318 replies to this topic

[AndyEich]

Yooper Skier, on 17 April 2013 - 02:36 PM, said:

Just off the rumor mill, Sunday River having Skytrac rebuild/replace Lift 8 (Spruce Peak Triple) with a fixed grip quad with carpet assist loading. We'll see...

I'll be surprised if this is the case. I talked to someone in mgmt in Feb who would have to be part of such a decision, and they had not heard of Skytrac (or they have a good poker face).

[SuperRat]

I don't know, I think Yooper is positioned pretty well to report info on Sunday River.

This post has been edited by SuperRat: 07 June 2013 - 04:26 PM

[snowmaster]

Waterville has gotten their Green Peak expansion approved and expects to put in a HSQ from the bottom of Valley Run to the top of Green.

[skistats]

SkiBachelor, on 11 April 2013 - 11:45 AM, said:

Mt. Bachelor just had its master plan approved. No word if anything will happen for 2014, but I could see the Sunrise Express HSS going in and the former Sunrise Express being relocated to become the new Rainbow HSQ. Looks like Outback Express is staying put for a few more years since it was just recently painted. There have been talks since 2009 about having it replaced, but it only runs weekends and during holiday breaks.

"The resort is also clearing trees for the line where a new chairlift will be built, east of Sunrise Lodge. ...Construction on the lift may commence next summer, if everything goes as planned." http://www.oregonliv...onstructin.html

This post has been edited by skistats: 12 July 2013 - 04:28 AM

[egieszl]

Aspen Skiing Company is seeking approval to build a detachable poma on Golden Horn at Aspen Highlands and a second poma surface lift in Thunderbowl for race training. The Golden Horn lift would be open to the public and follow the same alignment as the original Golden Horn Poma that was removed a decade ago.

I never understood why they didn't make the new Thunderbowl Triple a detachable. If that lift was detachable this poma would be unnecessary.

[boardski]

egieszl, on 15 July 2013 - 09:43 AM, said:

Aspen Skiing Company is seeking approval to build a detachable poma on Golden Horn at Aspen Highlands and a second poma surface lift in Thunderbowl for race training. The Golden Horn lift would be open to the public and follow the same alignment as the original Golden Horn Poma that was removed a decade ago.

I never understood why they didn't make the new Thunderbowl Triple a detachable. If that lift was detachable this poma would be unnecessary.

It would also be nice if they reinstalled the Grand Prix poma. I hate having to go all the way to the base when skiing Oly bowl. Otherwise a great mountain, one of my favs for sure.

[egieszl]

Huh? You don't have to go to the bottom of the mountain when sking Oly bowl. You can take Clound Nine right back up for repeat laps.

I'd like to see a deatchable chair added to serve the mid-mountain terrain at some point.

[boardski]

egieszl, on 17 July 2013 - 07:04 AM, said:

Huh? You don't have to go to the bottom of the mountain when sking Oly bowl. You can take Clound Nine right back up for repeat laps.

I'd like to see a deatchable chair added to serve the mid-mountain terrain at some point.

Not if you ski Robinsons or Moment of Truth. The run-out over to bottom of Cloud Nine is also very flat. That detatchable chair would be nice if the lower terminal was located where the former lower terminal of Grand Prix poma was and the upper terminal was located in the same place as the upper terminal of the former Olympic lift.

[Peter]

The Flower Point lift that is going in at Whitefish, MT next summer is the former Rosa triple at Kimberley, BC from 1990-2006. Originally it was the Village triple at Whistler from 1980-1988.

[boardski]

Peter, on 07 August 2013 - 04:10 PM, said:

The Flower Point lift that is going in at Whitefish, MT next summer is the former Rosa triple at Kimberley, BC from 1990-2006. Originally it was the Village triple at Whistler from 1980-1988.

What manufacturer built/ is building the lift?

[Peter]

boardski, on 08 August 2013 - 05:42 PM, said:

What manufacturer built/ is building the lift?

It's a Yan triple.

[boardski]

Wolf Creek, CO has updated their "Bullwheel" section of their website, sounds like the recycled triple Treasure lift due to create the "Elma lift" (1983 CTEC) which has been removed this summer will be reinstalled in 2014 NOT this summer for sure. It will be interesting to see if they have removed the Boyce platter lift (paralell to Treasure) or have left it in place. I have never seen that lift in use but it looks like a cool lift that would be fun to ride.

This post has been edited by boardski: 16 August 2013 - 06:58 PM

[pp492]

Granite Peak is talking about adding a LP high speed quad on the east side of the mountain. Lutsen is taking about replacing their gondola with a LP (10 person cabin).

[skier2]

pp492, on 10 September 2013 - 05:38 AM, said:

Granite Peak is talking about adding a LP high speed quad on the east side of the mountain. Lutsen is taking about replacing their gondola with a LP (10 person cabin).

Wow, a 10 person cabin?! A 6-person cabin would probably be perfectly adequate! I really do hope this happens, though. The old Sky Cruiser is really on its last limbs.

[MNSkier]

I have not heard anything about another Granite Peak HSQ but I too heard the Lutsen Gondola is slated for replacement next summer (2014)... I heard 8 passenger so maybe my source was splitting difference between 6 & 10 . They also said there was a lot of discussion going on about replacing the Bull chair with a HSQ in 2015.... All rumors and speculation at this point, and as most Lutsen skiers know that nothing is for certain until they have strung the rope and hung the chairs..... and even then some might be skeptical.

