 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Swear loudly (English is well understood) on the first failure to go through the gate. If they fail again, a good push usually suffices.
On some lifts, the only reason there's a queue at all is down to people like this. I agree that the resorts should be more assertive about getting people on the lifts.
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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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Old Man Of Lech,
Couldn't agree more!
The lifts attendants couldn't give a toss 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Pretty good rant, but you could have got more bonus points for some swearing. Doesn’t happen here, but then we don’t really have queues. Enjoy your season, as you say the hordes will be gone on Monday 
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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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| telford_mike wrote: |
| Pretty good rant, but you could have got more bonus points for some swearing. |
Yes. The words you are looking for are, JUST GET ON THE F*&KING LIFT!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Keeps the pistes less busy.
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@maggi, spot on.
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| telford_mike wrote: |
| Enjoy your season, as you say the hordes will be gone on Monday |
Isn't that when the Russians rock up?
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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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| Double Bombardino wrote: |
| telford_mike wrote: |
| Enjoy your season, as you say the hordes will be gone on Monday |
Isn't that when the Russians rock up? |
Not here. We are traffic free, so you can’t bring your Ferrari to Wengen.
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A loud Oi to the lifty, and a point to the partially empty chair, followed up by a couple of Allez Allez usually does the trick. Wouldn't want to give the UK a bad rep for bolshiness 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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You say that, but do you personally always take a lone, free sit when you're with a friend?
As a season worker i tend to go alone and i get where you are coming from, but when riding with a friend on the rare occasion i do tend to let a sit go by unless the queue is really packed.
I agree that sits should be encouraged to be taken by the employees, but it's far from the french mentality to push people, as inneficient as it is.
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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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| Weedly wrote: |
You say that, but do you personally always take a lone, free sit when you're with a friend?
As a season worker i tend to go alone and i get where you are coming from, but when riding with a friend on the rare occasion i do tend to let a sit go by unless the queue is really packed.
I agree that sits should be encouraged to be taken by the employees, but it's far from the french mentality to push people, as inneficient as it is. |
OP was posting from Switzerland.
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Given how much a lift costs to build and run, it always amazes me they don’t spend an extra tenner on some rope for a singles line at busy lifts. It would probably increase the effective capacity of most lifts by 10%.
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You know it makes sense.
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Wondering if there is corrrelation between ticket prices and better lift management staffing / queuing protocol by punters.
Grans Montana 1 day lift pass is CHF69
In comparison:
Aspen is CHF177
Heavenly Lake Tahoe CHF144
Whistler / Blackcomb CHF120
I appreciate things could improve in Europe but general mentality is to try to share a lift with mates / family when possible, as afterall they are on holiday together. The fix is to have better queue management upstream and good funnelling into longer clear lines from the turnstiles down to the gate. A third liftie marshalling the crowd works but this is an additional cost for the lift operator. From experience only an issue during peak periods when everything is frustratingly slow. In any case I’d prefer to lose out on a run or two instead of paying NA pricing.
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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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Isn't this an Italian speciality? In Italy we have watched with a mixture of frustration and amusement as large extended families of several generations chaotically organise themselves in the crush pen as empty chair after empty chair set off up the hill.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I agree that singles lines make good sense when queues are large - and it's
bad manners for people who want to ride together to block a big queue, but the vast majority of my ski time over the last 15 years has been spent with no queues, or just very short ones, and heading up the hill with some spare seats tends to make life safer and more comfortable when it comes to getting off! When skiing at quiet times in a group of 4 we would often split 2 and 2 on 4 man chairs.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Old Man Of Lech, strange wasn’t too busy over the weekend when I was there. The National up to Cry was busy from 11am when people woke up but not much else.
The maddening thing is that a number of the 6 manners in Montana required side loading. Ie. You have to shuffle sideways to get on the chairs. I kid ye not. Obviously very rarely were all 6 seats filled.
I agree that loud cursing and gentle pushing is the best way forward. Applies also to stopping in the middle of the piste etc.
