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

[newbieM]

From my friend who went up their on Saturday, the parking was full by 7am, they weren't turning folks away at the bottom but their were a few spots. They said it is the usual thing to save a spot with your skis and go warm up.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

We see it a little bit in the Tram and Gondola lines at Jackson Hole, but never for the chairlift at the base. In a covid year, it makes total sense to me as standing for over an hour around people taking masks down to drink coffee and eat, even outside would not be my cup of tea.

It seems to me that it is a tradition that is probably OK in some places, not so in others. Best check in with the locals first.

 

[newbieM]

Ya agreed. I was surprised how in powder mountain and Alta you can leave your skis and poles around as long as you want. I was surprised to read that you can’t do that at the mountains here. I agree checking with locals is a great idea.

 

[marzNC]

I have never seen this in many years of skiing. You can be sure that I would be standing in front of the peopleless skis. If you want first tracks you need to put in the work--get up early, and stand in line.

For Alta, I can assure you that the people who have skis on the snow 30-60 minutes before the Collins lift opens got up plenty early. Sometimes as early as 4am if the road is going to close from 6:00-8:30am. For this season, need to be up the canyon by 8:30, if not an hour earlier for a powder day. The drive takes at least 30 minutes, if not an hour depending on where someone is staying in the city. If the road is snowy, then can easily take twice as long.

What region do you usually ski in? How long do people stand in line before the lift opens?

 

[altagirl]

Yeah right or wrong... in years past, at Alta the practice would be that your group puts their skis down and most of the time someone stays to watch them and you rotate through for the hour or two you may be waiting in line for the lifts to open on a powder day, so you can get a pee break and go warm up. Even if skiing solo, when you're a local you usually know enough people at the front of the line to make this work. There have been a few incidents of someone not getting this concept who didn't like seeing unattended skis and would toss/move un-accompanied skis out of line and take the spot and it often ended in a brawl. I do NOT recommend moving ahead of unattended skis if the lifts are not running yet unless you are prepared for a physical altercation over the issue. I can't tell you who law enforcement would side with, but I'm just saying you should know what you're getting into by doing so. If you want to be farther up in line, then get there earlier - those skis didn't magically appear in line while the owners were still sleeping their houses in the valley.

But with COVID, I think this actually makes more sense to drop the skis and go sit in your car. I'm glad to see people collectively making a decision that's safer.

 

[altagirl]

Also I totally agree that I wouldn't assume this is acceptable or typical anywhere else. And there is always the risk that someone could steal them. I mean... generally it would be pretty suspicious to see someone walking away from the morning lineup WITH skis... and I've never heard of it happening, but skis are expensive!

Funny story... one of the very few people i know who had skis stolen at Alta was a patroller. Who was up in the bar until late, came out and skis were gone. So sad! A month or so later the snow melted off some and as it turns out they hadn't been stolen, they got knocked down, snowed on and run over by the snowcat. Oops....

 

[jskis190]

I still feel if you want to be in line you should be in line. What is next--monetizing the lift line so you can pay for your spot?

 

[marzNC]

I still feel if you want to be in line you should be in line. What is next--monetizing the lift line so you can pay for your spot?

It really is an aspect of local culture for Alta and perhaps a few other mountains with long histories, as mentioned elsewhere in the thread.

Many people from other countries think the way Americans handle tipping is completely ridiculous. Meaning for restaurant servers, ski instructors, people who help with luggage at hotels, and so on. Cultural differences don't mean one way is right and another is wrong. They are simply based on different traditions.

 

[altagirl]

I still feel if you want to be in line you should be in line. What is next--monetizing the lift line so you can pay for your spot?

Honestly that already exists in a sense here. Alta and other Utah resorts offer early access private lessons. If patrol allows it with snow conditions you can pay for a lesson and get on the lifts 45 min before the resort opens and skip the lineup. Usually to a lot of jeering from the crowd waiting for opening.... ;)

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Standing anywhere is very limited for me with my lifelong lousy painful feet.

 

[MissySki]

Honestly that already exists in a sense here. Alta and other Utah resorts offer early access private lessons. If patrol allows it with snow conditions you can pay for a lesson and get on the lifts 45 min before the resort opens and skip the lineup. Usually to a lot of jeering from the crowd waiting for opening.... ;)

At my resort the highest level pass includes 30 minute earlier lift access on the majority of Sundays during the season. 7:30am is earlier than I personally want to be out, unless it’s a powder day and then I sure am envious!

 

[marzNC]

Paying for early access has been happening in the southeast for a long time. Of course, the situation in terms of skiable acres and crowds is very different than big mountains in other regions. Waiting in line for 15-20 min isn't that uncommon even on a non-holiday weekend. That's for mostly groomed trails with 100% manmade snow that takes max 5 min to finish.

Wintergreen in VA has allowed property owners access to lifts an hour earlier than anyone else for years. Can't even buy a season pass that includes Saturdays if not a property owner.

Snowshoe has a Primo pass for early access. Something like $150 extra for season passholders. That still exists under Alterra with Ikon, as does a Snowshoe-only pass.

Whitetail allowed pass holders early access on weekends when it was owned by Snowtime. People doing day trips from DC could ski 8:00-11:30 and then go home when the lift lines were getting long.

Alta and other Utah resorts offer early access private lessons.

Did an early access lesson with @snoWYmonkey at Jackson Hole a while back. Got to ride up the Bridgewater gondola and had a first teaching run on a wide groomer with no worries about other skiers buzzing down as we did drills. Was a low snow situation so obviously no one at the base really cared.

 

[Christy]

I can never get up early enough to see any of this stuff so I've no idea if it ever happens here. I haven't heard of it though.

Thinking about the only place I go where I am there before the lifts start running…that's Sun Valley, but people, on a powder day, line up on the plaza, because the lifts/gondola are so close to that. The plaza is full of tables and chairs, ski racks, and pedestrians, so it wouldn't work to leave your skis there.

 

[scandium]

I still feel if you want to be in line you should be in line. What is next--monetizing the lift line so you can pay for your spot?

You can pay for 'first tracks' at some mountains - which means if there's been a dump, then yes, you have pretty much paid to be one of the first in line.

Also, for what it's worth, I've never skied somewhere where you could "line up" with just your skis - but I don't think there's any need to be upset if it's part of established culture somewhere else. It would definitely be downright rude if someone tried to do that on a skifield where that's NOT part of the culture, but that goes both ways - it would be equally disrespectful if someone tries to jump the queue in front of "empty" skis on a field where that is part of their ski culture.

 

[SMichael08]

Just saw on Reddit this evening a post that Alta is doing away with this cultural norm...

 

[nopoleskier]

From Alta:
Hi Alta Crew.

The passion that is put forth into the pursuit of scoring first chair and untracked turns is awesome, however, unattended skis are not allowed in our lift lines.

We are seeing too many skis, too early which impacts our ability to bring equipment through these areas and/or change the lift lines if needed. Thanks for your understanding and be nice to our lifties. They are the ones helping us all go skiing.

 

[alison wong]

 

[bsskier]

Well that ended quickly!