non-skiers using chairlift to come DOWN the mountain

Hi guys,

Can anyone help?!!

My wife recently went on her first skiing trip (Arinsal, Andorra).
She was fine on the drag lift at the nursery slope but when we used the chairlift to get to the upper slopes she absolutely freaked when she got off at the top and froze completely. She couldnt ski at all she just felt so unsafe. She was crying big time.

I asked the lift operator if she could get on the chairlift to go back down but he said no.

So we both took off our skis ond walked back down, she cried the whole way down.

She is not afraid of heights she just hates skiing.

Does anyone know of any resorts where she could use chairlifts to get to the top and also use them to get back down again?

She loves photography and has said she would be happy to ride around all day long taking photos while I skied!

Michael.

Maybe best looking for a resort with a high proportion of gondolas/cable cars ?

Dave

Hi,and welcome to the forum,it has long been a mystery to me just how the system works,I find if you stand and watch,if people are riding down without skis,then go for it!I'm sure if you ask at the lift pass office they should be able to tell you which ones are "pedestrian friendly",but mostly cable cars which access ski areas aka mayrhofen and the like are the resorts most suitable,alternativly back to the nursery slopes and more testing of your relationship,not a good option but you never know!

Thanks for the response Dave, certainly makes sense. Just wondered if maybe USA or Canada were any more user friendly towards non-skiers than Andorra.

Mike

Mike, we have been discussing this in another thread.

http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/5106.page

BTW, the Hintertux is top to bottom on cable cars, 3 in a row upt to about 3260m. Perfect for non skiers to get up to take some pics etc.

It's a safety issue with the chairs - they aren't designed with a run-off at the bottom so normally there won't be anywhere for a pedestrian to move out the way of the still moving chair. I would imagine there would be a lot of stopping and starting of the chairs if they did let pedestrians use them which wouldn't be popular with the skiers.

Most ski resorts have cable cars that will be more suitable - in La Plagne there were plenty of non-skiers going up to the glacier and of course they are designed to be used in both directions.

Hi micric and many thanks for the response and warm welcome.

I've only ever skied in Borovets in Bulgaria or Arinsal in Andorra so any first hand knowledge of other resorts is especially welcome.

As for back to the nursery slopes, I'm afraid she found the experience so upsetting that she has vowed never to ski again, which is a great shame as I love it!

Mike

I am afraid your only option is divorce.

She is not afraid of heights she just hates skiing.