10 replies to this topic

[scrutch2001]

On a recent trip back to my parent's house in Seattle, I dug up some very old pictures from 1967 and 1973. I'm posting them here for historical purposes - they show images of lifts no longer in existence.

The first shows the old BlueJay chair at Steven's Pass in 1967 (removed early in the 1990's)

Steve Crutchfield

Attached File(s)

•  bluejay1967.jpg (45.83K)
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[scrutch2001]

Next, a shot of the old barrier mountain chair, replaced by Skyline Express in the late 1990's. Barrier is to the right, Blue Jay is to the left. This shot is also from 1967.

If you zoom the image, you might see the inverted U-shaped lift towers on Barrier about halfway up the line. These were leftover towers from the original 1956 T-bar which was converted to a double chair in 1960.

Also notice that long lift lines are not a recent phenomenon. Note the crowd waiting to get on the Blue Jay chair. As I recall, lift lines of 30 minutes or more were commonplace back then.

Steve

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•  barrierchair1967.jpg (58.58K)
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[scrutch2001]

Here's a shot from the top of the old T-Bar at Crystal Mountain taken in 1973. Look carefully and you'll see the tbars hanging from the cable. In the background you'll notice the lift line for the old Campell's Basin chair. The T-bar was replaced by a triple chair relocated from Bullion Basin (as discussed in another thread).

Steve

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•  goldhillstbar1973.jpg (91.17K)
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[scrutch2001]

One more from Crystal Mountain in 1973, from the mid-point of the what is now Gold Hills. This shot shows the old Campbell Basin lift.

Steve

Attached File(s)

•  GoldHillsBeforeChair1973.jpg (88.58K)
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[scrutch2001]

Finally, another shot of Campbell's Basin, also from 1973.

Steve

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•  campbellsbasin1973.jpg (92.64K)
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[scrutch2001]

And last but not least, an old brochure for Stevens Pass from 1979. This was the first year for the Hogsback chair. Wouldn't it be great if we could have these lift prices back again?

Steve Crutchfield

Attached File(s)

•  Stevens_Pass_Brochure_1979.jpg (159.81K)
  Number of downloads: 39

[liftmech]

Nice pics, Steve- they certainly bring back memories. The T-bar at Crystal was slightly before my time, but C-5 (Campbell Basin) was the first chairlift I rode after I 'graduated' from the rope tows. I also remember the Barrier and its wooden towers, although Blue Jay always seemed to be closed when I skiied there.

[Bill]

That last picture at Crystal is Miner's Basin, not Campbell's Basin. Notice the large grassy knoll from the bottom of exterminator. :)

[scrutch2001]

NWS, on Apr 16 2004, 10:41 AM, said:

That last picture at Crystal is Miner's Basin, not Campbell's Basin.  Notice the large grassy knoll from the bottom of exterminator. :)

You're right, of course. I guess I must have "Moron" imprinted on my DNA :) :) :)

Steve

[scrutch2001]

liftmech, on Apr 16 2004, 07:45 AM, said:

Nice pics, Steve- they certainly bring back memories. The T-bar at Crystal was slightly before my time, but C-5 (Campbell Basin) was the first chairlift I rode after I 'graduated' from the rope tows. I also remember the Barrier and its wooden towers, although Blue Jay always seemed to be closed when I skiied there.

Blue Jay was the very first chair *I* rode on after graduating from the ropes. There were essentially four routes down from the top: a steeply pitched bowl to the left, a narrow cat-walk to the right, and two trails through the woods further to the right (where the base of Tye Mill now sits).

I'm not sure when the chair became "Blue Jay". During the years I was growing up it was always called "Intermediate Chair" or "Little Chair". Barrier was always "Big Chair."

Anyone know why Blue Jay was removed? I presume it was a) too old (built in the early 1960's) and B) superfluous after the Hogsback HSQ went in.

Blue Jay did give me one of my favorite skiing stories. I was on it one day with a friend from jr. high when the lift stopped. Valerie got quite queasy as the chair bounced and swayed, and lost her lunch over the side. This was at a critical point where the catwalk curved back under the liftline. The next monday in School, our 9th grade english teacher mentioned in class that "Some stupid chick threw up on me at Stevens from the chairlift." Of course, Valerie was in class at at time! Last I heard, she was still in therapy trying to come to closure with the mortification she felt :)

Steve

[liftmech]

Blue Jay came down the same summer that the Hogsback Express went in.
How cool was that to watch your teacher get ralphed on from the lift?!