock:

Pavel, I feel I should point out that I have had the joy of a rope tow on both of my last two holidays. Admittedly they are quite short pulls, but there are at least two of them in Wengen, and I had to use one in Kitzbuhel as well.

Fortunately, the one in Kitzbuhel and one of the ones in Wengen had the opportunity to ski into them at speed. This of course adds an entirely new dimension to the technique, as you need to guide yourself through all those flailing around at the bottom of the pull and time your connection to the rope between two people already attached :shock:

Get it right and you look like a well seasoned pro, get it wrong, and I can guarantee that the entire resort knows who you are when you hit the bars that evening :(

There is a little one in L2A as well, from a restaurant uphill to get to the main lifts and save a walk.

Brought back memories - first lift for me was a rope tow.

Far Queue,
Thanks for information.
I really did not know that in Europe there are still some rope tows.

So my advice was not ill founded. I hesitated to include it in my tow procedures.

What an experience .

I was in Pakistan and by chance ended up in a ski resort. I could write a book about my adventures there with the; rope tow, hashish smoking cooks, pre-1960 ski boots, and yes women all in black with faces covered "skiing" down a slope!

Where is Warren Miller's son ?

Hope you like the next post on POMA lift !
( I still see the attendent with a grin watching the women coming to lift )

pavelski wrote:

I was in Pakistan and by chance ended up in a ski resort. I could write a book about my adventures there with the hashish smoking cooks,

:shock: LOL a whole new meaning to cooks with pots and pans :twisted:

Last time I was in Val D'Isere there was still a rope tow on the plateau. AFAIK some of the UK indoor snow facilities still use them. I remember my 1st ski lessons on a Dendix slope, uplift was a rope tow. Good character building stuff :mrgreen:

This second "challenge" all skiers should face is using the famous POMA lift.

First let me quote a text about this instrument,
"Surface Lifts
Poma's first model was the Pomalift, a surface lift with a disk that skiers sit on. It has the ability to travel at high speeds because the platters are detachable from the haul rope, and because the perch is telescopic and has a pneumatic system which allows for a smooth and progressive departure. They are still sold today along with T-Bars and fixed grip platters."

What this dry text does not tell you is the history of the concept of this "propulsion system by Pomagalski. He noted that going up the rope tow was more fun for the watchers, the ones looking and laughing at the skiers going up the rope tow. He also noted that the human sensory system was so evolved that the major sensory areas were not in the shoulder area but in the lower portions of the body ( as all men know). Pomagalski was one of the first to note that skiers wanted thrills, chills, and pain as a skiing experience.
He designed this "poma lift" with this in mind; thrills , chills and pain!

Picture this, a 3 meter tube in a J form, with a plastic disk (which you put between your legs) and the genius of Pomagalski was to have a spring above to act as a launch system. Von Braun, the famous German rocket scientist copied this design in his early V2 rockets.

Keeping the famous rotating rope tow design, it was up graded to a steel upper cable. You had in effect a constantly rotation upper cable and the Poma has spring clamps which were activated by an attendant.

Remember that skiers wanted chills, thrills and pain and so Poma gave all these at the very beginning of your skiing day with the launch sequence.

Here is the procedure which you must master to get all three emotions.

1. slide up to launch pad
2. take hold of a J poma bar and with greatest elegance place this bar between your legs.
3. look at the grinning attendant, nod head, take a deep breath,( pray under breath), and be ready for take off.

4. Those inner thighs muscles will be key in your survival in the take off phase. It is not by chance that in the early days of skiing many expert skiers had "thunder thighs" . It was not from skiing, but a result of the many launches from the famous Pomas.

5. Depending on how you were launched,,,you may lift off for several meters. Off means off the snow surface. Do not be alarmed, since this is a mark of an excellent skier who wants a fast greater launch and more pain in the lower areas ( where plastic disc is ).

6. Pomagalski wanted skiing to be thrilling so he designed this instrument very much like a "roller coaster", so a skier had to never sit back or sit on plastic disc. The spring above steel pole made sure you never knew what would happen so it was excitement all the way up. Skiing down was boring.

It takes two months and several falls, drags and ski pants to master this lift so it is best if you practice this in the summer away from the crowds. Just suspend a 4 meter metal tube that has been bent into a J. Insert a plastic disk at bottom. Practice this first with no spring. Do not where shorts.
oh,,,,,,men wear that famous protector for those family jewels!

The poma lift lost favor among ski resorts for three reasons.

1. Crowds began to form at the base in order to watch skiers falling, being propelled every way and ladies in very tight Bogner pants falling into awaiting arms. Sales of ski tickets went down. Many said that skliing became a "spectator sport".

2, Skiers rushed down to try the Poma lift again and again. The daily goal was to master the poma lift and not to ski. Skiing was not extreme enough. Skiers proved their "prowess" by being propelled the highest, the longest from the POma. There were even "extreme Poma" competitions in which skiers would make the most extreme moves possible, with famous moves like the triple drag 5 or the spread eagle curl.

3. The last reason is not well known . The russians and americans realized the potential launching power of this system and so very quietly they bought the rights (or copied) the concept for their space launching systems. Ski owners wanted skiers on the slopes and not in a long long line showing off their Poma launching techniques.

That is why you see few Pomas now.

If you do see one,,you must try a Poma. It is a unique experience ,,,,,but please first practice before. Be advised it is addictive.

Remember that grinning lift attendant, I mentioned before?

This job becfame the most prized job in the ski industry since you had the power of the "launch". That is you controlled how the body would be projected up,,,,up,,, and fast or faster.

Soon money was passed along to this person depending on who was on the J Poma. If a certain Bogner lady came by,,,,,,3-4 males would be ready to help during the re-entry phase of the launch.
Those Poma lift attendants became very rich in a season.
That is why you saw the grin,,,,,( few skiers knew ,he was the owner of the ski resort)

After 10 years of use in France,,,,it was noted by health authorities that there was great ( no alarming ) population decrease in all the skiing village using the Poma lift. A 2 year study was undertaken and it was found that "undue trauma" to males was the cause of this population decrease. The next year most Poma lifts were abandoned in France and that is why British skiers must sign a waiver form before using the last Pomas in France. Read this waiver form carefully since it frees the French authorities from any liability if you have reduced sexual desires and performance! ( sorry Dave,,,but these are the facts)

The warning is,,,practice with care.