What is a drag lift? A lift that pulls you up while you stand

A drag lift pulls you up the slope while you stay standing on your skis or board. You will meet two kinds in the Alps: the button lift, a small disc on a pole that goes between your legs, and the T-bar, an upside down T that pulls two people at once from behind.

Neither is a seat. That is most of what you need to know.

What it means for your week

Chairlifts and gondolas have taken over most of the main routes, but drag lifts are still most common on beginner slopes, small areas and the edges of big ones, and on glaciers, where their supports can be anchored in the ice. So a first week often starts on one. Your instructor will usually show you how; it helps to know what is coming.

A button lift on skis. Poles in one hand. Take the pole with the other hand as it comes round, put the button between your legs and let it pull you. Stand tall, skis level in the track, no leaning back and no weaving. At the top, wait for the flat unloading point, take the button out, let it go and move to the side.

A T-bar on skis. Pair up and agree sides before you reach the front. Poles in your outside hand, and the bar comes in behind you, just below your bottom. Lean on it with the backs of your thighs and expect a jolt as it takes up the slack. At the top the less confident rider gets off first while the other holds the bar, then lets it go gently.

On a snowboard. Take your back foot out of the binding and rest it on the board. The button goes between your legs, against the inside of your front thigh; a T-bar goes between your legs too, behind your front thigh. Keep your weight on your front foot, knees soft and shoulders in line with the board. If you share a T-bar with a skier, you usually face them. At the top, let go, glide clear, and strap back in out of the way.

If you fall, let go at once and get out of the track quickly, crawling to the side if you have to, so the next person does not land on you. Then rejoin the queue and try again; plenty of people need a few goes. On a first ride, tell the attendant, who can give you a moment to get set.

The one thing people get wrong

Sitting down. The button and the bar look as if they want to be sat on, and on a long pull your legs will ask you to. Do not. A drag lift is built to pull you, not to hold your weight: the button usually hangs on a sprung cord that simply pays out, and you end up sitting in the track. Lean, never sit.

Where to go next

Drag lifts are one reason a board is harder in the first week, which our page on ski or snowboard covers honestly. Our guide to piste colours explains what you will be riding down, and our page on what a lift pass covers explains the difference between a local pass and the whole area. If you are choosing where to learn, our high resorts for beginners page measures which of the 55 resorts we cover are both high and gentle.