 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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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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Since I first heard about such lifts the whole concept struck me as seriously pointless and potentially dangerous - the potential for disaster outweighing any actual advantage?
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back pack, kids, helmet, leaning forward - even the kid said 'put your head back’ ...... perhaps if the lady in question actually concentrated on what was happening, i.e. getting on a moving piece of metal weighing half a tonne then just maybe this might not have happened.
That said - automatic bars seem a crazy idea.
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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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Sounds a horrendous thing - the "nanny state" strikes again. Why on earth doesn't the thing have a sensor like lift doors?
When we were in the IOW and went on the Alum Bay chair lift we got roundly told off and accused of being "some of those skiers who think they can do it safely themselves!" for lifting the bar on approaching the station - their rules are the chair comes to a stop and you wait for the attendant to lower/raise the bar when you get on/off.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Butterfly, in which case you were one of those skiers who think they can do it safely themselves, and rightly so 
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Nothing wrong with it now, the manufacturers have adjusted it, so the bar can be lifted or stopped with very little force.
It's not about the nanny state either. There's no legislation forcing them to put safety bars on chairlifts. It's to keep thousands of gapers happy and spending their tourist $$. The same as the sealed access road and crash barriers at that mountain.
The NZ government couldn't give a flying f**k about us hurting or killing ourselves, it's one of the lovely things about living here 
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Are we saying this chair had an automated bar? If so I can only see disaster every 4th chair .......
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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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Yes it has an automated safety bar, and conveyor belt for loading. It's totally pointless marketing bling that put the price of my season pass up by a hundred bux this year.
The bar comes down very slowly and has no force behind it now, although it was capable of decapitation when it first ran.
It's really not an issue now it's been sorted.
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I blame the boarders and the 'claim culture' ..... 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Unfortunately there's legislation in NZ that prevents us being able to claim or sue for things like that
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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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hang11, just the boarders then
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You know it makes sense.
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The new 8-man chair in Schladming has an automatic bar. It brushed past my helmet a couple of times. Quite unerving. Was also wearing a very slim backpack. Mmmm.
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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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It doesn't have to be automatic.
Earlier this year in Lech we got on a six-man chair with a middle-aged gent and his not-so young son. As soon as they were in the guy whacks the bar down as fast as possible without looking elsewhere. Fortunately, Mrs A had a helmet on - but it still hurt. And he didn't even say sorry - the tw@t.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I always hold the bar when i get on to stop that and make sure everyone is happy before pulling it down. People are so rude. Also at the other end when people try to pull it up early despite a sheer drop and frighening the kids... and me !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Looks like poor design. And even with the force now adjusted, it begs the question of whether with something like a software glitch, it could go up again. All pointless, in the first place. As someone who still feels a sort-of ex-pat kiwi, I'm disturbed to see common sense back home seems to be on the run-down - at least in this case.
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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've been folded in half, quite violently, by some vertigo-ridden halfwit slamming the bar down within a microsecond of their arse hitting the seat.
Had to physically force it back up again to get myself freed, all the while making noises like "hey! argh! mmmf!" while they nonchalently ignored what was happening. No apology afterwards, totally oblivious.
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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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As two snowboarders Mrs CAD and I often have a chair to ourselves. Can't think why
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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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Could not agree more with the comments about the bar slammers - sometimes you are just getting on and it comes whacking down. I have quite short, well very short, legs and have to wiggle back a bit to actually be sitting down on some of them. And those that bring it down really early also bring it down with a big slam. If going with my OH then he knows it is more than his life is worth not to get his hand on the bar really quickly and then he looks round and says, ready, to me at least, and down it comes when all are settled. I know if you have really dinky little kids that you have to be very careful but not a load of adults. And the same at the other end - miles from the top and up it comes, and then sometimes the chair stops and you are swinging away over a big drop.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| cad99uk wrote: |
| The new 8-man chair in Schladming has an automatic bar. It brushed past my helmet a couple of times. Quite unerving. Was also wearing a very slim backpack. Mmmm. |
Even a slim backpack can still make an important difference.
I keep my backpack on for most lifts myself, except sometimes for the very old two man types which are usually more cramped. I have received the occasional knock on the helmet (skiing helmet that is!) as a result, however I do recognise that it's my own fault when it happens.
Lots of lifts do have signs telling people to take off their backpacks although lots of just ignore them. I would be interested to know if such a warning was in place in the instance reported. If there was then it would seem that the lady herself was at least partially to blame.
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I saw someone sail round the top of one of the lifts here, either the Fys or Atray, when we were just passing. We wondered why he was sitting there - then the liftie stopped the lift and then the chap extricated his backpack which was hooked over the back and got off.
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Being tall, I always have to watch out on chairlifts. I now always take my backpack off, and I'm always very alert when getting on so as to avoid these problems. Worst culprits I've discovered are:
Oberjoch chair at First, Grindelwald - the gates as you approach the chair have a bar about 6'3" off the ground, just above the obvious line of sight. I've hit it hard twice whilst trying to hurry onto a chair!
Multiple 3-man chairs at L2A - the bar on the chair doesn't go high enough. It took me about a minute of wriggling to get the bar past the back of my head... also, the distance between the bar and the foot rest isn't big enough - I couldn't put my skis on the bar at all. Needless to say I gave up using the bars, but this does mean I'd probably think twice about going there with children.
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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 always take my pack off, however small.
a) I'm scared of heights and don't like being pushed forwards
b) There is usually a sign telling you to take it off
c) You look pretty silly going round the top hanging off by your caught pack
d) You get hit on the head by the bar
But what really sucks are those bits they attach to the bars to stop kids sliding underneath.
It really hurts when they get you on the knee.
However, having watched a child fall nearly 50' from a chair, I'll put up with bruised knees.
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| Alan McGregor wrote: |
But what really sucks are those bits they attach to the bars to stop kids sliding underneath.
It really hurts when they get you on the knee.
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It REALLY hurts when they get you somewhere more intimate!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Thank you so much for highlighting this hazard Fat Bob.
Chairlifts bars can be really dangerous.
It is one of the reasons I wear a helmet - even on the lifts you can never be to careful 
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You know it makes sense.
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Backpack
I had a nervous moment earlier this year when leaving a chair. The buckle of a strap had got caught between the seat and back. I knew instantly what it was when I couldn't stand up, so I sat back down and a few sharp tugs on the strap broke the clip and freed it up.
Yes I know I shouldn't wear a backpack on a chair and at least now I make sure there are no dangly bits, but if this had been a kid there is no way they would have had the strength to free themselves the way I did.
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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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New Zealand is certainly not a Nanny State. And there is no incentive for any operator to protect his customers from danger, or himself against litigation, as compensation by way of negligence claims was long ago replaced by an (inadequate) State compensation scheme.
The USA is different. Negligence claims are often determined by juries, who are rather keen on exemplary damages. So there is a legal incentive to look after your customers' safety. Curiously, though, the USA is where you find skiers most anxious to lift the bar prematurely - well before the top of the lift. I put it down to the ingrained American love of "Freedom." Many American skiers ride the chairs without ever using the safety bar.
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Poster: A snowHead
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In St Anton and surrounding area they've installed "VASI" like lights at the ends of the chair lifts, with notices telling you not to lift the bar until you see the green light.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Kel wrote: |
| .... Yes I know I shouldn't wear a backpack on a chair and at least now I make sure there are no dangly bits,..... |
have you been caught by the kiddies bar attachment too then ?
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