I'm not keen on T-bars but at the end of the day you get the lift that gets you where you need to be so chairs, gondolas, drags, they're a means to an end and I tend not to think about them.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
My order of preference:
1. Poma
2. Chair
3. T bar
4. gondola
5. being dragged up backwards by my goolies
6 telecabine (cable car)
I will go a long long way round to avoid a 6.
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?
Samerberg Sue, I must say that whenever I have felt cold on a charilift, it has never been the part of me in contact with the seat that has been the problem. I am not keen on the heated seats in my car either.
Samerberg Sue, I must say that whenever I have felt cold on a charilift, it has never been the part of me in contact with the seat that has been the problem. I am not keen on the heated seats in my car either.
1. Poma
2. Chair
3. T bar
4. gondola
5. being dragged up backwards by my goolies
6 telecabine (cable car)
I will go a long long way round to avoid a 6.
Unless it's the nut cracker. Just as well I never wanted kids
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:
Unless it's the nut cracker. Just as well I never wanted kids Shocked
ahh yes the meribel nut cracker, you'll know what we mean if you've been there
After all it is free
After all it is free
Which ever has the shortest queue. Lets face it, unless you're on the first lift up or being guided then, whichever lift has the shortest/quickest route back up so as you/I can come back down. More time skiing, less time traveling.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Cime de caron has always been a 45 minute wait every time up until last march when three of us had it all to ourselves. The brevent peak to peak cable was the most unforgettable back in the early 80s when the oppo used to open the manual doors and enjoy the view of the drop below. Best single chair in Gastein where they give you a blanket. Polarised chair covers in US. Best gondola to shag in (apparently) the one up from Brides les Bains into Meribel....
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
ADESki wrote:
Which ever has the shortest queue. Lets face it, unless you're on the first lift up or being guided then, whichever lift has the shortest/quickest route back up so as you/I can come back down. More time skiing, less time traveling.
If you're encountering queues, you're skiing in the wrong resort. Go where the people aren't.
Personally, I hate abominations like heated seats and pull-down covers. When I go out to ski, I wear gear that's appropriate for the conditions. Artificial heat sources mess up the stable equilibrium of my natural heat regulatory system. If you think you need a heated seat, you should bung on an extra layer of clothing and man (or woman) up.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
have to admit... in my car, I'd prefer a heated steering wheel before heated seats.
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.
My favourite is a super-fast heated detatchable chairlift with a lid, but sadly they are few and far between! However, on a freezing day with snow blowing into you sideways, I'd pick a (comparatively) cosy gondola with proper seats any day. The Olympique in Val is one of the better ones.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
HoneyBunny wrote:
My favourite is a super-fast heated detatchable chairlift with a lid, but sadly they are few and far between! However, on a freezing day with snow blowing into you sideways, I'd pick a (comparatively) cosy gondola with proper seats any day. The Olympique in Val is one of the better ones.
Plenty in the Arlberg.
Prefer chair by far. No messing around taking off skis. Less chance of being surrounded by smelly smokers.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Love the heated seats and covers but not great with a hangover!! The open chair ride does always help on that front.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Chairlifts with optional cover (we used to call them the "George Forman" as they look like his grill-but I guess this will be lost on many snowheads!).
Gondola/bubble you can sit in is OK. Standy uppy ones are miserable.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Beginning to look like the chairlifts have won this particular poll, by a country mile. Viva le telesiege!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Generally pretty happy with anything that gets me uphill.
You usually get at least one smart back bottom by now who says skins.
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?
I dislike t bars, pomas, and rope pulls, I will use them if they are going on to an area that is not accessable in any other way, but usually there is a way of getting a ski lift up and joining in the top of that run, unless you get stuck at a point and the only way back up is a pull, then ok, it beats walking. The fast eightman heated covered chairlifts are fantastic though. I think the ski atmosphere in Austria and Germany, Switzerland, beat france hands down.
Gondola/bubble you can sit in is OK. Standy uppy ones are miserable.
Better still are the ones with slots in the middle for skis and boards. No scramble to untangle skis from the outdoor slots, esp. fatty twintips that have to go in a snowbaord slot and interlocked, and no holding on to skis for the whole journey.
Oh and free wifi in the gondolas now too.
T-Bars are ace. Twice the uplift of a Poma, more socialble and don't knacker yer nads. And rarely a queue, cos so many people and all boarders are allergic to t-bars
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
andy, Agree about the twin tips in the outside slots. I love our gondola, 8 seater, no stair climbing and the brilliant liftie has a separate gate to fill up the pods with single skiers at busy times so 4 people don't hog one to themselves. The lift at the Piste de L'Ours could do with a revamp, you need a helmet just to protect you from the pod pitching as you get in.
