Your first chairlift ride as a beginner can be frightening. I remember as a ski instructor that adults tend to need a little coaxing to feel confident that they can survive it, while novice kids look at it longingly and ask when they can ride it.
Really it's all in the timing and coordination. We've all seen it—a bunch of unseasoned skiers stepping all over one another's skis as they negotiate a turn in the lift line four abreast and then try to sprint to catch the next chair. Or, god forbid, a six-pack chair!
Heck, even decent skiers get talking to much, can't decide if Suzie's riding with Johnnie, and then get tangled up with only half of their party making the chair. When the domino effect takes over it can get ugly, but it's like a car wreck—you can't help but look.
Well Okemo has the answer to this lack of coordination among the skiing public. South Ridge Quad B at the main area of Okemo will be the first ski lift in the East to have a conveyor belt in the loading area and at the top of the lift. Apparently they have these in Europe and there must be one somewhere out west. Maybe Deer Valley or something?
Here's a photo from Okemo. If you know the resort, you know that they have side-by-side fixed quads in front of the base lodge. This area is super-busy and can become a log jam as everyone needs to take one of the lifts to get up to higher lifts. I bet they are hoping that this will maximize uphill capacity.
Okemo hopes to open on November 15. The loading belts may be ready, or may not. The <link http: www.rutlandherald.com apps pbcs.dll external-link-new-window to rh>Rutland Herald reports they were tied up in customs as they were shipped from Europe.
Coming soon to a resort near you: a conveyor to take you down the mountain.
