Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

Since it's also going away this summer, here are some photos of Loveland's Chair 4 (Heron). I'm not sure of the year it was built, but it's got to be '50s from the grips and towers. The chairs were replaced by Yan carriers sometime in the '80s, and I believe that's when the midstation was added.

More.

We didn't make it to the top terminal (very windy and my 9-year-old assistant wasn't having any of it) but we got most of it. Besides-- there were 16" of fresh calling our name over on Chair 1

I was not yet around to see it installed, however, a couple of sources have it listed as 1965. I do know for sure the chairs were changed in 1981 to the current Yan carriers. The Heron chairs were similar to those on the old lift 1 & 2 at Breckenridge which have since been removed. I wonder if they will leave the structure that currently houses the drive terminal. When they removed the old lifts 2 & 3, they kept the structure and made it into a maintenance shed or similar use. I also wonder if they will do anything with #5 since they will be in lift construction mode anyway. It will be an exciting summer for Loveland. Has anyone heard what will become of the old #4, are they going to sell chairs or sell any of the lift to another area? It would be a surprise if they did considering the age of the lift.

boardski, on 01 May 2011 - 05:50 PM, said:

Chairs are being sold in a lottery: http://skiloveland.c.../chair4sale.htm

The chairs however are only for sale to current passholders or people who have already purchased a pass for next season.

$350 per chair.... guess that means I've got $1050 in my yard

While driving past Loveland today, it appears the chairs have been brought down to the main parking lot and the haul rope has been removed. It also looked as if some of the upper towers had been removed. Although the new lift will be nice, the old Heron lift definately had a lot of class. I would think that they would either regrade that hill on top where the unloading ramp was or construct the upper terminal adjacent to it. That had to be one of the steepest unload ramps I had ever seen. Oh well, at least we won't have to worry about ramming the supports for the raised return bullwheel.

Sounds like new #4 is ready for action, all they need now is about 4-6 feet of snow. Loveland's website did an excellent job of covering the removal and construction process. Looks like they did not keep the garage-like housing for the former bottom terminal and the midway unload looks as if it is in the same location as the former double chair. Looking forward to the new ride this winter. As for #5, no changes. Still intact- looks as if it will not be used for the upcoming winter.

boardski, on 08 October 2011 - 04:56 PM, said:

I still wonder why they haven't considered trying to recommission Chair 5.

DonaldMReif, on 31 January 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

I wish they would. Until recently #4,8,&9 have not been able to open due to lack of snow and my Daughter & I have ventured over to the Valley to ski #3 runs. It is a real hassle with the bus ride but a nice change of pace for an hour or so. It would also be nice if they would add another chair at the Valley to the left (looking up the hill) of #3. This would create some nice glades and steeper expert terrain and maybe wide-open bowl depending on how high they would stretch it. A FGT with loading carpet would suit this area nicely. I always fill out suggestion cards and suggest reopening #5 but so far, no luck. It would be a shame to remove the lift, (who knows if the forest service would ever let them build another one) hopefully they can eventually repair it so it will run again one day. Not sure what the full story is on it though.

boardski, on 01 February 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

I think it would make more sense to replace Chair 5 with a gondola, given those things can more easily take people both ways. That would definitely be a big boost in visitors right there, and maybe allow for elimination of the shuttle busses between the areas. Now this is just a hypothetical possibility. Other hypothetical ideas in my mind for Loveland would be to upgrade Chairs 2, 8, and 9 to high speed quads, or at the very least, add safety bars to all of the lifts (the latter sounds more likely) to make those of us who like the comfort of footrests (like me ) more willing to go there. Chair 2 I suggest because it is a long lift, and the same principle applies for Chairs 8 and 9, though I haven't measured those yet with Google Earth. 4 can stay a triple for now.

Now remember, this is all hypothetical. It probably won't happen, but if it did happen, Loveland's appeal might increase. Besides, some of the lifts are showing their age.

