Is it just me or is riding a Gondola a pain in the a$$ compared to a chairlift......

Gondola: take u skis off load them on the door if u got twin tips u need two slots, get in slide across take off u helmit and gloves because it's warm in there get to the top put gloves and helmet back on slide across bump head on ceiling when u stand up to get out, chase car around unload area to get u skis out of the door walk back to the snow and it freezes on the bottom of u boots scrape boots over top of ur bindings to get the frozen snow off, step into your bindings and ski.

Chairlift: Sit down, lower safety bar (unless ur at Alta) ride chair to top, raise bar, stand up and ski.

You tell me which is better?

I agree 100%. I avoid gondolas unless they are the only way up!

I skied last year with a guy at Killington that was using ski-blades. Poor guy had to unlatch his leash, unhook his bindings, then hold them all the way up. At the top he was always the last one ready to go. Needless to say he bought a pair of "Big Boy Skis" when we got back.

True enough...but gondolas ain't so bad on very cold days.

The other positive of gondolas (and especially aerial trams) is that they can scale terrain that chairlits can't -- like big cliffs that require big gaps between the towers.

Hard to understand the logic at a place like Vail, where it rarely gets very cold and the terrain doesn't require it. Must be a perceived luxury or wannabe Euro thing.

I don't like gondolas anymore either since I started tele skiing. Even though my bindings are easier than most tele bindings, they still aren't step-ins, and gondolas became a hassle.

So Jimmy, post motivated by a day at Snowbasin?

Gondola + twin tips or wide powdah skis + skiing with a larger group or skiing in the singles line = total suckage.

Plus Mr. big-shot Earl Holding at Snowbasin seems to be scrimping a bit this year and has fewer lift attendants to help you get your skis loaded on the Gondjeloas. Only time I ever want help with someone carrying or loading my skis, and they don't provide it.

You can do things on a gondi that would be difficult and/or risky on a chairlift. They ascend faster than fixed grip chairs. Detachable chairlifts have taken away that advantage.

Are we talking ah..... something "Extra" special here?????

Hmm. No wonder the windows are always fogged up.

Catchin' a buzz on the Gondie huh? I sure did on the K1 last winter. Stupid potheads.....

If you find riding gondola to cause PITA, you might be gay.

This is beginning to sound like a foxworthy thing... "if you.....you might be a redneck" I dunno bout the PITA-gay thing. I thought Jimmy was talking bout hemroids.

Gonna get this thread back on topic:
I'm partial to gondolas (and trams). I guess I like the novelty and that they seem to take me back to childhood at Disneyland or something. Most kids get a kick out them. Gondis seem to give some novices a better comfort factor than chairlifts (particularly hairy chairs without safety bars). I don't find the hassle of taking off skis too difficult, easier than in the old days of safety straps. But if you want to pound vertical a HSQ probably wastes less time and energy.

Did you guys see the amazing variety of lift photos in this thread/TR:
http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic13054

Thanks, JimK for the reference to the lift photos site. Remember when Homestead first opened and they had a sort of funicular? I really like the new lift: an 8 pack with heated seats and a bubble. And I think places like Timberline should take a look at the new loading conveyor belts to aid loading. One was installed at HV this year. With this the chair can run much faster with less yard sale stops.
The Colonel

When you're going up the gondola at Stowe with the temperature at -20F, a gondola is a heavenly experience. Frankly, on some days, I wish the Western Express at Snowshoe was a gondola. 30 MPH wind on your back at -10F and blowing snow is not the ideal condition for a chair...

On days as you describe, Lou, i wouldn't venture over to Cupp. There would be little snow to ski until you got close to mid.

You are sooooo right... Wit foour days ago. We had a 4-6 inch snowfall that doubled on the leeward side from all the drift.