Summit Chair #1

Not to harp on old things, but the Summit Chair is a bit of a beast for many a young skier and their nerve-frayed parents. Unlike the Silver King, the Summit lacks the ability to slow down for the wee ones. But there comes a time, risk of mis-loading or not, when every parent needs to take their kids up "the Big Chair." I still remember my first ride waaaay back in the late 70s. It took a whole Christmas Break to work up the guts to go for it. And while I mounted safely, I remember my younger sister getting worked. For both of my kids, loading the Summit had its moments. I remember lifting one kid back up into his seat by his jacket, the other getting tossed into the net. But once they got the technique down, it was game on.A little while ago I had the privilege of helping a dad take his 4-year-old ripper up the Summit (he had his three year old on the next chair--bold!). The little guy nailed it. I've actually developed my own technique over the years, where I gently push the chair back (the liftee can't because they're too busy lifting the kid), then I do the reach around behind the bar and push their stomach to the back of the seat. As we rode up to this broad new world he was about to discover for the first time, I went back to little kid mode, catching snow flakes.