125 replies to this topic

[highspeedquad]

Hey, just kinda curious. My first lift was the old Quicksilver Superchair, the first HSQ in the world. What was yours?

[SkiBachelor]

Pine Marten Express at Mt. Bachelor.

[edmontonguy]

Eagle Express @ Marmot Basin

It's really neat at a young age to ride a highspeed quad. Specially cause here in the land of the praries HSQs are only found in the mountains and on ones first trip to the mountains it's a shock to find that there is a really fast sytle fo lift.

[orangegondola]

my first high speed quad was the superstar at killington in its original Yan formation probably around '89. If you count old gondolas, either the old steamboat bell gondi or the stowe phb/hall gondi.

[snowboardguy]

Gunbarrel Express at Heavenly. I was like holy crap that is going to fast!

[highspeedquad]

I think that it probably helped that the Quicksilver was the first lift I rode. Before I learned about the mechanics of detachable grips, because I was fairly young, I thought that they would slow down the lift just for me, and then later, that they ripped the grip off the haul rope. I know better now. :graduated:

This post has been edited by highspeedquad: 02 February 2005 - 08:23 PM

[poloxskier]

Mine was the good ole Quicksilver as well. I really miss that lift.

[highspeedquad]

I never end up there nowadays for two reasons. One, the runs are far too easy for me. Second, the lines always stretch farther than many other lifts I've seen. It is also the only lift at Breckenridge that serves pure green. If they still had the quad, the lines would take longer than my lunch break. I suppose that L-P and Breck could make it into the first double loading 8 pack (assuming that hasn't already been done yet). I really don't see the advantages of Double loading though, because each of the two lines loads every 12 seconds, instead of every six. The only way I think would be to efficiently utilize it would be to have Double unloading, then they could double capacity and have chairs only three seconds apart, but that could cause some loading problems. Well, I'm out of ideas. :ermm: I'VE GOT IT!!! MAKE THE WORLDS FIRST TEN PERSON CHAIRLIFT!!!!! :eek:

This post has been edited by highspeedquad: 02 February 2005 - 08:39 PM

[poloxskier]

I never do either but when I was racing we started every day off on that lift and went right up to the Falcon and were on peak 10 for the rest of the day. I just enjoyed riding it once a day and especially before the public arrives.

[Kicking Horse]

my first hsq was the old quicksilver chair also. MY first chairlift ride ever was a yan double.

[Durrrant]

I think it was the Snowshed HSQ back in its YAN days. but that was a while ago, and I was a little kid, so I can't say for sure.

[SkiBachelor]

The Quicksilver SuperSix at Breck isn't running at its full capacity. It's max is like 4,000 skiers per hour.

[KZ]

Mine was either Siberia or Shirley Lake up at Squaw, but I think it was shirley lake.

[Bill]

My first chairlift ride was also the chair that was my pride and joy, Quicksilver @ Crystal. Of course back in the day you had to take a rope tow up to the lift. They had a beginner ticket which allowed you access to only Quicksilver. Back in that day, C-7 was known as Bullion Basin and there was a T-Bar to the right of where C-7 now named Gold Hills currently resides.

I would ride just to the midway loading, being to afraid to continue up to the top. Now the midway loading is gone, and when Midway Shuttle went in, it was called Quarterway to avoid confusion. Not long after that I braved my way to the top of C-4 and mastered Tinkerbell and Quicksilver.

Then I became accustom to riding the now gone, C-5 Campbell Basin Lift (Now at a resort in Montana).

For my first High Speed ride, it was another lift I worked occasionally, that was Rainier Express, or REXX. I can recall going up the day after Thanksgiving and it was the first day of operation. Midway Shuttle was still not certified and Miner's Basin (C-1) wasn't operation yet (I remember it being something about the braking system), so to get up to REXX you had to ride up on C-4, then traverse over to C-9 and take Rolling Knolls to REXX. The problem, hundreds of people trying to load C-4 to get out of the base. AND Quicksilver with its midway loading required every 3rd chair to left vacant. I remember it taking about 50 minutes to get on that chair, meanwhile Tom Leonard (Crystal GM and was in my day also) kept yelling out "The Rainier Express has no lines and running full speed".

I remember saying "Dipshit, get us a faster way up there and we can enjoy the full speed and the no lines". That afternoon, everyone was up on REXX and it kept having problems and eventually had to run slower and you thought, was this worth the first day.

[TPD]

Mine was the high speed triple Saanenwald-Hornberg (Gstaad / Switzerland).

[liftmech]

Pine Marten Express, followed later that day by the Outback and the Summit. I remember thinking we were going to hit the chair in front of us since I had never been on a detachable before and didn't know what they did. I think that was the year before Rex went in, so 1987. First chairlift ever was probably chair 2 at Hyak (memory gets a bit fuzzy since I was only 2 or 3).

[crazyskier91]

My first was the quicksilver at Breck. It was a good lift even though it had terrible lines and uncomfortable seats. I think they should just put up a gondi, they could make Ten Mile open for dinner and make extra money or something like that.

[ccslider]

Quicksilver at Breck ~ 1985/86
Sunshine Expr at Telluride ~ 1986/87

[Kicking Horse]

crazyskier91, on Feb 3 2005, 06:33 AM, said:

My first was the quicksilver at Breck.  It was a good lift even though it had terrible lines and uncomfortable seats.  I think they should just put up a gondi, they could make Ten Mile open for dinner and make extra money or something like that.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem with that is a gondi does not have enough cap to run that line. Maybe they could of added some gondi cabins to the line but not make a full gondi.

[SkiBachelor]

That lift is too short to be turned into a gondola.