We were all there once -- GAPER SKI LIST

[skiki]

It would be great if the pass can be programmed into my Apple watch (or whatever your smart watch of choice is).

Swatch tried that with the Snowpass watch around 2006. I guess they were a little ahead of their time (or perhaps it was ahead of reliable applicable technology.) I think it would be more doable now with rfid being more widespread.

 

[Jack skis]

When working at Big Sky in the 1990's I had one of the watches the area sold that contained my pass. Just waved it as I got to the reader and I was good to go. I earned my watches (got one for my wife too) by doing extra work for the area. Extra as on my own time and not part of my usual job.

 

[kayco53]

Why to many of them. Forgot to bring gloves, rolled truck on way to mountain with a camper on it. Fought crashing on ice hard enough to bend the ski brakes. And my favourite thing is on our home mountain you buy beer for the crew if you get you pack stuck on the chairlift. Well being tired of buying beer for that I pulled on the packback hard enough for it to swing the chair and hit a control wire for the safety gate and cut it. Damm I broke the chairlift. Lucky we got it going before maintenance got there. Had to own that one. More beer bought.

 

[Seahaven]

Trying to put 4 people on a 3 person lift. My wife and I were chaperoning a school ski trip and skiing with her principal and another teacher. We were going across the mountain, one lift to the next. They were all quads until, well, one wasn't. The principal ended up stuck in a way with his ski that it was lucky he didn't break his leg.

Nobody got fired.

 

[Seahaven]

Crossing the Canadian border in full ski clothing, including goggles. This was probably around 1990. When I was in college, a number of my relatives would have a ski week at a lodge at Mt. Sutton. I decided I would drive myself and my cousin in my 1977 diesel Rabbit that I had bought for $75. The exhaust broke at the front end of the car, and we had to drive the last 100 miles belching smoke, windows open, and dressed in everything we could put on, including the googles. That is how we rolled up to the border patrol booth.

This trip also began with the tape deck giving out about 5 miles from my cousin's house in CT. Let me tell you, there was not much on FM (or AM) radio in upstate Vermont.

 

[slowrider]

 

[Seahaven]

They should have had that sign at the mountain- but they would have needed a three fingered person's hand to trace.

Seriously, there probably was plenty of signage- we just weren't paying attention.

 

[Philpug]

View attachment 146471

What is the sign like at Mad River Glen?

 

[slowrider]

What is the sign like at Mad River Glen?

Unknown location.

 

[Seahaven]

What is the sign like at Mad River Glen?

*Censored*

 

[slowrider]

They should have had that sign at the mountain- but they would have needed a three fingered person's hand to trace.

Seriously, there probably was plenty of signage- we just weren't paying attention.

On occasion I have went to load a chair and next thing I know I'm sitting on a guys lap. It happens.

 

[jt10000]

Some days begin in uniform and end in civis. And some days are bitterly cold, while others are balmy.
I change jackets out of necessity, not as a fashion statement.

 

[jt10000]

I don't see that many people rushing to expose their personal gapperage? Shocker. I will play.

4. It could be more, but I learned to skis when I was 3, so I inevitably I don't remember all of by gapertastic beginner days. I do remember riding the lift with an instructor back in the safety strap days, knocking my skis together and knocking one off. It dangled from the strap and the instructor, in what had to have been a move he had done before got me back into the ski before we got to the top.

I'm around 4, despite being a noob on alpine skis, mainly because years of bike racing and related travel made me pretty organized and also pretty into keeping up appearances (or vain if you want to state it more bluntly). Plus super-cautious/vigilant around lifts.

I did walk down a ski trail once - broke a binding on XC skis, and while I was able to ski most of the way back to the lodge/car, some of the downhills were beyond me. Downhill on one XC racing ski is ..... tricky.

 

[migdriver]

Too many strange / clueless moves to count but one stands out:
In the eternal quest for boot comfort I bought Rosemont ( ? Sp) boots back in the day. For those unfamiliar, the boots had a SIDE entry. The inside ( medial) side of the boot was hinged to swing open. A single small metal latch held the door closed after your foot slid in sideways.
The “ comfort” came from little pouches filled with some putty like substance that slid into pockets inside the shell, conforming around uour foot.
Anyway,: skiing Killington in the college uniform - jeans, poofy down parka- as i got ready to get off the chair, the latch on my left boot spontaneously gave way and the door/ side swung open . The side opened all the way and, predictably, just as I exited the chair my socke foot slipped totally out .
I went down the ramp one ski , one foot while my wayward Rosemont boot still clicked into the ski with side door wide open went its own direction.
Twas not amusing at the time. Pretty funny now though . Switched to 4 buckle overlap boots, comfort be damned, the next day.

 

[Uncle-A]

Too many strange / clueless moves to count but one stands out:
In the eternal quest for boot comfort I bought Rosemont ( ? Sp) boots back in the day. For those unfamiliar, the boots had a SIDE entry. The inside ( medial) side of the boot was hinged to swing open. A single small metal latch held the door closed after your foot slid in sideways.
The “ comfort” came from little pouches filled with some putty like substance that slid into pockets inside the shell, conforming around uour foot.
Anyway,: skiing Killington in the college uniform - jeans, poofy down parka- as i got ready to get off the chair, the latch on my left boot spontaneously gave way and the door/ side swung open . The side opened all the way and, predictably, just as I exited the chair my socke foot slipped totally out .
I went down the ramp one ski , one foot while my wayward Rosemont boot still clicked into the ski with side door wide open went its own direction.
Twas not amusing at the time. Pretty funny now though . Switched to 4 buckle overlap boots, comfort be damned, the next day.

Did it stick to the chair all the way down and did you ever get that boot back?

 

[QueueCT]

Hit 4 on the list ... the fall in the lift line was particularly embarrassing. Instead of skiing to the end of the lane while at Whistler I ducked under the rope which then caught on my goggle clip. No big deal, came to a stop then started to move backward but my skis were in a wedge. Skis spread apart, knee collapsed just right to cause some significant pain. Took 3 months to recover from that one. Only good news is I got to avoid gate keeping for my daughter's race on a rainy day.

I've left plenty of things at home ... boots (once), poles too many times to count which makes for some great practice. During a parents' weekend getaway at Stratton about 3 years ago I forgot my ski pants so proudly pulled on some jeans, a vest and left the helmet at home to enjoy a thankfully warm 70s throwback day. Just wish I could have found a cowboy hat to complete the look.