105 replies to this topic

[NHskier13]

Probably less questionable, in fact seems practical if you look at it a certain way but
Pats Peak NH has 3 lifts to the summit, and 2 lifts to the valley area
Now, I mean there isn't much wrong with having this many lifts, but it's not a big mountain. (Doesn't even have 1000 feet of vertical)
I don't know how much these costs would be, but would having three lifts to the same area be better on their finances than installing, say, a quad, and maintaining and running that quad?
I think their main reason for installing the alternate lifts to the summit was that they had the peak chair, but you can see on NewEndlangSkiHistory.com that even in their few photos that the double clearly must have been packed. So in '77 they installed Hurricane, a triple. There's 900 from peak and 1800 from Hurricane, tripling the capacity. I don't know anything onward from that, but I suppose it is a bit more convenient for more skiers to have three lifts to the top. Vortex was installed in 1999 (It was bought from a University that installed it sometime in the 70s) Hurricane is harder to get to from the base lodge, since you need to ski over there and then go up a small incline to get to the queue. But Peak runs right next to the lodge and has a loading zone easily accessible. Vortex requires an uphill walk, so Hurricane and Vortex are good for when you're on the mountain. Mainly, if you're on anything to the left of the peak chair, get on Hurricane or Peak. Anything to the right, get on Vortex or Peak.

If you read all that above, the main issue is ; a Quad would be great, but where are you going to put it? Where the Peak lift runs now is Ideal. You can get anywhere from it and wind up back down where it starts without many problems. But a quad would have too wide of a lift line, needing trees to be cut down, and this exposing the line which is marked off to skiers, for people to come down which could be a problem.

Just a random thing about Pats Peak that I've wanted to say for a while. Also, don't get me wrong their lifts they have up now are pretty cool. I especially like the Meuller doubles they have, and I suspect that the Peak chair may not be standing for too much longer.

[snoloco]

Buckaroo Gondola @ Beaver Creek:

Why did Beaver Creek put in a gondola as their 1,600 foot long beginner lift. I get that the double that was there previously needed an upgrade, but it seems like a silly waste to build a gondola on an alignment where a fixed grip quad with a loading carpet would work just fine. That gondola would have to have cost 3x as much as a fixed grip quad which would do the job perfectly fine, if not better because you don't have to remove equipment each run and beginners get to experience riding a chairlift, which has got to be necessary at some point. Well, it's Vail, and they usually overspend and then pass the costs down to their customers in the form of nickel and diming you on parking, food, etc.

[SkiDaBird]

snoloco, on 23 March 2016 - 12:37 PM, said:

Buckaroo Gondola @ Beaver Creek:

Why did Beaver Creek put in a gondola as their 1,600 foot long beginner lift. I get that the double that was there previously needed an upgrade, but it seems like a silly waste to build a gondola on an alignment where a fixed grip quad with a loading carpet would work just fine. That gondola would have to have cost 3x as much as a fixed grip quad which would do the job perfectly fine, if not better because you don't have to remove equipment each run and beginners get to experience riding a chairlift, which has got to be necessary at some point. Well, it's Vail, and they usually overspend and then pass the costs down to their customers in the form of nickel and diming you on parking, food, etc.

No misloads and increased comfort. I agree it's excessive, but for BC or Deer Valley, that's their entire business model, and it seems to work.

[NoPainNoJane]

snoloco, on 23 March 2016 - 12:37 PM, said:

Buckaroo Gondola @ Beaver Creek:

Why did Beaver Creek put in a gondola as their 1,600 foot long beginner lift. I get that the double that was there previously needed an upgrade, but it seems like a silly waste to build a gondola on an alignment where a fixed grip quad with a loading carpet would work just fine. That gondola would have to have cost 3x as much as a fixed grip quad which would do the job perfectly fine, if not better because you don't have to remove equipment each run and beginners get to experience riding a chairlift, which has got to be necessary at some point. Well, it's Vail, and they usually overspend and then pass the costs down to their customers in the form of nickel and diming you on parking, food, etc.

The majority of guests using that lift is kids ski school guests, and since Vail Resorts policy is to have adults ride a lift with the younger kids, they would either have to have staff in place to ride the chairs w kids or have a gondola, they opted for the higher up front cost as opposed to the long term need to have someone there to ride with the kids. There is also a tubing hill that is served by the gondola. Last, their motto is 'not exactly roughing it', whatever to make learning easier for the guest is worth it, besides, they'll eventually head up to drink of water & learn to ride chairs on their way, why rush it? And they get really proficient at getting their gear on & off.

[snoloco]

What is the minimum age for a kid to ride a lift without an adult?

Personally I hate having to remove equipment to ride a gondola for a short run. When I'm skiing somewhere that has both serving the same terrain, I take the chair every time. If I'm at Killington, I'll ride Skyeship once to get up from route 4, and then use the Needle's Express, Superstar Express, or Skye Peak Express to take laps.

I guess there is the added benefit of becoming good at removing equipment and putting it back on. I tend to view things the way an accomplished skier would and would rather use a chair than a gondola for a short run, but a beginner might find loading a chair intimidating and rather remove equipment each run.

[Lift Dinosaur]

snoloco, on 24 March 2016 - 04:54 AM, said:

Personally I hate having to remove equipment to ride a gondola for a short run. When I'm skiing qsomewhere that has both serving the same terrain, I take the chair every time. If I'm at Killington, I'll ride Skyeship once to get up from route 4, and then use the Needle's Express, Superstar Express, or Skye Peak Express to take laps.

I guess there is the added benefit of becoming good at removing equipment and putting it back on. I tend to view things the way an accomplished skier would and would rather use a chair than a gondola for a short run, but a beginner might find loading a chair intimidating and rather remove equipment each run.

The Gondola is there to service BC Kid's Ski School, a huge revenue generator. There is a Learning Center at the top as well as the bottom. It isn't intended to be a lift that is "lapped" as you describe and therefore is very much an important installation at Beaver Creek.
Dino