I Walked The (Lift) Line.....

[rwmaron]

The same thought has popped into my head over the years whenever I see gear (hats, gloves, sunglasses, etc) dropped from a lift - some of that stuff's going to get hidden by the next storm and if someone was energetic enough, there just might be a bit of a gold mine (a Rolex, or some cash maybe?) under this lift when the snow melts.

Our local hill closed last Sunday and since it was a nice day today and I had a late afternoon appointment nearby, I did just that (carrying my tele skis to speed the return trip). Now granted that much of the ground under the detachable quad is clear of snow already due to southern exposure, I'm thinking that I've got to be one of the first to walk the length of the lift this year and I did four runs, so I got a pretty good look at that stretch of ground.

Gold mine? More like cigarette butts and packaging, snuff tins, beer/pop cans and bottles, candy/granola/energy bar wrappers, broken ski poles, a hat, a costume jewelry necklace, lift tickets, various decals, a jar of Carmex, 2 quarters, and a penny. There was one brief moment of excitement when I spied a portable CD player partially covered in tall grass, but that was quickly extinguished when I reached down to find just the front control panel.

And playing cards - at least 100 of them in the 4,000 length of the lift, some from the same deck, but mostly unique. What's up with that? Do people play poker on the lift? Did someone drop them on the way up the mountain to help them find their way down?

Oh well, it was a pleasant evening and I got some turns in. My kids thought I was nuts when I came home and told them where I'd been......

[Jim Callen]

I go mushrooming under one lift in snowmass, and I must say, I've found some crazy stuff underneath it. Blackberries, cell phones, ipods, even a pair of old ski boots! I've found a few bucks in cash, some in different currencies, but nothing of note.

I've only dropped my gloves once, and I went down for them. It doesn't make any sense when I see gloves or hats or whatnot sitting there for more than a few runs.

[Erik J]

Hey Jim, I also used to get mushrooms in Snowmass - those big fat "snowcap morels" were really nice. If I remember correctly they were the size of a fist-but it's been a while. Any other types that you've found to knock your socks off?

I really should try to "walk the line" (I like that term) at my local mountian. With all of the spoiled rich kids here there's gotta be some good stuff to find. I guess it's one of those guilty pleasures for me.

[wvrocks]

at the end of the season I usually hunt around the lift mazes and loading/unloading ramps. Skiers at our area tend to spend a lot of time
on the ground in those places for some reason. :) One year my wife and I were walking down the one intermediate trail after checking out the unloading ramp of the main lift. About 1/3 of the way down we found a couple quarters. 10 feet later there was another. We followed a trail of quarters for about 100 yards. I think it was around $4-5 in quarters. Apparently someone was ready for the arcade but had a hole in their pocket.

We've found all kinds of crap on that hill; groomer parts, sunglasses, wrenches, gloves, lip balm, ski pole baskets, parts from the snowguns, etc.
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[ak_rider]

breck was a gold mine this year. i found $10, 2 ipods and a digital camera. i'm still confused as to how someone loses an ipod on the mountain though, i think i would notice the sudden lack of music in my ears, or maybe just zip my pocket :D

[skatha]

I'm sure they did notice the ipod missing...but what are you going to do? Dive after it???? :p


Sounds like a readily eBayable stash...and it's not hot, just lost....

[carvedog]

Riding up one day I spied a brass looking utensil with appropriate supplies lying next to it in a particularly nasty section of bumps at about the same time that the ski team kid riding with me did. We both knew what it was and kind of looked around a bit. No one else seemed to notice and I knew we were going to race for it. Not much chance of beating the owner back to his supplies, but I did surprise GS boy beating him through the bumps by about 20 seconds to find .... it was gone.

Someone did lose a watch on the hill - offered a $1,000 reward and paid up when one of the local pseudo homeless guys found it under a chair still working.

He went on about a five day bender. :freak3:

[philfell]

The gold mines are the decents from ice climbs.......If you are into climbing gear.