Pet Peeves

[ajl50]

Went skiing this weekend- it was great. Only one problem. When I went in for lunch there were no seats. Now I understand that sometimes there are crowds. But this wasn't a case of too many people- not enough seats. Rather it was a case of spread-out-itis. Nothing drives me up a wall more than a group of 4 people who have taken over an entire table (room for eight) with jackets, bags, sneakers, lunch cooler, table cloth, trash, helmets, ski poles, and grandma knitting.
There are lockers for that stuff - or leave some of it in car (not grandma). I try to be respectful of how much space I take up because I know we all want to sit and eat so it just drives me nuts when other people don't.
What drives my fellow skiiers nuts?
(If one of you do the above - no worries I prob. do something that drives you nuts?)

 

[billski]

Went skiing this weekend- it was great. Only one problem. When I went in for lunch there were no seats. Now I understand that sometimes there are crowds. But this wasn't a case of too many people- not enough seats. Rather it was a case of spread-out-itis. Nothing drives me up a wall more than a group of 4 people who have taken over an entire table (room for eight) with jackets, bags, sneakers, lunch cooler, table cloth, trash, helmets, ski poles, and grandma knitting.
There are lockers for that stuff - or leave some of it in car (not grandma). I try to be respectful of how much space I take up because I know we all want to sit and eat so it just drives me nuts when other people don't.
What drives my fellow skiiers nuts?
(If one of you do the above - no worries I prob. do something that drives you nuts?)

"Ski Moms" - who don't ski. sit in the lodge, read a book, hold a table and chairs for 12. "they'll be right in..."

 

[BeanoNYC]

That's when you sit down and say. "Fine, if they come before I finish, I'll be more than happy to leave." Honestly, when I'm out of NY and on the slopes, not much can get me angry. I've been known to be politely assertive, with line cutters, chair hogs, etc. But I just can't get angry. I ski to have a good time and relax. Minor rudeness doesn't get to me when I'm up north.

 

[tirolerpeter]

That's when you sit down and say. "Fine, if they come before I finish, I'll be more than happy to leave." Honestly, when I'm out of NY and on the slopes, not much can get me angry. I've been known to be politely assertive, with line cutters, chair hogs, etc. But I just can't get angry. I ski to have a good time and relax. Minor rudeness doesn't get to me when I'm up north.

I agree. It's one thing to "hold" a seat for people who are currently on the chow line. It's another to "reserve" the damned table for the day. If people have left their bags on the table I simply put them on the ground (with a smile of course). Hell, if I'm going to take the rap for being a NY'er, I might as well get a place to sit out of it. Of course, I'm thinking back to all those week-end and holiday trips with my three kids (and often a friend of theirs too) and the misery of the overheated lodges with underwhelming chow. Of course, those days are over since I am now able to ski mid-week exclusively. But, I had to endure the crowds for over thirty years while I worked. Ain't retirement great?

 

[ckofer]

You can't blame my neighbor Jim. He eats his lunch in the car.

I think that sometimes people feel a certain entiltlement since a ski day seems pretty expensive.

ck, who believes that ski areas need more stuff for non-skiers to do

 

[2knees]

smoking in the liftline. (and i still sneak a heater myself from time to time)

Parents who make their kids ski stuff they shouldnt or dont want to

People who ski in neon colors.

 

[YardSaleDad]

smoking in the liftline.

Smoking on the lift and flicking the lit butts onto the trail below.

:angry:

 

[LVNLARG]

Totally agreed with the bags and tables situation. What's more...it's the bag people who come in and take a 12 course turkey dinner out of their bags and spread it out on the table ...while I can't find a place to sit and eat my resort purchased $12 burger and fries. I think resorts should have staff that go around and collect bags left on tables here and there up and dump them in a big pile in the corner leaving the owners stuck diggin' thru it in a desperate attempt to find the cranberry sauce. Smoking cigs or even pot pisses me off to no end too. Nothing like riding the chair and sucking in what you think is fresh mountain air and instead geting hit in the face by whatever smoke is coming from the asshole on the chair in front of you :angry:

 

[ckofer]

My biggest pet peeve: Long lift lines when quad chairs are going up the hill with only 2 people in each because nobody manages the line to be sure each chair is full.

 

[gores95]

My biggest pet peeve: Long lift lines when quad chairs are going up the hill with only 2 people in each because nobody manages the line to be sure each chair is full.

Amen to that! It always appals me when this happens. Lifties have to ensure that all chairs are completely full when lines are long. I have actually seen SINGLES going up a quad chair where there were 10-15 minute lines. :angry:

 

[John84]

What drives my fellow skiiers nuts?

Summer.

 

[Plowboy]

What drives my fellow skiiers nuts?

People driving their white cars to the mountain during a snow storm with no lights on.

