The chairlift occupies a fascinating social niche, bringing together strangers and friends into close proximity for a finite and usually predetermined amount of time. There are elements of road trips, elevator rides, and public mass transportation, people moving forward side by side, sometimes touching, en route to a shared destination. There is the intimacy of adjacency but the separation of not sitting face to face. There’s the liftline lottery of who will be your seatmates and what order you’ll sit. Indeed, there’s a lot more going on in a chairlift ride than most of us consider.
I could write a book about the entire culture of chairlifts, and maybe I will, but for now the issue is simply one of conversation. The chairlift ride, especially a medium-length ride of, say, six to nine minutes, offers just the right amount of time to address a topic, kick it around long enough to come to a satisfying resolution, and then slide off the chair feeling complete. A double allows privacy (“He did WHAT?”), while bigger chairs promote communal and perhaps blander discussions (“Nice day we’re havin’.” “Yup.”). There are opportunities for eavesdropping, social engineering (“The snow is SO good over on the south slopes.”), or, with hood up and head down, the solitude of meditation.
So. Since we have a few minutes together, what should we talk about?
WIN SMITH HELMET JUST BY VOTING!
This week, one poll participant will receive Smith Optic’s Vantage helmet. We’ll pick the winner via random number generator (and announce it here) — all you have to do to enter is vote and leave a comment so we have your email to contact you. Must have a U.S. or Canadian address. Contest ends Sunday, December 9, at midnight PST.
Congrats to Seth Spartan, winner of this week’s giveaway.
Photo Jackson Hole by Steve Casimiro
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{ 129 comments… read them below or add one }
If you don’t want to talk about crazy physics stuff, don’t ride on my chair!
You have to let them know that you’re the best skier on this mountain!!
What’s the point of meeting new people if you can’t make up a new identity for yourself?!
I thought how many days you have was the meaning of life…
What about absolutely nothing at all??
That’s one of your choices, DJ.
As the bull wheel turns… so do the days of our lives.
How much radder you are than the other people usually doesn’t end well….. But sure is fun!
where u from? and acting extremely weird
“impersonating.” best entertainment for a slow chair.
I like the lying to strangers option, but I go with the Gear junkie convo.
i’ve found that lift chat topics can vary by lift location on a mountain. lifts near a base area vs lifts to higher/more remote terrain vs lifts serving a terrain park.
Gear — it’s a productive conversation, especially if you can get reviews on teh skis, boots, etc., if you’re looking for new shit. I also use skis, boards, and skiboards, and ride with a few splitboarders, so it comes up a lot anyway.
Making something up certainly is good fun. Where ya from really is only interesting if you (or they) are clearly from another country.
What are chairlifts? I can’t talk when I’m busting up a vertical skintrack. Meditation all the way.
I usually like to comment on people below – what they’re wearing, how they’re skiing, brutal falls, etc.
I lived in a ski town long enough to know how much fun it is to lie to strangers… turns out I am not alone in this
I see another poll coming…the biggest lie told on a chairlift.
At our little mountain, there’s usually only one answer to “where ya from?,” but that is part of why it is so great.
Can we talk about powder stashes in our mustaches?
How wicked the skiing was yesterday
My favorite is always to talk about how we would get down if we were stranded like the characters on frozen, with no food, surrounded by wolves.
Im all about lying to strangers on the chairlift
Is it deep or is it beat
The Higgs boson
Trying to guess cup sizes on the bras stuck in trees.
Where ya, from? Really me too. Weekend trip or just a day? Full weekend here. How about the difference in the weather??? Crazy huh? Yup 10-12 whole minutes of that crap….or if I don’t feel like talking, I say in perfect English “Sorry I don’t speak English” Pretty quite chairlift ride then. Ha! (joking, I did hear that one before though.)
I usually start off with a blatantly loud fart, pretend it didn’t happen, and then talk about how methane is warming the planet uncontrollably. I was disappointed this wasn’t one of the options.
The best story (true or not) wins!
What beer is on tap at the bar?
Pizza is the meaning of life, and thier are infinate possibilities for talking about pizza
Sandbagging?!?!?
You shoulda’ been here last week!
Tourists always wanted to know what we were going to do “In the real world.” These are the people to lie to…
Lying to someone who’s not local can be a lot of fun
Stashes…um no. These are secret for a reason. Lying sounds like a hell of a lot more fun!
The bar is always open.
How cynical it seems everyone is becoming, as evidenced by the inability to converse productively with another human in a shared, joyous experience.
