Safety bar usage

[Spark]

I'm trying to move from 'Do you mind...' to 'Bar down!' when I'm a single on a chair with others.

I always say "Bar Down" and bring the bar down slowly to allow time for people to adjust. I ski with a pack and sit a bit more forward and because of it the bar makes me feel safe and more comfortable on the chair. I ski Whistler and Blackcomb and haven't had any issues at all. I use to not put the bar down when I was younger but no way would I not put the bar down now.

 

[QtrHrs3]

I've had some ski mates in the east tease me about the bar, stating no one out west uses them. Sure enough, when I skied the west, I did note a right bit less bar usage than in the east.

I don't care what others think. I don't feel safe without the bar down.

I ski at Heavenly which is prone to high, gusty winds. Skiers with the bar up have died there: blown off the lift. The top of the mountain is over 10,000 feet and can get sudden high wind gusts of 50-60 mph on days where it might be only 25-30 mph closer to the valley. I don't give boarders an option, the bar is down. I always warn that the bar is coming down, though: that's just being polite.

 

[KelliMaj]

I prefer it down and will be the uncool person that says "bar", reaches up, and brings it down. I've never taken any flack for it. Firmly and confidently just do it. Like we don't already take enough chances in this sport, why add an easily accommodated safety option.

 

[gzimmermanmd]

Just rode a 6-pack at Grand Targhee with those foot rests and loved them and was less clumsy for snowboarders.
Anyone who is willing to put you at risk for their "too cool for a safety" should be pushed off before you put the bar down. I dispatched 911 and ambulances. I've seen / heard all manner of grisly outcomes from being too cool for helmets, seatbelts, kids riding unsecured in the back of pickups. The witnesses are traumatized, the First Responders are traumatized, not just the families. IMHO, massive head injuries are worse than dying.
Specific to ski lifts:
I watched a guy have a heart attack in the chair in front of me and fall to his death when maybe he could have survived if the bar was down.
I had friends survive a lift tower failure (the whole top fell off) whipping the cable and sending unsecured skiers flying. Life long back injuries and a head injuries are the reward for those who were too cool for the safety bar.
I've seen siblings start physically pushing each other and topple from the lift. The medical bills for their parents must've been astronomical.
I've been stranded in numerous high wind automatic lift shut downs where gusts hit 75mph and our chair was blown near perpendicular to 45 degree angles and we were clinging to the safety bar.
I reach up and announce "bar coming down" and I bring it down.

I always say “READY FOR THE BAR! Some laugh and say sure my level four ski instructor fell off the chair when it suddenly stopped was not hurt but could have been it is like a seatbelt in the car stupid not to put it down

 

[Michellezil]

Grew up skiing east coast where lowering the bar is pretty standard but now skiing at Mammoth it’s been strange to see how may people don’t lower. Like half? It’s a lot. I’m usually the one calling it 70% of the time. There are actually a couple of chairs with no bar and I was shocked…like how is that not a huge liability issue for them?

 

[scubajackie]

The midwest has had small ski areas for decades. That means many of the lifts date from the era when safety bars were an expensive option, if available at all for double chairs. Plus most of the lifts are short, so the ride can be short too. Needless to say, several generations of skiers (long before snowboards were invented) grew up with no safety bar available.

Alta didn't install safety bars on Collins until 2011. Somewhere in another thread I've told stories related to how some locals felt about using the Collins safety bar in the first few years. In recent years, locals are much more used to travelers putting the bar down and it's not that big a deal.

Have you ridden Lift 7 at Taos? It's an old double with a center pole, no safety bars

That sounds like the lifts at little Switzerland in Wisconsin. I had nightmares about those lifts after the first time I went on them

 

[scubajackie]

I always put the bar down if there is one. I’m terrified of heights. Only once has someone grumbled at me, and that was last week in Wisconsin. Person seemed to be kind of a jerk anyway

 

[Mark's ski mom]

I must be the biggest, most annoying nerd because I just announce, "BAR DOWN" and pull the bar down. I don't care who else is on the lift with me. I think it is a function of having had a child and getting older. We ski primarily at Seven Springs since we have a house there and there's one lift that has no safety bar. I have written to management (now Vail) a number of times about this over the years. When he was about 8, our son failed to exit the lift in time and went back around downhill about 15 feet - no safety bar. He was safely rescued by ski patrol, but it could have been a disaster.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I'm clocking 40+ years as a safety lawyer. Bar comes down no matter what.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Lift 7 may have a bar now but it’s still slow as hell and slams you in the butt when you load!

