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..
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.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?
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.Hmmm I'm guessing they are all staying at Slope side accommodations.
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.Common at Taos Ski Valley but not to that extent.
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.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.
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.