This post has been edited by MNSkier: 10 September 2013 - 04:37 PM

[skier2]

MNSkier, on 10 September 2013 - 04:37 PM, said:

I have not heard anything about another Granite Peak HSQ but I too heard the Lutsen Gondola is slated for replacement next summer (2014)... I heard 8 passenger so maybe my source was splitting difference between 6 & 10 . They also said there was a lot of discussion going on about replacing the Bull chair with a HSQ in 2015.... All rumors and speculation at this point, and as most Lutsen skiers know that nothing is for certain until they have strung the rope and hung the chairs..... and even then some might be skeptical.

Frankly, the gondola should be the tier 1 priority. The current one is of insufficient capacity and the ride is scary, even to those who know the facts regarding the low possibility of a catastrophic lift failure. Bull would be a good choice for upgrade, but Eagle could probably also use a high-profile upgrade of some sort (perhaps not a HSQ, but a FGQ would work). As it stands, with the new 6-place Caribou Express, I imagine Bull will see little ridership, except for those that choose the two or three trails that end at Bull with a long skate to Caribou. Still, how exciting to see Lutsen finally realize its full potential as a resort! These new lifts will bring it into the 21st century and attract additional visitors in both winter and (if the new gondola is installed), the summer.

[skier2]

skier691, on 11 September 2013 - 06:32 AM, said:

IMO, I would see the Granite Peak Lift happening before the Lutsen Project. Granite's key location in WI has the power to sway more skiers visits with a new lift than say people who destination ski at Lutsen. Lutsen's PHB gondola, albiet a tad older in age and not as fancy, looked to be in pretty 'good' condition recently and to most users, is a pretty cool lift in the midwest.

When it was restored in 2002, the PHB Gondola was essentially given a 10-year increase in lifespan. A lot has changed in that time. The capacity was halved in an attempt to space out the cabins and make the ride safer, the rope speed decreased, and while the grips were completely re-engineered, the primary reason the gondola looks to be in good shape is due to aesthetics--paint, really. The fact of the matter is, the cabins rarely carry four people anymore, and anyone who remembers what happened on that last pitch twelve years ago knows why the gondola really should have been replaced a long time ago. I don't believe the lift, whose towers and line profile were engineered on-site by non-Hall employees, should have ever been constructed on its present line. I don't think the grips were designed to manage the extreme pitch of the final ascent to the summit of Moose, much like Yan's Quicksilver's grips were not designed for the steepness of that lift's profile. And having skied Granite several times and Lutsen yearly throughout the past fifteen years, I really don't think Granite *needs* an additional HSQ so much as it would make skiing there more enjoyable; Lutsen genuinely needs to address the issue of the gondola, especially as the Summit Chalet at Moose Mountain, a venue we considered for our wedding, continues to host evening events and hoards of skiers for races and weekends. The gondola simply cannot support either the capacity or the wear-and-tear needed to optimize resort traffic flow.

[Midwestrider]

Granite Peaks next detachable quad would replace the current Cupid double chair lift (1975 Riblet double relocated from Bridger Bowl in 2001) the Cupid lift is actually older and in worse shape than the Donner triple a 1988 Riblet that was replaced last summer on the west end of the mountain. The only reason Donner was replaced first was it was a very under powered lift which made for a very long ride for a Midwest ski area. The new east side lift would make all of Granite's intermediate and advanced runs high speed accessible, as all the beginner runs are serviced from midway unloads on the other 3 remaining fixed grips. As for Lutsen I have also heard the rumor about the 10 person gondola within the next couple years, definitely agree its a neat lift and they did a good job of refurbishing it years ago, but it would be in their best interest to get something higher capacity and more up to times, for safety and the now much higher lift capacity on Moose Mountain. Would also be great to see a higher capacity lift to replace Eagle and Bridge in the future, Bridge lift is always very busy and is also used for summer ops, probably a pretty tired lift too.

[skier2]

Midwestrider, on 11 September 2013 - 08:46 AM, said:

Granite Peaks next detachable quad would replace the current Cupid double chair lift (1975 Riblet double relocated from Bridger Bowl in 2001) the Cupid lift is actually older and in worse shape than the Donner triple a 1988 Riblet that was replaced last summer on the west end of the mountain. The only reason Donner was replaced first was it was a very under powered lift which made for a very long ride for a Midwest ski area. The new east side lift would make all of Granite's intermediate and advanced runs high speed accessible, as all the beginner runs are serviced from midway unloads on the other 3 remaining fixed grips. As for Lutsen I have also heard the rumor about the 10 person gondola within the next couple years, definitely agree its a neat lift and they did a good job of refurbishing it years ago, but it would be in their best interest to get something higher capacity and more up to times, for safety and the now much higher lift capacity on Moose Mountain. Would also be great to see a higher capacity lift to replace Eagle and Bridge in the future, Bridge lift is always very busy and is also used for summer ops, probably a pretty tired lift too.

Regarding the Cupid lift, it would be a good idea for Granite to expand further eastward with some more gradually sloping intermediate trails, even if significant grading were required to do so. Right now, the top portions of all of those trails are steep black or double black pitches. Adding a HSQ to that area would encourage skiers below the necessary ability level to wander into that terrain. That being said, the way the resort's layout has been planned has actually been rather genius. Virtually all the beginner terrain is clustered together in a pod accessible by one full-length lift and two mid-station unloads.

This post has been edited by skier2: 11 September 2013 - 11:54 AM

[nathanvg]

skier2, on 11 September 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:

The fact of the matter is, the cabins rarely carry four people anymore, and anyone who remembers what happened on that last pitch twelve years ago knows why the gondola really should have been replaced a long time ago.

What happened?