 Poster: A snowHead
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I broke my pole trying to jump into my bindings from a run up. Don't do this, it does not work.
Had to ski for the rest of the morning in knee deep in blue sky basin in Vail with 1 1/2 poles.
Not that I really cared... 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Then be really aggresive to everyone else
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Steve84, welcome to Snowheads. Maybe. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've got a Hydraulics exam next week, as part of my BEng, this could come in really useful. Thanks.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| JimW wrote: |
| *At least the new Arpette has a singles Q, albeit after the gates, which mitigates empty seat syndrome somewhat. |
They have singles lines in Whistler and they work well over there. I think the PDS could do with singles lines at some of their lifts too.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I actually find the British are the most aggressive in bad queue situations to be honest.
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Could be why we don't have many problems round here - very few Brits. And Parisians only for two weeks a year (when we don't stay here anyway).
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| JimW wrote: |
An Irksome wrinkle (presumably cost saving exercise) which is standard across Les Arcs:
A 6 seat lift will have 5 card-reading gates*
a 4 seat lift will have 3 card-reading gates
a 3 seat lift will have 2 card-reading gates
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really - I could have sworn that marmottes, arcabulle and derby had 6, but I've never been bored enough to count.
I will though when I'm out at the end of the month...
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bertie bassett, look forward to your maths but no, they are all 5 (I might even concede 4 in some places) for the 6 seat lifts. Bizzare and a PITA.
Since they aren't fixed (the 'side' barriers are only tapes after all) you'd have thought that the SMA (or STAG to give them their new name) could have saved up to perhaps upgrade even just one a year... 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It's simple - I almost never queue for anything. I do a little research (the data is widely available online and in books like WTSS) and find out which resort operators hate their paying customers so much that they expect them to spend half their expensive holiday in a deeply unpleasant faux rugby scrum. And then I book a holiday elsewhere. If I were daft enough to book a holiday in a resort that regularly has queues, I'd be adding to the problem by being there - so I do everyone a favour by staying away.
Queuers create their own problem by tolerating something that should be intolerable. Queues are only excusable when extreme weather conditions lead to significant closures of lifts or pistes.
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Large queues help maintain safe density of skiers on the pistes 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Soldeu back in the 80's you could tell whether it was a weekday or weekend by the shape of the lift queue,
Weekdays=90% British skiers, lift queues (if there were any)were long snakes 2x2, everyone joined at the back, no aggro, no conflict, almost a pleasure to have a chance to chat to fellow skiers
Weekends=25% British, 75% Spanish/french, lift queues were fan shaped, everyone pushed to the front, aggro, conflict, not a pleasant experience, most British skiers would take Saturday to go shopping. fortunately, long queues are rare in Andorra these days.
When I skied in New Zealand there was a liftie whose job it was to ensure every chair was full, and the singles line was always used. While we were there having a drink ouside a bar, my brother said "Wouldn't it be funny if that kea (mountain parrot) sat on the gutttering turned round and s**t on the guy sat below reading his paper", as we all looked, at that exact moment the kea did exactly that, the vile arc from the keas backside hit the guy's shoulder and splattered all over his paper!. I don't know what the guy was most upset about, the mess or the half dozen people rolling around on the floor!, at least he got some of his bike tyre back.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Steve84, They do that in Whistler as well. Saved me loads of time as I was skiing alone most of the time.
If you leave your mates lagging behind in the queue, and then wait for them at the top to ski down with them, you haven't really saved any time
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Queue culture is different in Central Europe, I prefer the Brit system as it's normally more efficient but perhaps because it's what I grew up with.
Brit: Everyone should get in the queue and take their turn.
Central European: Join the queue but if you can get to the front faster than others that's OK as somepeople aren't bothered if they get on that chairlift or one of the next five.
Often a Brit leaves a space in front of him this signals that he isn't that eager to get on the lift then a central European squeezes in and the Brit gets all upset.
So if you want to maintain your position always shuffle forward and don't leave a gap. When in Rome .........
As Brits we are experts in queuing we love it, e.g. even at the bar there's a horizontal queue. When you join the bar you don't know the position of the people in front of you but anyone who joins after you is behind you. It?s so important to us that when Lady Di died what did us Brits do? That's right thousands of us queued up with flowers. The central europeans are probably surprized that we don't invade football pitches in formally queues. 
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You know it makes sense.
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if you snowboard i have some great tactics.
1. plant board sideways to the queue. this way you prevent people outflanking you by shuffling past. it also reduces people chipping your board with their planks.
2. if number 1 isn't working or you are stuck in queuemageddon, just take the board off entirely. No one will be able outqueue you once you can walk. As you reach the head of the queue, drop the board, kick into the front binding and smugly get on the lift, glancing back over your shoulder at the guy in jeans who joined the queue at the same time as you but who has been swallowed up by the queue, and has no hope of getting on the lift for the next 20 mins.
Once on the lift dig out your hip flask and give yourself a well earned dram.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Large queues help maintain safe density of skiers on the pistes
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There's some truth in that! My daughter and her OH did Flaine with UCPA at half term a couple of years ago (teachers). They are both good skiers and enjoyed the top UCPA tuition group, but had not skied at such a mainstream resort at half term before. They found no problem with the queues - the lifts at Flaine are obviously pretty good at shifting people - but they did find the pistes exceptionally crowded and pretty unnerving. The snow was generally bad - lots of boiler plate - and I guess the lower parts of the ski area were unskiable, so everyone was up in the Flaine bowl. They skied here at Christmas and New Year (when I think it's fairly intolerably crowded) and said the pistes were much less busy (and there are fewer expert skiers here, so average speed is probably a lot lower) but some of the main lifts had quite long queues at key moments in the day.
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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, I understand that to clear a piste for Royals, VIP's etc they simply stop the lift queue for a few minutes.
Although I'm told HRH Prince Charles refuses to ride the lift and is taken up by skidoo
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Although I'm told HRH Prince Charles refuses to ride the lift and is taken up by skidoo
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I don't blame him. If I was Born to Be King I wouldn't stand around in a damned lift queue either.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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pam w, I think it's more to do with being a gift to a sniper
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Join at the edge not the middle - it moves faster. I don't know why but it does.
Keep elbows, poles etc wide
Move forward into every gap and don't let space open in front of you
Do not under any circumstances join queue behind teenage girls with stupid hats and big hair who are too busy texting/giggling with their friends to pay any attention and thus allow everyone in front of them
Dont get hung up about going together - its just a few minutes, you can meet again at he top. It's not as if you can get lost
Dont let it get to you - you're on holiday. It's not the army
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Steve84 wrote: |
My queue tactics are normally to tell my mates "see you at the top", I see enough of them during the week to not need to sit next to them for 5 minutes. Then be really aggresive to everyone else, knowing I won't met them ever again. Bad karma maybe, but it does the job. |
In my experience, not such a good tactic. While you wait at the top for your more polite/diffident friends, all the people you barged past catch you up and glare at you. The only sensible solution at that point is to pretend you're Dutch.
And modify your queing tactics next time
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The queues for the busiest drag lifts at the Cairngorm (ie ptarmigan and m1 poma) can get very stacked up at the weekends. The queue system is stand in line til the number reaches 40 then make a new line behind. This (as I bleated elsewhere) can be tricky up a steep slope like the gunbarrel. Other rules for queues. Don't for gods sake impress the queue by joining it at speed in a side skid and giving everyone an ice bath. And snow boarders and skiers, make love, not war. Share the T bar if your on your own!
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FAQ
