 Poster: A snowHead
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My major issue with chairlifts is (still) heights. Particularly when I'm not restrained by a nice bar to cling on to. It took me 2 ski holidays to be willing to ride one alone (as in without someone I know) and I'd still rather not be next to the small child and have to look after them.
Megamum's suggestions make a lot of sense, but I'd be tempted to see if the OH can do without poles, or you look after them and ski without - then 2 free hands is good.
Wearing a helmet is good - hurts less when you misjudge how far the lift is coming.
Avoid the old fashioned ones, make sure you pick a "Detachable" lift, as they are much easier to get on/off. Even better might be one of the ones that allows pedestrians/downloading as those tend to be friendlier. The old fashioned ones seem to try and remove your legs at the calf on arrival, and then slow down in a sulk that they haven't for the journey.
Avoid "up and over" type chairlifts, to start with at least - downhill is definitely scarier. With that in mind, make sure your selected lift goes somewhere with suitable runs down, rather than reds/blacks only.
Avoid boarders - probably my scariest chairlift related moment was when 2 boarders didn't do the shuffle to the red line thing, got on early and lay across the entire chair between the 2 of them. Me and a small child got rugby tackled to the floor by the lifty and had to get the next lift (alone, so lift was horribly unbalanced and I had to deal with the scary bar thing.
Possibly worth trying to time things in the early stages so you don't get busy chair lifts - then you can have a 4 man to yourselves so the bar doesn't get brought up too soon, and there's less risk of collision on exit.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I shall say this again, because it is worth repeating - get the man a lesson and specify to the instructor that he needs to learn how to use a chair lift safely! As instructors are trained in how to teach someone to get off the lift it is well worth it - plus the instructor might well be able to ensure that they get a chair to themselves, and can get the lift slowed down for both loading and unloading. 
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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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skinanny, seconded. How is anyone is supposed to "pick the right chair lift" and when they do go through an 11 point checklist - awfully limiting.
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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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ffs, let's not over-complicate this. The ability/competence of getting off a chair lift is in direct proportion to the general skiing ability/competence. As he gets better at skiing so he will get better at getting off a lift. He'll fall over a few times while learning both, but so did everyone else on earth who's ever learned to ski so don't worry about it.
(I'm deliberately excluding getting on a lift because that's a simple matter of, er, sitting down. This shouldn't be beyond the ability of anyone, to be honest).
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'd like to add my name to the list of posters who should grown up/have demonstrated their stupidity etc.
Are you fuxxing serious? I doubt he'll go on the trip anyway it'll probably clash with his crochet evening and Ethel will have baked some biscuits and he'll be feeling a slight chill on his tummy anyway.
| Yoda wrote: |
| 4) The old guide's trick of standing a couple of inches forward of everyone else (so that their calves take the whack and you can just sit down wthout pain) works well unless all of the passengers know it - then everyone keeps shuffling forward until you all fall off the front of the loading area. |
I'm looking at you kristof. Due to this very real worry I've developed a new shuffling method of course it owuld be stupid to share it with the world so 
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| skinanny wrote: |
| I shall say this again, because it is worth repeating - get the man a lesson and lend him a blouse. |
Has he seen this forum?
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My post above was (partly) intended to show that Aim's boyfriend's fears are not irrational - even UIAGM guides sometimes have "encounters" with chair lifts 
But almost everything in life involves taking some sort of risk - crossing the road, chatting up a girl (was the outcome of that one worth it Aims. Did he have to summon up a lot of courage ? Often the things with the best outcome involve taking the biggest risk.
Yuman Beans are driven to seek out risky situations, well those that actually enjoy skiing are, I reckon. Why else do we continually push the boundaries other than for the rush and the satisfaction of achievement? If you don't enjoy skiing enough to defeat the chair lift dragon then maybe it's not for you?
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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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This is definitely my favourite current thread.
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Randomsabreur, I knew I'd forgotten something  - yes, a helmet is a good idea - the hardest ever belt I've had was from a chair lift bar cracking the back of my head when I didn't get it right - luckily I was wearing one or I think I would have been knocked out.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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FAQ
Their comment was to the effect of "suppose you're skiers are you - they always think they can lift the bar themselves"