 Poster: A snowHead
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Vail in Colorado (one of the major US resorts, so maybe an example of maximum service provision) is making a big deal about its lifts operating 30 minutes longer for the rest of this season ...
... to 4pm ...
... and that's just the 'front-side' lifts on the mountain. The rest will close at 2.45, 3.00 or 3.30. Vail's lifts generally open at 8.30.
In Europe, I've caught lifts in Austria in the spring as early at 8.00 (Galzigbahn, St Anton - not sure of current timings), which gives you a great blast on snow groomed overnight, until the ski school rush begins - if that's what you're looking for. In my experience, timing in France is nearer 9.00, unless you can catch a ride with the pisteurs (i.e. unofficial)
A glance at Zermatt's lift timetable indicates base lifts starting from around 8.30 in the spring, with the lifts up the mountain starting 10-30 minutes later, but with relatively late opening in the afternooon (4.45 for several lifts, and as late as 5.20 on the Schwarzsee).
Do ski lifts operate as early or late as you want?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ski lifts should operate form first light to sunset which would ease early morning queses up the mountain and give me the opportunity to ski for as long as I wanted. When in a ski resort my body always wakes up by first light and then it is then just a waiting game till the lifts open. (Not hard enought to skin up yet)
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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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8am to 10pm is just fine by me. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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There is an imminent decsiion on this Telluride day light savings in the US this Saturday. i.e open at 10 close a t 5
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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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Of course, this partly depends on whether skiing views itself as a sport or a pre-lunch answer to arthritis.
Sports centres and fitness clubs in cities tend to open as early as 6.30, providing punters with exercise before work. On the other hand they don't have to make mountains safe by exploding avalanches etc.
I always felt that St Anton struck the right balance - an early lift to the Galzig and - once you got up there at 8 - a draglift operating until nearer 9, when the other lifts progressively opened. That meant that the resort could control its costs, while offering early risers and carvers a work-out.
At Zermatt, there's a train up to the Gornergrat (3089m) as early as 07.10, but maybe they take a dim view of people skiing off from the top, since I can't imagine that the pistes are officially open as early as that.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Goldsmith, Zermatt has the system cracked pretty well I think. Kleine Matterhorn lifts open at 8.30 and if you get first cable cars all the way you can be at the top (almost 4K metres) at 9.00. Alternatively changing at Furi can have you skiing on Gornegrat by 8.45. Not just in the Spring either, this was the case 2 weeks ago and I think also last January when I went. I found the lift times there plenty long enough for me.
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Shouldn't the opening time be related to the time of the year and also the latitude of the facility?
Seems to be asking too much to expect lift to remain open at 5pm near the Northern Scandinavia Christmas time when everything is dark by 3:30 pm.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sat 7-03-09 1:41; edited 1 time in total
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saikee, True, when I went to Geilo in January 2005 I think it was 9.30 - 3.30 with a couple of evenings of floodlit skiing too.
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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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The longest that I skied last season was one day 7:00am to 7:30pm in Meribel at Easter, I had a long lunch though.
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They should open when there is enough demand to make it economically viable to staff and operate them, as well as having in place piste management & safety staff.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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8.30am to 5pm would be fine by me, maybe a bit later/earlier if it's dark though. In Paradiski over New Year the part time operation did annoy me (especially considering the astronomical price of the pass) - lifts in Plan Peisey starting at 9.30am, so they are immediately rammed full with Ski School, then closing at 4.30pm, when plenty of people are still out skiing.
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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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'pends how tired I am.
I guess I could text them when I'm ready in the morning and just give the last liftie a nod when I'm ready for ma tea.
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| saikee wrote: |
Shouldn't the opening time be relatyed to the time of the year and also the latitude of the facility?
Seems to be asking too much to expect lift to remain open at 5pm near the Northern Scandinavia Christmas time when everything is dark by 3:30 pm. |
Quite a lot of resorts do change the lift closing time to take account of lengthening days later in the season, although I don't know of any which change the lift opening time during the season.
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You know it makes sense.
