Study the T-Bar in the photo, this T-Bar is one I am extremely loathe to ride, much preferring to watch from the chair.
Ski Brule has another T-Bar on the front side and that T-Bar is not so bad. The difference is the front side T-Bar conveys you over steeper terrain so you are not so much standing up as sitting down, albeit sitting down on a bar instead of a chair, but it is a lot easier on your legs. The T-Bar in the photo is carrying you up less steep terrain and is closer to pulling you over horizontal so you have to stand and bear most of your weight. Quite simply, the chair over here is a lot more comfy and relaxed than the T-Bar. I rode that T-Bar once and it was immediately after opening a very long line for the chair.
Another reason for preferring the chair over the T-Bar is to watch the T-Bar riders. The majority of the T-Bar riders are youngsters and they don’t sit there like lumps impatiently awaiting to get to the top of the hill. No, they squirm, they edge from side to side, they fool around, and generally dork out and fall and make fools of themselves. Fortunately the only thing I have ever seen hurt here is pride and in fact, it can be amusing. If I am riding the T-Bars then I can not enjoy the act or would have to dodge them.
The good thing about that T-Bar is if you fall off it and lose the bar, you can get the next empty one fairly easily as the Ts are close to the ground. The front side T-Bar no such luck, that T-Bar is a small T at the end of wire on a reel, so when you lose the T the reel retracts the whole mess and the reels are way out of reach. No, you have pick yourself up and walk, or more likely walk to the nearby run and go back to the bottom and try again.
I much prefer the chairs, but the objective is to get to the top of the hill and if need be I will take a T-Bar, but why settle for a sirloin when you can get a ribeye for the same price?
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