Anyone Else Losing the Love for Lift Serviced Skiing

[Ken_R]

Love it.
Anything to thin out the lift lines.

It wont make even a sliver of difference to the crowds on the resorts. The increased interest in the backcountry has however advanced the technology and products available which is great. The ski industry needed a boost and this has provided it. It has resulted in greatly improved boots that are good for the resort but light enough, with good enough soles and walk modes for the backcountry (and the parking lot / après). Binding and ski tech has advanced as well.

Ski touring and cat guiding operations have benefited as well since the whole ski experience inside the resorts during peak periods has deteriorated so so much over the years that they provide an amazing experience to those who can pay it. They can provide guests with untracked powder all day in easy to ski areas days after storms.

That said, the mostly hard and mixed snow conditions at the resorts has improved my skiing greatly.

 

[agreen]

Reread the question.
(Anyone else losing the love for lift serviced skiing?)
Many comments for using a lift.
Think helicopters.
Thinks snowcats.
Think nordic.
Think alpine touring.
Think boot packing.
Is all back country/touring terrain equally avalanche prone?
Think geomorphology (surface).
Think weather. Past predicts future.

Thanks for comments.
Perhaps a thread for "Why You Enjoy Lift Serviced Skiing"

yeah the 1st thing I thought of was copters and cats. now I just need the dough...

 

[at_nyc]

Anything to thin out the lift lines.

But wait, the OP said he does ski in resorts early season, he adds to the crowd where there're only limited trails.

But I guess the lift lines won't be a problem when there's only WROD.

 

[JPM]

But wait, the OP said he does ski in resorts early season, he adds to the crowd where there're only limited trails.

But I guess the lift lines won't be a problem when there's only WROD.

Reread the question.
Think lifts.
Think resort uphill policy.
Learn Dutch Hill, Hogback, White Grass.

 

[agreen]

Reread the question.
.

You got that on speed dial. WE CAN READ!!!

 

[JPM]

WROD????

Pics taken Nov 19, 2017. Two weeks before lifts started spinning.

Summer Road, skinning up to Catherine's Pass

Below Sunset in Catherine's.

Draft saved​

Sugarloaf Mtn ,East Greely, Greely.

Busy day, natural cover.

Uphill traffic is permitted on Summer Road to Catherine's when ski area is open.

 

[JPM]

You got that on speed dial. WE CAN READ!!!

Some are having difficulty understanding the question. It's about losing the love for riding a lift, not reasons for riding a lift.

 

[DanoT]

I am not a back country skier but suggested to a friend who is that because the bc is not always powder, you really have to like the Up as much as the Down. "NO" was the emphatic reply, "I enjoy the Up more than the Down".

 

[JPM]

I am not a back country skier but suggested to a friend who is that because the bc is not always powder, you really have to like the Up as much as the Down. "NO" was the emphatic reply, "I enjoy the Up more than the Down".

Thanks Dano. One of the few simple answers offered I can relate too.

 

[tball]

I do quite a bit of boot packed hike-to skiing. Also some cat skiing. Love them both.

Both are inbounds and require lifts to access. Does that count? Not backcountry, but it's a very different experience than normal lift-served skiing.

 

[Ken_R]

Oh Hellllll No!

 

[JPM]

I do quite a bit of boot packed hike-to skiing. Also some cat skiing. Love them both.

Both are inbounds and require lifts to access. Does that count? Not backcountry, but it's a very different experience than normal lift-served skiing.

Of course it counts. Only if you appreciate the up, are smiling on the down and repeat these words; I hope they never put a lift up in here.

 

[tromano]

Nope.

 

[Slim]

In general I like a backcountry experience more. But there are many positives to resort skiing too, and not all resort skiing is the same. If it’s busy, with long lift lines, and big lift towers everywhere in view, along withgint bulldozed runs , stuck on the same face all the time, yeah not so great.
But if it’s quiet day, in an area with minimal developent, and nice snow, and if you can really cover some ground and get to different ridges and basins, then it’s great.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Looking to do more BC as my kids get older, but we have learned to avoid lines. Over February vacation we stayed Monday to Friday to miss the lines, and when the conditions deteriorated we hiked up to a waterfall rather than skiing. Now I have to buy three more pairs of microspikes and associated hiking gear.

 

[locknload]

To clarify -- you ski inbounds because you want to always be able to ski steep terrain.

When I see the avalanche warning go high, it's not a sign I have to be in the resort. Its a sign I have to choose my terrain carefully. And that is a-okay, because I am happy to ski 20-degree trees in deep pow all day.

Well said. Obviously, avoiding unpatrolled slopes beyond the ropes is a nearly 100% risk mitigation plan for avalanches...however there are in-bounds avalanches that kill people from time to time. That said, proper education, training and route selection in the BC can also allow you ski safely even while avalanche conditions exist. Studying avalanche forecasts, understanding the underlying avalanche problems and associated aspects as well as managing your slope angle can keep you safe. Its important to take the time to dig pits and analyze the snow for yourself and not just drop in "because everybody else did". The larger problem is that I think people get complacent and decide its too much effort to dig pits and just want to ski. No powder run is worth my life..no matter how great it is. I love getting out of the resort but you still have be smart and thoughtful when you do it.

 

[LegacyGT]

Definitely love the up. More than the down? Not so sure. But it's most of the energy and time so you better enjoy it. I do all my skiing in bounds. I've been skiing the same resort for over 30 years and I know how to avoid the lines 90% of the time. But on holiday weekends I stick on the skins and make my way up. You have to keep an eye out for downhill traffic and smile politely when the 12th person tells you you're "going the wrong way" but it beats lift lines.

In Southern VT there are a number of abandoned ski areas and some forest land that offer a backcountry experience

 

[OldSchool47]

Lost it years ago.

 

[neonorchid]

Lost it years ago.

Nice turns! Is that you? What ski, more specifically what width shovel? I have those Alpina Alaska BC-NNN and a 78mm (shovel) Fischer S-Bound 78 ski and can only do very long radius "GS" telle-turns. Been thinking about moving up to the S-Bound 98 or whatever the current version is called. Help with turns and float, not sure if the BC-NNN Alaska boot is enough to drive that ski.

 

[OldSchool47]

Nice turns! Is that you? What ski, more specifically what width shovel? I have those Alpina Alaska BC-NNN and a 78mm (shovel) Fischer S-Bound 78 ski and can only do very long radius "GS" telle-turns. Been thinking about moving up to the S-Bound 98 or whatever the current version is called. Help with turns and float, not sure if the BC-NNN Alaska boot is enough to drive that ski.

No. He is who I aspire to be. Salomon XADV 69. Very similar boots and bindings. Spent 100% of my time skiing the bumps when I was young. Should have spent 50% bump, 50% XCD. Woulda coulda shoulda.