You gotta be kidding me. Right? People calling themselves mountaineers actually pay to take a cat up to the top of the chair? Holy shite, that mountain isn't that much of a hike from Timberline to begin with! How can anybody feel like they actually climbed the mountain after getting a ride up that slope? Next thing ya know people will be hiring porters on Mt. Hood. Sheesh! Somebody please tell me this is just a joke.
That slog up the T-line ski area is hella boring and feels like the Bataan death march at times--do it more than twice in a season and you're beginning to really dread it. While I tend to agree with the aesthetic of moving forward under your own power, when I was offered a free ride on the cat I took it. I'd never pay for it though.