Lift Line Etiquette

[BenedictGomez]

Not a terrible idea. It would fill every seat. There is nothing worse than empty seats going up on a busy day.

I dont think it's a crazy idea at all. That's exactly how some amusement parks handle long lines.

You could do it with long metal lanes, just like an amusement park. Force people into groups of 4 long before the, "oh my gosh, the chair's almost here" moment occurs. While we're all used to this, it's inefficient.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I always thought the etiquette was as BenidectGomez described, it wasn't until a discussion here where I found people thinking that it's not rude to "game" the singles line as described here.

Obviously the majority of skiers do in fact view it as rude, as it doesn't take a leading brain surgeon to figure out that logic dictates virtually everyone would "game" it just as you say, were that not the case.

If the majority opinion were that it is in fact perfectly acceptable, then there would be no discussion in this thread, because the "singles line advantage" would simply not exist.

#GameTheory

 

[steamboat1]

Single Lines at a Double Chair are retarded. If all the singles get in the single line then there's nobody to pair up with and the liftie has to start pairing up people out of the singles line. Retarded.

I think it's cause people are so zonked out by the advent of high speed detachable lifts they need some authority figure to tell them what to do and can't interact with other humans normally.

Back in the day you'd just ski up to the side of the line, shout "Single!? Single!?" and pick the person with their pole in the air closest to the front of the line, duck the rope 'scuse me, coming thru and there you go...I miss the old days.

Yep worked fine in the past.

 

[steamboat1]

Singles in the group line is what pisses me off. Don't they know there's a singles line.

 

[deadheadskier]

Make a poll. If it's a majority of people that think it's "wrong" for people who are skiing in a group to use the singles line, I bet the majority is slight.

As long as the people who use the singles line has no preconceived notion that they still are going to ride up with their skiing partners, I could honestly care less. If I'm grouped up in a line, I'm likely chatting with my ski buddies. I sure as shit am not looking at the singles line to spot "fraudulent singles."

Some years depending on where I get a pass, I end up skiing alone quite frequently. I know this winter will be one of them as I'll be skiing a lot of Saturday mornings at Crotched to get back to my infant son by midday while most people I'd normally be skiing with are traveling further up North. Never in my life have I looked at people conversing in a singles line in front of me and thought to myself, "Those bastards should be in the normal line, they're obviously friends."

 

[SkiFanE]

Yep worked fine in the past.

Yeah, but then people probably complained about their fancy skis getting stepped on, a pole in the eye, etc etc. I am amazed at the idiocy of some people though, queues aRe too much for them- maybe Eastern Europeans? Ever seen their airline counters in European airports? They are seasoned at anarchistic lines, here there'd be fist fights.

 

[SkiFanE]

Obviously the majority of skiers do in fact view it as rude, as it doesn't take a leading brain surgeon to figure out that logic dictates virtually everyone would "game" it just as you say, were that not the case.

If the majority opinion were that it is in fact perfectly acceptable, then there would be no discussion in this thread, because the "singles line advantage" would simply not exist.

#GameTheory

Until this thread in my ~45 years of skiing I never thought there was some notion that you had to be literally skiing alone to use the line. Honest. I always thought if you were willing to ride up alone and with strangers, then you could use it. I didn't know people got their panties in a knot over it. The rest of the people value their time with family and friends over going alone, so I thought. Sometimes I stick with group, sometimes not...husband and I will nearly always single up - but we tend to escape to lifts where it's not needed. Only so many hours of kid-free skiing - so we don't like to stand around.

 

[cdskier]

Singles in the group line is what pisses me off. Don't they know there's a singles line.

I'll admit that I do that at Heaven's Gate once in a while at SB. The only reason though is that if I just came down the Ripcord side of HG, I'm not hiking all the way around the line to get to the singles lane on the left side if I have to go around a lot of people. Often times I'll find a double in line at this point and then we become a triple anyway.

 

[steamboat1]

I'll admit that I do that at Heaven's Gate once in a while at SB. The only reason though is that if I just came down the Ripcord side of HG, I'm not hiking all the way around the line to get to the singles lane on the left side if I have to go around a lot of people. Often times I'll find a double in line at this point and then we become a triple anyway.

You do realize I said that in jest.

 

[skiNEwhere]

Not sure how many resorts actually do this but A basin uses the "front row" method of loading for the black Mtn express, where skiers can only move out to the the final line to the chair when the lifties yellow out front row. After all singles match up to make a group of 4, the liftie will have four singles come out to make a final group of 4. Personally I think this is the most effective.

 

[cdskier]

You do realize I said that in jest.

Hah...nope...missed that! My sarcasm detector is broken tonight! :grin:

 

[ThinkSnow]

How are singles lines abused?

Very interesting how many pages were generated from my initial question....

 

[Domeskier]

Until this thread in my ~45 years of skiing I never thought there was some notion that you had to be literally skiing alone to use the line. Honest. I always thought if you were willing to ride up alone and with strangers, then you could use it.

Same here. As others have mentioned, the purpose of the singles line is to reduce the number of empty seats going up the mountain, not to give line cutting privileges to skiers who don't have friends. My guess is that most people who are skiing in groups prefer to ride the lift together and will wait extra minutes for that privilege. But even if they didn't, the worst result is that there will be no advantage in time-saved for people using the singles line. Since the purpose of the singles line has nothing to do with reducing the wait for lonely skiers, I fail to see how this would cause resorts to eliminate singles lines and start sending up empty chairs instead.

 

[dlague]

How are singles lines abused?

Plain and simple - they are not being abused.

 

[ScottySkis]

Roxbury has no singles line.

 

[Scruffy]

Roxbury has no singles line.

Roxbury has no lift line to speak of.

 

[mister moose]

Same here. As others have mentioned, the purpose of the singles line is to reduce the number of empty seats going up the mountain, not to give line cutting privileges to skiers who don't have friends.

Exactly.

Just don't think you can go in the singles line with a friend and then screw it up at loading time by clogging the line by waiting for enough room to go up together.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I never thought there was some notion that you had to be literally skiing alone to use the line. Honest. I always thought if you were willing to ride up alone and with strangers, then you could use it.

 

[Domeskier]

 

[VTKilarney]

If the lift line is a free market, then the following is at work:

1) Most skiers skiing as a group value staying as a group more than trimming a few minutes off of their wait for the lift.

2) Some group-skiers don't place more value in a shorter wait than they do staying in a group.

3) Single skiers have shorter waits since there is no incentive for group-skiers to enter the single line if there is no time savings.

IMHO everyone is getting what they want. It's just that different skiers want different things. And even if group-skiers enter the singles line, single skiers are still waiting less to board a chair than the majority of group skiers.

BG seems to be forgetting that group-skiers who enter the single line are giving something up (staying as a group) for the privilege of doing so. That's a very important factor in the equation.

I don't necessarily see it as a "me first" action. I see it more as a "which benefit do I value the most" action.

That being said, I do have a SERIOUS problem with single-line skiers who insist on riding as a group when they get to the chair. They are just gaming the system and engaging in a "me first at all times" attitude.