59 replies to this topic

[snoloco]

Breckenridge has started the process of removing the chairs from the Colorado Superchair. I can see in the webcam that there are only chairs on the downgoing side.

[DonaldMReif]

I've heard suggestions that the Omega chairs from the Colorado SuperChair will be relocated to the Beaver Run SuperChair. I don't know if it's easy to flip the chairs so that they can be run on a clockwise lift (as the Colorado SuperChair was a counterclockwise lift).

Any confirmation about this?

[snoloco]

I would think that it would be pretty easy to flip the chairs. All that is needed is for the hanger arms to be removed and installed the other way. The only issue I see is that the Colorado Superchair was only 6,200 feet long while the Beaver Run Superchair is 9,000 feet long. They would need to buy additional chairs so that the lift didn't loose capacity.

[DonaldMReif]

It's a difference of 33 chairs, since the Colorado SuperChair had 21 towers and 153 chairs, while the Beaver Run SuperChair has 32 towers and 186 chairs.

[DonaldMReif]

Now it is confirmed that the Beaver Run SuperChair is getting the Colorado SuperChair's Omega chairs for this winter.

Only thing I have to say is that there might be some architectural irregularities when crossing the Competition terminals with the Omega chairs.

It makes me wonder if perhaps they intended to give the Beaver Run SuperChair these chairs from the start, but they wanted to get rid of the Falcon carriers on the Colorado SuperChair two seasons early.

Maybe the Beaver Run SuperChair is going to become a six pack in less than five years, given recent Breckenridge lift history (since I've read that Lift 4's chairs were replaced no more than three to five ski seasons before the lift was replaced by the Peak 8 SuperConnect).

From a lift mechanic's perspective, since all six high speed quads now have the exact same chair model (though not the same grip), they might have more interchangeable parts. I do wonder if that Competition chair that is on the lift evac training line will have to be replaced.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 06 May 2014 - 05:32 PM

[snoloco]

The chairs also don't have the same safety bars. Beaver Run's new chairs will have the European Multix footrests, while the others will have the regular Poma footrests. I wonder why they got the LPA6OC chairs on Kensho and Colorado instead of the Omega chairs since that is what all the other lifts have.

[SkiDaBird]

snoloco, on 07 May 2014 - 11:27 AM, said:

The chairs also don't have the same safety bars. Beaver Run's new chairs will have the European Multix footrests, while the others will have the regular Poma footrests. I wonder why they got the LPA6OC chairs on Kensho and Colorado instead of the Omega chairs since that is what all the other lifts have.

I don't actually know this, but just looking at the chairs they look heavier, which would explain them on Kensho. Colorado would get them so that they would be the same as Kensho.

[DonaldMReif]

snoloco, on 07 May 2014 - 11:27 AM, said:

The chairs also don't have the same safety bars. Beaver Run's new chairs will have the European Multix footrests, while the others will have the regular Poma footrests. I wonder why they got the LPA6OC chairs on Kensho and Colorado instead of the Omega chairs since that is what all the other lifts have.

Actually, the Kensho SuperChair's footrests are the European Multix footrests. The Colorado SuperChair's chairs will be identical in every way except that they will also have the safety bar maps. The Multix footrests on the LPA6OC chairs are the same as the ones on the Omega chairs:

LPA6OC chair on the Kensho SuperChair:


Omega chair going to the Beaver Run SuperChair:



Also the design used on Zendo:


And the High Noon Express:

[DonaldMReif]

Looks like all the chairs on the Colorado SuperChair are off as of yesterday.

[liftmech]

DonaldMReif, on 06 May 2014 - 04:32 PM, said:

Now it is confirmed that the Beaver Run SuperChair is getting the Colorado SuperChair's Omega chairs for this winter.

Only thing I have to say is that there might be some architectural irregularities when crossing the Competition terminals with the Omega chairs.
There will?
It makes me wonder if perhaps they intended to give the Beaver Run SuperChair these chairs from the start, but they wanted to get rid of the Falcon carriers on the Colorado SuperChair two seasons early.
I've heard that they planned it this way.

Maybe the Beaver Run SuperChair is going to become a six pack in less than five years, given recent Breckenridge lift history (since I've read that Lift 4's chairs were replaced no more than three to five ski seasons before the lift was replaced by the Peak 8 SuperConnect).
It's almost a proven fact that if you throw money at an aging lift, it will get replaced We did that to old B-lift and old H-lift.
From a lift mechanic's perspective, since all six high speed quads now have the exact same chair model (though not the same grip), they might have more interchangeable parts. I do wonder if that Competition chair that is on the lift evac training line will have to be replaced.
You're correct in that it will be easier, but mainly on the inventory specialist (parts guy).

[DonaldMReif]

I'm expecting haul rope removal on the Colorado SuperChair to be sometime before the end of the month. The chairs are all off, so they're probably being shipped across to Peak 9 as we speak.

I know that chair installation doesn't take that long, since when the Omega chairs showed up on the Colorado SuperChair, they were put on in a matter of the two months between the 2011-2012 ski season and the summer 2012 operating season. And I was in Breckenridge on both weekends immediately before Peak 6 opened, so I know it only took them about two or three days to hang the Kensho SuperChair's 103 chairs.

