In forest
Double chair
Minus 10 ish
In shade, overcast, light snow, biting wind
over 30 minute stoppage
It was just SO cold....swinging there huddled and frankly miserable. And of course, it started HURRAH and then stopped almost immediately GRRRR ..... for another 20 minutes...
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
That must have been painful! Wind-chill must have been off the scale!
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?
Not chairlift, but gondola.
Cervinia circa 2002. Was with my brother and our respective girlfriends (now wives).
My brother was a boarder, me a skier and our girlfriends neither. The three non boarders fancied giving it ago, and because it was early December we had to go right up to the highest part that had a beginner run.
I took to it like a duck to water, having skied, surfed and skated since teens. Our girlfriends not so much. The wind got progressively worse as the day went on, to the point that my girlfriend was getting blown back up the hill.
There was no way me and the ladies were good enough to board all the way down, so we had to wait for the gondola. It was one of those massive ones that takes about 50 people. We waited in the gondola for about an hour, freezing cold as the doors were open, and kept asking the liftie when we would leave. He kept saying the wind was too strong. After an hour or so, the liftie realised that the wind was getting worse and the sun was setting, so he decided to go for it anyway. As soon as the gondola left the docking station it started swinging like a pendulum, at what I can only guess was an 80-90 degree arc. They kept on having to stop the gondala to allow the swinging to abate. What should have taken about 5 mins, ended up taking about 30 mins. It was absolutely terrifying and I’ve never been on a large gondala since.
Livigno, -24C in the village. Early/mid 90s IIRC. Chair stopped due to high winds. Can't remember how long we were stopped, but it took a few goes to make it.....
Wind chill hell - fec me did it hurt on any exposed skin! That's why I always carry a balaclava now
@Timmycb5, Sounds more like a cable car (only one up, one down on the cables).
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Worst was a strong freezing wind in April in Zermatt top of Sunnegga when we were stopped for over 30 minutes. Though it was far worse for my wife in the chair in front who was with my daughter and her friend who were pretty young and she was having to keep them amused and find a bit of food for them without dropping it to stop her going hypo after her insulin.
A second event was shortly after I had learned to ski and my binding broke. I carried my ski over to the chair lift and jumped on to go down . I'd only previously been skiing in an area where you could download by chair and didn't realise this did not apply to all chair lifts. After about 10 yds of progress the lifty noticed and stopped the chair and I had to jump off, the height was somewhat over 12 feet as when I reached down with my skis the lifty could not reach up to them and I had to drop them first, fortunately the snow was soft.
@MorningGory, yes, it was exactly that type. I always thought they were called gondolas?!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Panorama, night skiing. Lift stopped within sight of the lift station with hubby on it. They had to get an engineer from town to fix it. He was stuck for more than half an hour in something like -15. At least it wasn't windy. They offered him a skidoo down as he would have been freezing but he insisted on skiing down. We got an 'I'm sorry' voucher for $15
After all it is free
After all it is free
Timmycb5 wrote:
@MorningGory, yes, it was exactly that type. I always thought they were called gondolas?!
No. They are definitely cable cars to us Brits. Trams to Americans.
Ironically, we ride cable cars in the mountains and trams in San Francisco. The Americans ride cable cars in San Francisco and trams in the mountains .
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I've never been stuck on a lift for a length stoppage (yet!). However I've twice been in the queuing area when the chairlift has properly broken down; the worst of these was in Les Menuires maybe 20 years ago when an old 3-seater broke down on a cold, windy day and people were still being winched off a good few hours later.
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The old glacier chairlift on the Bellecote Glacier in La Plagne. It was very cold (I found out later it was -28 degrees, according to the local Meteo station), but no wind, at least until we were on the chairlift. As we rode it the wind started to pick up, then the chairlift stopped. Probably no longer than 5 minutes, but long enough to think that we’d be in trouble if the stoppage lasted much longer as the wind chill was by then properly, threateningly cold. Fortunately we got going without an extended delay, but at the top of the chairlift my mate noticed than my nose was getting frostnip, two frozen patches just to the side of my nostrils. Headed straight to the nearest mountain restaurant to, literally, defrost.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
This termanolgy is a triffle confusing.
To me the list goes like this:
Moving carpets - for kiddies, beginners and as in St Ulrich in the Dolomites to get you from the centre of town to the lift stations
Pomma (other makes are available) or drag or button lift. A single device drags your arze up the slope your skis are on the ground and a cable pulls you up the mountain
T bars - similar to above but allows two of you to go together - more sociable than above.
