The ski lifts are brutal even if you're riding a mountainbike with a triple.
About 10 years ago, (in the middle of my powermeter honeymoon) I couldn't believe how easily I was FLYING up GMR/GRR. It was so much easier than it was back in the 80's when I was a skinny triathlete teenager. I started envisioning being a late-bloomer, one of those 40-year olds who turn pro and stun the world!
Then it hit me on the drive home: back in the 80's, I was making that climb with a 42-21, as we all did back then, NOT the 39-27 I had just used that day.
A compact 34 should be fine, but the ride from Baldy Village to the chairlifts is going to be brutal with anything other than an E-assist bike. That's why we do it. 8D