[snoloco]

Rocky Mountain doesn't have downhill capacity, that is why they aren't running it in the summer. I can see a "No Downhill Loading" sign at the top in one of DonaldMReif's videos.

[DonaldMReif]

Looking at the remontees-mecaniques.net's Rocky Mountain SuperChair gallery, it actually was rated as having downhill loading capacity until at least the end of the 2007-2008 season, the last season it and the Mercury SuperChair were in their original gray paint with the lift name in tall white letters, the Breckenridge 'B', and Poma logo painted on the sides of the terminals.

See here:
http://www.remontees...?showtopic=3830

The Mercury SuperChair is still designated as being a downloading lift as it does have the platforms for foot traffic to load and unload downhill chairs at both terminals. You'll see that in my videos of that lift.

Off topic, but I do wonder why the Kensho SuperChair has a sign saying it has "every fifth chair" downhill capacity at the upper terminal shack, but the Independence SuperChair, at least until this summer, has/had a sign reading "no downhill loading" despite being a base area lift.


I can imagine that the Colorado SuperChair is going to be identical to the Kensho SuperChair, just that the chairs are going to be much closer - the Kensho SuperChair has 3,000 pph capacity, and the sign announcing the Colorado SuperChair's construction has stated it will have a 3,600 pph capacity, which if I'm correct is the uphill capacity that Quicksilver Super6 (or renamed 'Quicksilver SuperChair' as the bottom terminal sign calls it) has - and have maps on the safety bars (currently I doubt that the Rocky Mountain SuperChair will ever receive the safety bar maps, probably because all of its terrain can be reached from the Colorado SuperChair by traversing Columbine).

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 11 May 2014 - 07:40 PM

[SkiDaBird]

Never hurts to have the downhill capacity. Little Cloud does yet it makes no sense to ever download LC since the Tram is ideal for downloading. Also, "No Downhill Loading" does not mean the lift cannot download. It just means the resort doesn't want anyone to try.

[Peter]

SkiDaBird, on 11 May 2014 - 10:38 PM, said:

Never hurts to have the downhill capacity.

There is a tradeoff. Downhill loading costs extra when building a lift. Next time you ride a lift with no downhill loading, look how many fewer sheaves there are on the light side than on the heavy side.

SkiDaBird, on 11 May 2014 - 10:38 PM, said:

No Downhill Loading does not mean the lift cannot download. It just means the resort doesn't want anyone to try.

The reason you see a sign about downhill loading at the top of every aerial lift is because the downhill capacity is rated by the manufacturer and the ANSI code requires that it be followed. A resort cannot just decide to ignore it.

[SkiDaBird]

Peter, on 12 May 2014 - 06:02 AM, said:

There is a tradeoff. Downhill loading costs extra when building a lift. Next time you ride a lift with no downhill loading, look how many fewer sheaves there are on the light side than on the heavy side.


The reason you see a sign about downhill loading at the top of every aerial lift is because the downhill capacity is rated by the manufacturer and the ANSI code requires that it be followed. A resort cannot just decide to ignore it.

I was under the assumption though that even if the lift was rated for 5 chairs maximum downloading, the resort could still post a sign saying "No Downhill Loading" If I'm wrong, I'm wrong and I stand corrected.

[snoloco]

The sign on the remontees-mecaniques said that it has 50% downhill capacity at 850 fpm. Since that lift probably runs 1,000 most of the time and is rated for 1,100, they don't want to allow public downloading because they would need to reduce the speed of the lift for the entire ride. That would frustrate customers and make lines longer. This isn't an issue in the summer because it probably would run at 600-700 fpm.

[DonaldMReif]

Can't find a working cam that can tell me if the rope's off the Colorado SuperChair. My guess is they'll wait for snow melt to progress a bit further, and that will probably be significant progress since the weather's suppose to be getting into the 50s by the weekend.

[snoloco]

There is a cam that points directly at the bottom terminals of the Colorado Superchair and Rocky Mountain Superchair. Haul rope is still up, there is some type of construction vehicle right next to the bottom terminal. I wonder how easy it will be for them to work around the bottom of the Rocky Mountain Superchair since it is right next to where the work is happening. That is probably the biggest reason it isn't running in the summer is because it is too close to the construction while Independence is well removed from the construction.

This post has been edited by snoloco: 13 May 2014 - 01:07 PM

[SkiDaBird]

snoloco, on 13 May 2014 - 01:06 PM, said:

There is a cam that points directly at the bottom terminals of the Colorado Superchair and Rocky Mountain Superchair. Haul rope is still up, there is some type of construction vehicle right next to the bottom terminal. I wonder how easy it will be for them to work around the bottom of the Rocky Mountain Superchair since it is right next to where the work is happening. That is probably the biggest reason it isn't running in the summer is because it is too close to the construction while Independence is well removed from the construction.

Oh wow. You are probably right about that. I forgot they are right next to each other. From looking at construction at Snowbird over the last 2 years, there is no way that they could run Rocky Mtn.