Industry News
A photo sent to SnowBrains last winter (above) showed a line of ski and snowboard equipment left by skiers and riders to ‘reserve’ their place in the lift line at Heavenly Mountain, CA. Judging by the comments left on our Facebook post this was not a rare occurrence, and locals were not happy about it.
- Related: Guests at Heavenly Mountain, CA, Are Saving Their Places in Line by Leaving Their Equipment
Well, it seems that Vail resorts, owners of Heavenly, are listening and now proactively attempting to stamp out the practice. Signage seen at Heavenly on opening day weekend by Kent Wehner appears to be discouraging the behaviour.
Skiing is dead. Been trying to die for a couple years now but finally the elites and country club twats have taken over and normal humans are out. RIP
Why is this not titled “Heavenly stamping out…” Believe it or not the individual resorts do make some of their own decisions. If this happened at every Vail resort, then maybe you’re onto something. But…more clicks from making it a Vail bash article, right?
Total Agree!!!
Stand in line if your in line!!! WTF
These skis belong to the people who alway help set up the lane configurations, feed the lift operators and pass checkers and any ski patrol and all those other people in line who are around when they are daily grilling all sorts of great food. They are a generous open bunch of people and are not sitting in their heated cars but standing nearby drinking their coffee or stretching nearby before clicking into their bindings.
I got a low paying job opening terrain (dude in red+), so I just skate by all y’all! Those are my tracks you’re skiing over!
Yeah, I would do it gently as well. Want your skis? GO GET EM!
Sounds like the “entitled crybabies” are the ones who think they don’t actually have to stand in line like actual human beings.
Great idea to ‘discourage’ this dangerous and unfair practice. Wait in line with your gear or come back later.
Your what?
I would move them gently out of the way. skis are not place holders. people are place holders.
Ok, what are they doing? I doubt they’ve mastered invisibility.
We do this sometimes but always with one of us remaining with the skis in line while the other gets coffee or whatever. And for longer waits we usually click out – feet stay warmer if we move bit.
I see people have grown more jaded in Tahoe since I have left . Those tough guys throwing peoples ski out of way aren’t real skiers anyway . Real skiers respect people . As a friend of mine said in Tahoe who is a pro skier your not “Bad” just because you ski Kirkwood. You should all focus on skiing powder not hate .
So your saying your a transplant?
BREAKING NEWS!!!!….Heavenly lift ops runs underground pre-lift tax-free ski tuning service so they can afford to live in Lake Tahoe (….God knows Vail doesn’t pay beans….).
Did that in KT 20 years ago for a long time.
You can’t be serious. This isn’t about a few people getting there hours early who have to run to the bathroom.
Right on Chadwick, I agree with you 100%!!
I worked on pro patrol in 2 different states at 3 different resorts and never saw this. But I ski at places where people still have manners. If I had seen this happening, that equipment would have been removed from the maze, and management would treat the miscreants as the “Karens” that they are.
Definitely happens at kirkwood on chair 6. I’ve seen tough guys try to not respect it. Does not end well for them. Usually its not that many deep with no representation but what your there three hours early and saying you can’t go take a shit before the bell goes off waiting for avi control to finish for 2-3 hours? Some of you have never been in an actual fight at the lift line and it shows..
Your spots not held unless your cooking breakfast and handing out Red Bulls.
It’s common at stagecoach on powder mornings. Happens with a handful of guys at gunbarrel. Watched one guy park at stage, grab his skis and run up to the lift line and drop them off. Then he went back to his car and sat in it for 30 minutes while he booted up and “socialized”
Mark T, are you the old guy who wears spider outerwear? You sound like him.
Great thing is, most of the people who do that don’t charge very hard. They might have first chair, but they quickly get passed and don’t end up with first tracks.
Does not look like a powder morning in that pic. If that’s the case, who cares about first tracks
I see it at Heavenly, I kick the shit to the side and go to the front. No one has the balls to say shit to me when I’m first chair. Talk all you want here, say it to my face when I throw your $900 dollar skis out of the lift line. I’ll be there tomorrow morning. Put your money where your mouth is. I’ll be In a red hoodie.
Stand with your skis on or get your shit thrown out of line and move on up!
@Snowbrains you should get a little more information before posting. About 95% or more of these people are not waiting in their cars. This is Fake News.
This has been the norm at our mountain since at least the early 70’s. Folks aren’t sitting in cars, staying warm, they’re usually within a pole’s throw chatting, maybe ducking out of wind / snow or taking a piss in the lodge. Just walking up a half hour after the early birds and seeing ski’s you want to remove and waltz by would indicate one with entitlement problems if you ask me.
“Lazy entitled losers”? (check your punctuation) That’s funny. These “lazy losers” are already in the parking lot while your sorry butt is still in your warm bed. These “losers” are the ones skiing 100+ days and 2M vertical a season. And “don’t know how to act in public”? More like way too many skiers and riders don’t know how to act on the hill. Over 50 season passes and 43+ years in the Tahoe basin makes it tough to listen to your baloney. Check yourself.
Hey, there are my Rossi’s!
Looks like lots of free gear to me…lazy entitled losers who dont know how to act in public
Saw lots of people do that on a powder day at Hakuba Cortina in Japan. We joked that would not be something Americans could handle at their resorts. Sure enough….Americans are entitled crybabies.
“Get a clue”? It’s a long-standing tradition at many resorts. Though most of us don’t hang out in our cars — most of us stand by our equipment and socialize. I’ve had 43 season passes at Heavenly (and a bunch more elsewhere) and this is the way it’s been for as long as I can remember. It makes no sense to stand in your equipment, stationary, for 90 minutes. If you want one of the first chairs, may I recommend waking up earlier.
People complaining about this must be new to the area. This only happens on the Nevada side which is a little more local but it’s been going on for several years
Did some lines, while waiting in line, while stepping all over the skis in line. I like lines, big ones.
Would toss those skis out of the line and move up hahaha
A bunch of people were doing this at Alta last year. They quickly came to their senses and banned the practice. Would throw those out of line
This is a common occurrence on the Collins lift at Alta.
Treat them like the towels that people use to “reserve” a beach chair at hotel pools……toss them aside.
I understand and sympathize. It’s still crappy entitlement. If I’m going to sit in my car or the lodge where it’s warm and wait for the line to open then I pay the price. I don’t get the first lines in the snow that morning. If I haul my butt down to line and I see those skis and I’m willing to stand out in the cold and wait then I’m gonna jump right to the front.
If your not in your equipment you’re not in line period.
Totally normal and respected.
People have been doing that for awhile. My season at Bridger Bowl in 2012 that was a common thing.
Lol I’d disregard those place holders. Come on people get a clue!