Gapergenuity

[pechelman]

A few weeks ago, I was riding a chair that just had a lap bar without the foot rests. For those of you who know it, this is the Sierra lift at Copper. Slowish, but also a short lift ride.

Anyway, 2 guys are next to me on the chair, they look like your average person who likes to ride off this lift with somewhat dated equipment. No big deal. Then they ask to put the bar down. "Sure", whatever, no big deal as well, although somewhat annoying.

Then this guy pulls out 15 feet of rope and a carabiner tied to one end.
Im pretty confused right now

He proceeds to clip the 'biner around the lap bar, sling the rope under his skis, and then throws the rope over the top of the chair, yanks on the rope to sinch it tight, and then ties it off on the arm rest.

"Gotta rest the feet, this run's a killer" he says in proud justification.

I watched in a state of amazement how stupid someone could be yet showing some genuine gaper ingenuity, or gapergenuity.

Has anyone else witnessed anything similar or an equally amazing feat of gapergenuity?
not sure if this is tech talk related or what, maybe we need a gaper forum

[Conundrum]

pics? I bet that guy ripped with fresh legs.

[Below Zero]

Then they ask to put the bar down.

I was just happy to read that a group of gapers actually asked to put the bar down.

Also, where is this killer run under Sierra?

[pechelman]

pics? I bet that guy ripped with fresh legs.

wish I had a camera, would have totally been worth it.

Also, where is this killer run under Sierra?

Oh its a hidden stash Im sure. Must be one of the double diamonds you can see from the chair

[snowsprite]

My gapergenuity= clipping the teeny rubber goggle scraper to the retractable pass holder and then carabimer that to my backpack strap for EZ access. Works great!

Sprite

[PNWbrit]

Real skiers like to swing their legs.

[Ubersheist]

Snowsprite's gaperific habit reminded me of something I did a few years back...

Funkendrenchman and I were at Vail. We did the Minturn Mile, and hitched a ride back to Vail. Unfortunately, I left a glove in the car of the guy who picked us up. Since the temps were fairly low that day (well below freezing), something had to be done if I was going to continue skiing that day.

I bought one of those handwarmer things, opened it up, tossed it back into the plastic bag that they gave me when I bought the handwarmer, and then tied the plastic bag tight around my wrist. It worked like a charm.

Other gaperific things I've done:

1. Skied with a headband in the 1990s, and NOT to be funny or ironic
2. Unknowingly skied on trashed, bent skis unknowingly for multiple days
3. Ate shit on a beginner run.... after I had spent a few seasons ski bumming.... this happened several times
4. Thought I was cool for poaching a closed run... but it was a closed groomed run

There's plenty more, but I just can't think of them off hand. Maybe they'll come to me.

[Squatch]

4. Thought I was cool for poaching a closed run... but it was a closed groomed run

Fresh cord brah!

[lemon boy]

certainly triple scotch guarded jeans have to be near the top of the list.

[Imz]

Was getting ready to sit down on KT-22 monday when this guy skis up at the last minute, barely making it (there was no line, nobody on the following chairs). We wonder why he tried so hard, but forgot about it.

My bro and I start talking, and he firmly hits us both in the head with the safety bar... I've been skiing Squaw for over 20 years and didn't even remember there was a bar. I tell him if he's going to lower it, to say something first, to which he laughed and said the bar was there for everyone's safety. I swear I just about pushed him off the chair into the fingers...

Chairlift gapers are almost the worst kind.

[freshie247]

I was just happy to read that a group of gapers actually asked to put the bar down.

Bingo!!!!!!

[pechelman]

Chairlift gapers are almost the worst kind.

2nd'd

Once my pack got stuck on the bar as they were lowering it without saying anything and it nearly just pushed me over the side.

anyway, this isnt so much as a gaper rant, but gapergenuity

[philippeR]

I always lower the safety bar. Always.

A classic example of gapergenuity that comes to mind is the ski tote improvised with poles.