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admin, You and me too, rush to get out in the 'morning' can be a challenge, but helped by the afternoon not starting until 1.00pm sur la continent 
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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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'During the hours of daylight' seems sensible to me, apart from those few resorts that offer floodlit skiing, in which case 'til the lights go out' 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I guess the most dramatic example is Riksgransen which offers a lift-opening time of (from memory) about 11pm in the spring for people who want to ski in the Midnight Sun. The website ...
... http://www.stromma.se/en/Riksgransen/Skiing/ ...
... doesn't seem to reveal the current details.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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RobinS, Interesting, the Montalbert lift was running from 09;00 to 16:45 over Xmas and New year. Until 17:00 over January and until 17:25 for the rest of the season, things obvoiusly vary throughout Paradiski 
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Frosty the Snowman,
When the guests bring my breakfast they often comment that they have seen someone waving to us from the lift, I assume it's Mouth
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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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I noticed on the Serre Chevalier piste map that the lift closing times are later as the season progresses.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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alex_heney, quite a few of the val d'isere and tignes lifts open between 15 minutes and half an hour earlier later in the season.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| They should open when there is enough demand to make it economically viable to staff and operate them, as well as having in place piste management & safety staff. |
Given that most of their tickets are sold before the lifts open on any given day, it will never be economically viable for them to open, as they've already made their money, all they do by opening lifts is lose it. They open lifts because they have to, to compete with other resorts, presumably for the shortest time they think that can get away with. Some N.American resorts (perhaps some Euro resorts) offer 'early bird' tix, which you buy in addition to your pass, usually daily SFAIK, entitling you to go up extra early for 'first tracks'.
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I guess the lifts have to stop in sufficient time to get people off the mountain so that the night-time mountain staff have time to sort out the resort and groom the pistes for the next day. In Switzerland the lifts close at 4pm, and this has seemed a shame when there is still good daylight, however IIRC the lifts in VT also closed well before dusk too and again this seems to waste theoretically good skiing time. However, I do think if a lift system is going to close its probably better for all lifts to close at a predictable time, then at least it's easy to know where you are in terms of planning the second half of the afternoon. I was looking up the lift close times for VT a couple of days ago and the site I looked up rather unhelpfully said that lifts close at various times and to check individual lifts when you are there. Given the size of the resort this is a lot of information to note as you go round the place, and I'm kind of hoping that it might be possible to get a handout when we arrive at Easter which will have the times for the various lifts on it.
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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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They should run 24-7
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| Megamum wrote: |
| In Switzerland the lifts close at 4pm, |
Not everywhere in Switzerland, surely?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The 4pm close after daylight savings in the US really bothers me. By early April the sun won't set until 7pm yet resorts close down at 4pm with tons of sun int he sky. I am sure if they stayed open later they could sell twighlight afternoon tickets.
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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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skip lunch that should do it
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In NZ a lot of the club fields don't stop whilst there are still people prepared to ski from what I've heard.
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You know it makes sense.
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rob@rar, OK, where I stay in Switzerland the lifts close at 4pm. Happy?
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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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Yes thank you, why do you ask?
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Poster: A snowHead
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8am - 4pm seems fine to me and rewards the early birds (assuming no cowdoo fresh trax premium). 24/7 365 is the best answer however 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| grivas wrote: |
| skip lunch that should do it |
Yup, eating sandwiches and cereal bars in the lifts mean you can get maximum amount of skiing out of your day. That's not to say that I don't want them to stay open later though.
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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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| RobinS wrote: |
| 8.30am to 5pm would be fine by me, maybe a bit later/earlier if it's dark though. In Paradiski over New Year the part time operation did annoy me (especially considering the astronomical price of the pass) - lifts in Plan Peisey starting at 9.30am, so they are immediately rammed full with Ski School, then closing at 4.30pm, when plenty of people are still out skiing. |
Sorry but you're timing is wrong Plan Peisey has been 09:15 since the start of the season - for the french holidays (Feb 7 to Mar 7) the opening time came forward to 09:00, didn't stop the parisians from queuing from 08:45 however...
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