Dropping stuff from ski lifts

Hello,
My name is Mike and I am a senior at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna NY. For my EDD class I am trying to come up with a problem statement that I will later solve in the year. Since I love skiing I thought that I could make a problem that revolved around skiing so I could make it a more enjoyable sport. So I was wondering if it is a problem that people constantly drop things while they are riding up a chairlift. I know we all want our hands and arms to be free while riding up a chairlift for different reasons such as adjusting you helmet or face mask, checking the time or you phone or calling a friend. But sometimes when we do such actions, we drop our gloves or ski poles which really sucks as many other people know. So I have constructed this survey to help me figure out if other people also think that that is a problem.
So could you please take a couple of seconds to fill out this survey? (It really takes no time at all. If you have read my post until here it can't hurt to spend an extra few seconds on my survey :D )

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/drop_equipment2

Thank you so much for all your help!
Mike

Hey Mike, survey done.

Can't recall the last time I dropped something from a chair but then I am super-paranoid about dropping things form the chair. I read somewhere that an extraordinary number of handguns are found under chairlifts once the snow melts in the Excited States. Found this hard to believe until my nephew Pudd reported that he had a conversation with a guy on the Bonnie at Jay and the guy revealed that he was packing heat, just in case someone pissed him off on the slopes.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Can't recall the last time I dropped something from a chair but then I am super-paranoid about dropping things form the chair. I read somewhere that an extraordinary number of handguns are found under chairlifts once the snow melts in the Excited States. Found this hard to believe until my nephew Pudd reported that he had a conversation with a guy on the Bonnie at Jay and the guy revealed that he was packing heat, just in case someone pissed him off on the slopes.

Haha. Excited States? Twice we've seen that term lately. Well put.

Paranoia does help sometimes, like helping you not to lose things off the lift. I know cause I'm very careful on the lift, too.

People are gooooooofy. Example, I read about a Cop who carried a gun while skiing for the same reason listed above. While stopped on a trail, he heard something off in the distance that made him nervous. Soooooo, seeking to scare the Boogieman away, he fired a shot into the ground, later realizing he shot a hole through his ski.

GUNS?  Thats a whole new level of "no friends on powder days"

I'm going to be honest, I didn't think much of this at first. I've never actually dropped anything (knock on wood). After taking the survey, though, I like the basket on the safety bar idea. I don't know that I would set things in it, but I would absolutely hold things over it and feel MUCH less nervous about dropping them. Cool idea.

Chris wrote

GUNS?  Thats a whole new level of "no friends on powder days"

DoWork over on TGR was telling me about a rescue he had to do while working ski patrol at Magic. It was a guy snowshoeing who fell down one of their steepest trails which was pretty much a series of ice falls. (The trail was closed at that point because there was pretty much no snow on that side of the mountain). Anyhoots, He got stuck in a tree, they literally had to cut him out, he broke his pelvis and some ribs, and this whole story is leading to the fact that he had a gun on him.

Since I've now lived in NJ for seven years, I'm fascinated by the sheer amount of litter found along roads and highways (obviously not a problem specific to the Garden State, but it's really bad in certain areas here). This fascination has carried over to ski areas, where you can see the trail of garbage under lifts at the end of the season when the snow melts. Without making moral judgments, I often wonder why people feel obligated to do this.

A while back, I was riding in a gondola at Snowbasin, Utah with an employee who explained how many days in late April they have to spend cleaning up crap under lifts AND gondolas (where you have to pro-actively make a special effort to open the window and throw things out).

Here's an interesting attempt at a solution at Montage Mountain, PA posted eight years ago by TGR's Endless Season. As he notes, something like this would only work at a mountain where they don't get much snow.

Jamesdeluxe wrote

Since I've now lived in NJ for seven years, I'm fascinated by the sheer amount of litter found along roads and highways (obviously not a problem specific to the Garden State, but it's really bad in certain areas here). This fascination has carried over to ski areas, where you can see the trail of garbage under lifts at the end of the season when the snow melts. Without making moral judgments, I often wonder why people feel obligated to do this.

+1

I participate in roadside cleanups in my community a few times each year, and it never ceases to amaze me how incredibly lazy people are. Is it really that big a deal to keep the coffee cup, or candy wrapper, or McDonald's trash in the car with you until you get home, or to work, or a gas station where there's a trash bin you can put it in?