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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 wrote: |
I agree that singles lines make good sense when queues are large - and it's
bad manners for people who want to ride together to block a big queue, but the vast majority of my ski time over the last 15 years has been spent with no queues, or just very short ones, and heading up the hill with some spare seats tends to make life safer and more comfortable when it comes to getting off! When skiing at quiet times in a group of 4 we would often split 2 and 2 on 4 man chairs. |
I agree. single queues are a great way of letting people keen to maximise their skiing to sacrifice sitting with mates/family.
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Yep, it is nice to have a lift buddy and I would wait for a space except for silly busy times (which are few and far between)... but most lifts around here have a single use line so an empty seat is often filled.
It is rare to have 2 empty seats but even so... it still takes 3 lifts for there to be an 'empty' 6 man.... yeah yeah... that's only 66% capacity... blah, blah, blah... if there were 2 full lifts and then one empty one it is also only a wait of about 20 seconds for the 'empty' lift to pass. The odds of every lift being under-filled are a bit sketchy but in a minute of extra waiting time (3 empty lifts) 36 people have already cleared the line in front of you.
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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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Nothing wrong with waiting for your buddy to ride the lift together. Just stand at the side out of the way and let people past until they arrive level with you.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Ozboy wrote: |
Wondering if there is corrrelation between ticket prices and better lift management staffing / queuing protocol by punters.
Grans Montana 1 day lift pass is CHF69
In comparison:
Aspen is CHF177
Heavenly Lake Tahoe CHF144
Whistler / Blackcomb CHF120
I appreciate things could improve in Europe but general mentality is to try to share a lift with mates / family when possible, as afterall they are on holiday together. The fix is to have better queue management upstream and good funnelling into longer clear lines from the turnstiles down to the gate. A third liftie marshalling the crowd works but this is an additional cost for the lift operator. From experience only an issue during peak periods when everything is frustratingly slow. In any case I’d prefer to lose out on a run or two instead of paying NA pricing. |
No one in their right mind pays day rates at the big US/Canada hills.
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| flangesax wrote: |
Yep, it is nice to have a lift buddy and I would wait for a space except for silly busy times (which are few and far between)... but most lifts around here have a single use line so an empty seat is often filled.
It is rare to have 2 empty seats but even so... it still takes 3 lifts for there to be an 'empty' 6 man.... yeah yeah... that's only 66% capacity... blah, blah, blah... if there were 2 full lifts and then one empty one it is also only a wait of about 20 seconds for the 'empty' lift to pass. The odds of every lift being under-filled are a bit sketchy but in a minute of extra waiting time (3 empty lifts) 36 people have already cleared the line in front of you. |
Sadly doesn’t work this way. Think motorway queues.if you are really keen, google Errlang Theory. If you reduce service points, seats, by under utilizing, the ratio between service requests, people and seats changes, to above 1, then queues build disproportionately. If there is a queue, get on the fliping seat!!
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 4-01-19 17:03; edited 1 time in total
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| PeterGee wrote: |
| flangesax wrote: |
Yep, it is nice to have a lift buddy and I would wait for a space except for silly busy times (which are few and far between)... but most lifts around here have a single use line so an empty seat is often filled.
It is rare to have 2 empty seats but even so... it still takes 3 lifts for there to be an 'empty' 6 man.... yeah yeah... that's only 66% capacity... blah, blah, blah... if there were 2 full lifts and then one empty one it is also only a wait of about 20 seconds for the 'empty' lift to pass. The odds of every lift being under-filled are a bit sketchy but in a minute of extra waiting time (3 empty lifts) 36 people have already cleared the line in front of you. |
Sadly doesn’t work this way. Think motorway queues.if you are really keen, google Erlang Theory. If you reduce service points, seats, by under utilizing, the ratio between service requests, people and seats changes, to above 1, then queues build disproportionately. If there is a queue, get on the fliping seat!! |
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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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As an American -- and in general, an efficiency lover -- this is one of my bugbears.
In most NA resorts, there are singles lines (here, of course, it's for the ski schools...), and the lifties will try to make sure every chair is full. And if you let a chair go, say 2 on a 6 pack, you'll get a cursed at by everyone else. So I do my bit here to slide into a single seat, or if I'm with my kids, to make sure we fill up a chair. I'm trying to instill good habits.
