comment: >
  
  I've thought about it, but man they're kinda super comfy. I do find sitting on my poles helps, like I can feel the angle I'm leaning back.
context: This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.
  Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"
  (For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)
  Rule-breaking posts may result in bans. >
  
  Like the Ski lifts? Actually pretty hard to fall out. It's balanced with your weight around 20-30% to the back, bit like a rocking chair. It's easy to throw yourself into the landing, because the upper body rocks the whole chair forward with your ski's hitting the ground usually. Tho... it's fairly common for some newer people to take an extra spin around their first time on the hill. >
  
  Quoted as the safest mode of transportation in North America.  Source: pub quiz masters everywhere 
  The supporting math apparently looks at fatalities per passenger mile... >
  
  I'm shocked that it beats airplaines. They travel way further and are very safe. Maybe it is because there are few fatalities for chairlift? I wonder what the numbers look like for smaller injuries. >
  
  Yea but the lifts ate just going on a continuous circle for at least 8 hours a day with you riding it multiple times. I can totally see it evening out. >
  
  How many times do you need to ride to just match the distance taxiing to the runway? One flight is probably more distance than 99% of people's yearly chairlift distance. >
  
  Not sure how long all the lifts are, but I typically ski close to 1 million vertical feet per season, sometimes more. That’s around 190-200 miles per season. The resorts track this information using my lift pass. >
  
  Is that just vertical feet, or length of chair? The ones I know of only track vertical feet, and that's a lot less than distance on chair, so it's likely much farther in chair rides.
  For example, Northwest Express at Mt Bachelor is almost 9,000' long, but "only" almost 2,400' vertical.
  But yeah, even in just vertical, that's well over 200 miles per season. Get some!
  (Edit, just saw you said "not sure how long the lifts are," so yeah, definitely a lot more than 200mi!) >
  
  Yes it’s just vertical feet, not length of chair cable. Just pointing out that the lift can be much longer than the guy I responded to thought. >
  
  Yup, misread your comment at first, but left mine up to help illustrate the length of chairlifts.
  See ya on the slopes! >
  
  Haha yeah I think I misread yours too! Can’t wait for snow, I’m headed to Summit county for the whole month of February… >
  
  I fell off of one as a kid. Granted it was just taking off and I fell off because I wanted to see if I could skid my ski across the top of the snow and it got stuck causing me to face plant. Dad had to make the quick decision of jumping off at like 6ft. Kids are dumb. >
  
  My mum once pushed my brother off the lift at around that Hight because he couldn't get fully on, and she was seriously worried he would fall off higher up. this was a while back when he was around 10, but still a funny memory >
  
  Boy do I have the terrible movie for you, Frozen 2010.
  3 kids gets stuck on a ski lift for 90 minutes >
  
  I still think they could have strung their clothes together for a makeshift rope. >
  
  You're forgetting the wolves >
  
  You're right! They could have strung the wolves together to make a rope! >
  
  But would they have the arm strength to climb howl the way down? >
  
  You could probably slide down like a fire pole. But how would you survive the elements at a closed ski resort? Silly premise for a movie but it was cheap to make. >
  
  It shouldn’t be too surprising, people aren’t constantly falling out of regular chairs. All you have to do is sit. That’s not too difficult, now getting off gracefully is a whole nother... >
  
  Nother. An other. ‘Nother … another. A whole another….? >
  
  No, whole nother. They said it right there! >
  
  As a father with a 4 and 7 yr old .. I think about it a lot now.  My stomach drops quite a bit as they are at the very edge of the seat and not big enough to sit all the way back.  I always seem to think of the worse outcome, but they are fine so I try my best to relax. >
  
  I snowboard every season, if anything my biggest fear is seating next to a psychopath that could push me off the chair. Nobody would know =/ >
  
  Ultimately this is where my thought process is going with this post.
  I don't doubt that the chairs are designed to be safe and secure, but there are stupid and reckless people out there. 
  During my last trip to the hill I was in a chair behind 3 adult men who were screwing around (crossbar was up) and one of them dropped their pole onto the hill and then shoved the other guy who was laughing and I was just watching the chair shake, with them fooling around and it made me feel sick to my stomach. >
  
  Probably the pricetag skiing comes at cuts down on the stupid and reckless behaviours a bit >
  
  You know, you’d like to think so, but from knowing rich people I’m afraid it doesn’t cut it down as much as you’d hope. >
  
  Rich people are plenty stupid too, but much less so in the fuck-around-and-fall-of-a-ski-lift kinda way
  Source: WHO report showing that accidental injury rates are inversely-correlated to income >
  
  I agree. Seems like lots of people don’t like to bother with lowering the bar.    
  I’m always afraid that a gust of wind pushing down on my board at the same time I’m a little off balance because of adjusting a glove or bumping over one of the tower transitions and I would be off.
  But I’ve never actually seen or heard of anyone falling off in real life, and if it happened even rarely, they would probably force people to use the bar out of liability >
  
