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I'm afraid of chairlifts.

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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22671 - Karma: 75,830
I'm just coming out and saying it. I am absolutely, completely, uncontrollably terrified of fucking chairlifts.

Worst part about it is that the BEST skiing is always accessed by the worst chairlifts.

I just suck it up and do it, but I've been known to be so scared I literally cried.

WTF is my brain doing to me? Anyone else out there?

Nov 1 2012 9:55PM
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Rossitron
Posts: 55 - Karma: 19
That's pretty much when I freak out too. It's just the really high points of the chair, where you would most likely die if you fell, that make me nervous.
Crazy story: I was at Kirkwood this year and they had an airbag at the bottom of the park. It was kinda windy and someone fucked up and didn't anchor it right. Well a big gust of wind came and took it right into the bottom of chair 6 and derailed it. They had to repel everyone off the lift. Luckily I wasn't on it but I was chair 5 as the bag slid under our chair.
Nov 2 2012 12:00AM
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KapitolPhoto
Posts: 1392 - Karma: 3,025
How did you survive Blackcomb in the Summer?

Scariest lift is in Åre, Sweden. There's one lift that shares a lift tower with another lift, so you go up & over the other lift by another additional 50-70 feet. That's when I started having anxiety about lifts. Ask Schmuck & Charlie Grinnell, they laugh uncontrollably everytime Im on a lift with them.
Nov 2 2012 12:03AM
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acc
Posts: 4122 - Karma: 222
I'm sure you did some crazy stupid shit on the Whistler glacier chairlifts in your time Doug
Nov 2 2012 12:05AM
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FilmingBitch
Posts: 6463 - Karma: 212
The one without the bar that you go over open rock faces? With the extremely narrow seat? And it DID access the best skiing at A-basin, at least when I was there. They don't usually bother me (sorry Doug) but that one was freaky.
Nov 2 2012 12:28AM
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Panda_with_Guns
Posts: 3040 - Karma: 1,620
I'm only really afraid when it's windy as shit. My tips will get caught by the wind and even if I have the bar down I'll be grasping fir life. My first time I went to echo mt it was white out and me and my friends were the first people there and on the lift. About halfway through it just stops and we are just like "oh fuck" and sit there for a good 20 mins. We finally start to bounce the chair to get some attention to the lufties and the chair goes again. One if my worst expieriences with lifts
Nov 2 2012 12:31AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22671 - Karma: 75,830
Seriously, every day was a challenge. I used those chair rides as training to try to beat my fears of chairlifts.

AFter a while, I'm able to adopt 'trust' for a certain chair. Within a few years of working there every summer, I was able to do all three chairs both ways no bar. I still get freaked the fuck out, but I can do it if I have to.
Nov 2 2012 12:37AM
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manutdsaol
Posts: 906 - Karma: 56
I don't know I'm just not that afraid of chairlifts. I have only put the bar down once in my life, when I went up red dog chair at squaw.
Nov 2 2012 12:59AM
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Skithedeep
Posts: 645 - Karma: 39
All you gotta do is get evacuated from 80+ feet in gusts of 95-100 in sub-zero temp and you will never be afraid of chair lifts again.

I was never really afraid of them but the intermittent butt-puckering chiarlift events definitely caught my attention, but after dangling in the air being blown 40ft side to side and surviving without a scratch pretty much eliminated any fear of lifts, or at least made me think it can't get much worse.
Nov 2 2012 1:10AM
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funkykid200
Posts: 81 - Karma: 16
just close your eyes and it will be over soon honey
Nov 2 2012 1:10AM
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schism
Posts: 1705 - Karma: 389
After taking some courses about ski lifts, I can't tell you enough about how safe the lifts in BC are.

Stupidly safe, because of the Z-98 codes. There is so many different types of fail safes, relay switches brake forks and fracture switches, deropement catchers etc.

The only thing you should be scared of is falling off which is almost impossible unless you don't put the bar down.
Nov 2 2012 1:15AM
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,940
i pay to ride the chairs, not the chairlift..... don't know about you
Nov 2 2012 1:22AM
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RIP_leos_shack
Posts: 710 - Karma: 3,201
This chairlift:

(fun starts around 2:30)
Nov 2 2012 1:24AM
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bighomieflock
Posts: 2040 - Karma: 2,445
I ski abasin a fair amount and I can't really think of a scary chair haha. Is it pallavicini maybe?
Nov 2 2012 1:26AM
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will_powder
Posts: 3194 - Karma: 5,445
Anyone else get freaked out when a gondola that never stops stops?

