The sport of snowboarding came after skiing, so Jake Burton and the pioneers of snowboarding had to adapt to what was already created for skiers — one of those inventions being the ski lift, or chairlift. While riding the chairlift can be very intimidating, all of us at one point experienced riding it for the first time. In order to adventure onto more challenging slopes, riders need to be comfortable riding the chairlift. Before you strap in and put your back foot on the stomp pad, follow these steps to make your first time riding a chairlift less daunting.

Practice Riding With One Foot

In the beginning, very few people enjoy snowboarding with one foot. Once you get the second foot in, you realize it is much easier to control the board with both feet attached. To safely and smoothly get on and off the chairlift, however, we need to do it with one foot. So, we need to master moving around with one foot strapped in.

Are You Goofy or Regular?

The first step to using the board with one foot is knowing the difference between your front foot and your back foot, or your free foot. If you already practice board sports, this should be easy. For those who don’t, there are a few tests to figure out if you’re “regular” (left foot in front) or “goofy” (right foot in front).

Most right-handed people would prefer to kick a ball with their right foot, meaning they balance on their left foot to kick the ball. Therefore, the left foot has better balance and usually goes in front, but this is not always the case. Below are a few tests to help you figure out which foot should go in front.

Cross your arms: Many regular riders will put their left arm on top and vice versa.

Put on a pair of pants: Generally, regular riders will balance on their left foot to put the right leg in first. You can also try this on an imaginary pair of pants if you’re already on the snow.

Slide into the kitchen: Put on a very slippery pair of socks and try sliding into the kitchen. Whichever way you slide is probably the way you will want to slide on the snow. If you’re on the snow, slide into an imaginary home base.

Cartwheel: Try a cartwheel! Even if you fall on your face, you will figure out which direction you feel more comfortable going. If you do fall on your face, you also get the first fall out of the way!

Have a friend push you from behind: Don’t do this. If your experienced friend hasn’t already pushed you to see which foot you step forward with… don’t let them. This is the oldest trick in the skateboard/snowboard book. Sometimes it works, but it isn’t necessary. The other tests I listed are just as effective and will give you a much more positive, welcoming experience for your first time on the snow.

Skate: So you’ve tried all these tests and have come up with an average. Now just try one foot. If it feels wrong, try the other one. This isn’t always the most common or convenient method, but until you start playing around on the board, you never really know. I have seen several experienced snowboarders (one being my supervisor) who ride regular and skate goofy or vice versa.

Practice Skating

Now that you’ve figured out which foot is your front foot, start moving around with it strapped in. The key here is to start with very small steps. If you keep your back foot close to your front foot, you’ll avoid doing a split.

Experiment pushing with your loose foot in front of the board and then behind it. Most riders will prefer having the foot in the back, but not everyone does. You can really put yourself to the test by alternating one push in front and one behind. This will also force you to put your weight over the foot that is strapped in, preparing you for the next step!

Practice Sliding

Once you can skate around comfortably, give yourself a push and put the loose foot on the board toward the back binding. This is where a stomp pad comes in handy. A stomp pad is essentially a very grippy sticker placed on the top of the board where your loose foot goes so that it doesn’t slide around.

The best terrain to practice sliding on is a slight incline that flattens out. This way, you can slide a little and then stop. Dragging your heel or toe off the edge of the board in the snow will help.

When we go too fast, our instinct is to fall backward. If we fight this instinct, we pressure the front foot that is strapped in. So fight that instinct; imagine you are a football player going for a tackle. Charge at that hill like you mean it! It also helps to start slowly and gain confidence over time.

Make a J-Turn

Learning to stop without the use of the convenient terrain described above will help your confidence while unloading the chairlift. Rarely do we know what the unload ramp at the top of the chairlift will look like (hopefully it is flat for a beginner’s lift).

Once you are sliding comfortably, play around with pushing on your heels to turn the board in that direction. If done correctly, the path of your board will make a letter “J,” bringing you to a stop. Experiment pushing on the heel edge to make a heel side turn as well as the toe edge to make a toe side turn. Dragging your heel or toe off the edge of the board will make the turn easier.

Ride the Magic Carpet First

A magic carpet is essentially an escalator without stairs that will carry you up the beginner hill. If there is a magic carpet available at your mountain, practice with it before going to the chairlift because a chairlift functions similarly to the magic carpet.

All you do is skate up until the rubber of the carpet grabs at your board, lean forward, and let it pull you on. When you are ready to get off the carpet, keep your loose foot on the board and let the magic carpet push you back onto the snow.

Watch Others Ride the Chairlift

At this point, you’re almost ready to ride the chairlift, but you’ll want to first watch others and imagine being in their shoes. First, you wait in line until you reach a marker (usually a line in the snow or a post on the side). Here, you stop and wait for the next available chair. Once the chair before you passes, skate up to the next marker to load the chairlift.

Once at the second marker (in line with the lift attendant), put your loose foot on the board and wait for the chair to come to you. The lift attendant will hold back the chair to slow it down so you can sit on it. Remember to keep the board straight (nose in the direction of travel). Your legs will be twisted as if you were riding a horse sidesaddle.

Soon, the chair will be in the air. You can pull down the safety bar and rest your board on the footrest. Now, simply enjoy the ride until you reach the offload ramp.

Once you approach the offload ramp, raise the bar. Twist your legs so that they are sidesaddle again, just like how you loaded the chair. Be sure to put your loose foot on the board before you get to the offload ramp. Once you have the snow under your feet, stand up, let the chair push you, and execute one of those beautiful J-turns that you practiced so diligently.

Ride the Chairlift!

After watching a few riders use the chairlift and imagining yourself in their shoes, you’re ready to try it out! If you are still uncomfortable, remember that the lift attendants can slow or stop the chairlift. But by this point, you should be feeling confident and ready to explore the mountain using its many chairlifts!

If you have any questions about riding the chairlift or any other first-day questions, reach out to a Snowboard Expert here on Curated! We're always here to help and would love to assist you in getting all geared up for your new adventures.