Poster: A snowHead
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Safety bars are - I think - universal on European chairlifts. In America they are not, which comes as a shock to some people.
Following two recent incidents in which children fell from chairlifts in US resorts there's a renewed debate as to whether they should be there, but not everyone subscribes to their value.
This report - Are ski lifts dangerous for kids? - from The Salt Lake Tribune
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Even so, Patton* said, studies have failed to show that using restraints reduces the number of people who may fall out of a chair. Only New York and Vermont require patrons to use restraint bars. Every other state, including Utah, operates on the volunteer system. |
* Lift operations manager for Snowbird, Utah
Have you fallen off a chairlift, or have you watched a child fall off a chairlift?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have you fallen off a chairlift, or have you watched a child fall off a chairlift?
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Yes.
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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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Did it have a safety bar ... err ... and was it down?
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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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"Safety bars are - I think - universal on European chairlifts." - Nope. Rode one in Espace Killy with no bar at all. Can't for the life of me remember where, but remember reaching back to pull the bar down and there wasn't one there. OK, it wasn't the highest chair in the world, but you would have broken a few bones if you fell from it.
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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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Ernst Goldsmith wrote: |
watched a child fall off a chairlift? |
Watched from the ground as a kiddie fell off in 3v, saw piste patrol aftermath of what could only have been a similar incident in Les Arcs. Big lifts (6 person 3v, 8 person LA) both with safety bars but no magnetick system.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Monium wrote: |
"Safety bars are - I think - universal on European chairlifts." - Nope. Rode one in Espace Killy with no bar at all. Can't for the life of me remember where, but remember reaching back to pull the bar down and there wasn't one there. OK, it wasn't the highest chair in the world, but you would have broken a few bones if you fell from it. |
Are you sure it wasn't one of the older style ones with barriers that pull around from the side, rather then overhead? Those usually have no footrests even when pulled into place.
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alex_heney, could have been, but didn't see anything like that - there didn't seem to be anything behind or to the sides of the chair.
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depends how hard you push them
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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 get very nervous when my youngest (nearly 6) is on a chairlift. She's as skinny as a rake and can easily fit through the gap between the safety bar and the chair seat, unless there's one of the "KidStop" attachments. Although her legs reach the footrests, the weight of the skis and boots just seem to drag her inexorably towards the gap. I always keep a firm hold of her - probably un-necessarily and much to her anguish - until it's time to disembark.
She's survived a week of lessons using chairlifts without me being involved, so maybe I'm just a nervous SkiDad!
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