What's Your Most Embarrassing Lift or Lift Line-Related Incident?

[HuntersEmma57]

I'll share first and promise I will get to the juicy part, but backstory is necessary.

First, I don't often ski alone. A few days ago, I was alone, running hot laps all day, top to bottom. I'm not generally a fast skier, but by 11:45, what few people were at Powder Mtn that day, had pretty much up and disappeared.

I'm a free bird and I unleashed! I'm not even seeing another skier on major stretches and I'm cooking it and then I'm skiing right onto the lift. Literally, a skier's dream come true.

I'm even more puffed up because I'm finally liking my Black Pearls (the ones I've been complaining about all season). I am riding them hard, pushing myself and the ski, and it was alllll workin'. Puffed UP!

So, I'm back on the lift. By myself, again. I'm kinda drifting off. Daydreaming, savoring the moment, feeling the sun on my face. I'm replaying the last run, patting myself on the back, got a relaxed grin on my face. What a great day, amirite?

Next thing I know, I'm shocked to myself near at the top of the unloading ramp and I haven't even raised the safety bar. PANIC ensues. I tossed the bar up, spring up while grabbing for my poles at the very last instant. Well, a wee bit past the last instant. See, I tuck my poles under my thigh and butt while riding the lift. I pull the poles out when the bar goes up - well before the unloading ramp. I have have done this successfully for the past 17 years.

Except, not on Friday. No, I was off orbiting some other reality, and, on what was approximately the 13,744th time I'd gotten off a chair lift, I failed. Spectacularly. Judges awarded both style and technical points for the routine, but I did NOT stick the landing.

You see, not only was I too late, my timing was off.

I'd not yet gotten the poles clear of the chairback, before I slid off the front of the seat. The poles tips wedged under the chairback. So I'm basically cowbow-like riding my ski poles. The liftie has NOT yet stopped the lift. The chair is now rising back up and I'm dangling. Thankfully, my not-insubstantial weight and gravity worked together to resolve the dangling situation. My poles bent sharply and dumped me onto the ramp. I'm completely splayed out with one ski on and one ski off (and I've no idea where it is), and no poles.

My bent poles and then my ski are then handed to me by the liftie. I finally manage to stand up (on the ramp in ski boots). And then instead of clearing the unloading area, I stop to put my other ski on. All told, this probably all took 45 seconds, but it will live in infamy in my memory.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

I hope it's okay to chuckle since you were not injured or at least I really hope you are not injured.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

IT WASN'T MY FAULT!

First of all, there was NO LINE for the chair. I ski right up to and through the gate. I glide up to the loading spot. I'm in the middle b/c I know I will be riding solo on this triple chair. In an act of monumental stupidity, two random peeps, unbeknownst to me, slide in behind me w/o warning and are already sitting on the chair when it gets up to the loading point. I don't know they are there until I try to sit on the chair. I end up sitting on the lap of one of the people. I can't move over given the tangle of equipment; the liftie hasn't stopped the chair; and I'm forced to jump off the chair into the well beyond the load zone. Liftie finally stops the action but not before I get whacked in the head by the skier sitting in MY seat. I have to remove my skis and hike up to the ramp area. I walk around and take the chair behind them.

Not one of my finer moments, but I offered up some VERY choice words not suitable for young children or the devoutly religious . . .

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@BlizzardBabe I would have been livid!

I did call a guy speeding past me on the way to the lift a Dick Wad quite loudly, and I was in uniform. Once in the lift line together, he was looking at me incredulously while pointing at himself with a big "who me?" expression, and I loudly said, "yes, YOU!". I now resort to "seriously?" as it is probably a more appropriate expression of my utter disgust at some of the reckless behavior I see.

 

[elemmac]

I've had 3 noteworthy embarrassing lift incidents, in recent years. You can decide for yourself which is the "most" embarrassing...

#1: I had a similar moment last year as @BlizzardBabe, but it ended in less disastrous way....and well...It was my fault.

It was snowing...midweek day...nobody around. My friend and I were lapping a less popular chair...literally skiing on every run. We came down from one run in the woods, I was PUMPED. Adrenaline was high. Such an incredible run. I was a little bit behind my friend getting down, and he was waiting at the "wait here" sign before you get on the lift. I gave a quick, I'm good...let's get this chair...and pushed myself out to loading area.

Only to realize a split second too late...there's already two people loading that same chair that I was going for. I swooped into the left position on the chair, loaded with two strangers, laughed at myself, apologized profusely for being such an idiot. Luckily, they were kind, had a good laugh, and understood how too much stoke from the fresh snow can impact your judgement.