The Kicking horse gondola is famous for that. The damn restaurant at the top is always offloading this or that.
Nov 2 2012 1:28AM
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DERS.
Posts: 6299 - Karma: 1,293
downloadings for pussys.

inb4 what about the summer.
getcho rock skis bitch.
Nov 2 2012 1:29AM
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Davy.Crockett
Posts: 5373 - Karma: 323
i would put the bar down more but my legs are too long to get between the little spot for your skis and the bar so i never do
Nov 2 2012 1:29AM
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p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,155
It always seems strange to me when people talk about getting scared of exposure. I'm almost not afraid enough. Big exposure almost pulls me towards it. It's weird...
Nov 2 2012 1:35AM
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Pikachu.
Posts: 1290 - Karma: 1,641
One time i was riding with the bar up on telluride's main lift, which is litterally the least scary lift imaginable. When the lift stops fast and we drop like 10 feet, i was hanging on for dear life. it was very scary
Nov 2 2012 1:37AM
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Yinzer
Posts: 1011 - Karma: 73
I got stuck on a lift for an hour and a half when I was like 12. Right as a an absurd storm for the place rolled in. That was awful. Took my googles off for a second and game over. Amateur mistake. Never did find out why but when they did get it running again it was excruciatingly slow.
Nov 2 2012 1:41AM
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eheath
Posts: 61100 - Karma: 118,255
Hahah you and jeff always need the bar down headed to the glaicer
Nov 2 2012 1:47AM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15949 - Karma: 9,431
That's because Jeff wears sandals and doesn't want them to fall off. I think he wears them on purpose.
Nov 2 2012 1:51AM
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Hi.Phi.
Posts: 602 - Karma: 84
That shit was so steep I for sure thought it was a chairlift to Hades
Nov 2 2012 3:08AM
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KillaSteeze
Posts: 3329 - Karma: 351
I went down the Peak chair during summer, and almost crapped my pants, it's like a sudden drop at the top and all of a sudden you are like 100+ feet high going down
Nov 2 2012 3:16AM
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razors-chaz
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 1,250
If your scared of chairlifts, dont visit the alps. There are some seriously high chairs with high concequence terrain below. Most of the time they run up totally unskiable cliffs and faces so falling off is not a option. Putting the bar down isnt seen as the gaper thing to do when its a 100ft drop to 100+ft cliffs with super dense forest and basically no open snow patches. Shit is properly scary. I like surface uplift but hate rope tows.
Nov 2 2012 5:38AM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
the only place I legitimately lost it while on any sort of lift was on l'aiguille du midi tram.

Going up is fine...incredibly steep with no poles, but it's like any tram until you come into the station, and the damn things rocking back and forth so much that the operator has to stop, and shoot the gap between gusts.


Going down is horrific. Straight down. And when you do hit the 1 pole, you don't realize how much it drops immediately after. I thought we were about to plummet to our deaths...
Nov 2 2012 7:29AM
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pastysmasher
Posts: 780 - Karma: 664
Ive been on a pretty sketchy old tram in courmayuer in Italy on a pretty windy day, it kept on creaking and wobbling which was pretty scary. As for chairlifts though, i find them very enjoyable and relaxing. If i shit myself next time i get on a chairlift i will blame this thread!
Nov 2 2012 7:55AM
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Momo.
Posts: 218 - Karma: 1,244
I saw the movie and it sucked, that's just my opinion.
Nov 2 2012 9:05AM
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DockEllis
Posts: 1131 - Karma: 1,745
Red Lodge is almost like going back in time haha, those lifts are super old and sketchy, fun hill though.
Nov 2 2012 9:54AM
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yuck
Posts: 8384 - Karma: 2,090
the one chair that has scared me the most is the falcon chair at big white. riding that thing in the fog and wind (fog so thick you cant see the chair in front of you) was kinda scary, plus it goes over these jagged ass rocks and the chair is 5000 years old
Nov 2 2012 9:59AM
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Mr.Sloth
Posts: 5091 - Karma: 13,469
Am I the only one who really enjoys chair lifts?
Nov 2 2012 10:09AM
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Vinci
Posts: 701 - Karma: 1,472
You know you're in a park rat forum when people are afraid of riding chairlifts...

Try hiking a +70m high rope route over a crest with full equipment and without harness, that's when shit gets intense.
Nov 2 2012 10:14AM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
I love a nice ride over some groomers, a few small cliffs and over trees.

it's really just down loading, or when the lift acts wacky that i start to dislike it.


All things considered though, they are extremely safe. Think about how many skiers and riders use them worldwide everyday, and how few incidents there are.
Nov 2 2012 10:30AM
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Stainr
Posts: 1186 - Karma: -1,148
Bishop, just take a heli duhh
Nov 2 2012 10:43AM
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TChronic
Posts: 287 - Karma: 82
midwest chairlifts are double as scary, no butt pads so your butt slides around on the hard plastic and......no safety bars.
Nov 2 2012 10:49AM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
imagine being on that french lift when the avalanche came down on it...
Nov 2 2012 10:51AM
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yippie
Posts: 268 - Karma: 91
I don't mind chairlifts but some of them are pretty damn scary. My mom barely ski's anymore because she is afraid of chairlifts. Long time ago she was in a gondola and there was a storm and they had to open both doors so they wouldn't catch as much wind. She also has fear of flying. Maybe something to do with it?
Nov 2 2012 10:54AM
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d.mcknight
Posts: 778 - Karma: 1,539
when i was little, i used to think the chairlift was always going to fall because at my local "mountain" they are too cheap to ever fix anything so everything was super sketchy
Nov 2 2012 11:05AM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
I have to ride the second oldest operating chairlift in the states at my schools local mountain. It's as fast as walking and the chairs are actually wood... strangely enough I've never put the bar down for myself and have never felt unsafe on any chair, even downloading some pretty gnarly stuff out west.