Of course, as noted, if you're shelling out 100+ bucks a day in NA you're gonna be a bit steamed to watch half-full chairs go up the mountain.
I have noticed that it seems to be worse in Italy, and also at more expensive ski stations. Entitlement, perhaps? And of course queue behavior in general deteriorates the further south in Europe you go. Ever tried to get a gelato on a hot day in Italy around 4 pm.?
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| DJL wrote: |
| Nothing wrong with waiting for your buddy to ride the lift together. Just stand at the side out of the way and let people past until they arrive level with you. |
That's how we operate.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Have some sympathy for parents with young kids wanting to get on lift together, rather than abandoning kids to strangers.
But that said it drives me nuts when parents hang around blocking queues trying to get same chair as kid in ski school 
Part of the problem is the bigger lifts - the new 8 person ones I've seen stop half the time when there is a crash with 8 people trying to shuffle forward
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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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| Quote: |
Have some sympathy for parents with young kids wanting to get on lift together
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So do I - but NOT when two parents and two kids insist on travelling together as a foursome - and personally, having taken a lot of wobbly youngsters on and off lifts, it's much easier with just one adult and one child.
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| sbooker wrote: |
| . No one in their right mind pays day rates at the big US/Canada hills. |
Rack rate season passes: Crans Montana CHF899 vs Aspin ~CHF2,200. I’ve been to neither but assume Aspin offers super slick lift operations for that money.
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You know it makes sense.
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@pam w, agreed - no issue with splitting up with kids to keep queue moving
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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My pet peeve at the moment is those that shuffle through the 'funnel' go through the turnstile and then stop to look for their mates/family/partner often looking back up the piste! FFS. wait for them at the start of the queue!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Whinging Pomy
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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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Thinking about lift queues, this year I've decided to glue strips of sandpaper to the rear of my skis to discourage people behind me in the queue from sliding on top of them!
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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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@stanton, what's a Pomy?
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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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@sbooker, not to derail the discussion, but yes, a lot of people do pay the rack rate. there's a discussion over on Pugski that indicated that about 45% of users at Vail (now $209 rack rate!!!) buy season passes, and the remaining 55% is lift ticket sales. I'm not saying that NA is cheaper -- at all -- than Europe, but there are ways to mitigate with Ikon pass etc. We often forget that there is a huge chunk of skiers who don't even blink at the costs. I watched two American women drop about $1,000 in a matter of seconds at the Colmar store in Chamonix last weekend on 2 kids' parkas and baselayers...
@yorkshirelad, The first time this happened to me I actually was a bit offended. Now I get my revenge by quickly sliding into the last seat of a party of 3 or 5, and greeting them with a hearty "bonjour!" Freaks them out and ensures silence during the ride.
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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 North Americans are very good at this. Lift attendants are well trained and often they have a singles queue.
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A few well placed signs would help 'Please try and fill up every seat at busy times to reduce queuing times.'
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Mind you - what annoys me more is when there is no queue, in fact no-one in site, and some muppet breaks the speed of sound to dash through to get on a chair with you, when taking the (completely empty) 47 behind would have delayed him (always a him) 10-seconds.
Always make sure to pass drinks, food, lip balm across him to family and accidentally stand on skis
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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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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| @stanton, what's a Pomy? |
Type of drag lift isn't it
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Having said that I’ve twice been injured sharing chairlifts with people not in my party. Also, My daughter skied over the end of my skis when dismounting once. And my son made my husband fall over and damage the ligament in his knee getting off a t bar. We are all much better now so no more problems. As such though, I would rather stay in my group. Also a bloke tried chatting up my teen daughter and left her very uncomfortable when she was alone. I’m just saying, there may be other reasons people want to stay together. The key is the lifties managing the situation better.
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FAQ
The lifties just stand there and let it happen. If people would just take the available seats, queuing time would be massively reduced. Take a leaf out of the US & Canada book of lift line management. Have someone there to DIRECT people to fill the seats. Surely I'm not alone in thinking this? BTW, I'm here all season so will have the last laugh when all these thoughtless morons are gone 
