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Is it okay to save your spot on a lift line?

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
I saw this picture taken at Alta on Twitter, and it's something I've never seen before: people using their skis to save their spot on a lift line. Is this common at some skis areas? How do you feel about it?And have you ever done it?


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nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hmmm I'm guessing they are all staying at Slope side accommodations.

Not sure what happens when someone takes too long to get back out there? ??? Skis get tossed out of line? Could be a real mess of crabby people?

last week at Gore people were cutting the line to 'join" their friends. Finally a bunch of us said NO MORE- go to the end of the line- Only one family ignored everyone and cut the line adding 8 people! nice that some did teach their kids manners and went to the end of the line, as it should be...

I always thought one should wait for friends Outside the corral not wait inside so the late comers can line jump, line jumping is rude, this seems pretty close to that..
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
I always thought one should wait for friends Outside the corral not wait inside so the late comers can line jump, line jumping is rude, this seems pretty close to that..

Yes! I can't tell you how many times I've encountered people "waiting for friends" inside the corrals. You know how some restaurants won't seat you until your entire party has arrived? This should apply to corrals, too: Don't wait there until your entire party is present.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I’m just confused about how that would work. I suppose they “lined up” waiting for the lift to begin spinning in the morning.

It’s all a little foolish. But yes, quite rude.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I’ve seen a few people do this in line early on a powder day. Not anything to this extent though! It was more like a few sprinkled in where there were others waiting in the same row already and people left their skis to go into the restroom or something before lifts were spinning. I was okay with that as I think the purpose was mostly to not have a single try to join in.. ya know, when that was still a thing. However, I do remember clearly my thoughts that I’d be kicking right through their skis if the lift started and they hadn’t returned! Haha
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I saw this picture taken at Alta on Twitter, and it's something I've never seen before: people using their skis to save their spot on a lift line. Is this common at some skis areas? How do you feel about it?And have you ever done it?
Usually it's just a few pairs of skis from people who arrived 30+ minutes before the lifts open at 9:15. I think I saw that last Saturday the Wildcat parking lot was full by 7:30am. Hard to expect people to stand in line for 2 hours. Normally it's possible to be inside the GMD ground floor cafe area. But that's a private business, not a day lodge. So it's closed to the public this season.

Bottom line is that it's probably not a big deal since everyone understands the process.

Apparently something similar happens at Perisher (Australia) for the early birds who show up roughly 30 min before the lifts spin. They leave their skis, then go get a cup of coffee.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Hmmm I'm guessing they are all staying at Slope side accommodations.
Just the opposite for Alta. The people who get in line early on are those who got up at the crack of dawn to drive up the canyon to get first tracks on a powder day. Even more important this season since the way Alta is limiting capacity is based on closing road access once the parking lots (Wildcat, Albion, along the road in Town of Alta) are full. Meaning once parking is gone, there is someone at the base of the canyon actively turning around people unless they have a specific reason to drive up the canyon and not park, or they have lodging reservations. Info in provided on a Twitter account AltaAlerts and other Twitter accounts related to the canyon roads.

When a road closure goes into effect at 6:00am, there are people who will drive up the canyon before the closure in order to be first in line. Of course, can't put out skis in a lift line at that hour since the lanes are set up until closer to 9:15.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Common at Taos Ski Valley but not to that extent.
I've never seen more than about a dozen pairs of skis. I don't bother to start looking from Alta Lodge until around 9:00. Mostly I've been there during late season, but did an impromptu stay a few years ago to catch a powder storm towards the end of a trip out west.

Nothing about this season is normal, except the fact that powder hounds will show up in big numbers for a powder day.
 

badger

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have also seen this at Taos. Nowhere else in my experience. My feeling is that this practice should not be allowed due to the fact it clutters up the access and people could trip on all that stuff just laying there, and also it is just plain rude. Kind of like leaving your stuff on the floor in a line for the big C vaccine and hanging out elsewhere so you don't have to stand around waiting. It's not the same as having been admitted to a theatre and then dropping a jacket on your chosen seat so you can go to the bathroom.
 

bsskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
At Alta. I’ve always seen this scenario (never had to participate), but only having a few years experience there assumed it was an accepted practice and part of the culture. At Big Sky, it’s never been common, but has begun to happen. Lifties are trying to stop the practice because the dolts who think it’s acceptable don’t know they’re lining up in the ski patrol’s snow machine path. I’m guessing this type of behavior is allowed (or disapproved) mountain by mountain.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
At Alta. I’ve always seen this scenario (never had to participate), but only having a few years experience there assumed it was an accepted practice and part of the culture.
I agree it's part of the culture by the powder hounds who drive up to Alta. Those I've noticed on a regular basis have clearly been skiing Alta for decades. What's different this season is that the lift lines at Collins aren't straight. They bend 90 degrees so that the extra length goes up the hill instead of out towards the parking lot. That way the extended length doesn't interfere with other traffic, whether of people or machinery.

A story . . . some of you have read my posts about Naomi Wain. She was a regular at Alta Lodge for about 50 years. Even in her 90s, she skied every midweek morning. I was lucky enough to get to know her a little after I started staying annually in April without my daughter. Naomi was always at the base of Collins by 9:00, 15 minutes before opening time. Her birthday was in early April. One year I saw that she and a good friend were in line, but they would get 2nd chair. The lanes hadn't even been set up yet. There was fresh snow that morning, just a few inches. It was late season so there was no crowd waiting around for the lift to open. However, there were skis on the ground for the 1st chair, and another group for 3rd chair. When the guys that had left their skis for 1st chair came back, they switched places with Naomi so that she could get 1st chair for her birthday. When the lift opened up, everyone gave her a birthday send off. For her, fresh powder was the best birthday present. :snow:
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
As I look at the pic in Post #1 more carefully, it looks like the skis were placed neatly in lines even before the lanes were set up. Alta is creating ghost lanes that are marked and blocked with blue plastic, and that isn't there yet. What the means to me is that the people who left their skis for a little while know exactly how the Alta lift lines are working this season. My guess is that the owners of the skis would be back in place well before there were many people standing in line behind the skis on the snow.

Looks like a few of the people in the pic are standing next to their skis. Probably rode up with friends who also left their skis.
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I think it's fine if it's already part of the skifield culture - it makes sense if it's for first chair and you've arrived 2+ hrs before it opens, but not for queuing during the day.
 

Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
This happened when we stayed slopeside at Crested Butte and had a powder day. I looked out my window an hour before the lifts started running and saw a maze of skis. It was crazy that I was staying slopeside and still didn't get the worm, so to speak. There were actually people with portable stoves grilling breakfast in the lift line, too (they hadn't had snow in a while so I think the locals were getting rammy), which at least was a little amusing.
 

badger

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
This happened when we stayed slopeside at Crested Butte and had a powder day. I looked out my window an hour before the lifts started running and saw a maze of skis. It was crazy that I was staying slopeside and still didn't get the worm, so to speak. There were actually people with portable stoves grilling breakfast in the lift line, too (they hadn't had snow in a while so I think the locals were getting rammy), which at least was a little amusing.

"Getting Rammy"... LOL That must have been quite a sight to see people cooking in the line!!!
 

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