Honestly, this debate needs more attention because it's a real daily struggle. Safety should come first, no question, but those endless waits between lifts can mess with your focus. What worked for me was having a hands-free audio set up, like podcasts or music on a single earbud. You stay alert to what's happening around you but don't lose your mind from boredom. It's about balancing the rules with keeping your sanity on long shifts. Banning phones completely ignores how boring the job can get, and that's not fair.
But what if that one earbud is the exact distraction that causes a missed cue? A moment of zoning out to a podcast is all it takes to miss a skier in trouble or a loading issue. The boredom is real, but a split-second distraction can turn into a real problem, so maybe the rule should just be flat out no phones.