I'm tipping non of those who voted "not ok" have ever turned up an hour early for first lifts. It doesn't matter what they think. They'll never be there.
Except for powder days the whole early morning lifts queue is a relatively new invention - I think a product of the discounted season pass
I see from the photo that someone has bagsed (what a great Aussie expression) a spot using only ski poles. Cue the confected outrage.
Because more turn up early for first lifts than will manage to fit on the first chair, so they form a queue with their skis without having to remain clipped in the whole time. It works for those who turn up extra early. By the time the unwashed hoards begin showing up, the early birds are clipped in again. I really don't see what the problem is. By the time the whingers have fronted up, they're none the wiser as to how relaxed the early birds were. Teacup. Storm.
My question remains to those who put their skis down and leave......Are you OK with arrivals skiing straight past the unattended skis....poles etc and up to the gates?
I thought it had been pretty clear. They don’t leave. They’re standing off to the side out of the photo frame.
No I wouldn't be ok with that. What I am ok with is putting my skis behind the ones who got there earlier and you putting yours behind mine if you drive after me. I've been there on days were easily over 50-100 pairs of skis were lined up in order of arrival, with the first people getting there probably before 7am. These people the proceed to stand around the general vicinity of the lift line. I've never known anyone to go further than the toilets, thats not leaving the area. People need to respect the local etiquette. The local etiquette is that skis can be lined up in order of arrival and you can move to another part of the general area, so long as you are back by the time the shuffle forward begins. Moving peoples skis or pushing past them is NOT OK. If anything, it's downright rude, disrespectful and dangerous. So if you arrive after the line up has begun, you get to join at the back. Putting skis in place is a locally accepted way of queueing and pushing past those skis is subsequently pushing in. If you are truely happy to stand clipped in for 45 minutes plus (thats the timeframe many of these people get here for), then great for you, but that'd ones mean every one wants to do that. Skiing is a social sport and some people like to get there early, the go have a coffee and meet new people or reconnect with old friends. rant over.
No need to rant, the bitchy whingers never turn up early enough to carry out their keyboard warrior tough guy threats.
I think the etiquette is stupid. It’s a nuclear arms race of getting there first. Not long ago if you got there at 8.15 on a non-powder day you were toward the front of the queue. Now people are getting there at 7am? It’s stupid. Soon enough it will be 6.30. Then 6am. 5am before we know it. If we really must have a local etiquette of reserving a spot in the line while you grab a coffee by the side, maybe also have an etiquette that you can’t place skis in the line before say 8am? That way people don’t have to wake up at stupid o’clock to get near the front of the queue* * different rules on a powder day
and it usually still is. Apart from that August crazy period we would be dropping kids off and in the line at 830 and not too far from the front. All this outrage from people it isn't even affecting.
Ha l!! Not when I’m there. I don’t even bother anymore. It’s such a PITA. I might edit to add I aim to get there just a touch after 8.30 nowadays, after the queue has started moving. But in July school holidays, August (which now extends to early September) and weekends you just join the end of a verrrrryyyy long queue.
I was there every weekend from opening season in June, all July, the last week of the July school holidays, all October, and now, and on Sundays we had to wait until Thredboland unlocked to get rid of the grommets. Which sometimes wasn't until 0830 to open the door other days they were open to seasonal kids at 0800. The only time we got stuck in long lines was when we got stuck dropping the kids off or we rocked up a bit after 0830. Otherwise we would join the line at Deathbarrel around 0815 and it wasn't as bad as you are implying
Not my experience. Not even close. I do confess I had no lines when I was there on Friday Flat the second weekend of the season, but on each other occasion I was there (late July, mid August, early September) early lines were long, and considerably longer than was the case not so many years ago. Just to give some flavour on that incidentally, for most of my skiing life until maybe 4 or 5 years ago I could reliably get in 4 runs too to bottom between 8.30am and 9.30am on a non-powder day. Nowadays you have no chance of that. You need to get up at stupid o’clock to be close enough to the front of the queue to bother. And who seriously wants to stand around in the cold for an hour or longer to get toward the front of a queue on a non-powder day? Anyway, there’s no way I could do that now. Even if I was at the very front of the queue I would ski down to a 10 minute lift queue at the bottom...which I would likely join again if I was stupid enough to do another one top to bottom.
