Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

There have been many mentions of reloacated lifts. How hard is it to relocate the lift? When they relocate it, do they make some modifications? Any other details would be greatly appreciated.

Relocating a lift involves the same amount of work that would be required to remove a lift and then install a lift. More care must be taken in the removal of the lift as any damage will saccrifice safety on the new installation.

Modificarions on the reinstalled lift may range from small parts to such things as all the towerheads. Modifications typically happen on lifts which would recieve a capacity boost in their new location. Depending on the new line new towers may have to be manufactured to better suit the contour of the lift line.

Relocated lifts are done for an number of reasons:
-Lifts which need to be replaced before they have outlived their useful service life can be located to another location so the resort can still redeem the full investment value of the lift.
-Resorts can make money off the sale of a used lift while making it cheaper and easier for resorts with smaller overhead capital to invest in a new lift. This creates a Win/Win situation
-New restrictions on the line such as realestate may cause a lift to be relocated. This is the most expensive type of relocation because there is no gained monetary value

Very important to note that in all the jurisdictions I'm aware of, if you relocate a lift it's regarded as a new installation and mut be brought up to the current lift codes. This can be prohibitively expensive. Sometimes you're better of to pay the bit extra for a new lift.

Yeah - like when we bought our YANS from Blackcomb we had to put lifting frames on the tower heads because they didn't already have them. Other mods can inlude changing the lenght of the lift, the number of carriers, etc.

Suckers! :P only joking.

What are the advantages of getting a relocated lift as opposed to buying a new one, and vice versa.

Allan, on Mar 6 2005, 07:24 PM, said:

Are lifting frames the "Y" part of the YAN tower? Did you have to get them custom made or did YAN rovide them? Also, why do some YAN chairs (aka magic chair) not have them and why do some have them?

I think YAN started to put those on his lifts sometime after 1981 because I know the YAN lifts that were built that year don't have them.

At Whistler Blackcomb none of the Yans have lifting gantries (or frames). The last one I believe was built in 1982 (crystal) We have a portable frame to take to a particular tower in needed.

Advantages of new v. used are the same as anything else. Used is cheaper, probably needs more maintenance. New is more expensive to buy, probably cheaper to run and more up to date with regards to safety and more reliable.
This post has been edited by Aussierob: 07 March 2005 - 04:55 PM

Aussierob, on Mar 7 2005, 07:42 AM, said:

hahaha... in one of the off the record log books we got (for Cruiser chair/Motherlode) it says something to the effect of god when are we going to sell these things? I don't know if the lifting frames were custom made or ordered from L/E - they were still in business then, so I'd assume we got them from them. As for new/used it's kinda the same as buying a car - you don't know what you're going to get :) You could be getting a great deal that will run forever, or you could be getting a maintenance hog! hehe

When we put in Timberline in '94, I and J were taken down very carefully as they had already been earmarked for Copper Bowl. They sat in the boneyard for at least one winter before they went back up, so there was time to replace chair head bushings, check sheave bearings and liners, carefully inspect all welds, replace wiring, et cetera. When one buys a lift from another ski area, it can be a bit more difficult to do all that but hopefully it still gets done. And as Aussierob mentioned, anything that may have been substandard or not up to code must be fixed before the lift can be licenced.

liftmech, on Mar 8 2005, 09:41 AM, said:

Does copper keep an actual warehouse of the parts, i.e. I and J, or is there just a clearing in the trees where parts are stored like at Breck?

When we removed the Black chair from Whistler to install Garbanzo, We just put all the parts in the trees just off a run (flat area) We cannabalised the electrical stuff but the rest is "rusting in peace"

Hey, can you snap some shots? We love having the "has been" pictures. I have some from White Pass, Snoqualimie Summit and Stevens Pass.

Will try to get some.

Aussierob, what's the situation with the orange chair? when's the last time it was operated? also, what happened to the YAN HSQ carriers? are they still lying around somewhere?

Aussierob, do you know anything about the old Village Chair at Whistler, also, do you know anything about the old chairlifts at Cypress (Black Mtn Chair, Sunrise Chair (Old One)

I have no info on the cypress lifts (never been there) and the village chair was long gone before I moved to Whistler. All I know about the village was it had a tower on the flat area near the bottom of the small cliff (tower 13 on the current gondola.) The tower got pulled over at a 45 degree angle due to a bad footing. Story has It Yan showed up, had a look, did some numbers and said leave it where it is. So we poured more concrete around the base of the tower and off we went.

Orange only ever runs on super busy days or when the race course is being used. This means hardly ever. I think it has run 1 or 2 days this year and maybe only one last year. It may get replaced for the olympics. I believe everything related to the Yan detachables was sold as scrap. Don't know who to. Good riddance to it.
This post has been edited by Aussierob: 09 March 2005 - 05:31 AM

Aussierob, on Mar 8 2005, 09:41 AM, said:

Good place for it. It's up off the Olympic chair, correct? Last time I was up there I saw some assemblies and chair heads sticking up out of the snow.

Does your crew like the Orange chair, or are you anxious to get rid of it? I've worked on several Murray-Lattas and found them pretty reliable, and aside from changing interior sheave on the 6-rockers, easy to maintain.

poloxskier, on Mar 8 2005, 08:45 AM, said:

We have a warehouse of parts, yes, but not like you're referring to. Old dead lift parts (and old good parts too) are kept outside our shop in some semblance of order, i.e. Yan parts here, Poma parts there, random steel here, et cetera. When they took down I and J they had a special storage area to keep everything organised.

The term 'boneyard', at most areas, refers to a spot where spare sheave assemblies, carriers, and random parts are stored. New parts like grip accessories, sheave liners, and such are kept in the shop or at a central warehouse.