252 replies to this topic

[skiersage]

woofydoggie, on 18 August 2014 - 06:52 AM, said:

True, although the snow bowl has some of the best skiing, and that lift is so slow, and is never open. The bubbles would also be more aerodynamic. the new cabins are awesome!

They could even move it to the old kiddelbrook line.

I hate to burst your bubble (pun intended), but I don't think it would be possible for a bubble chair to work in place of snow bowl. Stratton already has problems running the current lift due to wind. Adding bubbles would only make that worse. There is a good chance that snow bowl could be replaced with a detach in the next few years though.

[woofydoggie]

A HSS would be nice, but where would it unload into.
It would have to have an incredibly ting top terminal, as the gondi is tight next to it. It could go past it, near Mike's way....

[DonaldMReif]

Maybe not so much "needs a replacement" as it is "needs an install," but I've thought for years that Vail ought to consider putting a high speed quad on the former Giant Steps lift line. It would definitely provide an alternate way out of Vail Village if Gondola One went down for something like maintenance, and could make getting to Eagle's Nest a bit easier if it were built with a midway turn station where the original lift's upper terminal was. And maybe do the same thing over by Minnie's: a fixed grip quad with loading carpet.

I've also heard that the EverVail project would involve a two-stage gondola replacing the Pride Express lift, and the thought crossed my mind that the displaced Pride Express could then be used to replace Sun Up. I say that since currently Sun Up is the only fixed grip on the mountain to be located outside a learning area.

[Backbowlsbilly]

Vail won't put a high speed quad up Giant Steps, Gondola One was built to handle all of the capacity needs at Vail Village. If you've ever been to Vail Village after the first hour morning rush, you'll see that a new lift would be completely unnecessary since you can just hop on the gondola with no line. If Gondola One happens to be down for maintenance, Lionshead and Golden Peak could probably handle the increased traffic just fine since Born Free and Riva Bahn could handle the extra workload for a short period of time. Donald you're definitely right that Sun Up will be relocated when it gets replaced, since Vail's old Doppelmayr triples have been relocated for Elkhorn, Little Eagle and Gopher Hill. My bet would be that Sun Up would go to replace Highlands at Beaver Creek, but it could also be used as a beginner lift at Keystone or Breck. Personally, I would like to see Vail find a way to expand lift access in the far east (Mongolia and Siberia Bowls) since it would serve a large swath of terrain that is seldom used. The best options are put a high speed quad up the Mongolia Bowls from the start of the long catwalk to the top of the current platter lift or replace the Mongolia lift itself with a T-Bar, like Copper did with Storm King. Either way I think it would better even out the crowds on all the bowls, but the best bowl if you're trying to avoid the crowds is Tea Cup since nobody goes over there. Along in the "needs an install" category for me are lifts in the bowls at Keystone plus the triple chair for Windows that are all in the master plan and would greatly expand access to the advanced terrain at Keystone. Replacing Zephyr at Winter Park with a high speed six and using the quad to replace Sunnyside would be nice for reducing lines, but I think those are a long ways out.

[boardski]

I am all for a newer Zephyr lift at Winter Park, the current lift barely runs faster than the fixed grip chairs with multiple slow downs and stops for foot traffic. Maybe a gondola would be a good fit for this line since Arrow and Eskimo would be an alternative for those who are lapping and/ or don't like gondolas. They seem to have a lot of foot traffic ever since Sunspot opened. Riding the current Zephyr lift takes the patience of a Saint.

[DonaldMReif]

I'd be all for making the Zephyr Express a Chondola. Maybe something like what Beaver Creek put in this year. Then the number of stops and slows could be reduced.

[DonaldMReif]

Maybe Rendezvous at Copper needs to be replaced with a high speed quad, and possibly extended downhill to about the junction of Coppertone and I-Dropper, making it possible for people to move from the part of the mountain east of the American Eagle lift over to the area west of the American Flyer lift without going through Central Village.

[boardski]

I have suggested the R-lift replacement and extension before, I agree, that would be a great idea, it would take a lot of traffic away from the Flyer and from Storm King since that is another way for advanced skiers to go east to west during mid-season after Copper bowl and/ or upper Enchanted Forest is open. Then the existing R-Lift could be relocated to become the lift up Tucker Mountain (with wider chair spacing, of course). It would also create some longer beginner runs on the upper mountain for those who are new to the sport. I used the R-lift quite a bit during the early years of teaching my Daughter how to ski and would not have minded going down further to catch the chair back up.

[snoloco]

I say that the North Quad at Gore needs an upgrade, but it won't happen very soon since it isn't that old (1997 CTEC). My god I have never ridden a lift as slow in my life. It takes 10-12 minutes every time and is only 3,765 feet long. The thing stops constantly as the low level skiers on that section cannot load or unload it. The chairs have no padding whatsoever which causes some rough loads which means even more stops. I hate this lift, but it beats taking the Pipeline Traverse to get to a better lift (Burnt Ridge Express Quad, 2008 Poma). The trails on the section it serves are nice, so I end up wasting a lot of time sitting on this lift.

The Double Double at Belleayre needs a replacement too. It is 3,800 feet long and runs painfully slow cause it is a beginner lift. It also stops all the time too. I say that getting a high speed quad and turning the speed down to 800 fpm vs 1000 fpm would make the ride way faster and reduce stops big time.

