How to Cut a Ski Lift Line in Europe: Lift Scrum Best Practices
Introduction
I love ski lift lines in Europe. Lift scrums may be chaotic, but I think you should love them too.
As Americans, we should grow a thicker skin and embrace unregulated line standing as a blessing and an opportunity. It’s also time to stop whinging about people stepping on our skis. More on that later.
I would love to replicate European lift line etiquette in the US, but I fear the result would be fist fights, at best, or shenanigans involving a gun, at worst. Ironically, European ski lift lines look like free-market capitalism compared to U.S. lift lines, which operate as communist bread lines in Soviet Russia. Do you enjoy standing around all morning for a stale loaf?
Key takeaway: it is totally cool to cut people in Europe. It's not a sin. It's anticipated, expected, and even encouraged. Don't be a sheep. Be a wolf. OoooUUUoOOOOoo!
The goal: get as many people up the mountain as quickly as possible. European lift lines combine fast technology, better lift-to-piste ratios, and a thrilling laissez-faire attitude to queuing (that’s standing in line). Here’s your survival guide.
Core principles
1. Just fill the holes
Think of it like water flowing downhill—take the path of least resistance. In a European ski lift line, keep filling the gaps and work your way to the front. The empty spaces are calling your name. Answer them.
2. Maximize lift occupancy.
Nothing grinds the gears like a group of three who can’t get it together on a six-person lift. By the time you’re two or three rows from loading, make sure your group is organized. Leave space for stray singles, doubles, or triples to jump in and fill the empty spots. Efficiency is king here.
3. Do not be afraid to ride with strangers.
This is half the fun! Meet new people, answer awkward questions about American politics, and maybe even find your next business partner—or fling. Life is short. Share a chairlift.
Essential Line Cutting Techniques
The following techniques work optimally for entering a 6 to 20 person gondola cabin. For large cable cars that accommodate 60 or more people and for chair lifts, please see the etiquette section below. In any event, it is still a best practice to slink along the edges of the herd.
(1) Cut from the sides, not the center.
If there’s a lift scrum (a rare sight except during holidays or weekends around 10 a.m., when the hungover masses finally emerge), never stand at the back or dead center. That’s the slow lane. Slide in from the sides—like a true opportunist.
(1) Identify where the lift enters and leaves the building; (2) Skiing solo? Then cut on the side where the lift leaves the station; (3) Skiing as a group? Then cut on the side where the lift enters the station.
(2) Singles: Head for the Lift Exit Side.
If you’re skiing solo, work your way to the side of the lift scrum where the lift/chair/gondola leaves the station. You’ll get to the front quickly by filling in any empty seats left behind by groups who can’t count.
(3) Groups: Aim for the Lift Entry Side.
If you are skiing or riding in a group, target the side of the lift scrum where the lift/chair/gondola enters the station. Politely wedge your way to the front along the far edge of the mass of humanity. Your goal is to be the first person/group to enter the gondola when the doors open, ideally with your friends and family immediately behind you. Don't be ashamed to apply a little pressure.
If your group ends up on the opposite side of the loading platform (the side where the lift exits the station), it is highly unlikely that you will ever find an empty enough gondola to fit your entire group. The only sane alternative is to break up and ride up solo or in pairs. Again, it’s not the end of the world. Enjoy it. Meet fun new people.
Essential Etiquette in a European Ski Lift Line and While On Board
(1) Smile and Say Hello as you Cut
Charm is the key for cutting a ski lift line in Europe. In Austria, say “Servus,” in Switzerland, “Grüezi,” in Italy, “Ciao” or “Buongiorno,” and in France, “Bonjour.” Then smile, look the person in the eye, and step right in front of them. It’s part of the dance, and they’ll probably smile back. Just don’t be ornery about it. Everyone’s cutting everyone, so let’s keep it friendly.
(2) Save the Children
It is totally common to have other people’s children foisted upon you. We are a global community of skiers and rides - we help our young, collectively.
You will often see a ski instructor with 10 to 12 munchkins on tiny skis enter the “ski school” lane. One by one the lift operator may assign responsibility to an adult to supervise and assist the child. Just help them get on the chair. Some kids are chatty. Some are not. At the top, help them get off the chair. They will chill at the top and wait for their instructor (usually last).
(3) No Hesitation
Especially on chair lifts, please, please, please do not hesitate once you have beeped through the final turnstile. This is not the moment where you first realize you are not with your group or you decide you don’t want to ride with Hans-Dieter the stranger.
If you fail to fill all the seats, you have personally degraded the efficiency of this brilliant freedom-loving system. You have also devalued all the effort you put into cutting.
(4) Keep Yourself Together
When riding in a group, please sit directly next to each other. This enables singles and doubles to join you on the chair while also letting them sit next to each other.
Everyone holds contempt for a group of four that spreads out on a six or eight person chair lift. As a solo skier, I usually target these groups and slip in between two of them. Recall that a core principle here is to maximize lift occupancy.
(5) Lower the Restraining Bar
In Europe the restraining bar comes down immediately and every single time. Watch your head! It’s coming. Listen for the word “vorsicht” (“heads up” in German). But often there is no warning.
Europeans do not ride ski lifts with the restraining bar raised. I hope the reasons are obvious. These lifts travel over roads, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, cliffs, and occasionally at significant heights. People who don’t use the bar, or have lifted it to quickly adjust something, have fallen off and died.