Plowboy

 

[skibum1321]

I'm going to go with the ever-popular smoking on the lifts/in liftlines as my biggest pet peeve.
The lodge thing doesn't bother me since I rarely go inside anyway.

 

[njdrumrun]

you guys are too funny. i just started skiing last monday and everything you have all said..have become my pet peeves. i have a couple to add.

1. lunch tables saved by "crap".....i found a table and slid the bag over. a women actually had the nerve to say something. all i did was point to the little sticker(lodge rules for taking up space with crap) that was on the table and went back to my lunch. she went away and when we were done...i slid the bag back.

2. sitting on the lift, enjoying nature and i smell hubby's ciggarette smoke next to me...kinda ruins it!! although i have to defend him, he does not toss his butts below. he twists off the lite part and puts the filter into his pockets..for me to take out of the washer & dryer later.

3. the buses that show up, unload, step into skis and crowd up the beginner slope(where i spent my first two days). if you can't afford a lesson..you can't afford to be hurt!!!

3.i wanted to slap the girl making snow angels in the middle of the beginner slope!!!!!!!!

4. the people that come up behind you screaming..."look out!!" because they have NO CONTROL and are going way too fast.

5. the guys standing in the lift line with me whose kids(6 & 9) have been on skis for two days and they are already on the black diamond trails because that is what they wanted to do & they have no fear....who is the parent here??? there is something to be said for mileage!! mine was on skis for a week and was limited to the green and blue trails after 2- 3 hour lessons and the insructors blessing. not going to the olympics next week!

6. the 8 year old kid with no parent is sight..that hasn't a clue and is crying.


to spite all my complaints..it was a wonderful expeience and i can't wait to go back.

 

[ckofer]

<snip>

6. the 8 year old kid with no parent is sight..that hasn't a clue and is crying.


to spite all my complaints..it was a wonderful expeience and i can't wait to go back.

Yesterday while we were at Crotched, there was a kid no older than five struggling to get a ski on. I stopped to help and he told me his dad was on a run on the other side of the mountain. Though a sturdy little skier, he really seemed to have no idea how his bindings worked. I encourage independence, but this is almost neglect.

side note: I got ahead of my kid at Killington by a few hundred feet a few years ago when he yard saled. I started trudging up the hill with my board. I was disappointed that nobody (it was busy) stopped to even check on the kid. What's with that?

 

[Npage148]

My biggest pet peeve: Long lift lines when quad chairs are going up the hill with only 2 people in each because nobody manages the line to be sure each chair is full.

I usually ride alone most of the time and its always stressful for me when im riding a quad. There is never a liftie lining people up to make sure the chairs are relatievly full. I always try to line myself up with a group of 2 or 3 but it rarely works. I usually end up by myself or in a group a 5 which usually makes the other people irate. Its hard to pick the right group to ride with when 4-6 lines are dumping into 1. I feel bad that i ride by myself some times when there is a line but i cant help it


My biggest pet peeve is when there are HUGE groups or skiers or riders travelling like a pack of bees. THey swarm all around the trail, you cant get past them and they very unpredicatble

 

[Phildozer]

- Snowboarder that sit in groups in the middle of the trail.

- Smoking in the liftline.

- The idiots that get off the lift and stop at the bottom of the unloading area to put on their gloves/wait for friends/buckle their boots/buckle their bindings

- At Wachusett, allowing kids to hang out after 4:00 PM in the Copper Top. It's a bar, dammit. Kick them out!

 

[hammer]

5. the guys standing in the lift line with me whose kids(6 & 9) have been on skis for two days and they are already on the black diamond trails because that is what they wanted to do & they have no fear....who is the parent here??? there is something to be said for mileage!! mine was on skis for a week and was limited to the green and blue trails after 2- 3 hour lessons and the insructors blessing. not going to the olympics next week!

Saw a kid take a serious wipeout at Waterville earlier this week...went down a double black in firm/icy conditions straight down in a power wedge until he was just going too fast. I have a mixture of sympathy for the parents for what happened and anger at the parent who even let the kid go near the trail in the first place.

I'll add on another pet peeve that has come up this year -- lift ticket scanning. It's bad enough when the lift lines are long, but then it's even worse when you get held up by scanners and then they don't even consistently scan everyone. Given the level of scanning, I find it hard to believe that it's being done for ticket verification purposes.

Hopefully the lift scanning issue will come up the next round of ski area challenges...

 

[Grassi21]

Agreed. Nothing worse than standing on line at an already busy Killington and being groped by the liftie and scanned.

I haven't encountered a fellow skier/boarder with a cig. But I saw two different lift operators at Mohawk puffing away.

 

[skibum9995]

People who get in the liftline then stop and wait for their ski partners while they block the line.