Slang for the
person who
operates a
chairlift. They are
responsible for
assisting people with getting on and off the chairlift, cleaning
snow and
ice off of the
chairs, and shutting down the chairlift in an
emergency.
Lifties are often young skiers or snowboarders who would be on the mountain anyway and just want to get paid to be in that environment. Usually a free season pass comes as part of the deal, which at some resorts may be worth more than the actual salary. Since lifties are usually avid users of the mountain, they're good people to ask about out of bounds areas, interesting runs, and other mountain details.