Chair 9

April 11, 2007

Old Chair 9 took its last skiers and riders up the hill last weekend, and if there was any sentimentality about that, it didn't come from me.

Chair 9 was a pain in the ass - literally for the people who got smacked in the hiney by the two-person, fixed-grip throwback.

But once on board, hey!

I usually get stuck with a stoner who's so far into his or her headphones that there's no one to talk to, so I just kinda sit there for the 10-minute ride to the top and wonder how long it takes for kneecaps to freeze.

Once at the top, it's a bit of scramble to get left to Ricochet and the wide-open runs off the Dragon's Back. What a hassle, really. I don't need it.

Next year there's going to be a high-speed, six-pack and I know, I know. Lots of people are all tied up in knots over the idea that this will attract more people over there and the experience will somehow get ruined.

I don't buy it.

Usually those kinds of people stick to the middle of the ski hill, and even if they wanted to get over there, and even if they could read a trail map, chances are they'd still get lost trying to figure out the route to the bottom of the chair.

I know some people who thought they'd actually reached the end of the world when they finally spent half a day trying to find Chair 9.

This isn't going to be a problem.

Actually, it's going to be great.

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