I wouldn't suggest downhill biking for you Bishop, when we ride up at my local mountain we dangle our bikes with the handlebars between our knees as we ride up and you cant put the bar down. It's tricky and sketchy.

Nov 2 2012 11:39AM
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kingsskier
Posts: 6212 - Karma: 2,101
At my original home hill a tree fell across the lift line causing it to fling the close chairs up and derail it. No one died somehow.
Also, there was a slap avalanche (this is fake blown snow) causes by melt underneath and bent a lift support quite a bit. Never thought I would see an avalanche in SE Indiana.
Nov 2 2012 11:39AM
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Daph
Posts: 5978 - Karma: 5,005
Mwahahaha, I could tell you guys some horror stories about every single lift at Big Sky. The best thing is, they buy all their lifts second hand and EVERY lift has something seriously wrong with it. But to save our beloved Mr. Bishop's sanity, I'll hold back
Nov 2 2012 12:32PM
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Eggbert
Posts: 329 - Karma: 46
theres one like that a breck too, also one that makes a 90 degree turn, and feels like its going to shake the world apart.....


scariest one ive been on is the Lower BC mountain express at Beaver creek.... goes over a ridge then drops straight down and crosses a highway..... its terrifying
Nov 2 2012 12:33PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22671 - Karma: 75,830
Honestly I can't imagine that. I have a lot of respect for people that go into the mountains in that kind of severity.

Given the correct opportunity, I'd love to try some really serious skiing. I happen to live in the east, so it isn't the same at the top of a 700' break in the escarpment. I know I'm not a real skier to you because of where I live, but I do my best to enjoy the hard stuff when I have the opportunity.

Nov 2 2012 12:34PM
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Drail
Posts: 14011 - Karma: 10,001
still haven't gotten over your fear eh? I remember 'back in the day' we were at Vail on one of the back bowl chairs and the chair stopped at a really really high point. You started freaking out, we tried to fuck with you but you got really mad at us so we stopped. Poor guy.

While I do see a bit of logic behind the fear as far as the chair breaking goes, the fear of falling off the chair is pretty silly if you ask me. How often do you fall while sitting in a seat? How many people fall off chairlifts anyways?

Have you ever been in a helicopter? While they don't fully scare me, I always have a feeling of distrust when I'm in one. Damn pilots have a death wish flying helicopters for a living I tell ya.
Nov 2 2012 12:34PM
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Ali_Dibden
Posts: 1966 - Karma: 1,688
I can't say i feel the same way but some lifts are definitely sketchy. Two seaters with no guard, OMG!
Nov 2 2012 12:39PM
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ChaseW
Posts: 267 - Karma: 177
I dont know why but I've never put the bar down. possibly because my home mountain doesn't have bars and they are ridiculously high up
Nov 2 2012 12:46PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22671 - Karma: 75,830
Lol... I'm WAY better now than I used to be. I tried to condition myself towards it with years of doing chairlifts every day all summer at camp.

I will never let my fear keep me from good skiing, but damn... still fucking terrified of chairs.
Nov 2 2012 12:58PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22671 - Karma: 75,830
You know actually, what tends to happen to me is that when I'm in control of the situation I have a lot less fear. I've jumped cliffs with zero fear, yet been scared of a chairlift of the same height.

I'd even be less scared to jump off of a chair (if I knew I could land) that I would be to sit on it.

Having control of the situation feels much better.
Nov 2 2012 1:01PM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
That's excactly what's happening. That's the reason why skydiving isn't scarry and bungeejumping is. Because your brain doesn't process the heigh as an immediate threat it doesn't fear, while if it's lower it does.

I don't have much problems with chairlifts, there's only some I really dislike.
Nov 2 2012 1:11PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
That's not even scary, First skiing I ever went on was with the school on a trip and I went on that.
Nov 2 2012 1:28PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,007
The ones that scare me are the double chairs with the bar in the middle

Click for larger image


they have to be the most scary thing as a skinny guy. I weigh 140 pounds on a good day, and went I cook through the singles line and get paired with some fat fuck on a windy day, or even nobody at all, that lift is unbalanced and sways like a motherfucker.
Nov 2 2012 1:29PM
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