Rollercoasters and Ski Lifts

I love rollercoasters! Kinda strange for a non-thrill-seeking person like myself, but I absolutely love rollercoasters. It has been somewhat of a sad summer since we didn't visit any amusement parks with the youth ministries but if we had I couldn't have gone on them anyway. The prominent signs about being under 54", having heart conditions or being pregnant restricting people from rides has been etched in my mind since my first rollercoaster ride. That's when you know it's going to be a good one! If they don't have any warning signs and let just anybody on, well, it must not be that great and it belongs at the county fair. I like those rides, too. It's a nice time to relax. :)

Speaking of warning signs...When we were in Flagstaff we went to SnowBowl (the ski slopes) to ride the chair lift to the top of the mountain. It's a pretty cool view from the top - you can see the Grand Canyon and some other things. But I think it's a money maker for them. Talking to some folks at the church we went to there they said some years the slopes are only open for a week because they don't get enough snow, so this is a great way to operate the business year long and make a killing on toting people up the mountain and sending them back down. It was enjoyable, definitely. Not spectacular, though.

So what I was going to say was that after we had purchased the tickets and waited in line for about 20 minutes we approach the ski lifts. As we stand there chatting with Rick and Brittany I notice a 8.5" X 11" sign posted on a pole: "You are currently at 9,500 feet elevation. When you reach the top you will be above 12,000 feet. If you are pregnant or have heart conditions, you may want to reconsider you ride."

Lovely. So now I'm second guessing myself as to whether or not this is an unwise risk to take for either myself or the baby. Had I never seen the sign we would have gotten up, enjoyed the view, returned and never given it a second thought. Now I'm wondering if it's worth it, what kind of risk it poses to the baby, etc.

Thankfully, my dear husband and good friends walked me through the evaluation of the situation. It came down to this: We live well above sea level here in GJ had already spent 3 nights camping above 8,000 feet. So it wasn't going to be a huge shock to my system, like going from sea level or something. Also, once we got to the top there wouldn't even be a demand for any physical exertion. Plus, my doctor had not been worried about me hiking and such at higher elevations - she just said "remember that if you are out of breath, then your baby's out of breath. But if you are getting enough O2, so is the baby."

So we went up and I didn't think about it again...I guess they just have to have those signs as a safety issue for themselves. And I felt fine the whole time...I'm glad I didn't sit that one out.