i approached things with an open mind, as if they had something to offer me. i was usually disappointed. one man, a corporate player, talked about how important it is to know how to bs and how important it is to hob-nob with higher-ups, disgusting me and convincing the materialistic kid on the other side. these are for the most part the sort of person you find on a ski lift -- the corporate elite.
i tried to act as an emissary for my subsection of the snowboarding community. as previously noted, snowboarding is hard. really hard. and i tried to explain to as many people as would listen that we snowboarders are often out of control not because we're reckless but because snowboards are just that much harder to control than skis. i try to not get in anyone's way, but the only way to do that is to go sufficiently slow that you're always in everyone's way.
all told, i talked to like six or seven people on ski lifts, some by volition, some not. only one seemed harmless, seemed inoffensive to my sense of justice in the world, and she was still a stereotype, the semi-popular, not arrogant, not vapid high-teens girl. nothing wrong with that, but you'll forgive it for not making my day.