Chairlift Entertainment or Awkwardness

dlague · Nov 23, 2014

Do you ever have that chairlift ride where the person next to you sits there stiff as a board and hopes that little to no conversation takes place?

Well here is a link with ideas to break the ice!

http://mpora.com/articles/23-ways-i...t-ride-incredibly-awkward#eer64wdrg0MaIYor.01

Do any of you have any ideas? I have few!

joshua segal · Nov 23, 2014

dlague said:
Do you ever have that chairlift ride where the person next to you sits there stiff as a board and hopes that little to no conversation takes place?

...

Do any of you have any ideas? I have few!

There are many types of people who won't talk to you. In my years, I've encountered all of the following:
1. The child who tells me, "My parents told me not to talk to strangers."
2. The person who fears heights and is focusing all of their energy to overcome and just reach the top.
3. The relatively new skier who is stressed out, wonder if s/he will be able to negotiate the exit ramp.
4. The truly unsociable who sit there with music blaring into their ear-pods.
5. So doped out or drunk, they couldn't carry on a conversation if they wanted to.

There are probably a bunch more that you can add to this list.

Not Sure · Nov 23, 2014

This instuctional Video may help, Was made for elevators but relevant.

murff81 · Nov 23, 2014

Lol....awesome topic....I wear ear buds and ALWAYS take them out for the chairlift ride to be able to talk.....only once yesterday did a person do the whole 'sit there and not talk'....it was awkward, he was younger so I choked it up to that...

123kathleen · Nov 23, 2014

There are worse things than being on a chair lift with anti-social people. My teenage sons have finally deserted me on the slopes and old mom is often riding the quad with 3 strangers. The conversations I have been forced to listen too are truly unbelievable, learning about who hooked with who the night before , very detailed personal info, drama at work, even worse , politics. Keep the conversations light folks or just enjoyed the beauty and solitude of a great day being disconnected from the craziness and stress of Monday- Friday! Ps. I'll talk to anyone on a lift ride..goes by faster. Chairlift is a great way to find stuff out...On a chairlift ride I found out that a condo in a complex I was interested in was getting foreclosed on....4 weeks later I moved in!

Savemeasammy · Nov 23, 2014

Not sure which is worse, riding a chair with someone who is completely anti-social or riding with someone who is amazingly socially-akward. But this I do know, the worst lift to experience such a ride: Madonna I. Luckily it is one of the best (albeit long) rides around, so that makes it better.

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Riverskier · Nov 23, 2014

I am that guy! Though I will speak when others initiate conversation, and as a result have had some interesting conversations over the years. Just have no use for "do you ski here often" or "where are you from", conversation for the sake of conversation. Kind of nice to have a quiet ride and enjoy my surroundings.

newskier · Nov 23, 2014

Yeah, I'm with Riverskier. I'll talk if the other person initiates conversation--I'm not going to snub someone--but I generally don't like small talk.

darent · Nov 23, 2014

Riverskier said:
I am that guy! Though I will speak when others initiate conversation, and as a result have had some interesting conversations over the years. Just have no use for "do you ski here often" or "where are you from", conversation for the sake of conversation. Kind of nice to have a quiet ride and enjoy my surroundings.

amen brother!! I will chat if spoken to, but do enjoy a quiet ride.

freeski · Nov 23, 2014

I was at Cannon a few years ago and right after lunch I thought I would take a run at the Tuckerbrook area. When I get to the chair a ski instructor asks "Can Emma can ride up with you?" Yea sure; I look down and Emma is maybe 4, a small 4. They slow the chair down and she sits down and we start up. I was immediately petrified. The chair is pretty high may be 20' and even though she is sitting all the way back she is maybe 15" on the chair. I didn't want to tell her to lean back because I thought it would make her slide forward. The whole way up I was scared to death. She was so bundled up she couldn't talk or maybe was too scared. So we get to the top and I'm waving to the lift attendant to slow the chair down and he's not looking at me. I know she's not going to be able to get off the chair so at the last moment I grabbed her jacket behind her neck and lifted her off the chair and gently put her down halfway down the ramp. I looked back and she waved to me. I'll never forget the name Emma or how scared I was she would fall.

ss20 · Nov 23, 2014

Covo starter that'll definitely get a response: "Seen any good porn lately?"

Handbanana · Nov 23, 2014

I'll typically say "hey how's it goin" when I jump in a gondola or on a chair. If people want to chit chat past that, that's cool, but I don't interject myself into their conversations otherwise. For instance, the first time ever up the gondola at Stowe (last year), I had a really nice convo with a guy who gave me dinner recommendations, told me where to find some decent trees, and also some areas to avoid. The rest of my 2 days there I don't think I had another lift conversation at all. I was cool with either way.

MadMadWorld · Nov 24, 2014

I've had some interesting conversations on a chairlift. Nothing is better than a good conversation with a child about skiing. I had the chance to ride up with a 6 yr old of a forum member while we were at Magic last year. This was the jist of it:

"Can we ski Redline?"
"No sorry"
"Why?"
"Because your dad said no"
"What if they skied a different trail?"
"Still no"
"What if we skied a different trail and cut over?"
"Good try"
"Okay let's ski Blackline"

Couldn't help but smile

Savemeasammy · Nov 24, 2014

I'm happy to send him up with someone else on occasion. This is pretty much the story of my life.

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BenedictGomez · Nov 24, 2014

I don't mind making some smalltalk, sometimes you meet some interesting people. I also don't mind people who don't say a word the whole way up (maybe they enjoy nature or aren't social).

The people I find the most annoying are the people who don't shut up the entire time, from boarding to departing.

dlague · Nov 24, 2014

MadMadWorld said:
I've had some interesting conversations on a chairlift. Nothing is better than a good conversation with a child about skiing. I had the chance to ride up with a 6 yr old of a forum member while we were at Magic last year. This was the jist of it:

"Can we ski Redline?"
"No sorry"
"Why?"
"Because your dad said no"
"What if they skied a different trail?"
"Still no"
"What if we skied a different trail and cut over?"
"Good try"
"Okay let's ski Blackline"

Couldn't help but smile

We often get asked if we would let a child tag along and then sometimes very strange conversations take place!

On a different note - if on a lift with an adult, my wife and I thought about talking like we are cheating on our spouses then act like we are panicking that we just saw one if them.

Not Sure · Nov 24, 2014

Back when I was single, before triples and Quads I got a few dates on busy crowded days.

steamboat1 · Nov 25, 2014

It's all good.

jack97 · Nov 25, 2014

ss20 said:
Covo starter that'll definitely get a response: "Seen any good porn lately?"

lol

from the op article, why are the boarders carrying their boards on the chairlift?

skiNEwhere · Nov 25, 2014

I was on the chair with this like 9 year old kid last year who was getting a lesson. This kid was an out of control, spoiled snob. He was sitting on the inside seat, and kept trying to hit every tower we passed with his snowboard. He was yelling profanities at every skier/rider that passed below us, telling them they suck, and how he was so much better than them.

He was saying how he could so jump off the chairlift from that point (I was kind of hoping he would) , the instructor was trying to get him to just sit still and stop trying to hit the tower with his board since he was leaning out so far. Seeing as he was a kid there was no way his legs were long enough to even come close, but dammit he was trying. I met eyes with the instructor, and they basically said "they don't pay me enough for this shit, I can't wait for this lesson to be over"

I should've hip checked him when we were uploading.

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