How do you ride a T-Bar?

[RISkier]

This question is inspired by the thread on difficult to ride lifts. Other than a rope tow I've never been on a drag lift. So, how do you get on and ride a t-bar?

 

[dmc]

This question is inspired by the thread on difficult to ride lifts. Other than a rope tow I've never been on a drag lift. So, how do you get on and ride a t-bar?

It's less dragging and more pulling...

Let the bar pull you don't put wiehgt on it..

 

[JimG.]

This question is inspired by the thread on difficult to ride lifts. Other than a rope tow I've never been on a drag lift. So, how do you get on and ride a t-bar?

It's less dragging and more pulling...

Let the bar pull you don't put wiehgt on it..

Don't put weight on the bar or sit down on it...let it pull you up. Getting on is just a matter of placing the bar behind your fanny.

Here's a tip...try to find a riding partner who is about the same height as you. Nothing is tougher than being 6'2" and riding a T-bar with someone who is 4'10". The bar winds up down around my knees or it ends up up around their shoulders.

 

[Marc]

How do you ride a T-Bar?

A: Very carefully.



The only one I've ridden I took advice of the same nature as the above posters and was fine. Then my more experience friend who was giving the advice fell. That was quite amusing.

 

[awf170]

When I was little I used to be able sit on t-bars because I was so light, my feet wouldnt even touch the ground... man that was awsome.

My tips for riding a t-bar:
the most important one, never ride with someone else, t-bars are rarely crowded, so most lifties dont care.
I ussually stink the t-bar in between my legs instead of sitting on one side, way easier to ride and more comfortable. Another thing that is fun is to just hold the t-bar with your hand, and just screw around and carve with it.

 

[LVNLARG]

When I was little I used to be able sit on t-bars because I was so light, my feet wouldnt even touch the ground... man that was awsome.

My tips for riding a t-bar:
the most important one, never ride with someone else, t-bars are rarely crowded, so most lifties dont care.
I ussually stink the t-bar in between my legs instead of sitting on one side, way easier to ride and more comfortable. Another thing that is fun is to just hold the t-bar with your hand, and just screw around and carve with it.

Yup...that's familiar. When I was little the local hill had an old Hall T bar with a poorly designed track (It had spots that were too low track wise compared to haul rope height so it picked even adults up early season). It was always scary getting picked up. It became even scarier when a friend of my sisters was picked up....spun around...dropped and then had the recoil of the T bar smash her in the jaw taking out almost all her teeth

 

[Skifastsailfast]

When I was little I used to be able sit on t-bars because I was so light, my feet wouldnt even touch the ground... man that was awsome.

My tips for riding a t-bar:
the most important one, never ride with someone else, t-bars are rarely crowded, so most lifties dont care.
I ussually stink the t-bar in between my legs instead of sitting on one side, way easier to ride and more comfortable. Another thing that is fun is to just hold the t-bar with your hand, and just screw around and carve with it.

That's a good way to get your lift ticket yanked.

I know I might sound like a killjoy, but ... While it might be fun to "just hold the t-bar with your hand, and just screw around and carve with it," T-bars are not meant to be a skier or boarder's personal toy.

And if you think T-bars don't get crowded and that lifties don't mind if you go up alone, you've never been at the number 3 T-bar at the Loaf when the rest of the lifts are on wind hold, or at the upper T-bar at Saddleback during the old Bronco Buster weekends.

Funny story about the number 3 T-bar at the Loaf: My husband and I were riding it on one of those days that it was full. The cable holding our T to the main cable parted without warning, on the steepest part of the ride up. We both gracefully (?) skied backwards off to either side of the track in time to be clear of the riders behind us, who looked rather alarmed as they rode by. Once the crisis was over and we were out of the way, I was laughing so hard I had a hard time getting back up on my feet in the deep powder I was stuck in. We took a little path through the trees to Narrow Guage and skied down.

So my husband carries the T back down to the base of the lift, and yells over to the liftie, "Hey, you want this?" The liftie looked over and said "Just throw it over there in the pile with the others."

Apparently we weren't the first people this happened to.

I still ride T-bars from time to time. It is easier if the person you're riding with is about the same size. Just let it pull your ass up the hill. It ain't rocket science.