59 replies to this topic

[snoloco]

What are the least comfortable lifts you people have ridden.

As a whole, Mountain Creek's lifts are about as close to the bottom as you can get in terms of comfort. They have 3 Doppelmayr quads (1 fixed grip, 2 detach) from 1998 that use the EJ carriers. These chairs seem to be specifically designed to be as uncomfortable as possible. They have no padding at all and have the annoying curved backrests, not to mention the plastic seat dividers. The seat dividers mean that unless you want to have some major leg pain, that you have to sit in specific spots on the chair. If 3 people are riding, the person in the middle has to sit at an intimate distance from one person unless they want to sit on the seat divider, and have the one on the backrest digging into you. The backrests are also super uncomfortable as they are curved and dig into your back. Mountain Creek's EJ chairs have no footrests either, so that adds insult to injury with no padding at all.

They also have the Vernon Triple which uses the old Borvig chairs. These have footrests, but still no padding whatsoever. The chair whacks you super hard in the calf when you load and you have to sit on what is basically an icy piece of plywood for the whole ride. This lift stops constantly because Mountain Creek gets a lot of beginners who can't load the lift properly.

The Sugar Quad is a 1998 Partek quad chair. It has a little padding, but no footrest. The seat is like 10 inches deep and it feels like you are going to fall off and slide out under the safety bar.

The worst of their lifts is the Cabriolet Gondola. They pack that thing so tight on weekends that it is like riding the NYC Subway at rush hour. You have to stand the whole ride and hold all your equipment.

Their only comfortable lift is the Sojourn Double which has both thick padding and footrests.

[DonaldMReif]

If we were talking about most comfortable, I'd put the Kensho SuperChair up.

But since we're talking about 'least', I might say that I would say that Riblet centerpole doubles, and the Peak 8 T-Bar, would be my candidates for least comfortable lifts I've ridden on.

[RibStaThiok]

riblet center pole doubles as well for me. Unless you are skinny.

[RibStaThiok]

snoloco, on 20 October 2014 - 12:57 PM, said:

What are the least comfortable lifts you people have ridden.

As a whole, Mountain Creek's lifts are about as close to the bottom as you can get in terms of comfort. They have 3 Doppelmayr quads (1 fixed grip, 2 detach) from 1998 that use the EJ carriers. These chairs seem to be specifically designed to be as uncomfortable as possible. They have no padding at all and have the annoying curved backrests, not to mention the plastic seat dividers. The seat dividers mean that unless you want to have some major leg pain, that you have to sit in specific spots on the chair. If 3 people are riding, the person in the middle has to sit at an intimate distance from one person unless they want to sit on the seat divider, and have the one on the backrest digging into you. The backrests are also super uncomfortable as they are curved and dig into your back. Mountain Creek's EJ chairs have no footrests either, so that adds insult to injury with no padding at all.

They also have the Vernon Triple which uses the old Borvig chairs. These have footrests, but still no padding whatsoever. The chair whacks you super hard in the calf when you load and you have to sit on what is basically an icy piece of plywood for the whole ride. This lift stops constantly because Mountain Creek gets a lot of beginners who can't load the lift properly.

The Sugar Quad is a 1998 Partek quad chair. It has a little padding, but no footrest. The seat is like 10 inches deep and it feels like you are going to fall off and slide out under the safety bar.

The worst of their lifts is the Cabriolet Gondola. They pack that thing so tight on weekends that it is like riding the NYC Subway at rush hour. You have to stand the whole ride and hold all your equipment.

Their only comfortable lift is the Sojourn Double which has both thick padding and footrests.

[snoloco]

Great picture. I rode that lift on its second day in operation on January 6, 2013 and it is still the most comfortable fixed grip I have ridden. Quite a contrast from the rest of their lifts.

[liftmech]

snoloco, on 20 October 2014 - 12:57 PM, said:

They also have the Vernon Triple which uses the old Borvig chairs. These have footrests, but still no padding whatsoever. The chair whacks you super hard in the calf when you load and you have to sit on what is basically an icy piece of plywood for the whole ride. This lift stops constantly because Mountain Creek gets a lot of beginners who can't load the lift properly.

Sounds like an operator problem and not a lift design one.

[SkiDaBird]

I'm on the tall side so the EJ chairs with the high wind back are incredibly uncomfortable for me and offer absolutely no support. The standard back is bad, but not as bad. The old LC didn't have a pad so your rear would occasionally hang through the lift and that wasn't pleasant. Lastly, Wildcat had a few chairs with bad springs in the pad at one point and that was not fun.