I met a lot of “interesting” people, many of which claimed to have very cool jobs. One dude claimed to be working for the army, blowing things up to test bombs, before sparking a huge fatty!). Not the least surprised by the “lying to strangers” statistic on this poll!
When I ski at a hill, it’s usually Whitewater, B.C. so I find I can always chat with strangers on the chair about how the deep the pow is and how amazing the hill food is and then we usually see a guy skiing with a parrot on his shoulder (really) or something similar, so, y’know, shared laughter/amazement.
Lying to people is always a good time
snow conditions!
POw!
The best is when people talk about how gnar I am, however most conversations revolve around comparatively petty things like snow conditions, gear, and the meaning of life.
there is no better place to talk about the weather then on the chair lift.
lying to other people who are apparently lying back
Too bad I can’t select “Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll”. But mostly the snow, or lack of around Colorado.
10% Truth. Works everytime.
Religion and politics.
just because I sleep with you doesn’t mean I’ll ski with you.
Clearly, I need to get more creative.
Need a new helmet!
I find the chairlift to be the perfect place to discuss ‘what-if’ scenarios.
Lies Lies Lies, or splitting a flask
Man, I usually just ask how their day is going, and if they’re having fun skiing.
“…. you should have been here yesterday…”
Yard sales below
weather – good or bad, easy topic, no offence
Again another great poll! Keep up the great work!
GNAR!
nothing like a false life story …
I usually talk about the best ways to win free ski helmets.
Depends on how cute she is…
How to get lift tickets for less
Snow conditions
I just wanted to let you know, I’m the best skier on the mountain
Snow conditions, lift lines, Closed runs, tree skiing and fresh powder are what we should be talking about though
Once my mom and I decided that we would fake accents with everyone we talked to while on the lifts. The first people we got on with were from Ireland. We decided our idea wasn’t as funny as we thought it would be.
The funner question is “what is the strangest/most inappropriate conversation you have overheard while sitting on a chairlift with strangers?”
I’ll take the helmet
It was on a chairlift back in the 80′s where I learned about the term “bilateral pendulus”. One of the funniest rides ever.
The people skiing/boarding below. Always something interesting going on
I like to break the ice by pulling out a few PBRs from my fanny pack.
Everything. Nothing.
Depending on how polite v. douchey the co-riders are…either sharing the goods on snow, or spreading mis-information!
JC…Or a bowl.
If someone actually brought up sex on a chairlift… that would be entertaining!
I have a rule on the the chair: never talk to strangers unless you’re using a foreign accent…which when up at Whistler means one has to avoid Aussie, Kiwi, UK, South African or Irish accents, because if you try it chances are someone around you is actually from there.
I’m fond of an Antillean accent. Bon Bini!
Idle chit chat like “pretty wild about the manufacturer of these lifts having to do a recall because of the seat pads tendency to internally combust on busy days due to all those asses sliding on and off”
Life in Mars is not an option so I go with weather conditions.
The next poll should be about the strangest or most interesting stories from the chairlift. There is this one about the female ski patroller that had the walkie talkie talk button on while discussing her …………. Made the whole mountain laugh or turn red for days.
I feel a need to tell others that I have lots of Higgs boson, both in my pants(pockets) and in my lunch sack… I try to get them to look… A chairlift is perfect for such a discourse…
Always turning the critical statements about conditions, weather, etc. back to the positive – just glad to be here man!
Love chatting on the lift. Great chance to practice ice breaking conversation w strangers
her…..?
Oddly enough I did have the Higgs Boson come up once on a lift. Probably will be the first and last time.
I fold hot air balloons for a living.
Rarely talk on the lift but you could catch me talking about gear to my buddies wayy to often
snow conditions always comes up
great chairlift photo
Our resorts in Salt Lake have skiiers from a non-profit ride single and offer info on the history and ecology of our canyons and watershed where you’re skiing during the ride. I think it’s cool.
Definitely asking where people have found good snow–I’m routinely amazed by the depth of knowledge people have about their home mountain.
I like forcing the young cool dudes to talk to me. They may have their headphones on and heads down but I can always get them to accidental make eye contact with me. Ha! Then it is all over for them and they have to basically have a conversation with their mom.
I like to talk about the summer.
Depends on the weather! If its dumping you talk about that.
Where ya from is a good starter
The best conversation I have ever had was with a guy who had double knee replacement and was as old as the hills. My little sister and I were just remembering back to the day when we chatted with him. I was only in 7th grade and it was one of my first days skiing in Colorado. We talked all the way up the gondola. Now one of my life goals is to be able to ski when I am old as he was. It makes doing stupid things less appealing now.
Wish I was having fun in the snow instead of being stuck inside…
Stashes??? Like sharing them with complete strangers or giving them just enough info to get lost, cold and scared?
I’m sensing there’s an assumption that all these chairlift conversations are with strangers. To borrow from Schmitty, people who share stashes with strangers should be shot. But discussing stashes between friends, that’s a different story. Some of you do ride chairs with friends, right?
A fun poll. I love going up as a single and meeting people from all over the world! Sometimes it’s the little kids taking lessons that are the best and funniest to talk to.
I like hitting a lift with two 80yr olds that get 100 half days a year, they whip out homemade cherry brandy, ask me if I want some ‘courage’, call me a punk, challenge me to a mogul run from the top, first run of the day, and they blow my doors off. I ask them each day for a Lift Life Lesson, and get it in 8 mins. I’ve realized the slopes are a perfect spot for mafia types on the lam, since the FBI don’t ski.
True Story.
If I’m skiing with friends, we talk about everything under the sun – but if I’m riding a chair, then there’s a 50/50 chance its a solo day. Day like that I’m usually in my own head, listening to my music, thinking about my skiing, and keeping to myself. So no talking.
Tried the lying to stranger bit. Said I was a HS wrestling coach (yeah, not so much). Turns out the damn guy next to me had two sons who wrestled in the same district. People still wrestle?? That was a stressful 6-8 minutes of bullshitting my way out of an awkward moment. “Yeah I do know that guy, he can really wrestle…”
Changes hour to hour.
So much gnar
Who’s gonna be drinking with me after the lifts close?
My best chair lift conversations were with my kids. They would open up and talk about all kinds of stuff while everybody was relaxed and having fun.
Like Leigh said lesson kids can make you remember why you ski in the first place, to have fun. Sitting for 9 mins with a 4yr old decked in better gear than you (who gave you Spyder gear?) means you must have The Script. First line “how old are you”…4..”is 4 way better than 3? This tells the rug rat that this is going to be a very intelligent discussion. ….how long have you been skiing…4yrs…(hmm fuzzy math here) Where do you go to school? Instant awesome answer. How old is your brother/sister .do you beat them up..hmmm slow answer here..By now it becomes a bug eyed, goggle to goggle staring match, try not to laugh, OH LOOK Squirrel! Look! The Jewelry Tree!…So what are you having for lunch…oh, movie, mac e cheese, pizza, not bad for a 2hr lesson day. Six year olds are intimidating, way too smart, use big words..game over.
Share the sheer joy of being on the hill and skiing!!
That’s a tough one. I’m an instructor at my local hill, so I need to keep it on the up & up. Elsewhere bringing up the possibility of multiple realities…they can’t get off the chair fast enough and they stay out of my way!
Might have to use the test pilot line in a couple weeks when I head out west…
I like to find out what people’s off the hill interests are and give them the options that we have for them here in town, as far as food, drink, entertainment, ski/snowboard shops. I see it as an opportunity to promote the wonderful things that we offer that people may not know of otherwise, the great places without the advertising budgets.
There is nothing like skiing in frest snow like the one in the picture
It’s just a flesh wound…
Everybody on a chairlift has hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of gear on. It’s an awesome topic! Plus my gear is probably better than yours. Can you say Narwhal!
Ya, that’s new Head ski gear, it’s really nice!
The SNOW! Clearly.
Training, training, training so folks can learn turn shape and what they’re skis were designed to do.
As an intructor, we see so many people each year that would benefit by learning to turn correctly on their shaped ski’s be they twin tips or conventional .
“So, where ya from” usually suffices.
I’ve met some really interesting people on chairlifts
I have boarded on 27 hills so far this season! 5 provinces, 7 states and 4 Countries. I’m rad…
Geography. My laces are more impressive than most.
It’s all abour the snow and the conditions. When they are good all is great for skiing and the conversation can then wander to more socially oriented endeavors!
Poor, poor Lindsay
The meaning of life, or, if that fails, the weather.
If you’re riding with a stranger, ask what they’re passionate about. Give a brief, awkward response to their story, then start talking about your passion for eating human flesh. Make sure to describe your first experience… poor, poor Lindsay. Tastes like a mix between wallaby and reindeer. Ask if they’ve ever tried human, then offer to give up some of your own skin for them to taste (hopefully they’ll reject your offer). When getting off the lift act like you’re following them down the slopes
Haven’t met a person yet who won’t talk about “home”… have twice had friends in common from far across the country…
Cool beans