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Ski Lift Conversations?
- Thread starter iamOshawott
- Start date
SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
LOVE this!
Tennessee
Angel Diva
This made me laugh so hard out loud!!! Thank you!!!Also, I meant "front side/knees." I only have front knees; not a flamingo
nopoleskier
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have had interesting encounters with goof ball men.. best are men that tell me "you shouldn't be on this trail" this seems to happen to me often especially if I have no poles.
I'll ask Why can't I ski this trail? them: it's a dbl black you have no poles or you're a girl- Me: Oh I missed the sign for "balls only' or 'Poles only'. then I'll shout.. Watch and try and catch me- IF you have balls! LOL they don't catch me, and then avoided me the next time they saw me in line I purposely caught up to them- I asked what took so long and if they needed ski patrol to help them get down without their balls. LOL No more rides with me..
men have tried to pick me up. I have in the past taken advantage (wth).. a free drink, free dinner at the airport/airplane on a long layover, I then drop the My DH is an ex Marine and he'll kick you into next week if you came home with me, nice chatting w/you, thanks for the drink.
Covid has made my chair rides peaceful- riding alone no more mansplaining or dumb guy chatter.
I'll ask Why can't I ski this trail? them: it's a dbl black you have no poles or you're a girl- Me: Oh I missed the sign for "balls only' or 'Poles only'. then I'll shout.. Watch and try and catch me- IF you have balls! LOL they don't catch me, and then avoided me the next time they saw me in line I purposely caught up to them- I asked what took so long and if they needed ski patrol to help them get down without their balls. LOL No more rides with me..
men have tried to pick me up. I have in the past taken advantage (wth).. a free drink, free dinner at the airport/airplane on a long layover, I then drop the My DH is an ex Marine and he'll kick you into next week if you came home with me, nice chatting w/you, thanks for the drink.
Covid has made my chair rides peaceful- riding alone no more mansplaining or dumb guy chatter.
snoWYmonkey
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
As I am the chatty one, I would say most Jackson Hole skiers seem open to chair ride talking, at least some. My usual ice breaker question is "are you on holiday or just out for the day?"
My most memorable and heart breaking ride was hubby and I joined by a Frenchman on a lift in Japan when he heard me yell out in my native French, "hey are you French?".
He left his 2 buddies and rode up with us. In one short ride I learned that we were both on our 50th birthday trips. He too was a pisces and our spouses both Aries. Nicest, most genuinely appreciative of the chance to enjoy the magic of a ski trip to Japan person we had met in a week across the country.
20 minutes after we parted he died in a huge avalanche after ducking a rope. We only found out the next morning, and sure enough when I researched it, was able to confirm the birthday trip details in the french paper. We had never so quickly felt a connection with a like minded skier on one ride before.
Grateful still to smile bittersweetly at the memory.
On a funnier note, some colleagues and thought that we should have a speed dating Valentine's day wvwnt on the slowest beginner chair at our hill. How fun would that be!
My most memorable and heart breaking ride was hubby and I joined by a Frenchman on a lift in Japan when he heard me yell out in my native French, "hey are you French?".
He left his 2 buddies and rode up with us. In one short ride I learned that we were both on our 50th birthday trips. He too was a pisces and our spouses both Aries. Nicest, most genuinely appreciative of the chance to enjoy the magic of a ski trip to Japan person we had met in a week across the country.
20 minutes after we parted he died in a huge avalanche after ducking a rope. We only found out the next morning, and sure enough when I researched it, was able to confirm the birthday trip details in the french paper. We had never so quickly felt a connection with a like minded skier on one ride before.
Grateful still to smile bittersweetly at the memory.
On a funnier note, some colleagues and thought that we should have a speed dating Valentine's day wvwnt on the slowest beginner chair at our hill. How fun would that be!
Christy
Angel Diva
ilovepugs
Angel Diva
How tragic.
Christy
Angel Diva
Somehow skiing later into the afternoon came up right away and I said I had to leave to get a haircut. So that's how that started. I'm sure if I hadn't said the triggering word "haircut" it would have been something else. Middle aged to older men on chairlifts have also seized on opportunities to complain about Seattle (when they asked where I was from); the federal government (when I worked for the NPS); college students who have loans; federal employees that can't financially weather a long government shutdown, all sorts of things.
Christy
Angel Diva
That story is very sad and I don't know if I should throw out a fun fact, but...fun fact, I am also a Pisces married to an Aries. My 3 prior boyfriends were Aries, and I'm not into astrology so it's not something I asked on a first date or anything.
