Saving spots in lift lines has always been “normal” at a lot of ski resorts. However, it’s becoming one of the fastest ways to start an argument on a busy day. Lift lines have gotten longer, and weekends have gotten more chaotic. Patience is basically gone by 9:05am. So when someone slides up the maze to “meet their friend,” it doesn’t feel like a harmless move anymore—it feels like stealing time from everyone behind them. Furthermore, more resorts (and lift ops crews) are starting to treat it that way.
You’ve seen it before. One person gets into line early, while the rest of the crew is “almost there” (parking, bathrooms, rentals, boot issues, lost gloves, whatever). Then two to six people show up later and squeeze through the maze to join the person holding the spot. Sometimes it’s genuinely reasonable. However, sometimes it’s absolutely not. The problem is that everybody convinces themselves they’re doing the reasonable version.
This is turning into a real issue now because the stakes are different. When the line is five minutes, people shrug and move on. When the line is 45 minutes, people start doing the math in their heads. If one person is “holding” for four friends, everyone behind them just lost time. Do that a few times in one lift maze, and suddenly you’ve added an extra 5-10 minutes of waiting. Nobody signed up for that. That’s why it’s become such a flashpoint.
Like everything in skiing, there are two camps, and both have a point. Camp one says saving spots is cutting, full stop. If you didn’t stand in line, you didn’t earn the spot. Holding space for a whole group increases everybody else’s wait. Their logic is simple: if everyone did it, lift lines would be completely unworkable. Their rule is also simple: if you want to ride together, wait together.
Camp two says people need to relax. Ski days are chaotic. Boot issues happen, rental shops move at a different speed than the rest of the universe, and sometimes your buddy just got too high in the parking lot. Groups get separated, and not every “meet up” is some calculated scam. Their rule is basically: just chill and don’t turn the lift maze into a courtroom.
The real disagreement is what counts as “rejoining” versus “saving.” Most people aren’t mad about one person rejoining a friend quickly after a bathroom run, a kid issue, or a binding fix. Most people are mad when one person holds a chunk of the maze for multiple people who show up 15–40 minutes later. Suddenly, half a friend group appears in front of everyone who’s been waiting the whole time. That’s the version that sparks the yelling.
So what should resorts do about it? This is where resorts get stuck. Crack down hard, and you’re angering paying guests and anyone genuinely trying to regroup. Do nothing and you anger the people who’ve been waiting the whole time and watching the line get “edited” in front of them. If resorts want a clean line in the sand, the simplest policy is also the easiest to explain. One person can rejoin, but you can’t hold spots for a whole group. Meeting your buddy is normal; reserving real estate in the maze for five people who haven’t even clicked in yet is not.