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For ****'s Sake, Let's Fill Up Chairlifts

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I LOVE to share with strangers - Ideally getting amongst a little "we want to be together" group and making them split up Laughing
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:
try some of your pigeon French/ German too

Or your budgie Spanish, or pidgin perhaps.
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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?
I filled one up at chamrousse and the pi**ed off snowboarder who was expecting 2 seats sat on me, gave me a filthy look (don't know how he expected me to get off at that point) and squashed me against the end for my troubles. They were english too. rolling eyes

I do like to ride with my students while teaching, but surely 5 minutes without your friends is not the end of the world?

red 27, Laughing Laughing
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bum wrote:
"
I wonder whether us Brits are particularly bad at this. We seem to have this innate repulsion to sharing a space with a stranger and conversing with them..."

This is, for some reason, true. I have being skied with my 17yo son and it's quite common to see the people avoiding to take a lift with us when they realize we are not speaking English. "...innate repulsion to sharing a space..." C'mon - What a euphemistic way to say that. Confused

"...Next time, try sharing a lift with a stranger and talking to them. Most Europeans do speak some English, else it might be a chance to try some of your pigeon French/ German too. You might find that the stranger doesn't actually scam you or punch you in the face and mug you, but holds a decent and interesting conversation!..."

Good point, I do agree with it! Several times I've had quick but amazing speaks with people from many places around the world.
Little Angel Little Angel Little Angel Little Angel
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wtf .... "i dont like being responsible for raising/lifting the bar " ........ ????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????


Well don't then

see where that gets you
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Randomsabreur wrote:
I try to avoid going up next to a novice looking boarded - I don't want to be taken out on arrival! Even more nervous now after an experience of being lined up with 4 others for a 6 man chair. 2 of the 4 were boarders and the last was a small child. Boarders fail to shuffle forwards appropriately (lack of competence/laziness) and get on the lift early and sprawl across it. There is now nowhere for me or unrelated small child to sit. Lifties rugby tackle me and child to floor so lift passes over our heads - then help us up, get us organised and on the chair about 3 later! Didn't really appreciate having to go up lift with only a small child for company as I don't like heights or having to be responsible for lowering and raising the bar. I like to get on, have the bar brought down and hold on nice and tightly!

Since then, I'm a bit nervy about getting on a chair with lots of boarders - if the lifties hadn't been on the ball, it would have been pretty painful!


or maybe you went too far forwards wink
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
If the pilchards filled up the chairs, then they''d all be on the slopes rather than waiting in their queues. And you wouldn't want that either...

Let's hear it for singles lines.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
sev112, roflol
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rayscoops wrote:
Randomsabreur wrote:
I try to avoid going up next to a novice looking boarded - I don't want to be taken out on arrival! Even more nervous now after an experience of being lined up with 4 others for a 6 man chair. 2 of the 4 were boarders and the last was a small child. Boarders fail to shuffle forwards appropriately (lack of competence/laziness) and get on the lift early and sprawl across it. There is now nowhere for me or unrelated small child to sit. Lifties rugby tackle me and child to floor so lift passes over our heads - then help us up, get us organised and on the chair about 3 later! Didn't really appreciate having to go up lift with only a small child for company as I don't like heights or having to be responsible for lowering and raising the bar. I like to get on, have the bar brought down and hold on nice and tightly!

Since then, I'm a bit nervy about getting on a chair with lots of boarders - if the lifties hadn't been on the ball, it would have been pretty painful!


or maybe you went too far forwards wink


That's where I went wrong! The little red line painted on the boarding area level with where the lifties stand actually represents the tally of silly people they've Rugby tackled out of the way and fed to the snow snakes...

I know am irrational in my dislike of chairlifts - just can't seem to stop being nervous. When I first went on a chairlift, I hated having to reach up and back to grab the bar, because I had to shift my weight marginally towards the edge of the chair! Fear of heights reduction is work in progress!
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Prior to reading this thread I was very sceptical about autism. It has always sounded to me like a nonsense modern made-up condition. Like Aids and 'depression'.