[SkiDaBird]

liftmech, on 20 October 2014 - 04:57 PM, said:

Sounds like an operator problem and not a lift design one.

Sometimes the chair is too low, which isn't necessarily a design flaw, and there really isn't anything you can do to not get hit in the calf. The old Meadows quad at Boyne was really bad about that if I recall correctly.

[boardski]

The early 80s Poma chairs are very uncomfortable such as Resolution at Copper, lift 8 at Purgatory, the seat is too short and the back support is too low I feel like I might fall out of the chair if I lean too far back or forward so I just sit there and make sure not to move too much.

[Aussierob]

Whistler Village gondola now removed from the list.

[snoloco]

liftmech, on 20 October 2014 - 04:57 PM, said:

Sounds like an operator problem and not a lift design one.

The problem is that the chairs are not padded at all, so loading is like getting hit with a 2 by 4. It even gives me trouble sometimes and I have been skiing for 10 years.

[Backbowlsbilly]

Like said above by boardski, those early 80's Poma's are terrible. Needles at Purgatory and Piney Basin at Ski Cooper are examples of these, I always feel like I'm going to fall off. I don't have an issue with Breck's T-Bar, I actually think its pretty nice, but the Mongolia platter at Vail has some platters with broken off seats (for lack of a better word) and the platters are just generally in bad shape. Surprising for a Vail lift and they probably won't replace it, since nobody goes over there.

[DonaldMReif]

The only thing that would even remotely attract people to the Mongolia Bowls is if Vail built a high speed quad that ran over that way that started near the China Spur bridge out of Blue Sky Basin.

I haven't been over that far in the Back Bowls, but I'm assuming Vail gives more TLC to the high speed quads, six packs, and gondolas since they are all in more prominently visible locations.

[Yooper Skier]

Ride a Sneller like the two at Norway Mountain and discomfort will have new meaning. I feel like I'm being folded in half on them! I actually like riding center-pole Riblet's, which ironically, is the only style life that I've mis-loaded (to memory at least)...13 years old (waaay back in 2000) and looked out instead of looking in on Hematite at Pine Mountain. Oops!

[snoloco]

Yan chairs of any type are usually pretty bad IMO.

Also, there is this small ski area called Mount Peter close to where I live. None of their lifts have any padding. They have a Borvig, a Hall, and a Partek double. The Borvig has this nasty edge on the chair that whacks you when you load and the Partek has these slippery seats that some kids fall off of each year. The Hall is at least 50 years old and has the least comfortable chairs of any lift I have ridden. These make Mountain Creek's lifts seem like flying couches. It can barely fit 2 adults and the 2 adults have to turn sideways to load or else they don't fit. The chair is designed to dig into your legs when you sit down and there is no footrest. I try not to knock Mount Peter too much because they are a small ski area that operates only double chairs on purpose, but is some padding too much to ask for?

This post has been edited by snoloco: 21 October 2014 - 04:25 PM

[vons]

DonaldMReif, on 21 October 2014 - 03:21 PM, said:

The only thing that would even remotely attract people to the Mongolia Bowls is if Vail built a high speed quad that ran over that way that started near the China Spur bridge out of Blue Sky Basin.

I haven't been over that far in the Back Bowls, but I'm assuming Vail gives more TLC to the high speed quads, six packs, and gondolas since they are all in more prominently visible locations.

I believe the mongolia lift is already planned to be replaced with a chair in a different alignment (The EIS proposal for blue sky basin had it already approved just deferred at that time).

[DonaldMReif]

Well I've never seen that EIS.

Admittedly I've thought some Doppelmayr high speed quads with the EJ chairs seem to not have a lot of padding on the seats, meaning you feel every bump and vibration every time you pass over a tower.

[liftmech]

DonaldMReif, on 21 October 2014 - 03:21 PM, said:

I haven't been over that far in the Back Bowls, but I'm assuming Vail gives more TLC to the high speed quads, six packs, and gondolas since they are all in more prominently visible locations.

I'd have to disagree. They still have to maintain all lifts to a certain standard (I have to meet the same one) set by the state. The broken-off platter mentioned before no doubt happened during operation and was repaired soon afterward. Occasionally there may be a delay due to ordering parts.

Back on topic. Many Doppelmayr carriers have a 20-mm thick foam pad which admittedly isn't as comfortable as some. The pads supplied with Pomas have been better, in my opinion, but they don't last as long.

[jclark]

I've never understood the chair-hitting-in-calf problem. We had to learn to ride a high speed Hall double chairlift when I was a kid, so we were taught to sit before the chair hits you in the legs.

[Lift Dinosaur]

High speed Hall double chairlift???
Dino