Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

Good ol' typical scene at the top of a beginner lift on a relatively busy day. I haven't spent too much time at the top of our beginner quad chair at Sunapee, but based on the number of times that we get slows and stops from the return station on a busy day I can only imagine the mosh pit that occurs at the top.

Ah yes, the top of a beginner lift on a busy day! At Dodge Ridge the top of Chair 6 is known as the Human Bowling Alley!

EagleAce, on May 27 2007, 06:47 PM, said:

Looks like the top of Silverlode - my record was 45 stops in a day between me and the other operator.

Allan, on May 27 2007, 07:09 PM, said:

Before I 'commandeered' Eagle it had 36 stops in one day during Christmas week. After I took it over the guests told me "When you run this chair it stops the least". The last Friday of the season I had three schoolbus loads of kids and me and the top operator didn't have a single stop all day! What was really fun was in the afternoon I'd get the FOBs--"Fresh Off Bruin"-our beginner lift. They didn't know that Eagle's bigger and faster!

At Snoqualmie Central, Sliver Fir has a bad ramp at the top and on a weekend there are tons of little kids from a nearby ski school who can't get off the chair before it turns around. In response sending kids flying off the chair or hitting the brake bar and stopping the lift for a few minutes. I feel bad for thoes poor lifties on weekends. FAST LIFT + LITTLE KIDS = ONE LONG LIFT RIDE!
This post has been edited by Snoqualmie guy: 27 May 2007 - 07:21 PM

Better training of lifties and supervisors who look after their lifties can go a long way to both improving the customer experience and efficiency of the lifts. An attentive liftie who is outside the shack and interacting with/talking to and as required instructing guests should be able to keep a lift spinning with few or no stops.

I did a couple of seasons in Kirkwood, and on a busy weekend to underline the difference the liftie can make when me and a mate were working the old chair 7 (in its last year) at Timber Creek we got through the Saturday with NO stops running the lift flat out (120%) some man handling of kids to plonk them on chairs was required !

Kirkwood is nearly always rotating the lifties (a good thing, it's more interesting to have a different lift regularly) but anyway on the Sunday Chair 7 had 96 stops...

From being a liftie I actually found the foulest days most interesting, esp on the Cornice Express. You'd be suprised what a HSQ can do, probably not as suprised as those riding Cornice when even Chair 5 was on Wind Hold!!

You got that right! A lot of our lifties never really got full training last season--they were more like attendants. I worked with them whenever I could. I was the only one who didn't rotate to a different lift every day. I worked 'em all but I liked Eagle the best-'cause it's big and busy! So I asked for it as a permanent spot and got it. I was pretty much the boss on that lift. I've been to Kirkwood a couple times--LOVE that mountain! My last season at Dodge Ridge I was the lead op on the kiddie chair. It's a 1962 Riblet. I hardly ever worked on the top.