However, it has now become clear that most skiers are actually worse than Rain Man.
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paulio wrote:
Prior to reading this thread I was very sceptical about autism. It has always sounded to me like a nonsense modern made-up condition. Like Aids and 'depression'.

However, it has now become clear that most skiers are actually worse than Rain Man.


I think that deserves my first ROFL ever!
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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.
Randomsabreur, that little red line is there for you not to cross, not necessarilly for you to stand on, I rarely go right up to it on my board Little Angel
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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
They need better management like the US at peak times. A singles queue would also be a step forward.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
AdrianV wrote:
British style is all about finding the point in the queue furthest from the front and standing behind it.


That is so true Adrian. I've seen just the same thing with McDonalds in France, never get behind a queue with Brits in it.

Really skiing with Brits you have to accept the fanny factor. Fannying about in lift lines, fannying about at the top getting all their gear together, fannying about half way down when they need to stop for a cuppatea, fannying about 10 minutes after leaving the mountain chalet when they need to stop for a pee somewhere comfy, fannying around trying to find their pecker in a one piece ski suit or some 300 quid salopettes with with more zips than a gimp outfit (why they can't just pee in the lift line or out of the gondola door I don't know?).
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
davidof wrote:
AdrianV wrote:
British style is all about finding the point in the queue furthest from the front and standing behind it.


That is so true Adrian. I've seen just the same thing with McDonalds in France, never get behind a queue with Brits in it.

Really skiing with Brits you have to accept the fanny factor. Fannying about in lift lines, fannying about at the top getting all their gear together, fannying about half way down when they need to stop for a cuppatea, fannying about 10 minutes after leaving the mountain chalet when they need to stop for a pee somewhere comfy, fannying around trying to find their pecker in a one piece ski suit or some 300 quid salopettes with with more zips than a gimp outfit (why they can't just pee in the lift line or out of the gondola door I don't know?).


The obvious exception being anyone who posts on here - everyone on here knows everything about everything, and it is anyone who dares to question that who is wrong
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
davidof, The Voice of Reason, Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
davidof, Laughing Laughing Laughing But I do find it difficult to pee in the manner you suggest, when wearing my fartbag. Toofy Grin
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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?
AdrianV wrote:
British style is all about finding the point in the queue furthest from the front and standing behind it.


Well of course, queue jumpers should be jumped on and forced to the back. Unfortunately most people say nothing.

However singles lines are a great American invention and should be universally adopted.
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Hurtle, You need a She Pee then!



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clarky999, Shocked Laughing
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Hurtle, I think it was originally designed for festivals, but I know a few girls who use them whilst kayaking - saves faffing around taking a drysuit etc off.
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easiski wrote:
I filled one up at chamrousse and the pi**ed off snowboarder who was expecting 2 seats sat on me, gave me a filthy look (don't know how he expected me to get off at that point) and squashed me against the end for my troubles. They were english too. rolling eyes

You got poles, he doesn't. Smile
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Well, this isn't chairlifts but gondolas:

At Serfaus last week they had a new system for loading onto gondolas called 'Easy Boarding' Toofy Grin And it was. The queue was funnelled into two holding pens side by side, each containing space for 6 or 8 people, marked by yellow squares on the ground. A system of red and green lights indicated what to do. One holding pen filled up a gondola when it came round then the next pen got into the next gondola. Meanwhile the first holding pen filled up with the next set of people. Although it did need a liftie to keep people on the right track Madeye-Smiley But it did make a change with no jostling, almost quite civilised Very Happy

This is a picture of it kinda in action, although the right hand pen is roped off as there weren't enough people.

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Do the sceptic tanks still have the billy no mates que's
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Dr John, wasn't suggesting people should be excluded from chairlifts. I meant they would not want to split up their family to fill individual seats that weren't filled.
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Quote:

they would not want to split up their family to fill individual seats that weren't filled.

the beauty of a singles line is that nobody has to split up their family if they don't want to - though many families would rather get up the mountain ten minutes quicker than wait in a big line just for the pleasure of travelling up with each other. I can't really see any arguments against having singles lines when it's busy. Today I was in a group of 4, and as there were no lift queues anywhere, we didn't cause anybody any problem riding on lifts as a group. But when it's busy, letting lifts go up half full rather than be parted for a few minutes from one's companions is definitely antisocial. A singles line gives people the best of both worlds.
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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.
pam w, There are singles lines in Engelberg, it isn't just an American thing.
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 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
Randomsabreur wrote:

I know am irrational in my dislike of chairlifts - just can't seem to stop being nervous. When I first went on a chairlift, I hated having to reach up and back to grab the bar, because I had to shift my weight marginally towards the edge of the chair! Fear of heights reduction is work in progress!