  The ones on my local mountain don't even have a bar or restraining method. Just plunk yourself down and don't lean too far forward. >
  
  We used to have a 2800 foot vertical lift at my home ski area that had no bars.  18 minute ride up.  No bars because my father was chairman of the ski resort association when they built the lift.  And bars on the chairs would have cost an extra $67.00 per chair.
  At the highest point, crossing an indentation in the mountain, you were 300 feet up.
  No one ever fell off, too my knowledge.  Though a friend of mine jumped successfully (at a much lower point) one time when the lift stopped for a half hour.  I stayed on.  He was fine.  Deep snow. >
  
  Seems like you dad prioritized a small amount of money over human lives. >
  
  I almost fell out once as a kid. Its was very high up, i looked down and it was pure white and i lost my sence of direction and just kept leaning forward. My dad grabbed me and i snapped out of it. 
  Most of the time the problems are getting on and off but im also surprised its not more common >
  
  Do you have a fear of heights? >
  
  I’m a snowboard instructor, and our resort doesn’t have bars on the lift chairs. That being said, I’ve never seen or heard of anyone falling out of one in the years I’ve been around. I’ve never felt unsafe on our lifts even without bars. And small children ride them everyday without incident. 
  I did go to another little resort once where I was slightly concerned, the chairs were a lot smaller and older with no bars, it was freezing rain so the seat of the chair was covered with ice, and it was windy. I’m sure it would have been a lot easier to slip off that day. But that was more the conditions than the actual lift itself >
  
  People fall off lifts all the time, they are just usually right near the top or bottom where it is low. Source-4 years of being a professional ski patroller seeing a lot of people fall off chairlifts. >
  
  I once ate shit getting off a lift on the first run of the day, and didn't have a glove on. My buddy's girlfriend came by and accidentally edged my bare hand with her snowboard. I didn't even get a run in, the medic team tied me to a sled and sent me down the hill and eventually to the hospital where I got like 12 stitches across 3 fingers. Good times! >
  
  The way you say it makes it seem like they just sent you on your way hoping you'd find yourself at the bottom instead of around a tree lmao >
  
  I just had this thought last weekend while skiing with my kid >
  
  I know a guy that scared his friend in a chair lift freaking him out and falling off. He broke a leg or something. 
  Ever since then, whenever a group of friends want to go snowboarding he discourages everyone telling them how dangerous ski lifts are.    
  It sucks for me, because I always get snowboard season pass. Deep inside I'm mad at him for blaming ski lifts, instead of himself. >
  
  i’m a lift operator at a pretty busy ski resort in colorado. the amount of people that fall off at the beginning/end of the lift ride is astronomical >
  
  In Aus it's pretty standard to lower the bar. You couldn't possibly fall with the bar lowered.
  In north America I was surprised at how much everyone just ignores it. It's s way more comfortable to sit with the bar lowered because it's the perfect spot to put your arms. Made no sense to me. >
  
  Its the coolness factor. I always put it down. And luckily never had anyone car if i do lower it. 
  Ive been on sketch chairlifts around the world. I am more worried about a frayed wire killing me than falling out >
  
  I thought you meant one of those chairs that help disabled ppl up the stairs. 😆 >
  
  We hear you! We've taken extra safety measures to make sure that doesn't happen, but we appreciate the heads up - just in case! >
  
  are you the chairlift gods? >
  
  Nah, they are fairly deep and slant somewhat towards the back. You’d really have to be trying to fall off of one. Falling while getting off of one is another story, though. >
  
  I first read that as just "chairs" lmao..I was gonna ask if you've ever been around children >
  
  To be fair to chairlifts I think children sit better on them than regular chairs. >
  
  I should hope so. >
  
  They do. But the Chair Lift Lobby immediately replaces them with perfect duplicates. Those few that "get away" are acceptable losses. >
  
  I had a friend decide to stick his pole up in one of the wheels above that are part of the connection points. The pole was wrapped around his wrist and he was lifted up out of the chair and dropped, far down. Spent weeks in the hospital and a long recovery but just fine today. >
  
  Wow, that's a Darwin Awards near-winner if I ever heard of one. >
  
  Seriously though. Some people are dumb as hell and I’ve still never seen it happen in 29yrs >
  
  I can’t believe it’s not a law that all chairs need safety bars. 
  I’m an avid snowboarder, but I’m pretty afraid of heights.  More so just afraid of falling to my death/injury.  If the chair has a bar, I’m fine.  But no bar, and anything over a 30 foot drop, I’m shitting myself. >
  
  I've never seen a chairlift without a bar, didn't even know it was a thing, seems incredibly disconcerting. (from eu) >
  
  Even if it comes to a standstill without the bar down you won’t fall forward. I believe it’s actually a law in VT to have the bar down. >
  
  I haven't seen a bar on a ski lift in my area - Upper Michigan >
  
  It’s actually kind of hard to jump out of one. A friend of mine did it. >
  
  as someone with a fear of heights, this visual image made me feel clammy. >
  
  There was a lot of fresh snow and it was in an area that wasn’t very high.