When I see people dropping trash from a ski lift, it really drives me nuts. You'd think that someone who enjoys the outdoors, would make the minimal effort necessary to protect it. I probably need to relax, but it really pisses me off when I see it.

... rant over!

Jamesdeluxe wrote

A while back, I was riding in a gondola at Snowbasin, Utah with an employee who explained how many days in late April they have to spend cleaning up crap under lifts AND gondolas (where you have to pro-actively make a special effort to open the window and throw things out).

The Strawberry Gondola is a great place to get it on. Privacy and length are perfect. Just sayin'.

Another thing. Drop your gloves, and you may as well ski carefully down to your car, because you have been severely jinxed for the day. Drive safely and slowly home, and don't touch any sharp objects or operate heavy machinery. This has been proven by the authorities. Consider yourself warned.

Benny Profane wrote

The Strawberry Gondola is a great place to get it on. Privacy and length are perfect. Just sayin'.

Guns, gloves, trash and now....drop trou.

Things that, go down, on lifts.

When I was 21, living in Telluride, we used to hike the lift lines in the spring looking for money, etc.  Back then the big one was look for a cigarette pack, because alot of smokers put $ in their cigarette packs.

Years ago I became interested (in an anthropological sense) about items lost or purposefully discarded while riding ski lifts.  I often ski alone and that gives me way too much time to think.  These ideas developed into a children’s story about a group of mice families who live for generations under the lift line.   Some families live in mittens and gloves while other families choose the empty beer cans and cigarette boxes.  I also developed a story line of ingenuity and resourcefulness.  The story spun out of control and turned way too heavy for bed time reading. It remains unfinished and now needs an update to include cells phones with GPS capabilities. This might be just the push I needed to finally finish the silly tale.

Nice tale BDM. Good luck.

Speaking of critters....What's those little ferret like critters ? Used to see them under the Sunway chair when the kids and I rode it. They (and chipmunks in the spring) use the " hollowed out area " in the snow under the snowmaking pipes as highways, popping up where the snow breaks, then dropping down in again to scurry on.

This is a great thread. An innocent high school project devolves into discussion about guns, money, invention and the imaginary life under the snow. This is why we love love Harvey Road.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

This is a great thread. An innocent high school project devolves into discussion about guns, money, invention and the imaginary life under the snow. This is why we love love Harvey Road.

Thank you all for our feedback.

I have been getting a decent mount of feedback which is great. Right now my survey is on 103 hits. I would love it if I could get to 200 by the end of this week. So if you haven't taken my survey yet, please do so.....It is only bout 7 questions. And if you wanna do me a huge favor, post this in another forum you are part of, or send it to friends and family.

As far as my invention goes, I still like the idea of a basket because it would give everyone more freedom on the chair. Maybe there would be space for a small trash bin as well. Right now I just need to get the approval of my supervisor that it is a problem, and that's why I need all of you to complete the survey.

Thank you,
Mike

Post it in TGR.

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/3-Ski-Snowboard

You'll probably catch a lot of insults over there, because they're just a bunch of rude wise ass types, but, you may very well get your numbers.

LOLz. Should be fun - def post on TGR ;)

Benny I'm curious about your comment about dropping mittens. A story there?

Mittens are the one thing I have dropped off the lift (twice). I always do everything I can to recover lost gear. I lost a facemask in the trees once and lapped that shot until I found it.

I also always carry extras of various items in my butt bag, including mittens.  My mittens get wet.

One time when I dropped both mittens (they were clipped together and I still dropped them) it was extremely cold  While I could probably have skied down with my hands in my pockets and figured out a way to hang on to my poles, I was really glad I had an extra pair.

Mike - I did fill out the survey.

Harvey44 wrote

LOLz. Should be fun - def post on TGR ;)

Benny I'm curious about your comment about dropping mittens. A story there?

One broken hip and another broken femur. Neither mine. Both dropped at least one glove. The broken femur dude told me this rule of life from his hospital bed.

Hey Guys,
I did post in the TGR forum. Ill post the link once it gets approved to see the reaction from their viewers.