# 4 person lift, ski patrol yelling to group up,



## Technine Icon (Jan 15, 2009)

I usually group up. Its nice to meet new people and you can get a few chairs ahead. I have experienced people telling me that I should go with another group of three. I'm not trying to make any assumptions, but all of these people have been older skiers. As for booting you if you don't group up, I'm not sure, but I would think that since you're paying customer and there are no written rules on the ticket about it, you should be fine.


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## BigDouggieDoug (Nov 23, 2009)

When the lines get long, I agree that we should group up as a courtesy to keep lines moving as fast as possible. I do want the staff to be courteous also in how they ask people to fill up the chairs. Afterall, our safety and fun should be priority.


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## Chris2347 (Nov 7, 2009)

group up when it gets busy - when it gets really busy here the lifties organize the flow, and anyone that doesnt want to group with other groups get singles added in.


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## Snowfox (Dec 26, 2009)

I'm to the point where I don't fall off the lift anymore (thankfully, it was a long road :laugh, but I can see your concern. Normally, my opinion would be to follow ski patrols instructions in the regard as courtesy to them as well as to keep the line moving.

Lifts are always dicey, unfortunately, and sometimes there's just no way around a bad situation like you almost experienced. :dunno:


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## fatboyj711 (Feb 1, 2010)

In most cases when it's truly busy, if you don't group up with the people in front of you, the people behind you will group up with you. You might as well get used to going up a quad with 4 people. 

BTW, I've found that steeper exit ramps are safer and easier to ride away from.


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## Rufus (Nov 7, 2008)

Sincraft said:


> My last experiences grouping with 4 others, is that everyone skis/boards over each other.


Try only grouping with 3 others on a quad, it works better.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Load the chair up...that's why there's singles line, some tourist don't like it but hey its their problem not usually the experienced single that is getting on. So just tell folks that you're not good at getting off and discuss the exit plan. Btw many folks will give pointers about making a graceful exit.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

wrathfuldeity said:


> So just tell folks that you're not good at getting off and discuss the exit plan. Btw many folks will give pointers about making a graceful exit.


best point yet /\. I try to avoid real new riders but if I can't I try to exit 1st to give THEM the room and make them comfortable in off loading. I have even waited to be the last one off if that seems best.
Try to find you best spot to exit. Are you more comfortable off-loading from one side or the other, one of the middle seats. Then explain to the group your getting on with, "hey I'm new its easiest for me to not crash if I can sit "X" is that ok" most people will be happy to do that.

We were all at this point, and practice your skating or grip off your boot to binding this really helps. Maybe a stomp pad if you don't have one.

Good Luck, it'll come...


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Group up, in order to keep traffic moving. On busy days no one gets a private or semi-private chair. 

I haven't gotten tangled up to the point of falling at the exit in years. In one instance this season the guy on my toeside stumbled into me and was about to biff but I gave him a man-hug and kept him upright until he gained his balance. We agreed never to talk about it. 

If the others on my chair look inexperienced I sometimes launch forward quickly in order to get ahead of potential trouble.

Learn how to ride with only one foot strapped in and you can almost always ride away from trouble, as those who have difficulty seem to be stumbling around on the ramp.


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## T.J. (Aug 28, 2007)

Toecutter said:


> Group up, in order to keep traffic moving. On busy days no one gets a private or semi-private chair.


this. /thread


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## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

Group up when its crowded. If you are not skilled enough to get on and off the lift when its crowded, then spend more time on the bunny hill and comeback when you are better.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

I always group up if there is a line. Well, actually I should say I don't mind grouping up. I just wait my turn and go up. If no one joins me, then no one joins me. I'm not going to miss a chair just to wait for people to group up with me because that would defeat the whole purpose.

I can say I dislike grouping up with a bunch of skiers with poles. I don't know what it is, but they always seem to jab me with it as they skate away. I always let them know which way I'm going though.


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## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

Group up, and if you feel uncomfortable learn how to ride more boneless. Part of the code is knowing how to load and unload the lift safely. Means that if you are having a hardtime you should take a lesson or practice on the bunnyhill chair until you are comfortable. My suggestion is two fold. Find the learning area that the mountain has. A lot of times there will be a chair or bench there. Practice getting up and gliding from the sit down position a lot. Practice going straight, left, right, and left then right and right then left. Until you can do it without a hitch. Then try a couple straight glides with out either foot strapped in. Make sure that if you fall off there is a fence or uphill part that would stop your board. Then two, go to a really flat green run. On the flat run unstrap your back binding and try left and right turns to a stop, then try some s-turns. Attempt an ollie or hop when straight down the hill. Once you have reached a semi-comfortable level then take it back to the quad.


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## JoeR (Oct 30, 2010)

Leo said:


> I always group up if there is a line. Well, actually I should say I don't mind grouping up. I just wait my turn and go up. If no one joins me, then no one joins me. I'm not going to miss a chair just to wait for people to group up with me because that would defeat the whole purpose.


