A fabulous tactic that Ive noticed the last couple years that really helps avoiding awkward creepy dudes is adopting the parkrat look. The whole shebang; No poles, baggy kit , just a hoodie on the warmer days, stickers on the helmet and of course the twin tips. Nobody seems to want to ride the lift with this demographic for some reason. Since I look young for my age I can pull this off well.
Absolutely Nobody would ride with the wierdo skiing with a parakeet!@racetiger - I read your post without my glasses and read “parkrat” as “parakeet” and I was trying to imagine how a parakeet would respond to a dopey lift chair conversation.... I need coffee.
Lol, I was once banned from a certain large ski forum for a lighthearted observation that young snowboarders/park riders tend to not like to chat on chairlifts. The thread was locked and I was reprimanded for being divisive and unacceptably hostile to boarders.
Pretty rich given that a. I admire snowboarders and love to watch them carve and ride park, and b. the only negative chairlift experiences I've ever had were with other skiers.
I am legit still laughing about this.They hang onto the bar and scooch sideways until they reach the farthest spot from you. Probably a good move to try.
Except for the other characters from Craig of the Creek. (Animated show my youngest watches)Absolutely Nobody would ride with the wierdo skiing with a parakeet!
I think you're right there! It really has impacted Skiing. However being.forced to wear a neck gaiter wasn't a bad thing, my face is much warmer!!!Hey, @MontanaMom - glad to have you here! I think Covid protocols have interrupted so much in skiing (and in everything).
My local mountain, not a resort, is very chill. We chat in the lodge, we chat on the lifts etc.
Went to Whitefish resort, no one chatted. Everyone was friendly but no one chatted. I didn't ride lifts outside my group though.
- This year our visitor count is through the roof, especially from out-of-state. License plates seen on Wednesday in the lot: Tennesse, North Carolina, Missouri, North Dakota, Colorado. Normally, it's Montana and Alberta. The locals are TESTY. Saturday-sized lines mid week.
I rode today with an 83 year old man. He asked if he could ride with me and told me that he was fully vaccinated. I am half vaccinated so we skied together for several runs.
I would have stayed with him longer but he told me that his legs only permit him to take 3 runs/day. At first that seemed to be a real shame, but then I realized that if I can take any runs when I am 83 I will be extremely grateful.
We chatted about his years of ski bumming and racing. He also participated in some other risky activities such as hang gliding and parachute jumping. Clearly he has lived a satisfying life. I was sorry when we parted company.