lift line comments

[CarveItUp]

im often the only person with hardboots at blue mountain, i usually get all sorts of questions, a bit repetetive though

There are quite a few of us that ride Blue in Collingwood on a regular basis. There's often a thread wondering what day everyone is going up before the weekend.

b.

[bjvircks]

I wonder if the lack of chat in euro lines and lifts with strangers comes from them creating their own portable private zones. I do know that in spas over there in some settings speaking or making any kind of disruption of the serenity is strictly forbidden. Last January in Germany I had just left a sauna and was standing alone on an outdoor overlook viewing the Alps when an attractive woman came along and stood nearby. (within 5 ft) When I said hello she shot me a pained look and promptly left. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were both completely naked?

[astrokel]

Nah, in Europe its a whole different ball game.

It's actually pretty amazing how rough the lift lines are in Europe. And it's not only the lift lines but any line you get into. I almost got into a fight because some huge Austrian guy reached OVER me (I'm rarely the largest guy in the room) cutting in front or rather over me to get his lift ticket at the ticket window. My freinds had to hold me back from leaping in and getting utterly destroyed by this gorilla ;) . There's also some kind of thing that makes them think that if they put their skis/board on top of the back of your board that it'll somehow make the line move faster in front of you. Reminds me of driving in NYC for Pete's sake.

[Jutta]

I guess we're just more used to crowded conditions. Crowded cities, crowded countryside, crowded runs, crowded lift lines. A very crowded spring break day at an American resort is still fairly empty by European standards. The only time I've ever encountered European conditions over here was the first few weekends that A-Basin was open: 30 min lift lines, 5 min run.

Across the pond, there is no regulated standing in line: it's a big funnel and cutting in line is an art form. Notes:

• Always stay on the sides, it's faster than the middle.

• Do not - under any circumstances - let anyone move past your shoulders.

• Kids are best picked up and carried, swinging skis will give you more room.

• Being small is actually an advantage: the smaller you are the easier you can slip into an opening.

But is is admittedly rough; poles can and will be used as "weapons", it's certainly not a topsheet friendly environment. Until I learned to simply be patient, I routinely "lost" my hubby in lift lines and had to wait 15 minutes at the top for him to fianally catch up with me.

BTW, my dad's mantra is "I'm not cutting in line, I'm simply utilizing available space."

On the no-talking issue: yep, it's cultural. People tend to go places in groups and stay with their buddies, "outsiders" tend to be regarded as somwhat suspicious. (And that's not only directed towards foreigners but towards all people.) Of course there are exceptions, but spending a 20 min lift ride in silence is by no means uncommon.

[bobdea]

well my first time out on plates today got the comment "Is your board broken?". i had a good laugh. A guy that worked there said he's glad to see "one of these on the slopes," even though he gave up riding his alpine board. Turns out hardbooters are actually common at wachussett

email me sometime and we can hookup!

[mnovak]

I feel left out -- few ever notice the gear, but do notice the actually carving -- especially if there is a group of us carving together.

[Baka Dasai]

Australia is a little more like Europe than like America when it comes to lift-line culture and the general reluctance to start a conversation with strangers.

But Japan is something else - even when it's crowded and the lines are long, people are extremely reluctant to get on a lift with people they don't know. It's frustrating to stand in a lift-line while half-empty chairs go whizzing up the mountain.

But it was fun to push through and jump onto an otherwise empty spot on a chair, and watch the looks of horror as your fellow chair-riders realised they would have to share their chair with a stranger, and, possibly even worse, a big scary foreigner.

But there are lots of alpine riders, and they were always interested in talking to me.

[FTA2R]

"But is is admittedly rough; poles can and will be used as "weapons",

what!!! LOL funny but f that. I never had the chance to ski in Spain when I lived there (or any of the other countries i visited). how does this work? do they actually swing the pole and make contact? or do they use teh pole as a sword/light saber to keep you at bay while they move fwd?

European carvers, please describe this comical phenomonon

===

Barry

[astrokel]

• Kids are best picked up and carried, swinging skis will give you more room.

I love that... Swing your kids around your head and make some room!!! :lol:

[Jutta]

Well, you'd be amazed how well some people can get others to move along (or out of the way) with strategic pole placement: a slight shove on the back of a binding will get almost anyone going and a pole placed in just the right spot can keep you stationary long enough for your "attacker" to squeeze by.

Along more aggressive lines: Topsheet hits are common (in the late 80s I had a pair of those yellow Voelkl Renntiger skis that ended up being mostly silver after a few seasons), I've had my (ski) bindings opened by others and occasionally you get people who experience something like "lift line rage" who will actually poke or hit you if they don't approve of your conduct. I'm not saying I never deserved it, but even as an innocent bystander you've got to beware...

[Gleb]

email me sometime and we can hookup!

hell ya man! The more the merrier. I was about to go today but i figured i should actually start studying for finals. First one is saturday morning:flamethro

[carvedog]

You guys get really amusing comments. In Germany and Austria--and I guess in every european resort--you don't hear anything similar. I guess it's because a) hardboots, though scarcely spotted nowadays, are still more common here than in the US and Canada; b) of a cultural difference: usually strangers don't chat with each other in lift lines. It's not unusual to share a chair lift with somebody you don't know and not a single word is spoken.

I dont let anybody get away with that. Usually I am so effing jacked up by the time I get to the bottom that I explode on the lift with a non-stop stream of adrenaline fueled chatter.

I get lots of comments on the Burners. Everything from the skiers "Why did you stop there?", to the one guy who blatantly asked "What the hell do you call that thing?". My response: A low altitude flight simulator with the ultimate traction control device. That gets some funny looks.

[snow|3oarder]

Wow...I hope these comments about Europe are not true. Its so disappointing that people behave in a way thats so uncivilized. I would get angry quickly.

[Guest astan100]

I got a great response just 2 days ago. I was waiting by the liftline looking for my friend and a really old ski instructor comes up to me.

He looks my board up and down and goes,

"Finally, someone riding a real snowboard"

and pushes off.

IT was great!

[Guest jager]

This may be mean but if someone is crowding me in the line, I just turn, smile sweetly and ask them to back up a bit. They do and I bring my tail up and give a few good tail slaps. Then I turn back, smile sweetly again, and say "Thank you! The snow on top creates too much drag you know!" Then I turn around and enjoy my space. And no I don't tail slap anything but the ground. No skis, boards, or people! LOL!

[dantheman0177]

Alpine gear is NEVER seen on the hills in Oz, so I get a few comments. Usually just the same stuff everyone else has been mentioning though.

I

"Finally, someone riding a real snowboard"

You know, this would make a fantastic slogan for a T-shirt or sticker or something!

[kjl]

This may be mean but if someone is crowding me in the line, I just turn, smile sweetly and ask them to back up a bit. They do and I bring my tail up and give a few good tail slaps. Then I turn back, smile sweetly again, and say "Thank you! The snow on top creates too much drag you know!" Then I turn around and enjoy my space. And no I don't tail slap anything but the ground. No skis, boards, or people! LOL!

I usually just raise one edge of the board up. People can wreck their bases on my square tail if they want ;)

[Gleb]

I usually just raise one edge of the board up. People can wreck their bases on my square tail if they want ;)

that is quite possibly the best idea ive ever heard.