DonaldMReif, on 11 February 2012 - 01:38 PM, said:

I think it would make more sense to replace Chair 5 with a gondola, given those things can more easily take people both ways. That would definitely be a big boost in visitors right there, and maybe allow for elimination of the shuttle busses between the areas. Now this is just a hypothetical possibility. Other hypothetical ideas in my mind for Loveland would be to upgrade Chairs 2, 8, and 9 to high speed quads, or at the very least, add safety bars to all of the lifts (the latter sounds more likely) to make those of us who like the comfort of footrests (like me ) more willing to go there. Chair 2 I suggest because it is a long lift, and the same principle applies for Chairs 8 and 9, though I haven't measured those yet with Google Earth. 4 can stay a triple for now.

Now remember, this is all hypothetical. It probably won't happen, but if it did happen, Loveland's appeal might increase. Besides, some of the lifts are showing their age.

Loveland's problem is PARKING SPACES, not cross Valley transportation. To spend money on a Gondola to replace 3 buses would not make economic sense. The only way to increase visitors is to increase parking. Once the lots are full, the mountain still isn't crowded- which is nice!
While it's easy to say 'just add footrests' you have to take into consideration the original design weight of each carrier...and as you add weight for footrests you have to subtract carriers to compensate. Comfort equals reduced capacity.
The only lift there that warrants upgrading to a HSQ, in my opinion, is Chair 2.
It's nice to be young and have hypothetical dreams...especially with someone else's money!
Dino

Lift Dinosaur, on 11 February 2012 - 04:14 PM, said:

And, quite frankly, the layout of the resort is customer-prohibitive in and of itself...the terrain simply isn't that great.

skier2, on 11 February 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

And, quite frankly, the layout of the resort is customer-prohibitive in and of itself...the terrain simply isn't that great.

You get a Mountain from Mother Nature... and you do what you can.
What are your thoughts on how it could be layed out better?
"Customer-prohibitive"? What's that mean?
Dino

I find the layout does pretty well for where it's at. Everything feeds down to the base-- save chair 8-- and it's pretty tough to get lost. Each lift can be lapped if that's what you want, and the terrain is pretty nice in my book.

Your team at Copper has done far better than Loveland at opening the steep terrain this year. Still no chair 9, not even any boot-packing yet as of a couple of weeks ago. Finally most of the terrain off #1 is open. Terrain seems to be opening a lot slower this year than past seasons and I remember some past seasons with scratchy snow. Are they under new management? I inquired on the facebook page but people got all bent out of shape that I thought more terrain should be open so I'm not interacting there anymore.

When it is open, the terrain seems pretty good to me too, probably the noticable difference compared with other areas are the shorter runs. Last season, I had many fun days at Loveland so I bought a pass for this season, I am leery about renewing it though after experiencing how slow terrain opens there. Your ski patrol team at Copper should provide consulting at Loveland and help them open their steep terrain. The positve side of opening terrain slowly: There were almost no rocks or obstacles present.

Anyhow, regarding Chair 4- nice lift, I have yet to ride it to the top though since it is mandatory unloading at midway. Hopefully it will be open to the top when I am there on Thursday. It is a real hassle traversing to lift 8 on a board when unloading at midway. Looks like fewer towers on the new chair. I'm sure designs have changed quite a bit over the past 46 years though.

Regarding lift 2, a high-speed would be nice but another improvement which might be nice is to move the bottom of the current triple to the midway reload and construct a fixed-grip quad from the bottom of the current lift 2 to the E tow cabin. This would separate abilities a little better on the basin side and create a nice lift for beginners to ski from. It might also reduce misload frequency on lift 1. Realisticly though, it will probably be quite awhile before Loveland makes any further lift changes. It is just part of the image they have always had. Overall still a pretty good mountain.

Lift Dinosaur, on 12 February 2012 - 05:11 PM, said:

I guess if the tunnel were elsewhere, the mountain would ski very differently because all the lifts could funnel into a common valley. But I feel like the terrain is a little strange. Chair 2, for example, crosses a double fall like and ends in an area so flat it's almost not worth the effort to take the lift. Chair 3 down in the valley is limited by the pass. The terrain off chair 1 is like an avalanche runoff. The best terrain is off of chairs 4, 8 and 9 but they're harder to access and open later. It's not a 'bad' mountain, just not most people's first preference.

I see your points.
Damn Tunnel!!
Dino

OK, So let's get rid of that tunnel.... How would that help Loveland?