Connecting on the lift

[lamby]

Do you often find yourself engaged in fun conversations on the ski-lifts? I seem to. Rarely is it that someone doesn't want to talk, which is fine. But, mostly, people enjoy a little conversation.

My encounters are mostly with everyday people who love the mountains (my peeps!)

Yesterday I met a guy from Reno who has been skiing in the Tahoe region for years. For some time he has had a goal of traveling to other resorts in the west. He now has a Sprinter and is taking a trip around. We enjoyed each others company on a chair ride, then went down the mountain taking different runs, but coincidentally ended up on a chair together when we reached the bottom. We were sort of in synch, and our conversation continued to flow on that second chair ride:-)

Today I met some guys on the chair who had just drove from Minnesota to here (Sun Valley). On the way here they realized that their skinny downhill skis weren't going to cut it, what with fresh snow predicted. They used Facebook Marketplace to purchase a lightly used pair of powder skis from a guy in Jackson Hole. The two of them then drove here, (they plan to hit Jackson on the way home). They shared the powder skis yesterday, swapping skis several times during the day. They loved them, so last night found another deal on another pair of lightly used powder skis from a Sun Valley local. Today they were both on fun gear for the conditions and loving life. Why pay 1000+ for new skis when you can drop 200 and be in blissyville.

Well, such tales are not exciting or really noteworthy, but meeting people who have a sense of adventure and who are into skiing and snowboarding is fun. Hope you are having lots of good times where you are.

If you feel like it, share a story or two here about the people you enjoyed riding the chair with, or who you enjoyed meeting over a shared cocoa-conversation in the lodge.

[pow4ever]

nice similar to craiglist missed connections....

This one time i was at Berkshire East; similar situation - took single line got pair up with cute girl on ski; had a really chat and we keep meeting at the bottom of the chair (took different trail dow) 4-5 times.  She told me her IG (guess this is how young ppl keep in contact now a day).  i for sure thought i will remember but i didn't  
As you say - ppl take ski/snowboard trip by themself and take single line are my people.

[SunSurfer]

Spent an afternoon a few years at Cardrona in NZ riding, and talking, on the chair with a paraplegic adaptive skier. A pair of misfits amongst the softbooters and skiers.

He had been a farmer, injured in a quad bike crash, and now earned a living as a motivational speaker. He needed no assistance to get himself and gear onto a chair but it was certainly easier if only one other person rode with him on the 4 seater we were using. Lots to talk about with our different equipment, and just enjoying the snow.

[SunSurfer]

2019 my sister (a keen skier, so keen she came to MCC with me in 2023) and I were spending some time in Aspen. We were riding separately because she was exploring and I was chowing down on my favourite trails. I rode the Elk Camp gondola with a couple of middle aged male skiers who were Black Americans, rarer in my experience of Aspen than carving snowboarders. Great chat in the gondola, but later at lunch with my sister we met them again and shared a table. They'd ridden the gondola with my sister a little later after meeting me. Our NZ accents gave us away and they recognised me from my sister's description.

Edited March 1 by SunSurfer