Chairlift Conversations

[Trekchick]

Conversation on the chair lift?
Never considered it. I have a fear of talking to strangers.
Severine can attest to that.

 

[downhill04]

I am one of those shy people who would rather sit in silence than make small talk with a stranger on a lift ride. If I am skiing solo I enjoy sitting in silence, unwinding from the last run and thinking about what I am going to do on the next run.

That being said if I am skiing a mountain that is new to me or one that I haven’t skied in years, I tend to open my mouth and ask the other people where they suggest going depending on the conditions that day. One of the first times I did this was my first trip to Sugarloaf. I knew nothing about the mountain but there was a fresh 6”+ on the ground and I was looking for some tree skiing. The gentleman I asked pointed me in the direction of a hidden gem and I had an incredible day.

So you never know, a small chat can provide you with some incredible information and change the trip dramatically. If I didn’t know or find out about this gem my trip would not have been anywhere near as good as it turned out.

 

[deadheadskier]

I like to rip out huge farts in the gondola. It's a real conversation killer.

my uncle and a friend of his were skiing at Killington on Saturday, they complained extensively on Saturday night about the bomb someone dropped in the gondola they were riding in.

now I know :lol:

 

[Johnskiismore]

I'll usually say hi and ask how their day is, if they want to talk okay, if not that's alright also. Strangers or not I like to talk.

 

[MRGisevil]

I keep myself quite entertained on the chairlift, thank you much. Whether anyone else is listening to me is redundant.

 

[vcunning]

I posted this once last summer. It's a great conversation starter on the chairlift, courtesy of Steven Wright:

I went up in a lift with this guy I never met. We went halfway up the mountain without saying a word to each other. Then he said, “You know, this is the first time I’ve been skiing in ten years.” I said, “Really, why’s that?” He said, “I was in jail. You wanna know why?” I said, “No not really.” Then I said, “You’d better tell me why.” He said, “I pushed a total stranger off of a ferris wheel.”

 

[RichT]

I LOVE to talk on the chairlift, since I ski alot by myself (daughter in program, wife professional ski lodger), sometimes I wish the chair would stop for awhile.

 

[Love to Ski]

Nice!

i posted this once last summer. It's a great conversation starter on the chairlift, courtesy of steven wright:

i went up in a lift with this guy i never met. We went halfway up the mountain without saying a word to each other. Then he said, “you know, this is the first time i’ve been skiing in ten years.” i said, “really, why’s that?” he said, “i was in jail. You wanna know why?” i said, “no not really.” then i said, “you’d better tell me why.” he said, “i pushed a total stranger off of a ferris wheel.”

lol!!!! Hahahaha!!!! Thats hillarious!!!!!

 

[Love to Ski]

I love talking on the lifts... I get to learn about the mountain I am on or meet new people or just see how their day is going. Its great! Perhaps there are times I may want a minute of silence to breath from the last run but usually a good chat is nice.

 

[riverc0il]

Depends on so many circumstances. Skiing at Jay at lot and ridding single, you get on lifts with a lot of Quebecois, who often either don't speak English well or what not. So that has biased me to let conversation die often times. Cold weather is a conversation killer. I am going to bundle up and shut up and grin and bear the ride.

Most of the time, I'll give a quick "how's it going" or whatever. If the other person seems interesting or cool to talk to, then I will chat it up. Usually I get most involved with other woods and powder skiers and someone having BC gear on their feet is usually a good conversation starter.

I detest small talk though. I can't stand BS'ing about the weather and that type of non-sense. I'll chat with any one that wants to chat though. But I will also let a conversation die without any uncomfortably if the discussion is a dud.

Interestingly enough, I have met some skiing partners while riding the lift. Usually this happens when the topic of BC is brought up with fellow skiers using BC gear. I have even tipped a few people off on some of the more popular hits on a mountain if they seem cool and we are on the same wave length.

It all depends on so much. Usually depends on how much of a grouch I am on any given day LOL.