The Skye Peak Express at Killington is their newest lift, but already looks like it needs to be upgraded to a 6-pack. It often has the longest line in the entire mountain and is big bottleneck. The thing is that the lift reused the Yan towers from the fixed grip it replaced, so those could be used again for a 6-pack. Then put the quad in somewhere else on the mountain like Snowdon which really needs an upgrade because of how slow that is.

The K1 Gondola at Killington always has a huge line and being from 1998 is starting to show its age. I am thinking that when The Village is completed that it will be replaced with a 2 stage 10 person gondola that goes from Ramshead to K1 to the summit. I don't know where the current lift will be relocated though.

[boardski]

This would be more of a restoration but I would like to see Loveland restore lift #5 to normal service, this is on their master plan but they think they need to replace the entire thing or shorten it. Since Loveland is a smaller, lesser-known resort, it will be forever until this happens. I see Monarch has installed new Skytrac drive stations on their two oldest doubles. This would be a good idea for Loveland also to restore lift #5 and leave the rest of the lift as is (1975 Heron double chair). I'm guessing it would probably need a new haul rope also. The master plan also calls for splitting lift 2 (1985 Yan triple with multiple slow-downs and stops) into an upper and lower lift. Instead of installing two new lifts, why not shorten the current lift to end at the midway unload and construct the new upper lift 2 in the current Poma lift line to the top of the former lift 2 from the 50s (slightly to the right when looking uphill) The current Poma could then be relocated to assist with the traverse on top of 9 as proposed in the master plan.

This post has been edited by boardski: 29 November 2014 - 07:06 PM

[RibStaThiok]

From what i understand, Loveland has maintained Lift 5 (The transfer lift) even though it is rarely used. I believe it saw use several times last year in fact.

[RibStaThiok]

If they did replace Sunnyside at Winter, they could always use the old Sunnyside to replace one of the older Poma FGs or Looking Glass.. If they haven't been replaced already.

[boardski]

Nope, the 1966 Riblet Looking Glass has begun spinning for another season. Old Sunnyside would be perfect for that line though.

[DonaldMReif]

Chair 5 at Loveland hasn't been on the trail map for years, by now.

[snoloco]

Just looked at the map. Why wouldn't they use chair 5? It looked to be the only way to go between the mountains. As a regular customer at Mountain Creek, when their transfer lift and trail are closed, it is an absolute pain in the neck to get around the mountain since you need to take the shuttle bus. It is so much easier to take the lift one way and the trail the other, so I wonder why Loveland hardly uses their transfer lift.

[SkiDaBird]

snoloco, on 01 December 2014 - 12:26 PM, said:

Just looked at the map. Why wouldn't they use chair 5? It looked to be the only way to go between the mountains. As a regular customer at Mountain Creek, when their transfer lift and trail are closed, it is an absolute pain in the neck to get around the mountain since you need to take the shuttle bus. It is so much easier to take the lift one way and the trail the other, so I wonder why Loveland hardly uses their transfer lift.

$
Same reason Sugarbush doesn't always use Slidebrook.

[snoloco]

Mountain Creek runs the Sojourn Lift and Granite Peak Quad on every day the mountain is open (unless it is early season, so not enough snow). Both those lifts run 95% empty midweek. I have actually taken a solo ride on the Granite Peak Quad where there was no one on the entire lift but me. Similar thing happens at Sojourn. I would think that running the lifts midweek would be cheaper than having enough shuttle buses running to conveniently connect the two sides. Sojourn requires only two people to staff it and Granite Peak is 3 because they scan tickets on it. Still, even if it costs more, it is so much better for customer experience to be able to ski or ride a lift to/from any part of the mountain. If Mountain Creek can run 2 lifts for almost the sole purpose of connecting the peaks, why can't Sugarbush and Loveland run just one lift to do the same?

[woofydoggie]

Quote

The Skye Peak Express at Killington is their newest lift, but already looks like it needs to be upgraded to a 6-pack. It often has the longest line in the entire mountain and is big bottleneck. The thing is that the lift reused the Yan towers from the fixed grip it replaced, so those could be used again for a 6-pack.

Im not so sure about using old quad towers for a six pack. The chairs are much heavier, and there is probably something with the crossarm mounting plates.

[woofydoggie]

skiersage, on 18 August 2014 - 03:15 PM, said:

I hate to burst your bubble (pun intended), but I don't think it would be possible for a bubble chair to work in place of snow bowl. Stratton already has problems running the current lift due to wind. Adding bubbles would only make that worse. There is a good chance that snow bowl could be replaced with a detach in the next few years though.

They could build below the tree line and move the gondola wind fence. That should block the wind abit. I hear the bubbles are more aerodynamic and heavier to block out the wind, but you are an expert, I'm not. Intrawest should have installed the shooting star on the snow bowl line, Sunrise being a mid satiation load/unload tamarack redone with the old snow bowl and everyone is happy. I'll trial photoshop, and make some sort of map.

This post has been edited by woofydoggie: 01 December 2014 - 05:45 PM

[SkiDaBird]

I will say that Pow Mow was spot on with the replacement of Sundown this year. I loved that old thing but it was time.