Prefer chair by far. No messing around taking off skis. Less chance of being surrounded by smelly smokers.
Mmm and I have experienced the warm bottom that goes with them. They're sadly lacking in France though!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:
TBars are ace. Twice the uplift of a Poma, more socialble and don't knacker yer nads. And rarely a queue, cos so many people and all boarders are allergic to t-bars
Andy not normally twice the uplift. Pomas are much faster than most tbars so will get you to the top more quickly. Line speed is up to 4m/s which is only beaten by the fastest chairs and gondolas.
The fastest lifts of all, by a long way, are cable cars which don't, seem very popular here, but usually access the signature runs.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sun 17-11-13 10:42; edited 1 time in total
After all it is free
After all it is free
True that cable cars are usually/often the fastest. Even including the wait for the next car.
Main think I don't like about them is that every other person now has a huge backpack on and can't stand still. Feel sorry for those a bit shorter than me that must get a faceful.
Worst of all are the ancient 2 man type chairs. Not enough space for proper sized adults, and there's no way i'll manage to get skis on the footpeg and knees under the bar. And one in the dolomites I timed as 10minutes exactly.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Generally chairs but if it is really cold and blowy a gondola gives a bit of a warm up.
One huge advantage of a gondola from the valley late season is that if it is precipitating you keep out of the rain and when you get to the top it has miraculously turned to snow.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Chairlifts are simply cheap gondolas.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Quote:
Pomas are much faster than most tbars so will get you to the top more quickly. Line speed is up to 4m/s which is only beaten by the fastest chairs and gondolas
A few years ago there were several draglifts in the Espace Diamant which were quicker than the chairs nearby but with upgraded much faster chairs (one just being built for this year, to replace a very slow one in Notre Dame de Bellecombe) that will no longer be the case.
However, one short steep fast drag between 2 red runs and a black was replaced by a fixed chairlift a couple of seasons ago and that wasn't a big improvement. The chair takes longer and because the drag was a bit difficult, with a fierce start, it did serve to deter a number of less experienced skiers and, especially, boarders. There's now a very easy and pretty treelined run down to the bottom of that lift but it means that one of the red runs now has one of the highest casualty rates (according to a pisteur) because after a deceptively flat bit, where people speed up, the ground drops away sharply and "ils volent". You see a lot of people on those slopes now who probably shouldn't be there.
Replacing drag lifts with chairs is all very well but, like giving a "coup de bull" to every tricky bit of piste it does serve to produce a more bland and homogeneous experience.
I would enjoy having some heated chairs though - none in our neck of the woods, unfortunately.
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.
andy wrote:
T-Bars are ace. Twice the uplift of a Poma, more socialble and don't knacker yer nads. And rarely a queue, cos so many people and all boarders are allergic to t-bars
I don't know any good snowboarders who are at all bothered by button lifts or T-bars. Thing is, the percentage of snowboarders (as indeed skiers) who are good is small.
There's no doubt that those lifts involve a small bit of physical effort though, and if you get one whose run is cambered then only having one edge makes it much harder to make small defensive adjustments; on cambered pitches it's quite common to find yourself sliding in a wide arc towards the fall line and away from the lift line. Some even go downhill in places, which is, er, fun since there's no analogous technique to snowplough in snowboarding! You end up at the extent of the elastic, pushing against the pole with your chest and shoulders waiting for the cable to catch up . I can't deny they provide neverending material for YouTube
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I don't know any good snowboarders who are at all bothered by button lifts or T-bars. Thing is, the percentage of snowboarders (as indeed skiers) who are good is small.
I don't think that most people are particularly bothered by drag lifts. They're just more effort, and most of us are lazy.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I suppose this is good thread to ask, does any one know where to get electrically powered toy gondolas from in the u.k.?
Something like this but not as expensive or elaborate
It would probably be cheaper to buy a real one than a Lego one!
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?
I actually quite like button lifts, especially the ones which are on a piece of string (well, thin rope) - they're much more gentle than the ones on a metal rod.
I like the challenge of a steep button lift too - really have to concentrate but can be quite exhilarating. Something quite pleasing about being able to cope with a 'teleski reserve au tres bon skieurs'!
As for the chairlift/gondola debate - the geared chairlifts are cool (well, except the ones with the heated seats). I like the little 4 person gondolas where you get a seat. The one in Thollon (currently being replaced) was a favourite.
The mixed chairlift/gondola lifts you see more of these days are an interesting development - gondolifts I believe they're called...
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
. I can't deny they provide neverending material for YouTube 