Yes, my experience is that on a three- or four-person chair, if you are by yourself and just move forward when it's your turn, you will usually not end up in a packed chair. A lot of people don't want to ride up with a snowboarder; this includes both skiers and other snowboarders. It's not uncommon to get a chair by myself this way, or maybe one other person on a triple chair or at most two others on a quad. Three people won't usually push up to join a boarder on a quad, I've found.

On the six-person chairs, there are normally lifties directing traffic when it gets busy, and then I just go where I'm told from the singles line. A full six is crowded and potentially chaotic during unloading, but there's really no choice other than to put up with it.


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## sepdxsnwbrdr (Feb 5, 2010)

Group up and don't bitch about it. Everyone hates standing in line, and selfish people like you make us wait even longer.

/thread


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

gjsnowboarder said:


> Group up, and if you feel uncomfortable learn how to ride more boneless.


What does, "Ride more boneless" mean?


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## Soawsome (Sep 21, 2009)

I can get on and off a lift fine with my back foot unstrapped and have done it thousands of times 

The problem arises when 4 boarders load on a quad lift and half are goofy and half ride regular, The boards get tangled and if its a long ride up its very uncomfortable 

I also never practiced getting off the lift when everyone in front of me and on both sides of me are all falling. i usually get off first so that the beginners fall behind me but it doesn't always work. 

a quad was made to carry 4 skiers not 4 boarders, if skiing didn't come first the lifts would be made differently


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> What does, "Ride more boneless" mean?


I had to google it...but it means "one footed".


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## Lincoln Terns (Jan 19, 2011)

Yesterday at Sierra, we were made to fill the chairs on Grandview at one point, because of wind gusts at the top. One time they made my girl and me wait for two more people to show up, just to keep the chairs weighted. But if it's busy, please fill the chairs. With lift tickets approaching $100, I'm trying to get in as many runs in a day as possible.


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

I find that the single-riders are more willing to ride in groups than the groups are. You see it a lot around here, the single rider will skate up next to 2 people waiting on the next lift. Lift swings around, single rider moves up and the 2 stand there and wait for the next one.


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## S4Shredr (Oct 23, 2009)

Unless the line is less than 1-2 minutes ALWAYS fill the chair!!!

Especially if its a powder day. 

There is a possibility youll get shanked at the peak if you dont fill a chair on a busy powder day.

A good rule of thumb is if your goofy sit to the left on the chair, if your regular, sit to the right on the chair, this will make it easier to get off/on and make the lift ride more comfortable....

If you still cant get on/off the lift with it full get a pair of SKIS!! :laugh:


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## jyuen (Dec 16, 2007)

Hate to sound like a troll but I think OP needs to man up and just group up. It's rude to not group up on busy days. Learn to get off the lift properly and stop complaining. You'll do more damage to your board riding through glades, riding over rocks, tapping trees or taking hard bails than you will bumping into someone else's board or skis at the lift.


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

i totally snaked a line last weekend while skiing on my toy snowlerblades for fun (im a sadist) and knocked some little brat back to the next chair and then at the top some asshole came up to me all YABABAGAHGAHNSJSJSOWNERSHITFACECUNTCOCKSUCKER and i was like whatever


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

wrathfuldeity said:


> So just tell folks that you're not good at getting off


That made me lol. 
But I agree with you communication is key. I guess the OP should be happy he doesent have to deal with the 6 pack lifts.


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Deviant said:


> I find that the single-riders are more willing to ride in groups than the groups are. You see it a lot around here, the single rider will skate up next to 2 people waiting on the next lift. Lift swings around, single rider moves up and the 2 stand there and wait for the next one.


Love playing lift line chicken with those tools.


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## PanHandler (Dec 23, 2010)

Deviant said:


> I find that the single-riders are more willing to ride in groups than the groups are. You see it a lot around here, the single rider will skate up next to 2 people waiting on the next lift. Lift swings around, single rider moves up and the 2 stand there and wait for the next one.


theres an easy explination.

Single riders want to met people and get some riding buddies

Group riders want to talk to their group about stuff that a random probably wouldnt have a clue about, and it would be awkward just having someone sitting there listening to your conversation.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I had a kind of odd experience at Seymour a couple of weeks ago. It was getting just busy enough for people to be required to pair up (Seymour only has two-seaters). I got near the front, saw a guy on his own, said "Single?" and he responded something like "Naw, sorry, I'm going up on my own". Took me totally by surprise, so I just shrugged and said "whatever". When we got to the loading point, the guy went ahead while I stood. Liftie asked me if I was not loading with him, and I replied that he didn't want company. The liftie (very short, maybe 5-foot-nothing young hottie) got a funny (and I don't mean entertained) look and let me go.

