Painful feet while on ski-lift!

Hi

I'm completely new to skiing, having now had 3 lessons at Castleford. I have brought my own ski boots which the shop did a propper fitting on, (as in they got me to take them away, wear them for a few days for 10 mins a time, and then have had them heated up & for me to wear them in the shop while warm). They are comfortable to wear when I'm skiing and I'm generally happy with them.

However on Lesson 3, we got to use the button lift (I think that's what it is called) and I found that the bottoms of my feet were painful while on the lift. I'm not sure if this is because of the angle, because I'm doing something wrong, or because the boots need adjusting / I need footbeds etc.

Can anyone advise? The shop I got them from (Severn Sports in Leeds) were very friendly and helpful and I'm sure I can go back there for advice, but as I have searched on here and not found any posts about ski lift comfort I thought it might be worth posting here first.

I'm off to Bulgaria in January (Borovets) and am told that there are miles and miles of these sorts of lifts there....

Thanks in advance for any advice!!!

Matt

Could be anything; they might be too small, they might just be taking some bedding in. New boots have a tendancy to be a little uncomfortable to begin with, first couple of days for a busy mileage cruncher can be tricky.
My old boots used to do this to me when I got on lifts. They turned out to be far too big for me and I had them clipped up too tight to compensate.
They may even be the wrong shape for your foot.
Its a common complaint from skiers though, aching feet on the lifts, and its horrible!
CEM might be able to help you out.....

This is a new one to me Shamps. Can you be a bit more precise about the pain? Is it in the arch? Heels?

Thanks for the responses. It's a bit difficult to describe, partly because I can't remember exactly... I'd say it was in the arch mainly, perhaps also along the bottom of the outer edges.

Thanks!!!

Just one question for you. Did the store do a shell test ? That is did they take the liner out of the boot and test the length of your foot in the empty shell ? Could be as Tony said, the shells are too big,and you are over tightening them to compensate,or a footbed issue.

Take some time search threads on this forum, and on the web, about boot fitting. As a beginner, you will have little idea about what your looking for in boot fit. A little knowledge is a big help.

BTW IMHO button/tow lift are cheapo. No self respecting resort ought to be using them. Why expend time and energy on the way up. It's a time to relax, chat, and recuperate before the next run.

Trencher

Hi Shamp00,
I have been to Borovets, and it's definitely not all drag lifts. When we went they had a chair lift, that beginners use, as well.

If you can't get over the problem of your feet hurting on drag lifts, you could always pick a resort without any, for next time. For example, I've just been looking at the Val Thorens website and they've replaced their beginners drag lifts with magic carpets. And as far as I remember, (I've been there twice) they don't have any other drag lifts. I'm sure there are many other resorts as well, where you wouldn't have to use drag lifts.

I have never had a problem with my feet on drag lifts. Sometimes my leg muscles ache, if it's a long drag lift, but that's just because I'm not fit enough!

Ally

Hi,

I have always had problems for years with sore feet when skiing (ice skating or rollerblading does the saem thing to my feet too), even worse if I had to use drag lifts. I like a chairlift so I can unbuckle my boots between runs (the family is all used to me doing this now :roll:)

Last year I had my boots professionally made / fitted by Daleboot in Kitz and it made a huge improvement. I still get sore feet but nowhere near like I used to. I spent a week in Niederau last year and they have many drag lifts and the new boots helped me cope with those.

What I am trying to say is that having your boots professionally fitted (including the shell like was mentioned above) really does help alleviate some of the discomfort (though not all :cry:)

Carol

Severn Sports might be friendly and helpful, but if they have heat moulded your boots without making you a footbed to support your feet, you should not go back.
If this is the case, seek out the advice of these folks (for example) http://www.rivingtonalpine.co.uk/index.php they have a good reputation for bootfitting.