When I went skiing as a kid, ski lifts were not that complicated. Either you held onto a tow rope on the beginner slopes or you took a chairlift. I’m sure there were gondolas and other types of lifts somewhere on the mountain, but where my family skied, these were the two types of lifts that I used. Bottom line, I had never experienced a platter lift before. Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s also called a button lift.

Having difficulty reading this? Go to the adapted version!

If you can’t see the photo, imagine a pole that’s hanging from an overhead cable. At the bottom of the pole, there is a disc. I don’t know how big the disc is exactly, maybe 8 inches in diameter? Anyway, the idea is to grab the pole, put the disc between your legs and position it by your bottom. While this is happening, the pole is set into motion and you are pulled up the mountain on your skis. This is, at least, how it should work.

How hard could it be? Children were doing this! I watched them very closely. One after another, it was the same thing. Ski poles in one hand, grab the lift pole with the other. Frantically put the pole between your legs and make sure the disc is resting on your butt. Okay, got it. Like I said, how hard could it be?

It was my turn…

Ski poles in one hand? Check.

Grab the pole for the lift? Check.

Pole between the legs? Check.

Disc thingy by my butt? Check.

Death grip on the pole? Double check.

After a nervous smile to the lift operator who said something that I didn’t understand, the adventure started. In an instant, my body was sent flying up the mountain. I didn’t realize that there would be some spring action when the lift started pulling me up. Luckily, I didn’t lose my balance, but I’m sure my eyes were as big as saucers. I thought at any moment, I was going to fall face first into the snow.

Once I realized that I wasn’t going to fall, I was saying in my head, “You did it! You did it! Great job!!! You did it!” I imagine I had a huge smile on my face. No, I didn’t win a gold medal in downhill skiing or do some fancy trick with my skis. I took a platter lift for the FIRST time and LIVED!!!

I was so proud of myself. I took a deep breath and began to relax.  It was so peaceful to go through the forest on the lift. What a great day! It was my first ski day at a French mountain resort, and I was so happy! Wooooo hooooo!!!

I didn’t know how long this lift was going to take, so I decided I would sit down. It was going to be a long day! Why not rest a bit before getting to the top and skiing back down again? That was a big mistake. HUGE. That moment of peace quickly went away as I started to scream.

It took me a second to realize what was going on. Everything happened so fast! One minute I was up, and the next minute I was down. I was down on the snow and sliding fast! What was going on??? I didn’t know what to do!

I eventually stopped sliding, but how was I going to get down? There were no real ski slopes nearby. The path for the skiers taking the lift was more or less groomed, but narrow.

It was like a double black diamond! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit here, but! I had to stay within the groomed area AND avoid hitting the skiers who were using the lift. This was not going to be easy.

The music for “Mission Impossible” started playing in my head. I couldn’t sit in the snow forever and no one was going to save me. I had to save myself. I stood up and with a very determined look on my face and I pointed my skis toward the bottom of the mountain.

Skier one, avoided. Skier two, avoided. Skier three, wait, out of control, out of controooooollllllll! Whew! Avoided. My heart was racing, but I saw the start of the platter lift and I knew that soon I’d be there, safe and sound.

I made it back to the bottom without hitting anyone, but I was so embarrassed!!! The skiers waiting in line were staring at me. The kids looked confused and were pointing. This obviously was not the correct way to use the lift. The idea was to go up, not down. Oh, the SHAME!

I got back in line and made my way to the front. I was ready for my second try. The lift operator asked me what happened. Embarrassed, I admitted that I sat down. Her eyes got very big and she exclaimed, “But, you aren’t supposed to sit down!” Right. That would have been excellent information before I tried this the first time!!!

A lesson learned and luckily, the second try went much better. I made it all the way to the top! Maybe it was only a small victory, but I’ll put it in the “win” column anyway.

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Adapted Version

The Platter Lift: Mission Impossible?

In parenthesis () there are explanations of words and phrases. These explanations are in italics.

When I went skiing as a kid (child), ski lifts (mechanical lifts) were not that complicated (difficult). Either you held onto a tow rope (a rope that pulls you up the mountain) on the beginner slopes or you took a chairlift (a lift that includes seats). I’m sure there were gondolas (covered lifts) and other types of lifts somewhere on the mountain, but where my family skied, these were the two types of lifts that I used. Bottom line (the main point is), I had never experienced a platter lift before. Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s also called a button lift.

