Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

My first HSQ was the accelerator at Boreal. I was really confused because I thought they slowed the lift down every time someone had to get on.

My first gondola was the gondola at sugar bowl. Its been probably 7-8 years since I rode it, but the only thing I remember was that it was really bumpy when it went over the sheaves.

My first HSQ ride was on none other than the first HSQ, the former Quicksilver Superchair at Breckenridge, called 'A-1' back in those days. No cushions were used on the park-bench style slats on the Doppelmayr chairs and I remember wondering just how much the lift would slow down since it was headed for the fully-enclosed upper terminal at what seemed to be a very high rate of speed.

Interesting that the title of this thread is First High Speed Lift and with the exception of coskibum, everyone presumed chairs. For me, 67-68 season at Okemo. Those Pomas really ripped!

The old Grand Prix poma-tow at Aspen Highlands was also one of the fastest pomas around. Unfortunately, it has disappeared with no replacement. (You have to ski all the way down to the bottom and catch Exhibition)

Any Idea where Grand Prix went or was it scrapped?

mine was Skyline Express, at Stevens Pass. A lot of my firsts happened at Stevens Pass.

Yeah... that Yan... WAS MY FIRST TOO! In 1992, when I was 4, I went on. I watched it crash on the 23rd of December 1995. I hated that steep lift! THAT was my favourite Christmas present!

joshua segal, on Oct 3 2005, 05:14 AM, said:

I suppose that's because most people on this board, with the exception of a few, have never ridden a detachable Poma. My first ride on one was at White Pass (WA) where the Poma never actually ran except on busy days. I rode Washington's first detachable quad in 1988, and even skiing White Pass since 1977 I never saw the Poma run until 1990. They finally tore it out in 2000. And yes, it did rip!

Cat_on_the_Chairlift, on Jan 2 2006, 08:06 AM, said:

What do you mean, the crash was your favourite Christmas present? People died in that accident! That's quite a statement from someone who was supposedly only four years old at the time. That sort of thing is something you never want to have happen.

My first would be the Bethlehem Express, a Doppelmayr HSQ at Bretton Woods, NH. Sometime in the early 90's. First gondola would be the old Wildcat, NH gondola complete with holes in the floor and cigarette burns in the yellowing windows!

Garth

The high speed quad at west resort at mountain high

I guess mine was probably the Peru Express @ Keystone. Or the Zephyr Express @ Winter Park. What year was the Zephyr Express installed? Peru was 1990, and I think that might have been before Winter Parks.
So far as high speed surface lifts, I seem to remember a high speed surface lift at Wolf Creek that was pretty incredible. There's no surface lifts listed for either on this site. Colorado Ski History lists it as the D Boyce Poma. Does anyone remember this one?

ski9600, on Jan 5 2006, 12:23 PM, said:

I havent been to wolf creek when D. Boyce was running but I was talking with some of the employees there and they said it runs about 3 times a year. It looks like it would be a heck of a ride especially the last pitch up to the top.

If I had to say what my first high speed surface ride was it would probably be Lovelands poma. Does anyone know which resorts in Colorado still operates surface lifts classified as high speed, The only ones I could think of would be Wolf Creek, Loveland, and Copper.

Snowmass has Cirque. My first high speed was the old tesque peak platter, The parts to that lift , by the way, where scavenged out to wolfcreek when the lift was removed to keep D. Boyce running. Until the late 90s Santa fe had two detachable pomas all where run at 700fpm we had niknamed them rapers because you slid uphill into the stick if they hit a stop.

OK, I guess this is what makes me a Dinosaur. The Bell Gondola at Mammoth - 1967! (Drove all night from SoCal with a college buddy because we heard it was a powder day!)
This post has been edited by Lift Dinosaur: 05 January 2006 - 05:43 PM

Might as well contribute my two cents:

First gondola: The original two-stage gondola at Gore (197?)
First chair: Siberia Express at Squaw Valley (1983)

Also, I'm pretty sure I rode at least one detachable poma.

Skyline Express, Stevens Pass, WA 1997

vons, on Jan 5 2006, 02:37 PM, said:

Yeah I forgot about Cirque, which is an interesting ride, especially with the turn.

What about the one at Powderhorn?

The poma at powderhorn is a similar model to howelsen but I dont know if it is concidered high speed. Is the classification of a high speed surface ususaly detirmined by wether its a detachable?

Btw guys. The one @ Powderhorn is no longer standing. They removed it. it was pretty slow from what I understand.