I agree, the lines were longer IMO, though it doesn't bother me much, as my pattern avoids them. But the start crowds were huge this year. Though I did jag the gap after the first run a few times, and mostly was in the pen or near. I often don't do a T2B to start. Even the start lines at Cruiser and the T's were slightly larger than usual. People are turning up earlier, I blame ALDI.
Maybe it is because I came across from Perisher but I didn’t think the lines were overly long between 0800-0815. I also wouldn’t head back down to deathbarrel after getting up. I would get a number of runs in cruiser with minimal fuss or even straight onto kosi. Up until around 0930 then it would get busy again
This for sure. Having skiied a season at Thredbo for the first time in forever it absolutely has shorter lines than perisher. But i just couldnt find a way avoid lines like i learnt to at perisher. Maybe its not possible. How long have you been doing this weekend warrior thing @skull ? Weekend traffic on the ski runs and roads this year got unbearable to the point where i wont be renewing season passes for 2020. Im sure therell be 10 people to take my space.
This is only our fourth year as season regulars. Then only sporadic visits over 20 years prior but pretty much only a handful of visits during that period. Before that I was a kid on the family annual trip. My worst experience was a one hour wait for the ridge chair 4 years ago.
Same, if you plan your first few laps you can avoid the lines. Haven’t had a problem at all this season skiing almost every weekend. We’ve usually done 4 laps and are at breakfast when the lines are at their worst.
the data here suggests it is pretty loose "etiquette". I liken it to those local bully-boy surfer who "owns" the wave. This little bit of nature is more theirs than everyone elses. So they roll down to the surf at 4am.....sit there watching it and coffee-ing.....and deserve the front of the line-up no matter who arrives in the interim. Then hysterically claim everyone else is making too big a deal of it.....or doesn't "get" their self optimised local "etiquette". Its an ugly side of humans. Same thing I've seen on the golf course since I was a kid. Same in some parochial surf breaks. Bizarrely, I've even seen it in the backcountry.....where someone happened to innocently tear up a line first - that belonged to a local.
Nothing like that. Unless they place there board out the back before any waves commence then swim back out before the first set.
Haha, I had a funny one inbounds this season. We skied Wiamea, then I cut hard to the lower spine/gully at the Michaels end, but was too low, and sidestepped back up. Meanwhile a guy comes in over the top. He stops and looks at me stepping up in soft snow, and says, you go. I say, I made the mistake, you took the right line, you take it. He says thanks, Ill put a good line in for you. And ripped it. Ettiquette.
Is there anything more satisfying than a good dose of keyboard outrage? Apart from a well dropped turd that is.
So end of season and last night we made a plan for the kids ( group of 8) to get first lifts.Spring time etc , not a powder day , they were pretty excited. Got there by 7', they lined up skis etc, all good for first two chairs, parents behind but we didn't care about chairs, was all about the kids. There is is this one guy called Scott, wears a blue outfit, is there every morning. Was not at all happy these kids were there before him. The look on his face was surprise/pissed off/entitled. 8:30 the lifts open, Scott charges through, pushes over a 13 year old girl, and secures the first chair of the day all to himself. If you know this fine specimen of a human being, 13 year old has a massive bruise on her arm and Scotty may be getting a tap on the shoulder...
That is truly fornicated human behaviour. I have an angle grinder if you’d like to turn his skis into blades. Hopefully tomorrow will be a day of shame for Scott! I hope the kids are all OK!
sounds like a local. I would lodge a complaint with Thredbo management but also recording an incident with the police
Required. Otherwise the OP would contaminate the results of the experiment. TBH, the results are potentially contaminated anyway since the OP's motivation was disclosed early on, but in all honesty, I don't think it impacted on anyone's behaviour. A chance at a good old pile on is all the excuse most of us need to jump in without a second thought. Who cares who's watching from outside the fish bowl? The audience is always there anyway.
