Boyne Mountain skiers got a cool new toy for Christmas this year — a brand new shiny high speed fixed grip chair lift on the Meadows — and it's the optional model with the cushy seats!! Hey, didn't we get another "big gift" this year - the new Low-E snow guns? We're clearly a spoiled lot.
But about this chair lift — flush with delight, we tore open the package and did what every red-blooded kid does with a new toy — we hopped on without reading the directions. Thankfully, it's a well-designed toy, and it pretty much worked like we expected. But it is the new model, with new features and performance. It's about time we pull out the owner's manual and learn how to use it right. Disclaimer: so as to avoid tears of boredom the following addresses only the aspects in which this lift is different, and assumes you are experienced with chair lifts in general.
MEADOWS CHAIR LIFT OVERVIEW — HOW TO USE FOR MAXIMUM ENJOYMENT AND SAFETY:
Getting on: Am I the only one who feels like George Jetson when I hop on this baby? Pretty cool. The only thing you have to know is that you have to enter the little starting gate so the lift knows you are there — oh yeah, it knows . . . and then when the gate opens, simply (and immediately) let yourself slide down onto the conveyor belt. And then . . . just stand there. Don't scooch, don't shuffle — just look back and wait for the chair to scoop you up. The only thing missing is a mechanical arm to swing out and squeegee off your goggles and hand you a hot chocolate. You're on.
Getting off . . . er, offloading — uh whatever, you know what I mean: The nature of this chair lift design is that that the chairs are moving faster at the off-load than any other type of chair lift you have ridden. So the timing of the offload is more critical and provides for a smaller time period in which to stand up and glide away from the chair. This helps explain why even experienced skiers have had some problems — we are experienced (a tad overconfident?) — but not experienced with this exact setup. Obviously, many of us draw experience from detachable high speed chair lifts, like the Mountain Express — but with those, the chair slows down for the offload, lulling us to sleep a bit.
This chair is different. The higher chair speed means that if you do not stand up and offload promptly, you may reach the point where the ramp drops away — and you will find yourself having to 'hop' down. The same could be said for any chair lift — it's just a little quicker timing with a fixed-grip high speed chair. Just as it took me a few rides to become comfortable with the conveyor belt loading at the bottom, I think we all need to realize that the higher chair speed means that the offload at the top is different than what we know — even though it looks the same.
Additional points: We thank Michelle Murphy — who we hereby name 'Customer of the Month' — for bringing to our attention some minor difficulties at the offload. One of her observations has led us to adjust the shape of the ramp. Another leads me to the final advice for departing the chair cleanly: remember that the chair's higher speed makes the transition from sitting to skiing more critical. That means that you do not have as much time to get your poles organized an disentangle yourself from your neighbors when you depart. Start a little earlier with getting yourself organized and ready for your arrival. And then — this is a four-lane off-ramp — make sure you don't engage in creative lane usage, which would create difficulty for those beside you.
Even though the new lift is a little different in some respects, I personally like it for at least two reasons. First, it allows me to get in more skiing on the beautiful terrain we have in the Meadows area - especially that medium-pitch shoulder that drops to the south toward Thunder, and then dog-legs to the left down toward the base of the lift. Second, it provides that quicker ride to the top without the ticket-price increase that might have been necessary if a much more expensive detachable high speed lift had been chosen.
Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador
