race against the ski lift machine

I beat the downhill-resort ski lift in an uphill race.

My sister was taking her two daughters for a day of downhill skiing at
Hunter Mt Ski Bowl in New York for the mid-week Ladies special discount. She
invited me to join them, and I decided that this would be my only chance to
ski with my young nieces, since each told me they have no interest in
cross-country skiing.

I haven't found any cross-country ski centers south of Albany to have opened
yet this season, so this was my first chance to get on some skiable snow
within normal daytrip range of metro NY -- so I brought along my skate skis
and boots and poles for some XC practice (in addition to my mountain touring
skis for keeping up with my nieces in their downhill skiing).

I got there at 8:30, so I had some time free before my sister arrived. I put
my cross-country skis on and skated over to the Hunter One beginner area.
The artificial snow was in wonderful condition, freshly groomed. (If you
don't like artificial snow at your ski center, try sending the operators to
Hunter Mt to learn how).

There I was at the bottom of chair lift C, and I could see the top of the
lift. The usual thought hit me: I wonder if I skate to the top of that trail
without stopping? Just before I started I noticed a lone snowboarder sit
down on one of the lift chairs for his machine-powered ride to the top. I
focused on my skating at first, played around with feeling knee-drive at
higher turnover rate.

Halfway I looked up, and there was the lift cable high above me with chairs
hanging from me -- and that same lone snowboarder. I was skating up the hill
at the same speed as the chairs on the lift. So I skated a little faster,
and made it up past the top of the lift just in time to watch the
snowboarder get up and slide off his chair.

I've ridden up lots ski lifts over the years, but somehow I never imagined I
could go uphill that fast. The truth is that many ski resorts run some lifts
at a slow speed so that the beginner skiers find it easier to get on and
off.

Ken

P.S. I am forced to confess that downhill-skiing with my sister and her
daughters was rather fun. My suggestion to parents who hope that their
daughters will do lots of cross-country skiing: Never buy them lift-tickets
for an uncrowded pleasant mid-week day of downhill skiing at Hunter Mt Ski
Bowl.