A day of fast skiing around movable gates, laughs and wonder at MtB
Jonesy slaying the crust on old Rainbow with his new
crud skis. Yes they are red.
Sorry TFT only railroad track photos are from Jonesy using his Bigfoot filter
People were lining up at 0915 for first tracks on Summit. I think it started spinning about 1130
At about 1045 Jonesy and I boarded Sunrise as singles as we traversed to sustenance at Clearing Rock. I was riding with a threesome of two adults and a young one between them.
The load did not go well. Kid slid off the chair & into the pit
Our chair got to about the red mat/target when it stopped.
Adult next to me (kids grandfather - see below) jumped off.
I don’t think he was prepared for the landing because he didn’t get up for a while.
Here he is on his walk of shame back to the load area. Lifty Sherpa’d his skis back.
Remaining guy on the chair said “That is the fourth time this has happened to him and his grandchildren. And it’s always the lifties fault!”
“So this has happened to him four times now? When was the last time?”
“Last year.”
“So he comes here once a year and every time the lifties fuck up and dump his grandchild in the pit?”
“That’s what he said”
So I then generously offered my perspective as someone who is here 75 days a year and volunteers with OAS (whose athletes need lots of help and use that chair a lot), to wit: The source of grandpas problem does not rest with the lift crew - it's that guy he sees in the mirror.
- that part in the skiers responsibility code about being able to load/ride/unload lifts safely obviously
needs Improvement.
- it’s up to the adults to either get the kid’s back-to-chairback, OR ask the liftie for help. They did neither.
I also suggested they get a vest or harness with a handle in the back to yard the kid back onto the seatback. Saves the low back when picking them up after falls too.
And he said “it will be a quiet ride back to Portland if I tell him that”
"OK"
Jonesy was in the chair behind and had a better seat to the carnage. Hopefully he will add color commentary
The only other time I've loaded a quad chair and the two middle seats ejected in the first 15 sec was NYD 2000. Shooting Star chair at MHM. lady skied into the pit at load, her SO cold-cocked her by swinging his ski into her head, and then jumped off.
K2skier, was SS detachable or fixed grip then? Can’t remember
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