You need to get yourself on the cliffhanger at glencoe....
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
rjs wrote:
pam w, There are singles lines in Engelberg, it isn't just an American thing.


There are in most of the (mainly Austrian) resorts I've been to too.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Quote:

There are singles lines in Engelberg, it isn't just an American thing......

There are in most of the (mainly Austrian) resorts I've been to too.


Part of the reason for the OP (and the half empty chairlifts that I witnessed) was that there was no sign of any singles lines in the Zillertal in Austria Sad .
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I've not skied in a huge number of European resorts, but I've never find a singles line in any of them. the only place I have (as I've not skied in north America) is New Zealand. It just seems such a straightforward and easy suggestion, it's not obvious why more resorts don't do it.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Loads of single lines all over Austria. They are just not signposted all the time as they work on the principle of people using their eyes and common sense. A Liftie I chat to in one resort said that they don't always put the sign up as some people seem to think they have a God-given right to take a whole group through, a bit à la ESF style!

I ski a lot on my own and usually use the single line if there's a crowd. Sometimes I get straight on, sometimes not! It's funny to watch how it galvanizes people to fill the chairs when they see people in the singles line! Laughing
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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?
Yes, I've seen lots of singles lanes in Austria. But to be honest we don't really seem to be in a long enough q to bother with them. In fact in Serfaus last week I don't think we had any queues at all.
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Quote:

However, it has now become clear that most skiers are actually worse than Rain Man.


Why's that? Because we like to maximise the amount of skiing we do in a day and minimise the time we spend waiting in queues?

On that basis we may also have some "Rain Man" type drinkers - ie those who prefer consuming alcohol to standing in a massive queue at the bar. Or "Rain Man" travellers - who prefer sitting on a bus to waiting at a bus stop Puzzled
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Haha, yeah, funny joke yeah?
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Get a Life!
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Quote:

Get a Life!


Who? Shouldn't we all get a life and be doing something different to Snowheads on a Saturday morning?

And by the way I wasn't trying to crack a joke earlier. Not meant to be humorous - just a straightforward analogy or two.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

some people seem to think they have a God-given right to take a whole group through, a bit à la ESF style!

well if they're all standing in a single line, and filling up the gaps in the chairs, what's the problem with that? that is what singles lines are, aren't they? For individuals or groups who are happy to be parted from their bestest friend if it means getting up the mountain a bit quicker.
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pam w, I'm talking about the ESF channel that the instructors used to use to take their groups through, especially in high season. As the ESF paid the government a huge tax for the right to teach on the mountains, the lift companies had ski school channels. These were particularly well used during the peak periods much to the annoyance of the ordinary punters in the crush at the main gate.

I'm not sure if this is still the case as it is a while now since I skied in France, but I did see them a couple of seasons back in the Grand Massif, Aravais and the Serre Che areas. As I was able to use them with my classes, I did not really worry too much about the hoi-polloi in the cattle crush!

Toofy Grin
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Samerberg Sue, oh yes, they exist. not just ESF but other proper ski schools can use them (e.g. in Les Deux Alpes easiski and her pupils can use them), but the rule round here is they go "1 sur 2" with the punters in the regular queue. But that's not the same concept as a "singles line", in that they will take half the seats on ALL the chairs going up - not wait for gaps. In France, if they wanted to have a "singles line" - which would be a good idea - it would have to be a separate line from the ski school line.

It's not an issue I think about much, normally, as I don't do lift queues. But when resorts are busy, and some idiots still insist on waiting till they can go with their bestest friend, even if it means sending up chairs half empty, I do think the singles line has a useful role to play. I wonder if they exist anywhere in France?
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