#2: Also taking place on a snow day, I was loading a popular chair (6-pack) with my husband, and a couple friends. Being a detachable lift, you have plenty of time to quickly brush the snow off the seat before sitting down, keeping your butt dry. I brushed the seat quickly with my mitt but didn't quite time it right...quicker than I had time to think, I was gently nudged down the slope, while the chair started climbing.

The lifty stopped the lift (eventually), and a walk of shame back to the loading area ensued. I got my own personal 6-pack chair to ride up, only to find my friends DYING of laughter at the top...ultimate ride of shame.

#3: Yup, you guessed it...another snow day. I don't remember how much snow we got, but I know it was a lot...enough to justify bringing out the big boys...my Nordica La Ninas in a 177. Due to a few lifts on wind hold, my husband and I were riding two slow lifts back-to-back, followed by a hike (to get to terrain that is normally accessed from a different lift), down to the bottom, and repeat. We had done this loop 3 or 4 times...accessing untouched snow every time.

After one of these untouched pow runs, we loaded the first of the slow lifts; The lifty bumped the chair, giving it a little swing. The chair went back, but when it swung forward, the La Nina's massive tip caught in the pile of snow that had collected just after the loading area. I tried to fight it and pull it up...but with the swing of the chair and the chair moving forward, it kept digging deeper. Before I could do anything, the chair tilted back and dumped both me and my husband off the chair into a pile.

The husband, completely oblivious that it was my fault, asked what happened. I ALMOST snickered, "I don't know, that was weird". But I'm a terrible liar, so I started laughing and simply stated "my ski tip got caught".

(Side note...I am NOT the only person I know that has gotten their tips caught leaving the loading area of that same lift).

 

[BlizzardBabe]

It's a toss-up between 2 & 3, @elemmac . Both are great visuals!

 

[Basil]

Not me really...

Back in the 80s, I was riding a triple fixed grip chair with my mom and my brother. I was about 8-9, he was about 5-6. Somehow he pushed forward before mom and I were ready, and ended up on the chair by himself, with us in the chair behind.

Obviously he couldn't lower the bar, so all the way up my mom was stressing about this situation. When we got to the top, he tried to unload but his feet couldn't reach and he had no one to help him off. So he sort of dangled awkwardly for a few seconds, went around the wheel at the top, before finally hitting the lift stop bar with his skis. At which point the lift stopped suddenly and he plummeted out of view.

As you can imagine my Mom was screaming, now on a stopped lift, unable to see what had happened to him! Luckily, he was ok.

He did this at least once more around that age, but learned his lesson and didn't even try to get off. He ended up riding the chair back down.

He now has his own 5 year old, and death grip on her on the chairs ;)

 

[Amplify]

I was skiing on a fairly rainy day last year and my snow pants were pretty wet. I’m riding the lift solo, since it’s a weekday morning and all the kids are in lessons (part of a school program), just minding my business, enjoying the silence. I put the bar up as my chair approaches the offload ramp and I kind of scooch my butt around a little in preparation and I realize I….can’t move. Like my pants are stuck on something. It feels like they are snagged on a bolt underneath the chair or something? I yank my leg harder and harder, basically as hard as I can without risking falling off the lift, and nothing is budging. I start to panic as the chair gets closer and closer, and I wave frantically to the liftie so he knows I’m having some kind of undefined incident.

He stops the lift when I'm right at the top of the ramp and walks over to me and is like “your pants are stuck under the bench. It happens to people sometimes on really wet days.” Like, the fabric of my pants got under the bench seat and then my own weight was pinning it down after that. I guess maybe the fabric probably drapes differently when soaked, idk. The stupidest part is of course if I had just stood up, it would have released my pants and I would have been fine, but I was so sure that my pants were somehow wrapped around something? Snagged on something? something - that I was worried that if I stood up I would somehow just get carried up into the air and around the bend by the seat of my pants, like a cartoon character. OF COURSE right at that moment, when the liftie was like “you’ll be fine if you just stand up,” a whole group of other parents skiing came past from a connecting trail, waving at me etc. I was like, “oh, hey guys, nothing to see here! Just the liftie stopping the lift so I can be personally assisted in standing up and dismounting!”

 

[Iwannaski]

Mine is a noob classic. My dear friend is a lifelong snowboarder. grew up in CO, instructor at Loveland back in the day, now tolerates Midwest boarding but she and I have had a blast taking our kids together.

Due to the differences in our ability levels, we RARELY ride together on the lift. One day, we were at the same lift at the same time and were chit chatting (I should not have been - it was my first year skiing in 20 years) so, the fixed grip lift comes, liftie bumps the chair, we get on, and I wasn’t paying terrific attention to the snow pile at the end of the loading area.

