A new year, and a new lift…that was my thought process as I loaded the High Alpine Lift this New Year’s Day. It certainly was a new lift, but that doesn’t mean everything about it was perfect. Follow me as I take you through my first ride on the lift.

Skiing into the lift line

The lift is magnificently presented. It looks so modern and clean, but I am really going to miss the other lift…it was so classic looking. I think I like the look of the old one better, but this is nice too I guess!

Loading the lift

“Load Here.” Oh my goodness, could this lift take any longer to come around…oh here it is. It is going to be so soft and squishy. Oh…oh, it’s not that soft. In fact, this isn’t nearly as comfortable as it looks. It is new though, so I suppose it will get broken in and become more comfortable.

On the lift

I’m just so happy that I get to sit with all four of my friends; we used to have to go two and two. Wow, this view is amazing, I have never seen views of the cirque like this. Would this lift slow down…I am missing the views!

Top of the lift

It is so cold! I can’t wait to get off this lift. Oh finally, here we are—the top.

The skiing experience

Okay where should I ski? I want to ski Roberto’s, but I don’t want to have to hike all the way up there. Wait! I don’t have to hike…the lift goes up so much higher than it used to. I’m going to ski the Hanging Wall area then. Well, actually I will ski Green Cabin. Oh my gosh, this snow is terrible…it’s so skied out. I guess more people will ski here now because of the convenience of this new lift.

It’s a new year, and there’s a new lift. The High Alpine Lift will be a welcomed improvement by the skiers because it has the potential to improve the ski accessibility of this portion of the mountain, but as a local, I noticed some problems that overall did not effect my skiing experience.