 Poster: A snowHead
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Looking to get away with some friends but it turns out that one of them had a fear of heights and is really looking for gondola uplifts only. Anyone get any experiences of resorts that have lots of this type of lift. I can't get my head around the difference between a chair and a gondola as they all seem the same height from the floor!, but then again I'm not the one with the phobia.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Venice
has no chairlifts
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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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Frosty The Snowman, I seem to recall that Meribel claims to have the most gondolas, but that might be counting all the sections, but you can do most of the skiing from them.
Tougnette 1&2
Saluire 1&2
Rhodos 1&2
All the way up from Brides le Bain (but who cares?)
Pas du Lac 1&2
Plattieres 1,2&3
Mont Vallon
Apologies for any spelling mistakes. Hope this helps.
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Frosty the Snowman, just mention to them that most of the recent accidents involving lifts have been with gondolas or cable cars.
...then again...maybe not 
Saas fee is good for that. They have very few chair lifs (I can only think of 1)....but the downside is that they have T-bars instead.
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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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On an even more stupid level (to my previous post) La Grave is 100% gondolas, because a gondola is the only lift - but the skiing is pretty scary!
Most strategic uplift in Zermatt is mountain railways (cog or underground funicular), gondolas or cablecars (which I assume are OK too). You could probably easily avoid any chairlifts with careful planning of a day's skiing, and still enjoy vast runs and fun.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Should be ok at Cairngorm ...
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Lateral thinking - that low lying place in Germany (see Obscure German Resorts Threads). 55 lifts - every one a drag. A drag for anyone in the party who isn't frightened of heights 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Alpe d'Huez has a lot of gondolas and cable cars. Two stage DMC feeding a gondola. Another gondola which now feeds two more stages (not been there since they've been there). Gondolas down to Oz in both directions and big cable car from Vaujany plus a low lying gondola. You can get to most areas either by gondola or drag. However if you suffer from any form of vertigo I'd avoid going to Auris as you have to go down into a valley on a chair facing forwards which is scary at the best of times.
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Elizabeth B, true at Saas Fee - we only went on one chair lift - but some of the cablecars get really high up...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
On an even more stupid level (to my previous post) La Grave is 100% gondolas, because a gondola is the only lift - but the skiing is pretty scary!
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Don't you count the drags at the top of La Grave?
regards,
Greg
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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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Frosty, just fleshing out the point above - and using Kenzie's link to the lift maps - you'll see that there are no chairlifts out of Zermatt itself. Working left to right the three strategic systems are based on the Sunnegga-Blauherd-Rothorn (funicular-gondola-cablecar), the Gornergrat (cog railway to top, then the option of cablecars beyond to Hohtali and Stockhorn), and the big system on the right which involves gondola or cablecar to Furi-Trockener Steg-Klein Matterhorn, or Schwarzsee.
The three systems can also be interlinked without using chairlifts.
On each of the three systems you can enjoy vertical descents of 1000m/1500m, or even up to 2000m, without catching any chairs. The only chairs you'd be most tempted to use would be Kumme-Rothorn, or Patrularve-Blauherd (further down) but there's a brilliant run to skirt around all this and continue all the way down to Zermatt if the snow's good.
As for skiing over to Cervinia, there is an option to get back to the top of Zermatt's ski area without using chairs, but you need to be sure that the cablecar is working. The other way back, which many people use, does involve a chair up to the ridge.
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You know it makes sense.
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gregh, thanks for reminding me!
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Frosty the Snowman, A little off theme but I also have a fear of heights, as in I'm about to faint whenever I see a big drop, which is very woosie for someone who would like to be seen as 70s man. It was a significant factor in my not going skiing until recently.
You might tell your friend that I now find myself more comfortable on chairs (and drags). Why? On a chair you can always focus on a distant peak/object and not have a feeling of 'depth' whilst you can not always get that perspective in gondolas or the like due to the sitting/standing position. IMHO he/she is better off finding resorts without cliff/drop-off perspectives ( which frighten the s*** out of me) so tree-lined pistes within resorts are good.
IMHO they need to change the criteria - maybe kramer can add more from a medical perspective.
