 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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@Ryunis,
Very sad. 
Not sure its the norm though (in Whistler at least). I dont think I can recall being on a chairlift there without the bar down.
Kids somehow think it's cool to not use the bar, but if I catch my kids doing it, they don't get to go skiing
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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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| stuarth wrote: |
@Ryunis,
Very sad.
Not sure its the norm though (in Whistler at least). I dont think I can recall being on a chairlift there without the bar down.
Kids somehow think it's cool to not use the bar, but if I catch my kids doing it, they don't get to go skiing |
Is it not? It is from my recollection but perhaps it's skewed by how surprised I was. I e. The times it was down are more easily forgotten.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Tragic or darwin contender?
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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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Seems to be a macho thing in the 'States, from what I've read 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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25ft is a short distance for a death fall with a helmet
Must have been an unfortunate neck break angle
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Half the skiers in Europe raise the bar way before the end station ie then ride often at the highest point above ground without a bar
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| Quote: |
Half the skiers in Europe raise the bar way before the end station
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Not if I'm on the chair they don't 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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On some of the most recent chairs the bar's raised automatically - at the last minute.
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I also don’t understand why you wouldn’t put the bar down. In Europe they have foot rests on the vast majority of chair lifts so there’s no need to let your legs dangle either.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Since the person fell from the chairlift before they'd even reached the first tower, the safety bar debate may well be an irrelevance here. Not so long ago a majority of chairlifts in the US did NOT have safety bars.
Certainly in California it is only in recent times that Vail Resorts, has retrofitted safety bars to triple and double chairlifts and I'm lead to believe this was only done after a change in statute because previously only quad chairs or bigger could be fitted with safety bars.
There also has no doubt been a legal liability issue favouring not having bars. If a bar is inadvertently down and injures a skier in the loading station the company is responsible, if someone falls of a chairlift through their own actions, the skier would be at fault!
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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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| red 27 wrote: |
25ft is a short distance for a death fall with a helmet
Must have been an unfortunate neck break angle |
It’s a long way if you drop straight onto your head though, helmet or not.
Feet first you might get away with broken leg(s)/ankle(s).
The fall was probably a surprise too, bit different if you’re planning it, but taken unawares….
Horrible thing to have happened either way.
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| Quote: |
On some of the most recent chairs the bar's raised automatically - at the last minute.
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Yes, in the Grand Massif there are a couple of chairlifts with bars that lock in place and don't unlock for you to raise it until you are literally at the point of dismount. I'm a bit of a last minute raiser...nothing wrong with that.
Though, with the locking ones, you do need to be sure you're set before pulling the bar down. Imagine getting nipped by the bar which then doesn't release until the top.....
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You know it makes sense.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Half the skiers in Europe raise the bar way before the end station
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Not if I'm on the chair they don't |
Same here - I’m quite ‘forgetful’ and my skis don’t come off the footrests until we’re on final approach - solves that problem …
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Half the skiers in Europe raise the bar way before the end station
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Not if I'm on the chair they don't |
Same here
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Poster: A snowHead
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In Europe, there are some short chairlifts that have no footrests, even after a short distance, with skis & boots hanging off my legs, my thighs are really painful. It must be agony to have to ride a full length lift like this.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| countryman wrote: |
| Half the skiers in Europe raise the bar way before the end station ie then ride often at the highest point above ground without a bar |
That was going to be my entry in the Things I don't get about (other people) skiing thread.
When riding with others, as a goofy boarder, I always position myself in the far left seat, so my board is out of the way of others as much as possible. However, an added bonus is that I can almost always keep it on the foot rest until we're over the safety netting at least.
I've noticed from my recent experience in Courmayeur and Cervinia that those resorts appeared to have bigger nets before the arrival point than elsewhere. Is that the norm in Italy?
Must admit that I'm also not a fan of the automatic bars on lifts though. Certainly the one I encountered in Cervino this week felt like it raised quite a bit later than it needed to.
Still, a sad story and a sombre reminder of one of the often unconsidered dangers of our generally enjoyable pastime.
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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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Freedom ... Choice ...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| tangowaggon wrote: |
| In Europe, there are some short chairlifts that have no footrests, even after a short distance, with skis & boots hanging off my legs, my thighs are really painful. It must be agony to have to ride a full length lift like this. |
It's not. I've got long legs and frequently have to dangle
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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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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| tangowaggon wrote: |
| In Europe, there are some short chairlifts that have no footrests, even after a short distance, with skis & boots hanging off my legs, my thighs are really painful. It must be agony to have to ride a full length lift like this. |
It's not. I've got long legs and frequently have to dangle |
I personally haven't come across any chairs like that in Europe, but did in Japan, including an interesting single seater.
As a boarder, I found I needed to support the board with my boot that wasn't clipped in, otherwise the strain on my piddly ankle could be pretty unpleasant.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| tangowaggon wrote: |
| In Europe, there are some short chairlifts that have no footrests, even after a short distance, with skis & boots hanging off my legs, my thighs are really painful. It must be agony to have to ride a full length lift like this. |
It's not. I've got long legs and frequently have to dangle |
It's amazing that you can enter the minds of others to conclude that it is not painful for anyone to not have a foot support.