If you can’t see the photo, imagine a pole that’s hanging from an overhead (over your head) cable. At the bottom of the pole, there is a disc (round object). I don’t know how big the disc is exactly, maybe 8 inches in diameter? Anyway, the idea is to grab (take) the pole, put the disc between your legs and position it by your bottom (buttocks). While this is happening, the pole is set into motion (starts moving) and you are pulled up the mountain on your skis. This is, at least, how it should work.

How hard (difficult) could it be? Children were doing this! I watched them very closely. One after another, it was the same thing. Ski poles in one hand, grab the lift pole with the other. Frantically (quickly) put the pole between your legs and make sure the disc is resting on your butt (buttocks). Okay, got it. Like I said, how hard could it be?

It was my turn…

Ski poles in one hand? Check. (Done.)

Grab the pole for the lift? Check.

Pole between the legs? Check.

Disc thingy (object) by my butt? Check.

Death grip on (Hold tightly to) the pole? Double check. (Done.)

After a nervous (uncomfortable) smile to the lift operator who said something that I didn’t understand, the adventure started. In an instant (Quickly), my body was sent flying (moving) up the mountain. I didn’t realize that there would be some spring action (pulled in a spring-like motion) when the lift started pulling me up. Luckily, I didn’t lose my balance (equilibrium), but I’m sure my eyes were as big as saucers (my eyes were very big, showing that I was scared). I thought at any moment, I was going to fall face first (onto my face) into the snow.

Once I realized that I wasn’t going to fall, I was saying in my head, “You did it! You did it! Great job!!! You did it!” I imagine I had a huge smile on my face. No, I didn’t win a gold medal in downhill skiing or do some fancy trick (movement) with my skis. I took a platter lift for the FIRST time and LIVED!!!

I was so proud of (happy with) myself. I took a deep breath and began to relax.  It was so peaceful to go through the forest on the lift. What a great day! It was my first ski day at a French mountain resort, and I was so happy! Wooooo hooooo!!!

I didn’t know how long this lift was going to take, so I decided I would sit down (sit on the disk). It was going to be a long (difficult) day! Why not rest a bit (take a rest) before getting to the top and skiing back down again? That was a big mistake. HUGE (enormous). That moment of peace quickly went away (disappeared) as I started to scream (the noise you make when you are scared).

It took me a second to realize (understand) what was going on (happening). Everything happened so fast! One minute I was up, and the next minute I was down. I was down on the snow and sliding (moving down the mountain without control) fast! What was going on??? I didn’t know what to do!

I eventually stopped sliding, but how was I going to get down (to the lift)? There were no real ski slopes nearby (in the area). The path (slope) for the skiers taking the lift was more or less groomed (flat), but narrow (not very wide).

It was like a double black diamond (a slope for expert skiers)! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating (it wasn’t that bad) a bit here, but! I had to stay within the groomed area AND avoid hitting the skiers who were using the lift. This was not going to be easy.

The music for “Mission Impossible” started playing in my head. I couldn’t sit in the snow forever and no one was going to save me (help me). I had to save myself. I stood up and with a very determined look on my face and I pointed my skis toward (in the direction of ) the bottom of the mountain.

Skier one, avoided (I did not touch the skier with my skis). Skier two, avoided. Skier three, wait, out of control, out of controooooollllllll! Whew! Avoided. My heart was racing (beating fast), but I saw the start of the platter lift and I knew that soon I’d be there, safe and sound (without being injured).

I made it back to the bottom without hitting anyone, but I was so embarrassed (the feeling you have when you know you did something stupid)!!! The skiers waiting in line were staring (looking) at me. The kids looked confused and were pointing (using their hand to show their friends I did something stupid). This obviously was not the correct way to use the lift. The idea was to go up, not down. Oh, the SHAME (embarassment)!

I got back in line (to wait and take the lift again) and made my way (slowly moved) to the front. I was ready for my second try. The lift operator asked me what happened. Embarrassed, I admitted that I sat down. Her eyes got very big and she exclaimed, “But, you aren’t supposed to (you don’t) sit down!” Right. That would have been excellent information before I tried this the first time!!!

A lesson learned and luckily, the second try went much better (was a success). I made it (went) all the way (up) to the top! Maybe it was only a small victory, but I’ll put it in the “win” column anyway (I still think it is a victory).

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This blog was updated November 5, 2019 to include an adapted version and an audio version.