Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

Lift Dinosaur, on 12 October 2012 - 08:53 AM, said:

Never mind. I was considering the fact that I've dealt with howling winds and at least one or two slows on that point. When the wind's at 35, riding the upper part of the SuperConnect will have wind that really BITES hard. I guess the height thing is what makes that piece of the lift a little bit rattling. I always feel like I want to have the bar down on that segment. It doesn't seem to rattle me in the lower part of the lift, where the SuperConnect has no choice but to have really tall towers (towers 1, 2, and 3 because that's where you're crossing over the Beaver Run SuperChair, and towers 8-10 where you cross Lift C).


The Independence SuperChair also gets enough wind that I think it needs to be called the Indewindence SuperChair.

If someone's talked about the gaps in the towers on the lower part of Lift 6, please verify. That segment has towers where the span is such that there is a significant bouncing when you slow or stop and you are on that section of the line. Not so bad on the upper part, though.


I'm sure someone will argue that Mammoth's Chair 23 is a scary thing because it has such long gaps between tower spans.

And I do agree with that person who said Red Dog and Squaw Creek at Squaw Valley are scary on the sections with the offset towers. I've seen the photos. I can tell you I'd feel the same about Sublette at Jackson Hole.

I sometimes have feelings of extra steepness on the Santiago Express at Keystone. If I do have any anxieties on the Outback Express, it's when you look to your left at the top and you see how far away Dercum Mountain is (two miles in a straight line).


I've actually even had a few experiences with seeming scary rides at Winter Park. The Zephyr Express for one during the section where you're on the Hughes ridge, looking down on the Eskimo Express and Prospector Express pods to your right and Mary Jane to your left.

At the risk of bumping an old thread.....also this is my first post, though I've had an account here for almost five years (I think).

I've been on a few of the lifts mentioned here; I think High Campbell at Crystal is far more intimidating than 7th Heaven at Stevens Pass, but I've been skiing 7th pretty regularly since I was a kid so its probably a familiarity thing. Zephyr at WP is scary because it feels old, and yeah it seems to really creak along that ridge near the top, but in general it isn't that bad. Wouldn't want to have to evac from it though. I don't see any of the Steamboat lifts being all that intimidating except the top of Morningside.

One that I'm surprised hasn't gotten any mention is the Ridge at Loveland (Chair 9) on a windy day--which are quite numerous at the Basin--is a nightmare. Its exposed, with no bar, and has a few high points that are less than desirable. The images here at .org don't do the top 1/3 of the lift justice.

Another CO lift that shouldn't seem that bad (but is, in my mind) is the Pano six-pack at Winter Park. It's a bit of a rodeo during emergency stops.

BerthoudAT, on 15 February 2013 - 02:02 AM, said:

Chairs swaying in the wind when these e-stops happen?

I always think the top part of the Peak 8 SuperConnect is a less than desirable ride whenever there's wind, which Breckenridge gets a lot of.

bmr12, on 19 June 2008 - 07:47 PM, said:

You're right about Glacier Express. remontees-mecaniques.net has some pictures on their galleries.

DonaldMReif, on 15 February 2013 - 01:54 PM, said:

^^Is truth. I think wind is just part of the deal on the divide. Even touring in Indian Peaks means subsisting on a wind diet.

I'm not sure if its wind per se with the Pano issue--the prevailing winds are head on to the lift rider on Pano. I know there's people at this forum who would know the technical term for it, but during e-stops the carriers seem to bounce a lot. Probably specific to a few of the spans and topography of the lift line. But again, this is all just perception on my behalf.

Since I"m already complaining about a new-ish feature lift at WP, I might consider lodging another--though I'm sure there is another thread for this too--I think the new alignment of Pano was a mistake. It adds a bunch of flat cruising terrain that the old double didn't have, and that skiers skiing that part of the mountain don't necessarily want.

BerthoudAT, on 16 February 2013 - 12:37 AM, said:

The major problem with Panoramic is the exposure above timberline forcing it to be closed many days this year due to high winds. Before they installed that chair, WP had a forum on their website and many of us expressed our concerns and alternative suggestions but they went ahead anyway. The thinned-out gladed trails are actually pretty fun but if it was up to me, I would have installed a HSQ running from the bottom of Pano to the timberline (approx tower #18) and lift Timberline there for the actual bowl. That way, the lower lift could almost always run and Sunnyside would not have such a huge mob at the bottom. Maybe they can figure out something to at least alleviate the Sunnyside mob in the coming seasons.
Anyhow, back to the original topic. after a windy day at Loveland today which had me holding onto the back of the chair on lift #9, I would have to agree rides up this lift on windy days can be a bit "hair-raising". It does keep the lines short on busy days though.

boardski, on 16 February 2013 - 08:01 PM, said:

I think Chair 9 would be less "hair-raising" if it had safety bars.

DonaldMReif, on 21 February 2013 - 02:10 PM, said:

maybe so.

BerthoudAT, on 15 February 2013 - 02:02 AM, said:

Curious-- how do you know they're 'emergency stops'?

Being between towers 9 & 10 on One at Vail during a stop can give you a good bounce, easily 25-30 ft.

Red Dog at Squaw. There is a huge dropoff that comes up suddenly.

NoPainNoJane, on 22 February 2013 - 07:42 PM, said:

Hopefully Vail might think to add an additional tower there. I think part of it is because the Vista Bahn was much closer to the ground and followed the terrain.

There definitely are scarier lifts out there, but the Jordan Mountain Double at Sunday River is high enough to make me queasy.

DonaldMReif, on 02 March 2013 - 10:44 AM, said:

This is also posted in another topic, but you don't just 'add' a tower unless you do some re-engineering.

Conrad, on 02 March 2013 - 01:29 PM, said:

I'm sure they could have used less steel with shorter towers. Would have saved them a lot of money at original construction. Those towers are unnecessarily high. Don't see any justification.

I've never been on Resolution at Copper, but that last climb looks a bit scary since there aren't safety bars on that lift.

Parts of me also want to say that the top part of the Independence SuperChair counts because it's very windy there. Actually, any heavily wind exposed lift counts.

The seat on each chair on those early to mid 80s Poma chairs such as Reso at Copper and Lift 8 at Purgatory are shorter and the backs are lower also. This adds a little to the thrill. I am glad Poma changed their chair design enough beginning in '86 to make the chairs more comfortable.

To respond to the prior photographs, how do they haul those towers to the ski area? I've wondered the same about tower #9 on the Morningside lift at Steamboat,CO. I wouldn't recommend being in the right lane when that truck turns.
This post has been edited by boardski: 03 March 2013 - 04:50 PM

boardski, on 03 March 2013 - 04:48 PM, said:

Towers are now generally split into two or even three parts which are then bolted together on-site. In the past, some companies would weld towers in the parking lots of the resorts getting the install (Yan comes to mind, possibly also VonRoll)

Conrad, on 02 March 2013 - 01:29 PM, said:

I've never understood why that lift is so high, especially considering that it's a two-way connector lift between two base areas.

Money, it is more cost effective to span a valley than bend the line down into it and then out of it... I think this concept came up in a ski lift safety topic.
This post has been edited by vons: 07 March 2013 - 04:52 PM

DonaldMReif, on 03 March 2013 - 09:40 AM, said:

There aren't any true safety bars on any lift that I'm aware of, save one or two brand new ones here or there.