Dropping Equip. from Chairlift

Hello,
My name is Mike and I am a senior at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna NY. For my EDD class I am trying to come up with a problem statement that I will later solve in the year. Since I love skiing I thought that I could make a problem that revolved around skiing so I could make it a more enjoyable sport. So I was wondering if it is a problem that people constantly drop things while they are riding up a chairlift. I know we all want our hands and arms to be free while riding up a chairlift for different reasons such as adjusting you helmet or face mask, checking the time or you phone or calling a friend. But sometimes when we do such actions, we drop our gloves or ski poles which really sucks as many other people know. So I have constructed this survey to help me figure out if other people also think that that is a problem.
So could you please take a couple of seconds to fill out this survey? (It really takes no time at all. If you have read my post until here it can't hurt to spend an extra few seconds on my survey )

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/drop_equipment2

Thank you so much for all your help!
Mike

For what it is worth, there already are ways to go hands free and still prevent equipment falling. Poles can be slid under your butt and many gloves contain wrist straps so that you can take off your glove and not risk dropping it if the glove slips. Kinda like cameras come with straps. I suppose folks could strap their iPhones too. I've never dropped anything and don't understand those that have this type of problem.

:beer:

There are plenty of problems that are more concerning than someone dropping stuff off a lift.

And its never really that much of a problem. I dropped a glove once in a safety meeting and my only punishment was skiing a burly lift line. I must be a glutton for punishment!

There is already a device to prevent your stuff from falling while you're riding from a chairlift. You turn to the person sitting beside you, ask them to hold your stuff for a minute, do whatever you need to, thank the person holding your stuff, and take it back. Problem solved.

I've been skiing for 20 years now, and I have never dropped something from the lift. It's not that hard.

My wife dropped prescription sun glasses in powder off the lower chairlift at Vail several years ago. They fell in an area that wasn't skied much & like I said were in powder. She went to the ski patrol desk mid mountain & told them approximately where they were dropped. The guy said no problem, come back here lunch time & we'll have them.

They did.

I ski with one of these and have never had a problem

Cannonball said:

I ski with one of these and have never had a problem

Click to expand...

You do drool a lot!

I dropped a pole once at Stowe. Now I typically sit on them.

Hey Mike,

First off, congrats on trying to solve a problem. I think what you are probably seeing in this thread is; the problem isn't as pervasive as you might have thought it is. I'm guessing the issue you are going to face is that the security you get with a solution you try to build has to be balanced with the fact that the problem isn't that widespread.

I've been skiing for about 25 years; and I think I did drop a pole once or twice, but that was about it. My dad used to always give me hell for swinging my skis and told me I would lose one, but it never happened.

I'd be interested in hearing from other sin this thread; if there is something besides a solution like this that they see as an issue?

I know from a technology perspective, it might be cool to see something like an app that shows lift line traffic (wait time) in real-time based on people waiting in the lifts. Almost like Google Maps with the traffic layer, or the DMV when you can see how long the anticipated wait is. That might get more traction.

If you are set on this idea; do you have any specifics in mind with how you would handle this? I was just thinking that maybe even two slotted holes on the front of the restraint bar that you could stick your poles in might be a pretty easy way to at least get something to hold your poles on the way up. Something that could just be attached to the bar with a few U-clamps or something? I could see that being useful. Or even a hook that you could hang the straps on temporarily. The flip side is; it has to be un-entangable so that when you get to the top there is no risk of a struggle to get the things off

bvibert said:

I dropped a pole once at Stowe. Now I typically sit on them.

Click to expand...

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Cannonball said:

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Click to expand...

:-o

Cannonball said:

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Click to expand...

Got me on that one! :lol:

I only drop my spare mitten when there is deep freshies below.....

I completed the survey. I teach my kids to adjust mittens/goggles, either before or after the lift ride. I've seen people drop keys off lifts. Mittens and poles can be replaced. Keys not so much, especially with the security technology embedded in them.

Hey Guys,
Thanks a lot for commenting and completing my survey. I understand that things don't get dropped often from lifts. So looking at that it may not seem like a necessity. But say that if the safety bar had a device on in that could hold things like gloves, poles, helmets, sunglasses, etc.... Would people utilize such a device or not?
So far I have gotten back a lot of feedback from all of you and I really appreciate it all.
In the near future I may modify my survey to finalize my conclusion about this.
Thanks,
Mike

For what it is worth, the original MGR Single chairs used to have hooks on the chair post to hang stuff. But the new Single had the hooks removed due to safety reasons. If a person got hooked onto a chair by a clothing or backpack item, they could go around the bullwheel and not be able to get off. There was an instance a few years back when a kids backpack got stuck on the chair and he was hanging off the thing after failing to get off. There might be other safety issues to consider as well.

Thanks Steve,
If I go through with this I will to test the product thoroughly to make sure that there are no safety issues with it.

jtmunlimited said:

Thanks Steve,
If I go through with this I will to test the product thoroughly to make sure that there are no safety issues with it.

Click to expand...

The bigger issue may be safety regulations for state inspections. You'll want to check those out.

My guess is that Mike is really smart and is somehow using this project to do some skiing or riding with field interviews. I applaud the effort!

@riverc0il
Once I get there I will check out all the safety regulations.

and @vcunning
It would be nice to go around to different mountains and ski all day to test out the product.