If I Can’t Have A Great Attitude While Skiing, It’s My Own Fault

I almost don't want to get on the chairlift with strangers during snow years like this. Yes, it's been brutal. No, it doesn't seem like any stretch of weather in Colorado that I've seen in my 15 years as a resident. Still, that is no excuse for incessant gloom and doom griping. I'd think it might never snow again for the attitudes I sometimes encounter on chairlifts at Colorado ski resorts.

It's true that a good solid base that develops in November and December is the best case scenario. A 36 inch base heading into the New Year is par for the course. That fills in many of the crevasses, covers rocks, stumps, logs and other hazards in the woods and allows most of the mountain to open with beautiful, natural snow.

Last year, and midway through this year, we haven't seen that amount of snow. This results in people who have bad attitudes on chair lifts. If I can't have a good attitude on a chairlift, well, that's my own problem. If there is a 10 inch base or an 80 inch base, if I am riding a chair lift, things are going well! There are people on this planet that will never have as much fun as I do on any given day at any given resort, so every single one of them is a blessing.

Granted, I prefer there to be so much snow that it gags me, but if I'm skiing or snowboarding, I am happy. That's why I won't rate any of my days on the hill as less than 4 stars on my Ski Tracks app. Every day on the hill gets at least a 'B' in my book, and most of them deserve an 'A+'.

That's why it disappoints me when I hop on the lift, happy as a pig in slop, with a cheerful greeting to potential new friends who are riding with me, and they have a lackluster reaction to their day on the hill.

'How's it goin'?' I ask with a smile.

'If we don't get more snow, this year is going to suck.' No, your attitude sucks, and I doubt that more snow would change it much.

'How's it goin'?' I ask with a smile.

'Not too bad.' they reply. Bad? There is nothing bad about skiing and snowboarding. It's all payoff. We don't even have to do any work, like backcountry enthusiasts who skin up the hill. We just sit on the lift, rest our legs, and when we get off, it's like the best rollercoaster ride ever because we choose the speed, difficulty level, where and when it stops.

What I'm saying is that I believe that we are lucky to be able to ski and snowboard. We are lucky to have the amount of prosperity and leisure time available to make things like large scale resorts that help millions of people have fun every year possible. I want a lot of deep snow as much or more than anyone on the planet, and I expect it. From the interactions I have on the chairlift, especially in a December that has less than optimal snowfall totals, I get the feeling that a lot of people are just waiting to be disappointed, hurt, and frustrated by things that they see as outside their control.