Gosh - a serious post from 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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eEvans, The lady in question has skied 3 times and her preference comes from experience. Thanks anyway>
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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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Frosty the Snowman in English, gondola normally means take-yer-skis-off enclosed cabins. Chairlift normally means ski-in-sit-down-ski-out chairs. Of course none of this applies in the Alps whereupon chairlift becomes variously télésiège, funivia, or gondola, depending which side of the border you slide down. But regardless of uplift conveyance the distance to ground is, as you observe, usually the same these days.
So lets deal with the real issue. Which is whether your friend is willing to continue limiting you and your group because of their irrational fear that the safety bar will always fail and they will always somehow fall out of the chair and hurt themselves. Personally, I think don't think you should play party to their obsession. Really, you should go somewhere that has only chairs. Leave phobic friend to flop around by self, they'll soon be driven by loneliness and frustration to overcome their self-limiting phobia . 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Courchevel 1850, you can defo get top to bottom on gondolas, and I think over to Meribel and back on gondolas...
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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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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| eEvans, The lady in question has skied 3 times and her preference comes from experience. Thanks anyway> |
That I understand! It is a very personal and inexiplicable situation. You do actually think you are going to die.
However do suggest to husband/partner/lover what I have suggested in terms of support when the inevitable telecabine/telesieges/collywobbles happen.
I've skied a bit more than her and my preference originally was exactly the same as hers.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
However if you suffer from any form of vertigo I'd avoid going to Auris as you have to go down into a valley on a chair facing forwards which is scary at the best of times.
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Chris Reed, I don't suffer with height but I can confirm there was a sharp intake of breath as my chair whipped over the edge of the valley and started decending the valley wall 
We went over once and never again, It was very icey over there and quite steep if I remember correctly.
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Wouldn't a blindfold be a much simpler solution?
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I can't believe no-one  has chipped in with Murren? Funiclar railway to resort (from Lauterbrunnen if there's enough snow to ski down) then cable cars all the way to the top of the Schillthorn. Does mean that they'll only have a few runs that they'll be able to get to, but it's a start.
Or buy them touring kit and skins? Let her walk up.
I understand insofar as I have phobia about giant hogweed.
Seriously, I kid you not. Nearly crashed a car once as I came round an unfamilar corner to be confronted by a stand of the monsters. Even finding a decent image has got me out in a cold sweat and collywobbles.
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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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| Quote: |
Leave phobic friend to flop around by self, they'll soon be driven by loneliness and frustration to overcome their self-limiting phobia
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Manda, Problem is she looks great in ski pants and I just love following her down the hill 
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Frosty the Snowman, mountain biking then? You'll get an added Lycra effect too...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Frosty the Snowman, Now you know better than to play with the little people who live under bridges
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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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Frosty the Snowman,
Have a look at this website , it list's all the types of lifts and where they are located.
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Frosty the Snowman,
A few possibilities:
Serre Chevalier; Excluding Monetier and the Cucumelle area you can ski virtually the whole domain without using chairlifts; slight caveat there was a thread here saying they have some new chairs for next season if they take away some of the exisiting lifts I dont know what effect this will have.
St Luc in Switzerland you can ski this area without leaving the ground the access lift is a funicular and thereafter it is all T Bars very pretty sunny area as well.
Davos
The last time I went there there were no important chairs that was ten years ago though so I dont know how things have changed.
A really tremendous area with great skiing for all abilities.
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You know it makes sense.
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Frosty the Snowman,
I applaud your attempt to help out the girl but this is probably compromising the hol' a bit too much.
I would try to get her to confront her fear of a chair and the fact that there is NO difference in that, a gondola or a cable car. As long as they stay up there you are ok. It doesn't sound practicable to base a ski hol' on not useing al the available lifts so if she wants to keep going she is going to have to find people with lots of tolerance, overcome her phobia or don't go.
I accept I don't quite understand the extent of her fear but I know a friend who cured his fear of flying by going up in a 4 seater plane.
If she is prepared to use a gondola she can't be that scared.
I'm not sure I would go to your lenghts of finding a resort to overcome this. It must be a mighty nice bum..!!
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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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Al the lifts up from Ischgl are Gondola's (2) & a Funitel .
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