When I got down to the lift at the end of that run, Mr Personality was there ahead of me, and I guess he'd tried to be an island again. Ms five-foot-nothing was giving him a pretty loud piece of her mind about courtesy, lift lines, courtesy, mountain rules, courtesy, maturity, and whatever else. Almost but not quite felt sorry for him.

The moral: Do NOT piss off short women. They're MEAN!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

PanHandler said:


> theres an easy explination.
> 
> Single riders want to met people and get some riding buddies
> 
> Group riders want to talk to their group about stuff that a random probably wouldnt have a clue about, and it would be awkward just having someone sitting there listening to your conversation.


I ride single a lot since I'm off during weekdays a lot, and I don't really want to meet anyone. I just want to get in as many runs as I can, so I'll load on with others. If there is a minimal crowd then I'll wait for an open chair but if there is any sort of line then I just group up. Don't feel as if you have to make small talk either. The last thing I feel like doing when I'm riding is talk about work, so when people ask, "So what do you do?" I just tell them, "I don't talk about work when I'm up here. How's the snow today?"


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Toecutter said:


> The last thing I feel like doing when I'm riding is talk about work, so when people ask, "So what do you do?" I just tell them, "I don't talk about work when I'm up here. How's the snow today?"


Ya know, I hadn't thought about it before now, but I don't think I've _ever_ talked about work on the lift. Just seems too foreign when you're in that zen state.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Donutz said:


> Ya know, I hadn't thought about it before now, but I don't think I've _ever_ talked about work on the lift. Just seems too foreign when you're in that zen state.


Totally. Most people find something related to the conditions to talk about but once in awhile I get someone who asks chitty-chat cocktail party questions to fill the void. I'm perfectly comfortable with silence too, so if they don't say anything I'm okay with that.


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

PanHandler said:


> Single riders want to met people and get some riding buddies
> 
> Group riders want to talk to their group about stuff that a random probably wouldnt have a clue about, and it would be awkward just having someone sitting there listening to your conversation.


Not appropriate on a pow day. Fill the chairs. Couldn't care less about meeting people. I want to maximize my laps. Some are annoyed for hijacking a chair with a threesome. Fuck em.

If there are no lift lines and no pow, I'll let them have their own party chair and take the next.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Grizz said:


> Not appropriate on a pow day. Fill the chairs. Couldn't care less about meeting people. I want to maximize my laps. Some are annoyed for hijacking a chair with a threesome. Fuck em.
> 
> If there are no lift lines and no pow, I'll let them have their own party chair and take the next.


At Bachy the lifties do a pretty good job of getting people to fill chairs on pow days/busy days. There is a pre-loading area where people "quad up" and wait. The liftie orchestrates the movement and calls out "front row come forward!" and people file forward. If there are fewer than four people side-by-side they grab a single and say, "You. Go with those three!" It works pretty well and wait times are a few minutes at most even on really busy days. If someone is about to get a private chair then the mob usually goes apeshit and people start yelling, "Fill the fucking chairs!!!"


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Grizz said:


> Love playing lift line chicken with those tools.


Yeah I always look back like "Oh you're not coming?".

The best was around 10 years ago skating up the singles line next to a skier, who then said "I'm not riding up with a snowboarder!". Chair came around, he started to move up and so did I but he hit the ski pole-breaks-and-reverse and took the next one. If he's not riding with me I'm not waiting 

I will say though, at least once and hour when I'm riding solo I see someone in the singles line thinking they can snake a group of 2 on a 3 person chair and ride alone while the others wait, I guess the other people are at fault for not getting up next to the single rider though. Not cool anyways.


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## baldylox (Dec 27, 2007)

Deviant said:


> I will say though, at least once and hour when I'm riding solo I see someone in the singles line thinking they can snake a group of 2 on a 3 person chair and ride alone while the others wait, I guess the other people are at fault for not getting up next to the single rider though. Not cool anyways.


Not cool on the part of the pair.


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Deviant said:


> Yeah I always look back like "Oh you're not coming?".


You can usually tell when they will try and pull the we're staying shit. The trick is to act like you're spacing out and delay moving until they do. It works best if you are on the outside. I like to give them the impression I'm hanging out as long as they are.

It's funny hearing the stress level in their voices rise as you have this conversation....

Them: Go!
Me: You go
Them: Go!!!
Me: Naw, you go

Then grab the chair at the last second with or without them.


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Toecutter said:


> At Bachy the lifties do a pretty good job of getting people to fill chairs on pow days/busy days.


Good lifties definitely deserve more than minimum wage. They make things so much smoother on busy days. 

A free for all can be fun, but only when I'm riding single.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

Yeah there are those powder days where the line up is going past the corral, but the singles line is almost always smaller, so even when I'm riding with friends sometimes we'll all go single to get more laps in.

I don't mind making small chat, unless I got my tunes going then I try to ignore them without trying to seem too rude. Kind of the same thing when your asking someone how their day is going and they got their tunes going and you get ignored, but at least the others on the chair will usually make a joke about it or something.


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