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| stuarth wrote: |
... Not sure its the norm though (in Whistler at least). I dont think I can recall being on a chairlift there without the bar down.
Kids somehow think it's cool to not use the bar, but if I catch my kids doing it, they don't get to go skiing |
Different strokes. Not using the bar does seem to be the norm with all the locals with whom I ride there, also those inland.
However as polite Canadians they're entirely happy for a Euro like me to put the thing down.
The chair lift accident statistics from North America are interesting and easily googleable, although too much effort for the journalist here or the OP, apparently. It's only life and death - who needs numbers, eh? The stats from 1973 onwards suggest that chair lifts (and similar lifts) are about a tenth as dangerous per mile travelled than cars. Which is probably not the way I'd cut the data (because cars go quicker). Which reminds me that in the UK car seat belts were not originally fitted to all cars, and even once they were, it took further changes to the law to make English people actually use them. I dare say anti-vax type people still resist the concept.
If people didn't die now and then falling off chair lifts, we'd not need safety systems to prevent that.
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| tangowaggon wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| tangowaggon wrote: |
| In Europe, there are some short chairlifts that have no footrests, even after a short distance, with skis & boots hanging off my legs, my thighs are really painful. It must be agony to have to ride a full length lift like this. |
It's not. I've got long legs and frequently have to dangle |
It's amazing that you can enter the minds of others to conclude that it is not painful for anyone to not have a foot support. |
I am very gifted. Agony on a 5 minute char lift???
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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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I remember a lift with no leg rest - I think at Mount Chery in La Rosiere - it's probably gone now. I didn't like it. Not because it hurt my thighs, but I was always irrationally scared a ski would fall off. One of my sons did lose a ski once, on a school ski trip. He made a lightning decision and dropped out after it, because it was way off piste an he thought he'd never find it and have to pay to replace it....... Knowing that his cruel parents would punish him severely for such an occurrence he decided it was worth risking severe injury. His older brother, in the chair behind, almost had a heart attack. Boy retrieved ski and managed to ski out. He was that kind of boy.
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| pam w wrote: |
| On some of the most recent chairs the bar's raised automatically - at the last minute. |
yup - or there is safety net
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@pam w, sons do that kind of thing. I'm a son and used to be like that but stopped the bravado 40 years ago ! I like his idea of "it's way off piste and he'd never find it". Well the fact it was directly under a chairlift would have made it pretty easy to find really, only if he was good at one foot skiing from the top of the chair off-piste though.
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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: |
only if he was good at one foot skiing from the top of the chair off-piste though.
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At that point he wasn't that good but he doubted he'd be allowed to have a go at finding it - and had only a split second to think. "The snow looked really deep Mum; I didn't think I'd hurt myself". On a later occasion, when his dad and I were waiting in Val d'Isere for him and his cousin, coming down from the Grand Motte, we got a text saying he was on one ski and they'd be a bit later than planned. He came all the way down from the GM to Val on one ski (swapping legs when one got tired) with his cousin carrying what turned out to be a fatally injured ski.
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| phil_w wrote: |
| stuarth wrote: |
... Not sure its the norm though (in Whistler at least). I dont think I can recall being on a chairlift there without the bar down.
Kids somehow think it's cool to not use the bar, but if I catch my kids doing it, they don't get to go skiing |
Different strokes. Not using the bar does seem to be the norm with all the locals with whom I ride there, also those inland.
However as polite Canadians they're entirely happy for a Euro like me to put the thing down... |
When I was in Whistler (for the first time) last month, not once did I get on or see a chair where the bar wasn't put down. As often by other users as by us. Only once, as both me and another skier were sorting poles/kit tangle, was it a bit late; As I said I was putting it down the other guy said "Of course... we're not Americans!"
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You know it makes sense.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| tangowaggon wrote: |
| In Europe, there are some short chairlifts that have no footrests, even after a short distance, with skis & boots hanging off my legs, my thighs are really painful. It must be agony to have to ride a full length lift like this. |
It's not. I've got long legs and frequently have to dangle |
I have oddly long calves and occasionally can’t get my skis up and it does leave my legs in pain with a long ride
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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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| Cheapski wrote: |
| Freedom ... Choice ... |
CG's Rule 1. Never give a child a choice. (Or anyone acting like one)
For clarity
Most Snowheads: "When I grow up I want to be a skier."
Society: "You can do one or the other Pal, not both." 
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Poster: A snowHead
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| adithorp wrote: |
| phil_w wrote: |
| stuarth wrote: |
... Not sure its the norm though (in Whistler at least). I dont think I can recall being on a chairlift there without the bar down.
Kids somehow think it's cool to not use the bar, but if I catch my kids doing it, they don't get to go skiing |
Different strokes. Not using the bar does seem to be the norm with all the locals with whom I ride there, also those inland.