Multi person drag - where the 5 or 7 of you get on the drag at the same time. It then belts up the hill at high speed, stops at the top and you dismount in an undignified heap. (sometimes called a sling shot)
Chair lift - one to 4 seats never stops or slows down (well actually always slow). These older lifts are often those that break down. Due to rescue methods they are seldom more than 10m above the ground.
Dismounatble chair lift - 4 to 8 seats. As the name implies these are the dismounted from the main cable and slowed down for getting on. These are for many people the best lifts going.
Telecabine - called cable cars in the UK, as in London Cable Car. These like the dismountable chairlifts except there are cabins that you climb into. They take anything from 4 to 16 people. These are installed in places where increased capacity is required or to allow easy beginner or pedestrian access. They can go higher above than chairlifts. Since they are unpopular with experienced skiers they are sometimes mixed on the same cable as dismountable chairs.
Dual Mono Cable or DMC - like the cable car but using two cables to support the cabine. These are bigger than cable cars and more stable in high winds. They are staning room only.
Telepherique - one or two big cabins taking upto over a hundred people at a time. the cabin is supported on one (or two) cables and hauled by another. They have been around a long time (the first one up the Aiguille du Midi 100 years ago). You wait at the station untill ones arrives then pile in. Little children get bashed around the head a lot. They go quite fast once they get moving. Confusingly wikkipedia gives the following alternative names for them: aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, or seilbahn.
Funiculars - steep railway carriages carrying variable number of people. These run on rails but are hauled by cables. You see them all over the world (I believe that some San Fransico trams are actually hauled by rope hence are funiculars). The oldest at Hohensalzburg Castle has, apparently, been in use since the 1500s. There can be no doubt what these are.
Mountain railways - these are perhaps the oldest ski lifts. You get the train up from Zermatt to Gornergrat and ski back down.
I don't consider Skijoring as a ski lift. Or heliskiing. (largely cos I've never done either)
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.
I wonder why no one has mention being desperate to go to the toilet while stuck on a stopped chairlift. I didn't look behind when we were stuck for 30 minutes in Risoul once. There were strange noises and sighs coming for the chair behind.
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
[Was in the Funitel Peclet in 2006 when Chalatanefc farted. Truly horrendous
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Frosty the Snowman,
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
These are proper scary stories. I guess I just got lucky!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I guess mine would be being evacuated from the Piz Gloria restaurant on the Schilthorn in Murren. Couldn't take our skis up with us amd we had already ordered lunch when they brought the bill, expected us to pay for the food, but leave immediately. We did ask them to bring the food and left on the last gondola. It was quite scarily running very slowly amd swinging wildly from side to side.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
johnE wrote:
Telecabine - called cable cars in the UK, as in London Cable Car. These like the dismountable chairlifts except there are cabins that you climb into. They take anything from 4 to 16 people. These are installed in places where increased capacity is required or to allow easy beginner or pedestrian access. They can go higher above than chairlifts. Since they are unpopular with experienced skiers they are sometimes mixed on the same cable as dismountable chairs.
Most SH would call those Gondolas.
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?
Quote:
Most SH would call those Gondolas
Télécabine is the French word, so is what you would see locally.
The usual French name for a drag lift is a "tire-fesse"
First stuck on the Grand Huite in Tignes, in a blizzard near the top station for what seemed like ages, probably 20 minutes, chuffing cold.
Next I was stopped on the Mures Rouges in Meribel for about 20 minutes again in 2020 or 2019 after having waited for it to restart at the base station, was panicking if I'd get the last lift back to La Tania, in the end had plenty of time, should have used Ours when I saw it was stopped but rule 1 (don't do Ours) applied.
Third instance was a lucky escape Many years ago in Courchevel 1650, near the end of the day I was going to go for another run and the one of the two old drags that used to be where Signal now starts from, realised that it wasn't running, waisted for a while and then gave up and did the long green that skirted the bottom of the area, not sure if the it's still there, there was a lot of pushing involved (back to rule 1). Later found out that power had gone off the whole Courchevel 1650 sector and that they were still winding back the gondola to off load people at 7pm, felt like I'd dodged a bullet that time.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Unlike a draglift where you can just let go and ski away or a Gondola where you at least have some shelter, getting stuck on a chairlift can quickly become uncomfortable and then dangerous.