OK, I guess it hasn't been replaced yet, LOL.

 

[cosmicplanks]

OK, I guess it hasn't been replaced yet, LOL.

I don’t know enough about chairlifts- i think the chair was replaced but it still has the same quirks as the old one?

 

[RachaelDorr]

I skied up in Quebec at a lovely ski resort called Saint Saveur
The sign at the bottom of the lift as you load says:
"Descendez la barre.
Ce n'est pas géant
C/est intelligent!"
Translates as: Lower the bar. It's not embarrassing. It's intelligent!

 

[marzNC]

I don’t know enough about chairlifts- i think the chair was replaced but it still has the same quirks as the old one?

For 2025-26, Lift 7 has a new chair but it's still a fixed-grip triple chair. I hope the chairs are a bit wider. I would expect any chair installed these days has safety bars.

September 2025

Taos Celebrates 70th Anniversary With New Chairlift, Base Area Enhancements, Elevated Offerings At The Blake, & Most Expansive Flight Access Ever

Taos Celebrates 70th Anniversary With New Chairlift, Base Area Enhancements, Elevated Offerings At The Blake, & Most Expansive Flight Access Ever

www.snowindustrynews.com

" . . .
On Mountain Enhancements

Taos Ski Valley also remains committed to enhancing the visitor experience every year. This season, Taos has invested in several key guest-focused mountain improvements:

• Lift 7 Replacement: This summer, Taos replaced Lift 7 – originally built in 1984 – with a brand-new triple chair and completely regraded Maxie's ski run.
• New RFID Gates: To streamline lift access, Taos has added RFID gates at lifts 1, 4, Pioneers, and Rueggli. Guests can move straight through the gates, which will automatically scan reloadable cards.

. . ."

 

[FlowerPowerIce]

I'm a fan of bars and footrests now that I'm older and partially bionic. But I do have a peeve about skiers/boarders who don't pay attention to getting themselves situated to raise the bar to get off the lift safely.

 

[marzNC]

I'm a fan of bars and footrests now that I'm older and partially bionic. But I do have a peeve about skiers/boarders who don't pay attention to getting themselves situated to raise the bar to get off the lift safely.

Welcome! What region do you ski in the most?

 

[FlowerPowerIce]

Welcome! What region do you ski in the most?

Pacific Northwest -- but in 5 yrs since retiring and getting a van I've branched out to more mountain west and Japan In PNW there used to be many fixed grip double Riblet chairs up steep rocky slopes that had no safety bars....I used to ride them no problem but now I hang on, don't look down, or don't do

 

[TNtoTaos]

For 2025-26, Lift 7 has a new chair but it's still a fixed-grip triple chair. I hope the chairs are a bit wider. I would expect any chair installed these days has safety bars.

OK, thought I read that somewhere...

 

[SkiBam]

I skied up in Quebec at a lovely ski resort called Saint Saveur
The sign at the bottom of the lift as you load says:
"Descendez la barre.
Ce n'est pas géant
C/est intelligent!"
Translates as: Lower the bar. It's not embarrassing. It's intelligent!

I ski at Saint Sauveur quite often. Yes, they have signs and I noticed on one lift (maybe all but I only noticed on one), if the bar doesn't come down by a certain point, there's a sign with flashing lights - it's pretty noticeable. That said, the other day I saw more than one chair go up, with the occupants (young males) ignoring the flashing lights and leaving the bar up. I was very disappointed to see that - and disappointed to see there were no consequences (not enough staff maybe? Ski patrol wasn't around? ). I'm sure my teenage grandson always puts the bar down (well, he'd better, that's for sure!).