[hutash]

I have no objections to lowering the bar, but Euros are the worst. They crash it down on your head with out any warning, and the refuse to raise it until well after the sign reminding you to raise, and do so only at the last possible second before unloading, again bashing you in the head.

[Below Zero]

You just knew this would turn into a gaper rant thread.

I've come to the conclusion that gapers will always smash the bar on your head without saying anything, and BZ will continue to chew them out after.

[philippeR]

I have no objections to lowering the bar, but Euros are the worst. They crash it down on your head with out any warning, and the refuse to raise it until well after the sign reminding you to raise, and do so only at the last possible second before unloading, again bashing you in the head.

Maybe are you a little slow ?

[irul&ublo]

I always lower the safety bar. Always.

.

OK...but do you use those paper covers on shitter seats?

[GapersGoHome]

A classic example of gapergenuity that comes to mind is the ski tote improvised with poles.

You stole mine. But, seriously - doesn't it take about 10 minutes to rig up that polestrap/ski getup? And then they look like a monkey fucking a football trying to get it all untangled. Priceless.

I have seen some of the greatest roof racks ever created - one was pure duct tape - the guy threw his skis on the factory racks, taped them down with about 8 winds of the grey wonder, and then snaked a 'wal-mart special' combination bike lock around the whole fiasco. The other looked EXACTLY like a yakima, only was made from 2X4's, carpet, and u-bolts. I almost snapped a pic.

Back when I was but a wee gaper, I made my own goggle scraper out of a shower squeegee, cut down to about an inch and a half wide, with a bolt securing a coiled piece of wire to it, carabinered to my jacket. Worked perfectly, didn't scratch, and I still have it floating around in my bag somewhere.

Oh, and the fact that I had battery-operated christmas lights wound around my uber-cool (at the time) Hilfiger backpack. But hey, give me a break - I was like 12.

But I have to say, the improvised footrest takes the cake. I almost don't believe it, apart from the fact that you can't make that shit up.

[GapersGoHome]

OK...but do you use those paper covers on shitter seats?

I thought they were free cowboy hats.

[TahoePowShredder]

hahaha.

I would have killed to have been on the chair with this guy. I would have given him so much shit that he would never want to ski again. that incident definately takes the cake!

[philippeR]

OK...but do you use those paper covers on shitter seats?

Dude, I'm French.
I piss all over the the seat, I destroy the flushing mechanism and I steal the toilet paper.

[rungsp]

Before you slag off the Euros for their (our) bar technique please bear in mind that the bar-usage rate in Europe is about 99.9999%

I have honestly never, ever, ridden a lift in Europe where the bar is not brought down.
Nobody would even think to ask....it is just an automatic reflex of any European skier.
We are not being rude, just unaware of your 'ard Core attitude to bars!

I'll be honest (and call me a fekkin gaper if you want...bothered) I am very uncomfortable riding lifts without a bar...3 years ago in Alta (at least I think it was Alta, maybe Snowbird?) I was bricking myself on some of the bar-less lifts sitting next to my kids with visions of them squirming off to their deaths!

[irul&ublo]

Dude, I'm French.
I piss all over the the seat, I destroy the flushing mechanism and I steal the toilet paper.

Don't forget you leave the butts from the four cigarettes you smoked during your 3 minutes in the stall.

[TeleHoar]

I'll be honest (and call me a fekkin gaper if you want...bothered) I am very uncomfortable riding lifts without a bar...

Fekkin gaper.

Bars still seem strange to me. I grew up here in Colorado and we never had bars on any of the lifts, till what the 80's!?

My gaperginuity:
I stick my powder cords up my pants, out my jacket sleeves and tie them off to my coffee table. That way when I loose my skis in the deep pow pow I can just sit at home, on my couch, and reel them in.

[iceman]

Either that or it's "OH SHIT HERE COMES THE COFFEE TABLE AGAIN!!!"