Iwannaski
Angel Diva
I’m a Leo married to an Aries. We’re very chill around here.
It’s a sad story, but also kind of amazing. I always tell my kids that we’re so small in the universe, but then a little coincidence like that happens, and honestly - he went out doing something he wanted and having had a lovely chat with lovely people.
There’s a little gift in that.
It’s a sad story, but also kind of amazing. I always tell my kids that we’re so small in the universe, but then a little coincidence like that happens, and honestly - he went out doing something he wanted and having had a lovely chat with lovely people.
There’s a little gift in that.
BReeves215
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great thread! I’m generally pretty reserved in public situations but almost always open to chatting on lifts. The “vacation mode” is part of it but also just the great opportunity to get insights on the mountain and a different perspective from one’s own. I remember more than a few particular chairlift rides when my husband and I first started skiing Utah (traveling from the East Coast) in the early 1990s. The fellow rider would start with small talk then quickly move to religion, asking about our religion, ancestors’ religion, etc.; having grown up in a longstanding Catholic family ... it took me a few days to realize they were Mormons proselytizing! No offense taken, I found it interesting. I have not had a similar experience in Utah the last 20 years (??). After our kids started skiing I loved hearing them start their own chats with chair mates or hearing interesting stories about the people they had ridden with at the end of the day.
newboots
Angel Diva
newboots
Angel Diva
@snoWYmonkey - What a story! So terribly sad, but I can also feel the bittersweet. And you are French?
This group is full of surprises.
This group is full of surprises.
kiki
Angel Diva
I’m usually the chatty one, some days the best part of my ski day is the conversations on the chairlift—it’s interesting to have a window Into another person’s day and perspective.
This Sunday it was whiteout fog conditions and you couldn’t see anything 10 feet away due to the white out. Then it started raining. So the rain drops were covering the goggle lenses taking away your ability to even see the snow at your feet. Most peoples gear was soaked through. I was in the singles line after about an hour of this and paired with another guy who did not seem super confident on his skiis loading the chair. I’d seem him earlier when we stood in the never ending line up for 40 minutes to upload on to the ski hill from urban base. I expected the guy would complain about the intimidating conditions, and how much of a pain it was to get up there only to be stuck in these sub optimal conditions, but when I asked him about his day he told me how happy he was to be there. How sore and stiff his body was after working 80-100 hours each of the past few weeks hunched over his laptop in his home and how grateful he was to be moving and outside in the beautiful nature. It was a real reminder to me to also be grateful. Instead of packing it in and leaving as I’d intended I stuck around for a couple more runs and focused on appreciating being out there. I love these type of small interactions so much!
This Sunday it was whiteout fog conditions and you couldn’t see anything 10 feet away due to the white out. Then it started raining. So the rain drops were covering the goggle lenses taking away your ability to even see the snow at your feet. Most peoples gear was soaked through. I was in the singles line after about an hour of this and paired with another guy who did not seem super confident on his skiis loading the chair. I’d seem him earlier when we stood in the never ending line up for 40 minutes to upload on to the ski hill from urban base. I expected the guy would complain about the intimidating conditions, and how much of a pain it was to get up there only to be stuck in these sub optimal conditions, but when I asked him about his day he told me how happy he was to be there. How sore and stiff his body was after working 80-100 hours each of the past few weeks hunched over his laptop in his home and how grateful he was to be moving and outside in the beautiful nature. It was a real reminder to me to also be grateful. Instead of packing it in and leaving as I’d intended I stuck around for a couple more runs and focused on appreciating being out there. I love these type of small interactions so much!
snoWYmonkey
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Half French (some Roumanian and Swiss and Greek there too) and solidly half Swedish. Learned to alpine ski in the Alps and Iran, nordic ski in the flat south of Sweden.
I never mind a chairlift ride, even with non talkers or grumps, but don't exactly miss gondola rides with negative, drunk, unpleasant people. Perhaps the pandemic solo rides do have a silver lining. Though overall I like sharing time, space, talk with other snowsports enthusiasts.
newboots
Angel Diva
@SallyCat - I was thinking about your wish for an acerbic comment. I had one idea - carry printed cards to hand out with a definition of "mansplaining." But @Iwannaski hit the nail on the head. Burst out laughing! Even better if you just took a great gulp of some drink and can spray it all over. (Unlikely on your snowboard, but keep it in mind.)
because of the covid distancing chairlift rides with wierdos have been minimal this season. I've had a couple nice ones and shared a few runs with a random snowboarder on a friday night.
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.
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.
Tvan
Angel Diva
@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.