If you already carry a rucsac you could consider adding a two person group shelter. These are like a tent fly sheet that you pull over yourself and your companion and which immediately provide shelter from the wind and create a significantly more bearable environment in cold, windy or wet weather. They are cheap, light and crushable.
I’ve never used one on a chairlift but it should be fairly quick to deploy and then stow away again.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I watched an evacuation from a Serre Chevalier chairlift, thankfully now replaced. It was the Grand Prix weekend I think so lots of people were on it.
After all it is free
After all it is free
The old 2/3 man chair out of the Les Gets bowl - was it Tulipe? Something like that. Stopped for some mechanical reason in the dark shadowy part of January. Absolutely frozen to the bone when it restarted 20mins later. Closely followed by when the cable car door swung open on the way up to Arinsal’s main area luckily two blokes sat next to the door closed it over and one held it shut through the window.
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Back in January 1984, the previous Mrs SL and myself were on the Mottolino Chairlift in Livigno (I assume it will have been upgraded or replaced) it was late in the afternoon and we decided to have a last go. It was pretty windy, but despite that we decided not to get off at the intermediate station. The wind got more violent and it was snowing hard and the lift kept stopping eventually what seemed like permanently. We realised we were the only folk on the chairlift that we could see or had seen. The light was starting to go a bit and of course before mobile phones. Wind got more violent, but eventually the operators must have realised there were a couple of British idiots still on it. Thankfully it started to move desperately slowly. By the time we got to the top it was getting dark and frozen we were ushered into the liftie’s hut and directed to an old 3 piece suite! There were language difficulties, but we were given blankets and assumed we would be there for the night. However, after about an hour a piste basher appeared through by then a blizzard and we and the liftie squeezed in for what I assume (because we could not see) was a ride down a blue run. Got back to our apartment about 19:00. Curiously I have never been back to Livigno.
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Late 80’s 2 hours on a newly rennovated quad at Talisman in the Kimberley Valley of Ontario.
60 minutes on a chuffing freezing lift at Geoegian Peaks. Wind blowing off Georgian Bay was petrifying.
On both occasions had to get the mechanic back from town to fix.
30 minutes on the La Daille buble. Apparently someone set fire to the control panel at the bottom. Thought this was the one I’d finally get rescued on.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Nothing like any of that thank heavens. Did get stuck on an exposed chair in snow when it stopped for maybe 10 mins. All of us now carry folded foil sheets in our pockets, about the size of an iPhone. Hope to never need it.
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.
Quote:
carry folded foil sheets in our pockets, about the size of an iPhone. Hope to never need it.
+1
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
Half an hour on the Kandahar chairlift in Mürren that went rolling evacuation as I got on it.
Crosswind was so bad no snowboarder could get off without help of the lifty.
Was pretty cold, but somehow it was okay!
Half an hour on the Lauberhorn in Wengen which I caught 1 minute to closure with the covers on the gates. Broke down, crawling all the way up... Nice and balmy... quiet piste on the way down.... really quite awesome
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
The most unusual stoppage I’ve had would have been circa 1980 on the Corrie na ciste chair at Cairngorm. It was Easter and we stopped just above the line of the former Aonach Poma. The chair kept rolling back slightly and then eventually stopped for ages. The issue wasn’t the cold but rather the exposure to the unshaded sunshine. We were slowly roasted by the strengthening April sun. I got badly burnt that day
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Sun 7-04-24 21:56; edited 1 time in total
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Early 90s grande motte funicular. I was severely hungover and had a full class with me. Can’t remember why but it stopped. I had to be discretely sick in my jacket pocket. Managed to clean myself up in the station toilet once we got there
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
In La Plagne with my daughter the lift stopped during a small blizzard. She was downwind so was able to shelter a bit and tuck in to me. When we did get going I had a mound of wet snow on the right side of my body which amused the lifties but not me.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Nevis Range sometime in the 90s
An hour on the quad chair in a gale force blizzard. Utterly grim.
