Chairlift Confidential

A typical chairlift ride is about ten minutes long — the perfect amount of time to chat with a stranger that you have almost no chance of running into again. We hope you enjoy this occasional recounting of real and enhanced conversations.

When new homeowners to the Valley were asked where they’d moved from, rather than the expected answer of Massachusetts or New Jersey, the Valley newbies beamed and said: “We moved here from the north, from Burlington… Vermont.”

When discussing AI, a man said, “I used ChatGPT to write my homeowners HOA rules. It worked great.” 

When asked to name his favorite trail at Mount Ellen, a cranky skier responded, “Utah.”

An older woman skiing with an instructor commented, “I like to ski with someone, since when I fall it’s hard to get up.” When asked how old she was, she said, “I just turned 94.” (We should all be so lucky!)

And, in homage to the Mad River Glen single chair, where conversations are tough to have, music heard at the midstation over several runs recently included Vivaldi, The Irish Rovers, and, of course, The Grateful Dead.