Development of Basic Guidelines for Safe Lift Access for Disabled Skiers

There are many rules for safe skiing in resorts. However, there are still no global standard rules for lift embarkation and disembarkation. The reasons for this lie in the variety of lift configurations, and that these are often left to the rules of respective ski resorts. The Japan Association for Skiing Safety has established rules for getting on and off lifts. However, this rule has certain limitations. These guidelines were developed for skiers without disabilities. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop guidelines for skiers with disabilities that can be applied in Japanese ski resorts. In order to create guidelines for skiers with disabilities to get on and off lifts. The disabled skiers in this study were limited to sitting skiers. The survey asked skiers with disabilities how easy or difficult it is to get on and off their lifts. In addition, lift embarkation and disembarkation movements were videotaped and analyzed using motion analysis software (myDartfish Pro S, Dartfish Japan Co., Ltd.). In order to ascertain the kind of assistance that resort operators offered to disabled skiers, I also interviewed with them. Consequently, the proximity of the lift chair to the snow surface was a factor that made getting on and off the lift difficult. Then, skiers have to place the outriggers on the snow surface at the right time and get out of the lifts with considerable momentum. The skier's body position at this time was a neck angle of 45 degrees and waist-to-neck angle of 60 to 70 degrees. The operator had no way of knowing the movements of sitting skiers and did not know how to support them. These guidelines would help formulate standards to help prevent accidents and injuries to the disabled.