First Chair v. Last Chair

[icedtea]

I usually try to time it so I'm at the lift about 5 minutes after it starts spinning. The obsessive-compulsive people who got there early and were pissing and moaning for them to spin the lift are gone. Boot up in the condo, drive the 2 miles to close-in parking, walk a few hundred feet to the gondola, arrive at the top with that first mass of people gone. Pick a way down with an eastern exposure so I have good light.

Where I ski at freakin' KMart, there are few western exposures so the afternoon light is lousy midwinter. Yesterday was a sunny day with a crystal blue sky. The light got really flat at 3:00 even though I was in the trees where there should have been good contrast.

last season we almost got into a fight on the k1 when some ass clowns rushed the gondola and tried to keep my gf out, even tho we were waiting for the open for about 35 mins. they had to stop the gondola and pull out these fools or else it would have been an interesting ride to the top.

also last thursday wild bill and his posse thought they should cut everyone in the k1 line when it opened around ten. talk about toothless rutland wonders...... i heard the dude comes to the mountain strapped with a piece. so respectable, people have called him the charles manson of killington with his dirtbag lackeys following him around.

 

[2knees]

both. I ski bell to bell every time I go out.

i was like that when i was younger. had to be there for first chair and didnt even want to stop for lunch.

now, on an average day, i'm there around 10 and i rarely make it to last chair.

hell, on a powder day, i'm there around 10 and rarely make it to last chair.

 

[Beetlenut]

Definitely last chair. Largely because I'm really not a morning person. There's also something triumphant and peaceful about the last chair, knowing you sweated it out longer than everybody else, and a nice reflection on a good day.

Waking up at 4-4:30 on a Saturday is just not for me, though. Plus it's cold in the morning,

+1 I enjoy last chair. Use to bring a beer up for the last run. Sit off the side ot the trail and enjoy a beverage and listen to it become very quiet. Something about skiing down after everybody has gone but before the sweep. Nice way to end the day

 

[tjf67]

I’m talking average day, NOT powder day.

First Chair Pros

You only have to deal with those waiting with you for the rope to drop.
The mountain is fresh
You’re fresh too

Cons

usually coldest part of the day so snow needs to soften up
You had to get up early

Last Chair Pros

Everyone has packed it in



I like them both. I guess that why I have dou
There’s a feel serenity

Cons

Light is flat
Mt. skied off

I like them both, but I’m a first chair guy. Please add to the pros and cons and give your preference.

I have been on a run this year. I have double digit days of first chair/ last chair.

First chair. Powder or fresh cord for mach ten speeds.

Last chair nail the sno gun trail that is all bumped up to finish strong.

Beer O'clock feels so good after a full day.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

last season we almost got into a fight on the k1 when some ass clowns rushed the gondola and tried to keep my gf out, even tho we were waiting for the open for about 35 mins. they had to stop the gondola and pull out these fools or else it would have been an interesting ride to the top.

also last thursday wild bill and his posse thought they should cut everyone in the k1 line when it opened around ten. talk about toothless rutland wonders...... i heard the dude comes to the mountain strapped with a piece. so respectable, people have called him the charles manson of killington with his dirtbag lackeys following him around.

Dude, I hope Kmart is comping you a free pass for all the good pub you're giving them. ;-)

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

+1 I enjoy last chair. Use to bring a beer up for the last run. Sit off the side ot the trail and enjoy a beverage and listen to it become very quiet. Something about skiing down after everybody has gone but before the sweep. Nice way to end the day

Nice, I'm feelin ya.

 

[tjf67]

Depends on where we are in the season. Early season I like the first chair, but in the spring time I prefer the last chair. Where spring snow can be pretty icy in the morning I'll get out at 10 or so and go all the way til 4. With the day being so much longer in April and May it is very enjoyable to take that last run and then watch a beautiful sunset.

You have been skiing for a while. BINGO!!

 

[tjf67]

BUT the original post specified that powder days don't count. Last chair is good only if the storm goes all day during the day and the ski area is empty and it is refilling or still filling in certain lines. On a weekend, even if it nukes, chances are things are not actually refilling because they are getting beaten too much, even late in the day.

Pro skiing at whiteface. I have never seen it busy after 2 in the afternoon. That A fact jack

 

[icedtea]

Dude, I hope Kmart is comping you a free pass for all the good pub you're giving them. ;-)

people bug on pow days.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Usually first chair , done by 3 pm

PRO:
I'm a morning person
Like leaving my tracks on the uncut -helps me to assess quality of my turns from the lift
place where i ski first tracks are usually only a small group so it stays primo for some time
no skier/boarder density
just the feeling of getting it started

CONS:
Gotta get up with the friggin chickens to make it
Often colder than a well diggers rear end
ice and snow from previous nite still on some lift chairs

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

BUT the original post specified that powder days don't count. Last chair is good only if the storm goes all day during the day and the ski area is empty and it is refilling or still filling in certain lines. On a weekend, even if it nukes, chances are things are not actually refilling because they are getting beaten too much, even late in the day.

A storm day isn't necassarily a powder day if it doesn't start snowing until 2PM..and there are always untracked lines in the woods..

 

[jaywbigred]

I guess I understand the allure of first chair. I've done it enough to see that...

But man, the way some people treat it, it makes skiing like work. Rushing, gotta be there, being dissappointed if you don't make it. Wtf? Skiing is a leisure time acitivity. You are supposed to have fun.

