No Good at Getting On & Off the Chairlift? No Problem!

One of the most vexing problems facing new skiers and snowboarders is how to get on and off the chairlift while remaining upright and with dignity intact, a task that even seasoned snowboarders occasionally have difficulty with. For riders of at least one U.S. resort this season, that task just became much easier. The Mountain Ops whizzes at Okemo Mountain Resort, in Ludlow, Vermont, believe they've solved this age-old problem. Their solution? Install loading and unloading conveyors at one of their two South Ridge Quads, which for the majority of the mountain's beginner skiers and snowboarders is the first chairlift they'll ever ride. Announcing the planned install, resort spokeswoman Bonnie MacPherson said, "Although familiar to European skiers, the loading carpet is a rarity in North America. Okemo’s loading carpet will be the first one in the East and the unloading carpet will be the first of its kind in the U.S. A conveyor belt, marked with lanes and moving in sync with the chairlift, will make loading and unloading easier and safer. It will reduce lift-line lengths, minimize starts and stops, reduce ride time and improve overall lift capacity."

A little personal insight: I've been skiing and riding at Okemo for nearly 20 years, so I'm intimately familiar with the lift system. The South Ridge Quads (there are two) serve to funnel well over two-thirds of the resorts guests to mid-mountain, where they either board another lift to get to the upper mountain areas, or they ride the lower mountain terrain, all of which is rated for beginners. Because a significant percentage of beginner skiers and riders are using the same two lifts as more experienced guests, the lifts tend to stop frequently, which leads to long ride times and even longer lift-lines. I've never seen one of these newfangled carpet loading/unloading systems before, but I do have high hopes for it. If nothing else, the system will likely segregate the two base quads, with beginners opting for the quad with the system while more experienced guests ride the other quad.

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