h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Any tips on button lifts? Equally close to disaster in my (only) experinence.

Button lifts - disastrous. I once managed to fall off one and knock down the friend behind me and 3 other people behind her as we tumbled down the slope, scattering skis, poles, mits, everything in our path.
T-bars are the ultimate evil, though. Pretty near impossible to stay on.

With T-bars, try to match yourself with someone of approx. the same hight, as a drastically skewed bar is bad news for all concerned.

Tiger

I have to admit to not having heard of a "button lift." What does that mean, exactly?

Definition of a 'button lift' - a circular disc, approximately 10 inches in diametre, usually made of black slippery plastic, which has an extremely hard metal pole coming out of the middle of it. The theory is that you pull down the pole and put the 'button' between your legs and hang onto the pole infront of you. This pulls you up.

The trick with button lifts is not to sit down on them - as you'll end up just sitting on the back of your skis (which can make steering awkward and be slightly embarrassing). I think maybe they were made for much lighter people - children, perhaps ....

With T-bars, not only should you be punching at roughly equal weight, but it's a good idea to pick a partner with roughly the same skill level. As a near beginner many years ago in Switzerland , I shared a T-bar with a young man I was desperate to impress.The relationship stalled after he realised I was too scared to take one hand off in order to get my sunglasses out of my pocket and was completely dished when I fell over every time I tried to turn left (I had borrowed a friend's posher skis which were slightly longer than what I had learnt on. I could manage the right turns, but..)
The moral is not to go out with a native skier until you have a least mastered the basics. Button lifts are a doddle in comparison and chair lifts absolute luxury.

Yep, T-bars can be a nightmare. I saw a friend end up with her side of the T-bar inside the back of her ski-jacket when her partner let go. She ended up being dragged through the snow face-first for 10 yards before the T-bar went through a cut-off line and stopped the lift. I was behind her and was pretty shook up myself.

Buttons are safer, but more tiring as you actually have to "ski" uphill.

A study of ranges of technology:

http://ww1.whistlerblackcomb.com/p2pg/


http://skilift.nashacanada.com/

Arrr. Blackcomb. I miss it so. My first time on snow in 1991. Seem to remember mostly chairlifts and gondolas.