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 was near the top of the primitive & utterly exposed two man chair at 2000 m just under the Loischkopf in Brand (Montafon) at 15.50 in mid December about 10 years ago. Winter had come early and the temperature in the valley was minus 15. A storm was brewing & with windchill the temperature on the chair must have been minus 25, maybe colder. I was the only skier around (not that I could see more than a metre through the snowflakes in the gloaming.) Then the lift just stopped…and remained stopped. After about 10 mins I thought (despite wearing a heavy insulated Phenix jacket over a down layer) I’m so cold and getting even colder so fast, I’m going to die on this lift. So, befuddled by cold I decided to climb down James Bond style and take my chances on the powder under my feet (on the optimistic assumption I might not break anything too essential on the way)…I had just got my one hand down onto the footrest & was shifting my weight downwards, when (thank God) the lift started moving again so my stuntman credentials weren’t tested after all. Turned out the lifties had forgotten there was anyone stupid enough to be out on the lift in that weather and were knocking off for the day until one of the slightly more sober ones remembered possibly seeing the “verrückten Schotte” getting on at the bottom. A decade on, every time I ride that lift past Pylon 13, I still get a flashback to a painful world of desolate cold…
I was near the top of the primitive & utterly exposed two man chair at 2000 m just under the Loischkopf in Brand (Montafon) at 15.50 in mid December about 10 years ago. Winter had come early and the temperature in the valley was minus 15. A storm was brewing & with windchill the temperature on the chair must have been minus 25, maybe colder. I was the only skier around (not that I could see more than a metre through the snowflakes in the gloaming.) Then the lift just stopped…and remained stopped. After about 10 mins I thought (despite wearing a heavy insulated Phenix jacket over a down layer) I’m so cold and getting even colder so fast, I’m going to die on this lift. So, befuddled by cold I decided to climb down James Bond style and take my chances on the powder under my feet (on the optimistic assumption I might not break anything too essential on the way)…I had just got my one hand down onto the footrest & was shifting my weight downwards, when (thank God) the lift started moving again so my stuntman credentials weren’t tested after all. Turned out the lifties had forgotten there was anyone stupid enough to be out on the lift in that weather and were knocking off for the day until one of the slightly more sober ones remembered possibly seeing the “verrückten Schotte” getting on at the bottom. A decade on, every time I ride that lift past Pylon 13, I still get a flashback to a painful world of desolate cold…
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I was near the top of the primitive & utterly exposed two man chair at 2000 m just under the Loischkopf in Brand (Montafon) at 15.50 in mid December about 10 years ago. Winter had come early and the temperature in the valley was minus 15. A storm was brewing & with windchill the temperature on the chair must have been minus 25, maybe colder. I was the only skier around (not that I could see more than a metre through the snowflakes in the gloaming.) Then the lift just stopped…and remained stopped. After about 10 mins I thought (despite wearing a heavy insulated Phenix jacket over a down layer) I’m so cold and getting even colder so fast, I’m going to die on this lift. So, befuddled by cold I decided to climb down James Bond style and take my chances on the powder under my feet (on the optimistic assumption I might not break anything too essential on the way)…I had just got my one hand down onto the footrest & was shifting my weight downwards, when (thank God) the lift started moving again so my stuntman credentials weren’t tested after all. Turned out the lifties had forgotten there was anyone stupid enough to be out on the lift in that weather and were knocking off for the day until one of the slightly more sober ones remembered possibly seeing the “verrückten Schotte” getting on at the bottom. A decade on, every time I ride that lift past Pylon 13, I still get a flashback to a painful world of desolate cold…
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
50 min stuck on first chair of the day at Whitefish in single digits f. Finally got to the top, went in the lodge to see if we could warm up but we couldn't. Done for the day. But in 50 years of skiing, that's the only time, so count me lucky.
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Bergsteiger278, ....that's an exceedingly scary story...essentially the plot of FROZEN (the other one)
Terrible as in bad, or terrible as in what happened was awful or both.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
@ster, not a true story or particularly believable so just terrible as in bad.
Worst for us, a windy day in Cervinia. We decided on one more run before heading to lunch. It was probably around 13:00. We’d picked out where we wanted to stop. It looked lovely so we were really looking forward to it. We got on the chair lift which then went on a stop start for about 90 mins from bottom to top. No idea how cold it was, but it was cold enough. Luckily the lift had a bubble to pull down but all of our feet felt frozen solid by the time we got to the top.
We did stop at the lovely looking place but we were so cold and hungry (in the first world sense) that we didn’t particularly enjoy it. We just wanted to get warm and devour anything put in front of us.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
.
luckily two blokes sat next to the door closed it over and one held it shut through the window.
