They had one of them in Solden when I was there last month. Wasn't nice to look out wth everything in an orange tint. Looked like a Mr Man landscape !
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
OMG I think that would make be puke (and that's without a hangover). I really don't see the point in these bubble chairs anyway, their completely daft because in the sort of conditions that you'd want to have a bubble the chair can't run anyway because they act like giant sails. Anything that increases surface area to weight ratio reduces lift operating thresholds. If you want to ski inside, go to Xscape!
Winterhighland, There are various 'bubble chairs' here in the 3V and over in Tignes which are a godsend on cold windy days on looong rides. Can't see them being a whole lot of use at Nevis range tho right enough.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
PS They're not tinted orange mind...
After all it is free
After all it is free
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
Not sure about the orange though
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.
They have one in Leogang too. And Soell aswell I think.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
In a thread cross-over I spy a couple of pairs of rear-entry boots in that picture. Old-skool cool? I think not
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
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'm a big fan of chairlift covers, much better than the blankets they used to hand out. Not sure about orange, though, and since most people are wearing appropriate eye protection for when they're not on the chairlift, it seems a bit necessary.
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
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
Then you leave it open
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Do people call these 'hooded' chair lifts 'bubbles' now? I always called gondola lifts 'bubbles'. This could get confusing...
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
andytb wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
Then you leave it open
Not if it's the "automatic" ones!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Chondolas are a better solution to the issue of sheltering from the elements. Those that want shelter can go in a gondola, those that don't and just wrap up for whatever the weather is doing can take a chair.
The argument about getting cold on long chair rides is a valid point, but one which can be mitigated by wrapping up. It's also why in the modern ski world, surface lifts are under-rated imo.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Winterhighland,
Yeah, but you gotta take skis off for gondolas. I am a fan of the bubble chair, they seem very common in Italy
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?
Winterhighland wrote:
It's also why in the modern ski world, surface lifts are under-rated imo.
One still get cold. Except one can't put one's hands in the pocket in this case!
OMG I think that would make be puke (and that's without a hangover). I really don't see the point in these bubble chairs anyway, their completely daft because in the sort of conditions that you'd want to have a bubble the chair can't run anyway because they act like giant sails. Anything that increases surface area to weight ratio reduces lift operating thresholds. If you want to ski inside, go to Xscape!
That is quite simply not true.
Can I presume you have never skied anywhere that has them?
While I generally prefer not to close the bubble, in very cold or snowy weather, I usually will, because it is much more comfortable.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
So don't close it It isn't compulsory, you know.
After all it is free
After all it is free
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
Then you leave it open
Not if it's the "automatic" ones!
I have ridden dozens of covered chairs, and never come across one where the cover closes automatically. Even if those exist, I would still expect you to be able to choose to open it again.
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.
johnboy wrote:
Winterhighland,
Yeah, but you gotta take skis off for gondolas. I am a fan of the bubble chair, they seem very common in Italy
And also very common in Austria. And there are even a few of them in Austria now which come with heated seats!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
alex_heney wrote:
Winterhighland wrote:
OMG I think that would make be puke (and that's without a hangover). I really don't see the point in these bubble chairs anyway, their completely daft because in the sort of conditions that you'd want to have a bubble the chair can't run anyway because they act like giant sails. Anything that increases surface area to weight ratio reduces lift operating thresholds. If you want to ski inside, go to Xscape!
That is quite simply not true.
Can I presume you have never skied anywhere that has them?
While I generally prefer not to close the bubble, in very cold or snowy weather, I usually will, because it is much more comfortable.
If your referring to the comment about wind it is very true and is why none of the ski areas around Lake Tahoe have put bubbles on any of the recently installed chairs. Wind can lift even automatically shut bubbles on empty chairs, once open the increase in surface area is even greater. Even when they stay closed they can have dire effects due to their impact on windflow around the carrier.
OMG I think that would make be puke (and that's without a hangover). I really don't see the point in these bubble chairs anyway, their completely daft because in the sort of conditions that you'd want to have a bubble the chair can't run anyway because they act like giant sails. Anything that increases surface area to weight ratio reduces lift operating thresholds. If you want to ski inside, go to Xscape!
That is quite simply not true.
Can I presume you have never skied anywhere that has them?
While I generally prefer not to close the bubble, in very cold or snowy weather, I usually will, because it is much more comfortable.