However as polite Canadians they're entirely happy for a Euro like me to put the thing down... |
When I was in Whistler (for the first time) last month, not once did I get on or see a chair where the bar wasn't put down. As often by other users as by us. Only once, as both me and another skier were sorting poles/kit tangle, was it a bit late; As I said I was putting it down the other guy said "Of course... we're not Americans!" |
Strange because the last sentence does suggest that it is common for the bar not to be lowered, amongst Americans at least.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| phil_w wrote: |
| stuarth wrote: |
... Not sure its the norm though (in Whistler at least). I dont think I can recall being on a chairlift there without the bar down.
Kids somehow think it's cool to not use the bar, but if I catch my kids doing it, they don't get to go skiing |
Different strokes. Not using the bar does seem to be the norm with all the locals with whom I ride there, also those inland.
However as polite Canadians they're entirely happy for a Euro like me to put the thing down.
The chair lift accident statistics from North America are interesting and easily googleable, although too much effort for the journalist here or the OP, apparently. It's only life and death - who needs numbers, eh? The stats from 1973 onwards suggest that chair lifts (and similar lifts) are about a tenth as dangerous per mile travelled than cars. Which is probably not the way I'd cut the data (because cars go quicker). Which reminds me that in the UK car seat belts were not originally fitted to all cars, and even once they were, it took further changes to the law to make English people actually use them. I dare say anti-vax type people still resist the concept.
If people didn't die now and then falling off chair lifts, we'd not need safety systems to prevent that. |
That's unnecessary. Just because you wanted to Google the statistics doesn't mean I did. Hope you feel better for your little comment, stranger from the internet.
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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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I believe I have a pretty good handle on the subject. In Europe, use of the bar is almost universal, and indeed automatic in some cases. In Canada, the rate of usage is slightly lower but we still joke about the invisible line (the border between US and Canada) where bar usage goes up dramatically. In the US, usage is far less common, and in particular, in the Pacific Northwest where I live. There, usage is minimal except when there’s kids on the chair. Myself, I’m about 50-50. No justification offered; we should all use them all of the time. By way of explanation, I am tall and all legs, so it is often more comfortable to go without.
Also, somebody above mentioned big nets in Italy. That’s where I am right now, and I noticed this as well.
I do wish people would notify the other inhabitants of the chair with a brief warning, or pull it down slowly. Those of us tall enough to get in hit in the head with the bar would appreciate it.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Scooter in Seattle wrote: |
I believe I have a pretty good handle on the subject. In Europe, use of the bar is almost universal, and indeed automatic in some cases. In Canada, the rate of usage is slightly lower but we still joke about the invisible line (the border between US and Canada) where bar usage goes up dramatically. In the US, usage is far less common, and in particular, in the Pacific Northwest where I live. There, usage is minimal except when there’s kids on the chair. Myself, I’m about 50-50. No justification offered; we should all use them all of the time. By way of explanation, I am tall and all legs, so it is often more comfortable to go without.
Also, somebody above mentioned big nets in Italy. That’s where I am right now, and I noticed this as well.
I do wish people would notify the other inhabitants of the chair with a brief warning, or pull it down slowly. Those of us tall enough to get in hit in the head with the bar would appreciate it. |
Thanks, really interesting.
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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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| Quote: |
I do wish people would notify the other inhabitants of the chair with a brief warning, or pull it down slowly
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True. I always have a hand ready to shoot up and grab the bar if it's yanked down carelessly. And to think people grumble about trouble-free drag lifts you ride on your own.....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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In Europe, you cannot legaly ride the chair with the bar up.
The lift operator is not alowed to let you ride up with the bar up.
In Megeve at least we slow or stop chairs multiple times a day due to this. Almost exclusively Americans.
As a patroler when I have an empty rescue led on the 6 man chair next to me, the bar won't normaly go all the way down, so I hook my knee over the footrest to avoid having to hold the bar down.
If the orgonisation in charge of ski resorts (sorry can't remember the achronism) in france, saw someone (including me with a rescue sled) riding a chair with the bar up, the resort gets shut, there and then!
Whilst in Canada and America I've ridden the chair with people who refused to lem me to lower the bar. More than once this has resulted in somone riding the chair doubbled over with their head pinned down by the bar! - I've seen people get ejected from Chairs due to a sudden stop in working Banff, the results while not fatal were permenent!
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This "not bringing the bar down" thing does seem a singularly mindless sort of custom.
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@Idris, That may be the theoretical case, but its not enforced, I have not bothered pulling the bar for short chair lift rides when on my own on enough occasions in France and Austria and no-one has ever said anything. No real reason for not pulling it down, but a sudden stop won't cause you to fall if you are large enough to sit in the chair properly
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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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@countryman,
| Quote: |
Half the skiers in Europe raise the bar way before the end station ie then ride often at the highest point above ground without a bar
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I've hardly ever seen that happen...yet you reckon 50% do it? Where do you usually ski?
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FAQ
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