Ski tip catches the snow and pops off.
(So far, so good, you’re thinking - they holler at me that they’ll send it up and I see it go to the guy behind me.)

No problem. I’m chanting, don’t put your foot down, don’t put your foot down, don’t put your foot down as we go up, but also chit chatting with my boarder friend.

We get to the top, I stand up (with my foot down) the ski goes forward while my boot plants, the ski slides around into friend and takes her out, which takes me out. they had to stop the lift while we got untangled and EVERYONE WATCHED.

Brutal.

 

[HuntersEmma57]

I truly love how skiing in particular can bring humility. I warn my grandsons that the minute they quit respecting the mountain and paying attention, they will be reminded with some form or humiliation or another. It's hard to get too big for your own pants when there are snow snakes, icy parking lots, ice-covered chairs, and lifts to navigate. I fell off a snowcat once tyring hard not to be the oldest woman in the group. I attemped to go down facing outward, stumbled, and got planted straight up and down in 5 ft. of soft snow. Now I go down backwards hanging on to the ladder and with no apologies.

Mine is a noob classic. My dear friend is a lifelong snowboarder. grew up in CO, instructor at Loveland back in the day, now tolerates Midwest boarding but she and I have had a blast taking our kids together.

Due to the differences in our ability levels, we RARELY ride together on the lift. One day, we were at the same lift at the same time and were chit chatting (I should not have been - it was my first year skiing in 20 years) so, the fixed grip lift comes, liftie bumps the chair, we get on, and I wasn’t paying terrific attention to the snow pile at the end of the loading area.

Ski tip catches the snow and pops off.
(So far, so good, you’re thinking - they holler at me that they’ll send it up and I see it go to the guy behind me.)

No problem. I’m chanting, don’t put your foot down, don’t put your foot down, don’t put your foot down as we go up, but also chit chatting with my boarder friend.

We get to the top, I stand up (with my foot down) the ski goes forward while my boot plants, the ski slides around into friend and takes her out, which takes me out. they had to stop the lift while we got untangled and EVERYONE WATCHED.

Brutal.

Chanting, 'don't put your foot down" and then putting your foot down. Classic! Any time there's no injury except to one's pride is a gift.

 

[badger]

My moment of ignorance happened at Powder Mountain several years ago.

First time I had ever seen a POMA lift. I am in line with about forty people behind me.
I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SIT ON THE DISC... Great way to potentially tear those menisci !!!! I sort of fell off and tried again.. Took me a third try to feel the mechanics of the lift.
Bet you can just imagine the comments from the crowd.

 

[HuntersEmma57]

My moment of ignorance happened at Powder Mountain several years ago.

First time I had ever seen a POMA lift. I am in line with about forty people behind me.
I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SIT ON THE DISC... Great way to potentially tear those menisci !!!! I sort of fell off and tried again.. Took me a third try to feel the mechanics of the lift.
Bet you can just imagine the comments from the crowd.

Oh, I can imagine. We often are shouting from the line, "DON'T SIT DOWN!" but we also know that makes little sense to the first-time user and wearing helmets muffles hearing. It's only truly annoying when there are 5-10 people in a group who've never used a poma and none of them can figure it out. The lifties also don't do the best job explaining things.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

It was one of those quads that have a feeder carpet ie. you wait at the gate for it to open and then glide onto a moving conveyor that takes you precisely to the correct load position for the lift---or at least it's supposed to work that way. I'd ridden it dozens of times---but this time it seemed to be ultra slick and I just slide right on past the place you are supposed to be on the load carpet and nearly got dumped off the end---needless to say they had to stop the lift and I had to back up a couple feet.

Another one was on a full quad on a busy day. It was windy and this lift can be tricky to unload if the wind is coming just the right way. Plus the unload zone is flat--with really no slope down. I was in the inner most position on the chair. Stood up at the top and had a problem moving--the wind was pushing me back and since the chair was full I couldn't skate to get any momentum. I start getting pushed by the chair as it begins to go around the wheel--still standing up. There was a cone marking do not enter (the zone where you will trip the lift to stop if you hit that bar). Of course I get pushed into the cone--by now I'm panicking and still trying to get moving on my own but I'm still having a hard time getting away from the chair. Lifty finally sees what's going on and stops the chair. I slink away, mortified as everyone down the line looks on.

 

[HuntersEmma57]

It was one of those quads that have a feeder carpet ie. you wait at the gate for it to open and then glide onto a moving conveyor that takes you precisely to the correct load position for the lift---or at least it's supposed to work that way. I'd ridden it dozens of times---but this time it seemed to be ultra slick and I just slide right on past the place you are supposed to be on the load carpet and nearly got dumped off the end---needless to say they had to stop the lift and I had to back up a couple feet.