I usually ski on the weekend; getting up before 7 on a saturday not only has you exhausted by dinner time...it also ruins the party the night before. So most of the time I am a last chair kind of guy. If I am skiing for a straight week, I'll go first chair 2 or 3 times, but if its a normal weekend, I'll prob go last chair on Saturday.

In my experience, even on the most crowded holiday weekends, you can get plum tuckered out/your money's worth skiing 10-4. You can also find uncrowded trails almost all of the time.

 

[drjeff]

I guess I understand the allure of first chair. I've done it enough to see that...

But man, the way some people treat it, it makes skiing like work. Rushing, gotta be there, being dissappointed if you don't make it. Wtf? Skiing is a leisure time acitivity. You are supposed to have fun.

I usually ski on the weekend; getting up before 7 on a saturday not only has you exhausted by dinner time...it also ruins the party the night before. So most of the time I am a last chair kind of guy. If I am skiing for a straight week, I'll go first chair 2 or 3 times, but if its a normal weekend, I'll prob go last chair on Saturday.

My kids make 1st chair easy, as they seem to have internal alarm clocks that won't let them sleep past 6/6:15 at the latest. And when the mountain is just a quick 5 minute shuttle bus ride away, first chair it is for my family

In my experience, even on the most crowded holiday weekends, you can get plum tuckered out/your money's worth skiing 10-4. You can also find uncrowded trails almost all of the time.

Agree 100%, just shift the ski time to 8-2 for me

 

[SKidds]

"In the days of my youth I was taught what it means to be a.................skier. Now I've reached that age I've tried to do all those things the best I can. No matter how I try I find my way into the same old jam. Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share............"

That song is the first thing I thought of as I read your question. I was taught, in my youth, that you were a balloon (my uncles word back in the day for a modern day slacker) if you weren't on both first chair and last. Alas, I've reached that age where I do my best to hold to that, but I have to admit to sneaking into the base lodge for a beer at 3:45 when I could have grabbed one more run on a lower mountain lift. But I still do push it as far as I can to the end of the day, hence the jam part in the form of a little extra ache in the muscles for having gone one run too many....not to mention the near misses with a caught edge and a spill on legs that are just a little too tired. But that is the life of a part time skier. You have no choice but to be (or try to be) a first and last chair skier.

Now for you season pass holding regulars who are on the mountain all the time, you have the luxury of not skiing every minute of every day you are out. That being the case, it's first chair all the way. Really, you aren't going for just one run. So weather you are a first chair person or a last chair person, you are still there midday. You both get the benefits of some uncrowded slopes (first chair before others are out, last chair after others have gone in). What the last chair person doesn't get is the best conditions, in better light, on fresher legs. What last chair person does get is their uncrowded runs on skied off trails, in flat light, on tired legs. No thanks. So you get a little extra cold in the am...so what. If you don't like cold you shouldn't be skiing. So, it's first chair all the way

 

[billski]

My kids make 1st chair easy, as they seem to have internal alarm clocks that won't let them sleep past 6/6:15 at the latest.

You must not have teenage girls!

 

[billski]

But man, the way some people treat it, it makes skiing like work. Rushing, gotta be there, being dissappointed if you don't make it. Wtf? Skiing is a leisure time acitivity. You are supposed to have fun.

True dat. Once you open up to skiing non-groomer stuff, it gives you a lot more choices. There are always plenty of interesting non-groomer places, including pow stashes to hit anytime of the day. Otherwise, it's everyone doing the same thing on the same places all day. Not my thing.

 

[drjeff]

You must not have teenage girls!

Not for the next 8 years atleast

 

[billski]

Not for the next 8 years atleast

Enjoy it while you can. I lived your life too. When effervescence descends upon them, first order of business is fro YOU to don your helmet. Second is an expectation reset. 6AM becomes 1PM overnight. Getting them out on the slopes by lunchtime is Herculean. I end up skiing the morning with the boys. When I come in for lunch, we meet in the lodge, they are just getting suited. It works, but it's never the same again.

I have three girls, it was like clockwork.

 

[dbking]

Of course, first chair is usually the best turns but in defence of the last chair, it often means that patrol is in their shack waiting for sweep. This is an excellent time to poach a closed trail. Not that I would ever do such a thing.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

"In the days of my youth I was taught what it means to be a.................skier. Now I've reached that age I've tried to do all those things the best I can. No matter how I try I find my way into the same old jam. Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share............"

That song is the first thing I thought of as I read your question. I was taught, in my youth, that you were a balloon (my uncles word back in the day for a modern day slacker) if you weren't on both first chair and last. Alas, I've reached that age where I do my best to hold to that, but I have to admit to sneaking into the base lodge for a beer at 3:45 when I could have grabbed one more run on a lower mountain lift. But I still do push it as far as I can to the end of the day, hence the jam part in the form of a little extra ache in the muscles for having gone one run too many....not to mention the near misses with a caught edge and a spill on legs that are just a little too tired. But that is the life of a part time skier. You have no choice but to be (or try to be) a first and last chair skier.

Now for you season pass holding regulars who are on the mountain all the time, you have the luxury of not skiing every minute of every day you are out. That being the case, it's first chair all the way. Really, you aren't going for just one run. So weather you are a first chair person or a last chair person, you are still there midday. You both get the benefits of some uncrowded slopes (first chair before others are out, last chair after others have gone in). What the last chair person doesn't get is the best conditions, in better light, on fresher legs. What last chair person does get is their uncrowded runs on skied off trails, in flat light, on tired legs. No thanks. So you get a little extra cold in the am...so what. If you don't like cold you shouldn't be skiing. So, it's first chair all the way

Awesome..