28 replies to this topic

[Lift Kid]

Hmm... That is interesting. I thought those were the HSQ hangers. mdwsttech might be able to shed some light on this.

[SkiBachelor]

Maybe it's because this lift originally had bubbles and Spirit decided to switch those carriers with the ones on its high-speed quad. That would make sense you would need to have a principle roller to keep the carrier level when entering into a terminal to open up the bubble.

[lastchair_44]

aren't principal rollers the rollers nearest the jaws on a detachable grip? I thought the roller furthest from the jaws was called the lateral, or guide roller
also, those hangers do look very CTEC

[SkiBachelor]

Your right Jimmi, guide roller or lateral. I didn't know the term when I wrote the post.

[Callao]

And what about the bubbles? It seems like, because of their big-bowl, wind-resistant shape, that the lifts would cost a fortune to run. Especially in the wind.

[mdwsttech]

Some questions here have been answered under a different topic, but I will reiterate;

The Spirit Express was installed in 1986 and has a total length of 3660'. Now I was not working here back when the chairs from our 89 Ctec fixed quad where placed on our Leitner detach but the reason for the swap was mostly due the rather uncomfortable original Leitner chairs. The seats provide a position the sits a person too upright and the depth of the seat is not adequate to what you find on now-a-days; so your knees overhang a bit too much. When that's combined with the uncomfortable upright sitting position and a brisk wind it can be a terrifying ride to say the least. But those are not the only reason for the swap, additionally our Ctec FGQ is not one of our primary lifts and is only run on weekends and holidays; or, in the unfortunate event the primary lift (Gandy Chair) has a mechanical/electrical issue forcing its closure. Where as the Spirit Express is our other primary lift that serves the easier side of the hill. ("easier"? this is the Midwest)

The Spirit Express chair seats and bale are original Ctec, but the original Leitner hanger was retrofitted, allowing the use of the original Leitner grips.

The Big Air chair seat and bale are original Leitner with the Ctec bale fitted, allowing the use of the original Ctec grips.

Some minor modifications where needed to the taco, and hanger to bale bushing on the Spirit Express chair.

The original bubbles on the original Leitner chair (now on Big Air chair) were removed the year of the swap in 1995.

The Ctec chair, now on the Express, kept the original half-bubble until the "gasket", which was the means used to attach the bubble to the restraint bar, began to fail. Replacement of this component may have been too costly. We then had the brilliant idea of contracting a company to produce a new mold for a bubble that would replace the clear half bubble. These then looked like oversize welding hoods. Function over fashion I suppose. This past summer I proposed we remove all bubbles due to maintenance costs and vandalism, and I got my way. So I no longer have to spend many man hours repairing them, or looking as the huge phallic drawings, that I surely wouldn’t notice till mom and pop with there two young children board the chair. Daddy, what’s that? I'm sure those images sparked some premature sex Ed for the young ones.

The view, overlooking the city, is awesome!!
The wind here has caused problems at times. The top of Big Air and Gandy are to most susceptible as I have seen gusts here as high as 73mph and another time when the wind came out of nowhere (seriously) and had blown grown men & women to the ground and was pushing little children across the top of the hill off into the woods. We were in the process of evac'ing the lift (under electric power) until the wind subsided. I have never again seen chairs hanging near parallel to the haul rope with three grown adults. The Oh, shit look on some people’s faces is almost unforgettable.

Lastly, due to the low profile of the Spirit Express chair it has been said that a rollback was not possible due the friction of the system. Not true, a rollback can happen as I witnessed this past summer while we performed the load test.

I'm sure I had read a couple other questions that I may have not answered. If so, let me know and I would be happy to enlighten you. Regards to all.

[Lift Kid]

What about the lateral roller on the Leitner chairs? Are they from its days as a HS chair? Other than that, you answered all of my questions!

[SkiBachelor]

Well, in SAM Magazine, it mentions that Spirit Mountain purchased a FGQ from CTEC that had bubbles. However, Spirit Mountain I guess just wanted to switch the carriers on that FGQ with the ones on its HSQ, which would explain why there is a lateral roller on that FGQ.

[mdwsttech]

Lift Kid, on Jan 18 2007, 06:33 AM, said:

What about the lateral roller on the Leitner chairs? Are they from its days as a HS chair? Other than that, you answered all of my questions!

That was never a HS chair component. As I mentioned in my last post, the hangers are original so the original grip can be used. Only the molded chair seat and bale are Leitner. The arm you speak of is called a "bubble stem” this was a modification done by Ctec, but was already a part of the chair when the lift was built. I believe it served as a stabilizer of sorts when the chairs rounded the return bullwheel just prior to entering the bubble opening system, and prior to entering the bottom opening system. This component is also referred to as the "chair bale stem” (yet its attached to the hanger not the bale).