Developing Fear of Chairlifts

Quaggy

Quaggy

Active member
Hey gang,

I've been skiing for ~12 years now and I've never been scared of heights, let alone riding the chairlift.

But this season, something's different. I get anxiety riding the chairlift, it's gotten to a point where I'm hesitant to go skiing because I'll have to ride one.

Any suggestions on overcoming a developing fear of heights/chairlifts?
 
14228571:ScaryDumpTruck said:
We live on a floating rock
Click to expand...

I guess I could fall off at anytime right? Thank god I live in the Northern Hemisphere... How do they not fall off in the Southern Hemisphere though?
 
If you cling tightly onto the stranger sat next to you for reassurance and gently sob the whole way up then that tends to work for me
 
14228577:Quaggy said:
I guess I could fall off at anytime right? Thank god I live in the Northern Hemisphere... How do they not fall off in the Southern Hemisphere though?
Click to expand...

Gravity harnesses
 
I just hold onto the back of the chair when i’m scared. there’s a portion of sierra lift at copper that has a high drop and jolting from a lift stop has made nearly shit myself numerous times
 
It's weird I have been skiing my whole life and never once thought about being on the lift. I remember falling asleep on a lift at Copper when I was like 9 and it didn't seem like a big deal. For whatever reason last season out of nowhere I started getting weird anxiety about it and started having to look straight forward or stare at the trees instead of look down. I had what I believe was a panic attack for the first time in my life, where I froze up completely and grabbed the back of the chair tight and tried to talk myself out of it to no avail. It was absolutely terrifying. That hasn't happened again and the problem has calmed down a lot but even now if I get a weird feeling I immediately look at the trees that are passing level with me and try to redirect my mind. The shit is fucking whack.
 
Just remember that chairs only detach from the cable and fall to the ground on rare occasions, so odds are you’ll be okay.
 
Ill spin a 50 foot park jump and be unfazed but put me on any lift that goes higher than 30 feet off the ground and im fucking clinging to the thing for dear life staring at my pants. I feel your pain. I also fucking hate lovelands lifts.
 
You would be more scared if you knew the maintenance and mechanics that “maintained” them at some resorts.
 
once saw some tram maintenance crew guys ride down on the top of the snowbird tram. that would be a fuckin no from me, dawg.
 
Started for me after riding the Mountain Chief at Copper in 2012 when my chair came loose, slid back down the cable and slammed into the chair behind me. I recommend talking to your doctor as they may be able to offer a solution in the rare cases where anxiety gets out of control.

topic:Quaggy said:
Hey gang,

I've been skiing for ~12 years now and I've never been scared of heights, let alone riding the chairlift.

But this season, something's different. I get anxiety riding the chairlift, it's gotten to a point where I'm hesitant to go skiing because I'll have to ride one.

Any suggestions on overcoming a developing fear of heights/chairlifts?
Click to expand...
 
14228764:RAcecARman said:
Ill spin a 50 foot park jump and be unfazed but put me on any lift that goes higher than 30 feet off the ground and im fucking clinging to the thing for dear life staring at my pants. I feel your pain. I also fucking hate lovelands lifts.
Click to expand...

I think growing up and learning to ski at Loveland has made me virtually unfazed by chairlifts. I don't even think about the danger, knowing the engineering that goes into them now.

14228838:SkiBum. said:
You would be more scared if you knew the maintenance and mechanics that “maintained” them at some resorts.
Click to expand...

However, yeah the maintainance is questionable sometimes. Last week at Big Sky, we stood in line at Sledhorn while it was stopped for like 15-20 minutes watching a few people run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Eventually another dude shows up on a snowmobile, runs into the hut for like 13 seconds, up into the motor room for a minute, and then it worked again. I bet it was just a software or sensor issue but the number of people running those who actually have no idea what's going on is spooky.
 
Think about it this way:

How often do you fall out of a chair in normal life? (without skis or boots or anything). Probably not too often right? No reason you'd slide out on a chairlift either.
 
Depends, at shitty east coast resorts where half the employees are alcoholics who don’t ski it can be a little unsettling. The lift maintenance crew we have at bachelor is top notch though, they don’t give those jobs to just anyone.

14228838:SkiBum. said:
You would be more scared if you knew the maintenance and mechanics that “maintained” them at some resorts.
Click to expand...
 
I always keep an arm around the back of the chair unless there is a bar. Nothing is scarier than when you sit on the chair and it is super slippery or icy.
 
Did you just start smoking weed or something? I remember when I was younger and would just get super lit and be terrified that I was gunna fall off the lift!
 
Hey gang!

Thanks for some fantastic suggestions! I'll keep holding onto the back of the chair for dear life until I find something that works!

Thanks again!
 
If you feel yourself getting scared on the lift just think “ when was the last time is was sitting in a chair or on a couch and I just fell off”
 
I was on the Spillway East chair at Sugarloaf when it fell off the towers and a few people got seriously injured. Not to say that scared me but focusing on a music track or making conversation with ski buddy’s or random people help make the ride go by. I do tend to put an arm over the back of the chair bar down or not...of course statistically you are unlikely to ever even be roped off a lift. Thinking of the statistics of flying is the only way I get myself on a plane.. and cuz it’s usually to fly to the Alps.
 
I’m more scared of the extremely sketchy chairs we get at small mountains in the midwest. Mix that with the lifties being piss drunk half the time, theres a disaster waiting to happen here
 
OP, freaking out about something you know is ridiculous/super unlikely/you've already been doing for years is like THE textbook sign of an anxiety disorder. Not trying to make a huge deal out of it, but you might start noticing it creeping it into other aspects of your life, maybe consider going to talk to someone or at least start practicing some mindfulness techniques.

(For example, a few years ago I used to get suuuper freaked out riding in cars with people for no good reason but I was obsessed thinking they'd crash/go off the road and it got to the point where I was declining road-trips with my friends, just cause my anxiety was so bad.) Mindfulness really helped me break the cycle of these thoughts, and while I sometimes get those shitty thoughts, its much easier to just let them pass and enjoy the moment.

Sorry to get on a pedestal/talk about my own shit here, but this sounds just like something I'd struggle with too!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top