That’s right, I said it. You can have that first chair. I’m gunning for a new title: last chair of the day.
It feels like there’s some inexplicable lore around first chair. For some reason, riders flock to the mountain to catch that elusive early ride up the slopes. But even if folks aren’t getting on the real first chair, they head up early in the morning to catch their laps early on the mountain.
In recent years, I’ve been shifting my ski days to start later and end later. I adore catching the last chair of the day. There’s something about how quiet the mountain gets, a little afternoon lighting, the sounds of a slow chairlift bumbling along its line, and the challenge of “how many laps can I get” before the ropes are drawn.
First chair doesn’t have as much of that energy. The first few hours of the ski day at resorts are often the busiest, with folks cramming in a few morning turns before work. Or, the habit we fall into on ski trips of starting early and skiing hard to “catch the best snow”, only to tucker out and take off after lunch. That’s when my kind come out to play.
“I’m an 11-4 kind of skier”
Let me make my case.
I try to keep my complaints about crowding to a minimum. In my mind, it doesn’t solve any problems. But after a few days of arriving at the mountain late (because I’ll be honest, I’m not a morning person) on fresh snow days, I found significantly fewer lines, less crowds, and soft snow yet to be skied. Could the crowding solution be so simple? Just get there late?
I’ve noticed this on ski trips too, when I typically clock longer days on the mountain. After the lunch break, things tick back up for a half hour or so, then the skiers start to disappear. Morning lessons have wrapped up, some folks head out to beat traffic, or the patio apres begins. That means quicker lift lines and fewer skiers dodging on the hill. I can sneak in what feels like two times the amount of runs into an afternoon skiing than I can in the morning on some days.
But it’s not all about avoiding crowds. The afternoon lighting on some mountains is just spectacular. And nailing a full “power hour” (the last hour of the day, trying to ski as much as you possibly can in that time) with your ski crew feels particularly fulfilling for skiers trying to progress or rack up the vertical. There may be nothing I love more than power hour on Chet’s Dream at Loveland. Lapping a high-speed lift and skiing as fast as I can until the bell rings fills my cup.
What to do on a powder day
No doubt, the first tracks on a powder day are special. I love fresh tracks just as much as the next powder hound. But how long does that snow stick around? Especially on a weekend. If you’re not in line by 7 am, it might as well be the afternoon with how much fresh snow is left. So, you’ve spent that time in traffic, navigating parking, waiting in the lift lines, for no fresh tracks?
To get true first tracks takes some effort. You’ve got to be up and driving up to the hill well before the local bagel place is open for business. Then, after you’ve parked, you’ve got to get in the lift line and hold your place. That could be an hour plus before lifts start spinning. That could mean some cold lift line hangs.
And if there’s no fresh snow? I’d venture to argue the snow conditions can be better in the afternoon. With a little sunshine or afternoon warming, icy or firm snow in the morning can become downright corn in the afternoon. And once the riders spray some snow around, you can find some poor man’s powder on the sides of trails.
How to ride “last chair style”
For the uninitiated, here’s how the last chair schedule usually goes.
First, an enjoyable morning at home, with coffee and breakfast made casually and in the comfort of a little morning light (as opposed to stumbling around your house in the dark). Sleeping in, however much you like, is a necessity. If you’ve got pets, cuddle time.
Second, you make your way to the slopes. You can check traffic, see what roads have closed in the morning chaos, and make a destination pivot accordingly. Just the other day after a decent storm turned up, Berthoud Pass closed after a snow slide onto the road. Early morning skiers didn’t catch the news in time and made their way to the pass only to be disappointed (and caught with loads of other drivers trying to make their way to another resort). My leisurely 10 am departure allowed me to see the road to Winter Park was closed, and I could make my way to Loveland without much drama. I got there in an hour and half from the Front Range, on a 6+ inch day.
Third, you park in the front row. While maybe a little later than anticipated (after a stop at a local coffee shop and catching up with a friend), my just-shy-of-noon arrival to Loveland granted me a front-row parking spot.
Fourth, you ski without lift lines. On busy powder day weekends, sometimes it takes until a little later for those lift lines to clear up. But, there’s no denying that the most crowded and packed-up time of day is the first few hours. The longer you stay, the more laps you can pack in a smaller amount of time.
Fifth, enjoy apres, at a reasonable happy hour time. No need to be slamming beers at 11 am (although, that is fun sometimes).
You can’t always be last
I’ve spent a fair amount of my outdoor career getting early alpine starts. For ski spring missions and summer adventures in Colorado, there’s not really another option. Rapid warming on snowy slopes in the spring and reliable afternoon thunderstorms are reasons to get going early in the morning for outdoor adventures. Since that’s my practice for climbing missions and big hike outings, I thought that’s what I should do with my skiing, too.
But once I overslept a time or two, I started soaking in long mornings. It allowed me to simply rest. I never get to do that during the summer when trying to tackle some outdoor objectives. Life as a skier means spending most of my free time on the slopes, and long commutes to the mountain take time away from exercise, errands, cooking, and rest. So to have some slow mornings and steer clear of the skier rat race up to the slopes in the morning, while still getting in a ton of laps, works well for me.
I’m sure most of this comes down to me lack of “morning person” in me. I’m sure you morning people get your fair share of rest in the afternoons and find beauty in the early morning starts and all that jazz. But, I have to try on morning person every once in a while to get the job done, so maybe some morning folks could try on afternoon skiing once in a while. You might find some of the tranquility and peace on the mountain you love in the afternoon hours.