 

[yaraj]

Depends, being Scottish it's usually a conversation starter if the person can understand me over in the US. If I'm riding at home you pretty much have to talk to someone if you're riding a T-Bar with them as you're about a foot away from their face and facing them! usually decent banter though with the weegies at Glencoe!

"Awwwwwwwwwriiiiiiite man, Ah jist puuuure nashed up the road this mornin in the motor cos am on the rock'n'roll n ma mucker geed ees a bell last nite. Ah wis pure nuggets in the boozer when he phoned but so am feeling R.A.F. the day. Al no be hitting the Flypaper till ma heid's stoaped bangin man"

"Oh, OK. Nice to meet you ya radge" is quite a normal conversation to have on the T!

 

[mattchuck2]

I usually feel inclined to say something (chair rides feel long and cold when there's no conversation). I usually lead with some innocuous comment about the weather to gauge how the person feels about talking. Then I comment on ski equipment, or something funny on the hill (falls, stupid hats, conditions). That usually takes me about halfway up. Then, if no other conversation spins off, I just sit in silence for the rest of the time. Screw it, I tried.

 

[skiing is life]

there was this one time where me and a few friends got on the gondola at stratton from the sunbowl lodge. we were riding with two compleate strangers. nothing was said until halfway up. and then all in sync we started singing the national anthem. It was hysterical, they just sat there looking at us like we were all insane. we finished, trying to stiffle our laughs and said nothing the rest of the way up.:dunce:

but generally i let the other person start the conversation. Im accually pretty uncomfortable talking with strangers.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

With the MILFs from Jersey and Philly, I say in my best Joey Tribioni voice,"How You Doing"..then they usually tell me about their deadbeat husband or their medical condtitions...

 

[skijay]

Since the quickest way to the summit at Mount Snow or Jiminy Peak when skiing with another person is to use the singles line, I do take advantage to talk to different people.

 

[mondeo]

Depends on mood. If they start, I'm happy to talk about whatever. A decent percentage of the time I'll put a feeler out there. If it's a cute chick or a bumper, I'm more likely to say something. Unfortunately it's more often a bump skier than cute chick, and we aren't that numerous ourselves.

Some of the most enjoyable conversations I have are when I'm the random guy with a group of friends. I think my favorite one so far went something like this:

Guy A: You know that book, Seven Habits of Highly Successful People?
Guy B: Huh?
A: There's a book about seven habits of successful people.
B: Ok.
A: Well I guess the guy wrote another book and added an eighth habit.
B: What is it?
Me: Cocaine.
B: Cocaine?
Me: Yeah, it's the eighth habit of successful people.
A: I like this guy. All lift he's quiet, then out of the blue he just says, "Cocaine."

 

[RichH]

I'm a chatter - can't help it. I usually ski places I've not been before or only a couple of times so I'm keen to find out useful info.

There was the time when the guy next to me had huge icicles on his moustache and I got him talking just to see them move.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Yes as an" Expressive Communication Style" type i'll talk to people and focus on skiing , conditions , trails that are skiing well today , where they 've skied etc, equipment - it does make the ride shorter -- but i 'm pretty attuned to the non verbal types who may need to be either silent or drawn out . I'll respect their needs

 

[BackLoafRiver]

I love talking on the lifts... I get to learn about the mountain I am on or meet new people or just see how their day is going. Its great! Perhaps there are times I may want a minute of silence to breath from the last run but usually a good chat is nice.

+1

I had a great experience on Sunday at Sugarloaf. I met a ski instructor who moved here from Poland a couple years ago. She is full time and was there working with a group of kids from Scotland. Really nice conversation.

That being said, sometimes I just want to tune the world out and enjoy the view

 

[Glenn]

I find the most talkative people tend to be middle aged or a bit older. They usually like to talk about the conditions or how trails have been skiing. Teenagers never say s#it. I notice a lot of kids have earbuds stuffed in their ears with the music blasting.