Some newer lift technology alerts the operators when a restraining bar is raised and the lift will stop until the guest lowers the bar safely.
For some reason, using the restraining bar is a challenge for several of my fellow Americans. I would love to know why this is the case. Please leave your thoughts in the comments and maybe we can address them in a future article and video.
(6) Clear the Exit
When you exit the lift, ski away immediately to a clear area and get sorted. Standing around where people are unloading from a lift demonstrates poor manners and is only welcoming an accident nobody wants.
If cutting the line were a culturally acceptable practice in North America, this is how you’d want to attack it.
Pro tips
(1) Rent skis or a board.
Yes, people will step on your skis. Good thing rental skis are durable. I always recommend renting when you come to Europe for several reasons:
It’s affordable (often cheaper than checking your own skis on a flight).
It’s convenient, especially with transfers or train travel.
You’ll get the right skis for local conditions, and most shops let you swap them out anytime you need a fresh edge or a different type of ski.
No stress if someone steps on them or if they “go missing” after a heavy dose of après-ski (rare, but it’s usually an innocent mix-up—I once got my skis back the next day after a schnapps-fueled switcheroo).
I recommend Intersport - they’re everywhere: Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy
Caveat Emptor - just be advised that if you bring your beautiful skies or board to the Alps, someone will likely step on them at some point. You might ask them to remove their skis: “Bist du Russe? Meine Ski sind nicht aus der Ukraine.” (Are you Russian? My skis are not Ukraine).
(2) Be jovial and friendly as you cut people and they cut you.
Cutting in line isn’t rude here—it’s part of the culture. You’re helping everyone by filling up seats and keeping things moving. So be kind as you slip past the guy who’s still fumbling with his helmet. He’s not paying attention to the growing gap in front of him. You’re not the villain—you’re the hero this lift line needs. Smile, wink, and nod.
You didn’t make the rules. You are merely following them. Du bist unschuldig.
(3) Ski Pass Basics.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) ski turnstiles have been ubiquitous in Europe since the early 1990s. Everything is standardized now:
European RFID turnstiles are set up to read badges on the left side of the body. Therefore, store your ski pass in a pocket on your left side. Most ski jackets have a left side pocket for an RFID pass, either on the shoulder or on the arm.
Do not store your RFID ski pass near a cell phone (you will zero out your pass and people will laugh at you).
Also, no not put multiple ski passes in the same pocket (e.g., your IKON or Epic pass and a temporary local pass). You will zero them both out. The machine (and others) may hate you.
(4) Chair Lift Tips
It is rare, but not impossible, to find a roped path organizing a line before a European chair lift. Usually, the only thing between the ski slope and the lift is an RFID turnstile, which is positioned only about 6 meters (20 feet) before the loading zone on a chair. Also note that most modern chair lifts in Europe use treadmills to advance each row of skiers into the loading zone.
It is essential that you and your group are 100% ready to go as you beep through the RFID turnstile. At that point there may be only one or two rows of skiers in front of you. This is not the time to stand around, wait for others, switch sides, check your phone, or back out. Once you are through the turnstile, take the first available seat. That is proper etiquette.
(5) Large Cable Car Tips
It is harder to cut in line when waiting for a large cable car. These are the aerial trams that hold 50 or more skiers - think Jackson Hole’s aerial tram. Riders often go through a turnstile into a holding pen that ensures the cable car is not “overcrowded.” Note that the European tolerance for overcrowding differs from the American concept of personal space. You will smell last night’s dinner - usually garlic. You may smell some booze. Someone will have gas. And in France, you will smell the unwashed (Yes, I know my French brothers and sisters, it is bad for the skin to bathe more than twice per week. Got it.). To mitigate the mingling of ski resort aromas, the air vents are thankfully almost always wide open.
There are some important things to consider when negotiating large cable cars:
Ensure your group will make it on the same car. At the holding pen, there is usually a countdown that indicates how much room is left before maximum capacity. If your group is six and there are only two free spots left, guess what?
Generally, load first or last. If you load first, you can get a seat or a nice place to stand along the side with a great view. Sometimes the door will open on the opposite side of the cable car at the top, so you can secure yourself a “first off” position. If you enter an already pretty full holding pen, it’s wise to hang back and load as one of the last people. It may be a bit uncomfortable (you’ll inevitably need to push some people in, Japanese subway style), but this is how it works. The response will usually be feigned displeasure, not real displeasure. At the top of the mountain, you’ll likely be one of the first people off.
(6) Provide thoughtful feedback to people who don’t fill the chair.
The wild west of European lift lines requires a little self-policing. Feel free to gently jeer the skiers who reach the front and suddenly decide to wait for their stragglers. A little playful ribbing can go a long way to keep things moving.
Examples of verbal encouragement that correct poor performance include the following:
Three reasons lines in N. America take forever: (1) people insist on riding alone; (2) technology is old and slow (e.g., fixed grip chairs from the 60s); (3) ropeways that shepherd people into orderly rows that take. for. ever.
Conclusion: Be a Wolf, Not a Sheep
Mastering the art of line-cutting in Europe is an essential skill for any vacationer. Don’t take it personally when someone slides in front of you—this is just how it’s done. Embrace it, and you might just find it fun. Over time, you’ll realize that a well-executed lift scrum is the quickest way up the mountain.
Forget rigid Anglo-Saxon formality. Who needs a line minder telling you where to stand and when to move? You’re an adult. You have agency. Seize the moment. Be a wolf. And don’t forget to smile while you do it.
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