If your referring to the comment about wind it is very true and is why none of the ski areas around Lake Tahoe have put bubbles on any of the recently installed chairs. Wind can lift even automatically shut bubbles on empty chairs, once open the increase in surface area is even greater. Even when they stay closed they can have dire effects due to their impact on windflow around the carrier.
I am quite certain that the chairlifts with bubbles are more affected by high winds than otherwise identical lifts without bubbles.
That much is so obvious it really goes without saying, so obviously I was not referring to that.
Although of course, a fair amount of design effort has gone into ensuring that they are not nearly as much worse in windy conditions as you seem to think.
But the fact they may be more affected by high winds doesn't make your statement (namely that they cannot run in conditions where you would want them) anywhere remotely approaching true. Which is why they have been installed at so many places. You don't benefit from the covers only when there are high winds.
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.
alex_heney wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
Then you leave it open
Not if it's the "automatic" ones!
I have ridden dozens of covered chairs, and never come across one where the cover closes automatically. Even if those exist, I would still expect you to be able to choose to open it again.
The chairs I have used have an ankle height passenger sensor at the loading point which disables the closure mechanism if person(s) are detected. Simple but effective.
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
alex_heney wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
Then you leave it open
Not if it's the "automatic" ones!
I have ridden dozens of covered chairs, and never come across one where the cover closes automatically. Even if those exist, I would still expect you to be able to choose to open it again.
You need to go to a few more different ski area then!
Yes, they exist. And if the bubble can be pushed open mid-ride, the machanism isn't obvious to most, since I noticed most people simply baked in those (while I chose to ski a different sector of the mountain instead).
Last edited by 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 on Fri 10-04-09 23:09; edited 1 time in total
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I have liked chairs with covers on nasty days. However, I am a little concerned at the sustained violent oscillations of an empty chair in one of the videos. It must increase cable fatigue.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
andytb wrote:
alex_heney wrote:
abc wrote:
Not if it's the "automatic" ones!
I have ridden dozens of covered chairs, and never come across one where the cover closes automatically. Even if those exist, I would still expect you to be able to choose to open it again.
The chairs I have used have an ankle height passenger sensor at the loading point which disables the closure mechanism if person(s) are detected. Simple but effective.
Yes, I wasn't counting the ones which close automatically when there is nobody in them. I have seen a fair few of those around.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
abc wrote:
alex_heney wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
abc wrote:
andytb wrote:
While you're skiing you're staying warm with the movement however on a long 7+ minute chairlift you can get cold very quickly with wind or snow. Bubbles go a long way to alleviate this. They also keep the chairs dry and clear of snow as they're automatically closed if a chair is running empty.
But try riding those in warm spring days! The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!!
Then you leave it open
Not if it's the "automatic" ones!
I have ridden dozens of covered chairs, and never come across one where the cover closes automatically. Even if those exist, I would still expect you to be able to choose to open it again.
You need to go to a few more different ski area then!
Yes, they exist. And if the bubble can be pushed open mid-ride, the machanism isn't obvious to most, since I noticed most people simply baked in those (while I chose to ski a different sector of the mountain instead).
I admit, I haven't skied all that many different places (or indeed all that many times altogether). But I'v used them in four different Austrian areas, plus the Dolomites.
I would be amazed if any exist where you can't open them, regardless of what other people may have been doing in the resort where you were. Experience must have shown the operators that they are most often ridden with the covers open when there is a choice, so they surely would not restrict people to the less common choice.
Which resort were these automatic closing ones at?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
alex_heney wrote:
Experience must have shown the operators that they are most often ridden with the covers open when there is a choice, so they surely would not restrict people to the less common choice.
I'm not sure I agree on that one. I, for one, "usually" close the bubble when one exists, even the non-automatic ones. In mid-winter, even when it's not particularly windy nor cold, it's nonetheless more comfortable with the bubble closed. This is the first time I've riden an automatic bubble chair in spring and noticed their drawback for the first time. Yes, the bubble can be "openned" but it won't stay open for long, before it come back down again by itself.
Quote:
Which resort were these automatic closing ones at?
This one was at St Moritz. But there was another one I encountered somewhere in Austria (or was it Switzerland?) which I happily rode with it closed, since it was mid-winter.
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?
queen bodecia wrote:
Do people call these 'hooded' chair lifts 'bubbles' now?
No they don't. "Bubbles" are gondolas. "Chairlifts with bubbles" are chairlifts incorporating bubbles.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
The sun heat up the plastic bubble and you get a 7+ min sauna!!! 
