There’s a common misconception that British people love to queue. We don’t. We’ll do it sure but we definitely don’t love it. Give us two ways of getting something, one which involves queuing and one which doesn’t, and you can absolutely guarantee that we’re going to pick the option that doesn’t involve us standing for hours in a long line of people; staring at the back of someone’s head for such an extended period of time that we momentarily become one with the inner workings of their brain.
No. Look. Queueing is fine. It’s definitely the most civilised way of doing things. Without the queue, it’s just mob rule. And while mob rule is absolutely fine in certain circumstances, like when it’s breaking apart the corrupt machinations upon which a classic kleptocracy is built, more often than not we’re in favour of an easy life; a life where we can go about safe in the knowledge that we won’t have to fight tooth and nail for every scrap of turf. That’s the reassuring kind of peace provided by your typical queue.
“Queues are keeping us all in cages, brother. Queues have gone too far. Destroy the queue”
Anyway, this footage shot in Vail Resorts in Colorado has momentarily, possibly permanently (it’s too early to say at this point), changed how we fundamentally feel about queueing. F*ck the system, man. F*ck the rule of law. Queues are keeping us all in cages, brother. Queues have gone too far. Destroy the queue. Nuke the queue. The rule of the queue must end. We shall queue no longer.
Why are all these people queueing? Well, it’s for a chairlift in Vail – a place that recently received a very nice sounding 31 inches of snow in just 48 hours. To give you a sense of just how much white stuff’s been falling in the good old US of A (specifically Colorado), nearby Arapahoe Basin and Eldora Mountain got over 44 inches while Breckenridge Resort got dumped on with an unfathomably good 62 inches. Needless to say, all this fresh has driven people more than a little bit wild with desire.
The snow fell just before the weekend, which only exasperated the busyness issue. We’re not sure how long these poor saps filmed here were waiting for but we hope it was worth it (we really do).
If you’d like to know more about ski touring, an art form which’ll help you circumnavigate long lift lines such as this one here, be sure to check out our backcountry ski guide. There’s useful product roundups, for one thing, and even video guides to ascending on foot and ascending on skis. End your queueing misery once and for all.