Drag Lift on a Snowboard: A First Attempt in Veysonnaz, Switzerland

Every snowboarder remembers their first drag lift. For Dave, it happened on his first day in Veysonnaz, in the Swiss canton of Valais, and his friend Kieran D was filming. The friends nicknamed him Frank Spencer, after the famously accident-prone sitcom character, and the clip shows why: getting a snowboard up the hill on a surface lift is a skill of its own.

Veysonnaz and the 4 Vallées ski area

Veysonnaz is a small village of under 600 people at 1,233 metres, on the slopes above Sion in the Rhône valley. It is part of Les 4 Vallées, one of the largest ski areas in the Alps, with lift links to Thyon, Haute-Nendaz and Verbier.

The village’s best-known run is the Piste de l’Ours, the “Bear’s Path”, which has hosted FIS ski and snowboard races. The Alpine Ski World Cup last raced there in January 2004, when Veysonnaz stepped in with a replacement downhill and super-G. Today the slope sees national championships, FIS races and junior events.

How a drag lift works

A drag lift, or surface lift, pulls riders up the slope while they stay on the snow. A steel cable loops between two stations, and hangers drop from it on spring-loaded or recoiling cords:

• T-bars carry a horizontal bar that sits behind a skier or between a snowboarder’s legs.
• Button or platter lifts use a small plastic disc on a pole. Detachable versions, often called Poma lifts, grip the cable only when the rider pulls the pole forward.

The T-bar is a Swiss invention: engineer Ernst Constam built the first one at Davos in 1934. Detachable Poma lifts typically run at about 4 metres per second, while T-bars and platters are usually slower.

Riding a drag lift on a snowboard

Skiers face straight uphill on a drag lift. A snowboarder stands sideways, with the board at an angle to the direction of travel, so steering and balance feel very different. That is the whole joke of Dave’s clip. A few habits make it much easier:

• Keep the front foot strapped in and the back foot free, resting against the rear binding.
• Place the button behind the top of your front thigh, or hold it in front of your chest under your rear arm. Hold the pole with your hands; do not sit on it.
• Expect the jolt when the cable engages, and keep your knees soft.
• Look up the track, keep the board running flat and straight, and do not fight the pull.
• If you fall, let go and move off the track quickly so the next rider can pass. Most surface lifts allow you to leave before the top.

Ask the lift attendant for help before your first ride; they see beginners every day, and a ten-second explanation saves a lot of falls.

Related reading

• Paper Shredder: Signal’s Unusual Snowboard Prototype
• 15 Swiss Ski Resorts: Compare the Villages, Terrain and Connected Areas
• The People vs Winter: James Herring’s Compilation of Lost Traction
• A Snow-Covered Car and the Window That Changes the Joke
• encouragement during a first ski jump
• equipment and safe participation on snow

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