Another one was on a full quad on a busy day. It was windy and this lift can be tricky to unload if the wind is coming just the right way. Plus the unload zone is flat--with really no slope down. I was in the inner most position on the chair. Stood up at the top and had a problem moving--the wind was pushing me back and since the chair was full I couldn't skate to get any momentum. I start getting pushed by the chair as it begins to go around the wheel--still standing up. There was a cone marking do not enter (the zone where you will trip the lift to stop if you hit that bar). Of course I get pushed into the cone--by now I'm panicking and still trying to get moving on my own but I'm still having a hard time getting away from the chair. Lifty finally sees what's going on and stops the chair. I slink away, mortified as everyone down the line looks on.

High winds make us all look like goobers at some point or another.

 

[Pequenita]

My very short story is that several years ago, a friend of mine invited a group of us for a girls' weekend. There are 5 of us. I knew one of the other gals, but not the other 2. Everyone but me skis intermittently -- everyone in Northern California has a mega pass and then goes like 3 days a season. We are in line at a quad, and I am insistent it's a quad and that all of us cannot get on the lift at the same time. Except my friend is way more charismatic and persuasive than me, and even when other people in the line are asking us if we're three or two, she is calling back that we're 5. None of these gals are listening to me that IT IS NOT A LIFT THAT CAN FIT FIVE. And no one is willing to go 2 and 3. I'm even saying things like, "hey, who wants to ride together?" and my friend is saying very seriously, "we can all get on together." I'm thinking at least the liftie will stop us from loading. Nope. So we got on the lift as 5. I'm still waiting to see myself on Jerry of the Day. The next lift ride up, someone in the group humors me and rides with me as a double (and two strangers).

It was one of the worst feelings in my life to be totally ignored, particularly because I was right. I've backcountry skied with better group dynamics, and I have a story there where one guy was trying to impress another gal and made doofus decisions. Anyway, I will never go skiing with this person again and have declined every subsequent girls' ski weekend invitation.

 

[Abbi]

It was one of those quads that have a feeder carpet ie. you wait at the gate for it to open and then glide onto a moving conveyor that takes you precisely to the correct load position for the lift---or at least it's supposed to work that way. I'd ridden it dozens of times---but this time it seemed to be ultra slick and I just slide right on past the place you are supposed to be on the load carpet and nearly got dumped off the end---needless to say they had to stop the lift and I had to back up a couple feet.

Another one was on a full quad on a busy day. It was windy and this lift can be tricky to unload if the wind is coming just the right way. Plus the unload zone is flat--with really no slope down. I was in the inner most position on the chair. Stood up at the top and had a problem moving--the wind was pushing me back and since the chair was full I couldn't skate to get any momentum. I start getting pushed by the chair as it begins to go around the wheel--still standing up. There was a cone marking do not enter (the zone where you will trip the lift to stop if you hit that bar). Of course I get pushed into the cone--by now I'm panicking and still trying to get moving on my own but I'm still having a hard time getting away from the chair. Lifty finally sees what's going on and stops the chair. I slink away, mortified as everyone down the line looks on.

I hate those feeder carpet doohickeys! More than once I felt as though I would get to the end before the chair got to me.

 

[Jenny]

I hate those feeder carpet doohickeys! More than once I felt as though I would get to the end before the chair got to me.

I have the opposite feeling, like the skis are going to stick and I’m going to pitch forward and then get whacked by the chair when I try to get up.

 

[Briski]

i can relate to every one of these stories.

I think half of my falls each year are in the lift line! I dunno how I can manage extreme terrain, but those little ropes and poles continue to tangle me up.

 

[AJM]

Ski tip catches the snow and pops off.
(So far, so good, you’re thinking - they holler at me that they’ll send it up and I see it go to the guy behind me.)

No problem. I’m chanting, don’t put your foot down, don’t put your foot down, don’t put your foot down as we go up, but also chit chatting with my boarder friend.

We get to the top, I stand up (with my foot down) the ski goes forward while my boot plants, the ski slides around into friend and takes her out, which takes me out. they had to stop the lift while we got untangled and EVERYONE WATCHED.

This EXACT thing happened to me .... DH to me "Dont put your foot down!" so I did just that, got spun round and ended up wrapped around the top tower

 

[AJM]

Apart from the "dont put your foot down" scenario there was a time when I just literally slid off the T Bar, now I've been riding T Bars like forever but this one time I was in la la land and not focusing and I just slid right off the side, it was like a Looney Tunes moment where time stood still as I just stood there in the middle of the liftline think "hang on somethings not right here" before I started sliding backwards