469 replies to this topic

[vons]

I wouldn't expect copper to do anything this year, we have been waiting years to replace most of the lifts in Union Creek which will most likely happen before tucker. It has been speculated that the tucker lift will be a recycled H,K or L lift.

[liftmech]

Skier, on Dec 30 2007, 04:51 PM, said:

They wisely scrapped that plan and went for a new Doppelmayr CTEC quad.

I also heard quite recently that the old Millicent lift from Brighton would be the new BB lift. I agree that building a new lift would be wiser, but I hadn't heard anything official yet. Did you say you read that in the TNT?

Vons is correct, there is no plan at Copper to do anything next year. I'm hoping we can get something on line for '09, but nothing has ben mentioned even as a remote possibility for this summer. Our master plan is quite involved, new and upgraded lifts and facilities everywhere, but aside from the papr there's nothing in the works.

[SkiBachelor]

liftmech, on Jan 4 2008, 06:45 PM, said:

I also heard quite recently that the old Millicent lift from Brighton would be the new BB lift. I agree that building a new lift would be wiser, but I hadn't heard anything official yet. Did you say you read that in the TNT?

I rode up the lift with a Crystal lift mechanic and asked him about the Milicent lift and he told me that lift was no longer there and plans were to purchase a new lift from Doppelmayr CTEC.

[liftmech]

Good for them. I think the trails in that area will prove to be more popular than an old dead double could handle. Which mechanic did you ride with?

[SkiBachelor]

I never found out his name, although this is his first year being a lift mechanic. He was a lift operator at Crystal last year.

[boardski]

Does anyone know what Winter Park plans to do for next season?? Last I heard Zephyr is to be replaced with a HSS, the existing HSQ is to be moved to replace Sunnyside and the existing Sunnyside FGT is to be moved and split to replace Looking Glass and Arrow lifts. That would be quite a project to complete all in one summer.
They should just move the drive from the old Timberline chair (which is the only part of Timberline still remaining) to replace the Looking Glass bottom terminal since it was a new drive when Timberline came to Winter PArk in 1992 and replace the center bar carriers on Looking Glass with new Superior-Riblet side bar carriers (like Breckenridge did) and save Sunnyside for the next terrain expansion or replace one of the Mary Jane double chairs with it. They could always sell it also. Sounds like they may want to sell to someone other than Jackson Hole.

[k2skier]

Over X-Mas break I finally rode the new Stadium chair at Mt Hood Meadows, the old Yellow chair. The new chairs look like the ones they put on Red chair, now Easy Rider, both are Riblets. Does anyone know what manufacturer they are?
The lift op said they were Riblet chairs??!!

[Peter]

Superior Tramway out of Spokane is still making Riblet parts. They made the Riblet-style bail chairs for Breckenridge last year.

[SkiBachelor]

New Stadium lift at Mt. Hood Meadows? I saw that lift when I was there in December and it's still the same old Yellow lift with just new carriers! Meadows also said that the lift received a new drive terminal which I never saw. The replacement of carriers with new ones doesn't make it a new lift or justify the name change. I'm sure it will always be referred to as Yellow by the locals.

However, Red was renamed as Easy Rider a while back and it only received new bail carriers.

[skierdude9450]

SkiBachelor, on Jan 4 2008, 06:03 PM, said:

Tremblant has plans for installing a new lift this summer. No idea on the type or manufacturer.

http://www.tremblant...ap/index-e.html

It says 8x, so I'm guessing a gondola. I highly doubt it would be an 8-pack. As for manufacturer, I would guess D-CTEC, but who knows?

[Bill]

liftmech, on Jan 4 2008, 06:54 PM, said:

Good for them. I think the trails in that area will prove to be more popular than an old dead double could handle. Which mechanic did you ride with?

If he is a newbie, then its not Eric Wunderlich.

[Peter]

SkiBachelor, on Jan 7 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

New Stadium lift at Mt. Hood Meadows? I saw that lift when I was there in December and it's still the same old Yellow lift with just new carriers! Meadows also said that the lift received a new drive terminal which I never saw. The replacement of carriers with new ones doesn't make it a new lift or justify the name change. I'm sure it will always be referred to as Yellow by the locals.

However, Red was renamed as Easy Rider a while back and it only received new bail carriers.

They renamed it because the new galvanized chairs are not yellow like the old ones. I think I read that the electronics were overhauled, but not the drive itself.

[k2skier]

I should have said the newly named Stadium lift, same thing, new chairs. Thanks for the info, I forgot about Superior Tramway.
Now I hope the roads clear for a day so I can drive my van up with a trailer so I can get my newly purchased Yellow chair. It'll look great in a tandem swing set next to my Yan chair. I bought it a few years ago when the HRM chair was relocated to Heather Canyon.

[NoPainNoJane]

boardski, on Jan 4 2008, 08:16 PM, said:

Does anyone know what Winter Park plans to do for next season?? Last I heard Zephyr is to be replaced with a HSS, the existing HSQ is to be moved to replace Sunnyside and the existing Sunnyside FGT is to be moved and split to replace Looking Glass and Arrow lifts. That would be quite a project to complete all in one summer.
They should just move the drive from the old Timberline chair (which is the only part of Timberline still remaining) to replace the Looking Glass bottom terminal since it was a new drive when Timberline came to Winter PArk in 1992 and replace the center bar carriers on Looking Glass with new Superior-Riblet side bar carriers (like Breckenridge did) and save Sunnyside for the next terrain expansion or replace one of the Mary Jane double chairs with it. They could always sell it also. Sounds like they may want to sell to someone other than Jackson Hole.

Right now the only plans that Winter Park have is to use the old timberline lift and replace looking glass with it. Outside of that, no plans in concrete right now, although in the long term we still plan on replacing zephyr w/ a 6 pack, move the existing zephyr to Sunnyside and using the Sunnyside lift to replace arrow. With all the recent problems w/ Pioneer though, I wouldn't be suprised to see it get replaced soon as well.

[boardski]

NoPainNoJane, on Jan 8 2008, 01:07 PM, said:

Right now the only plans that Winter Park have is to use the old timberline lift and replace looking glass with it. Outside of that, no plans in concrete right now, although in the long term we still plan on replacing zephyr w/ a 6 pack, move the existing zephyr to Sunnyside and using the Sunnyside lift to replace arrow. With all the recent problems w/ Pioneer though, I wouldn't be suprised to see it get replaced soon as well.

Sounds like a logical plan since Timberline had quite a few new parts on it when it was installed at the Jane in 92 and probably had barely any use on it prior to its installation at Winter Park. In a way, I kind of hate to see Sunnyside upgraded. When Panoramic is open, hardly anyone rides Sunnyside and a HSQ would put way too many people on those runs. I can't think of a good solution for its many misloads/unloads as it is frustrating.
If Zephyr is upgraded to HSS, what will they do about the nightime gondola operations? Would 6-wide chairs fit in the storage house on the bottom?

[liftmech]

NoPainNoJane, on Jan 8 2008, 01:07 PM, said:

With all the recent problems w/ Pioneer though, I wouldn't be suprised to see it get replaced soon as well.

What kind of problems, aside from the decidely abnormal wind jam-up?

[NoPainNoJane]

liftmech, on Jan 10 2008, 12:40 PM, said:

What kind of problems, aside from the decidely abnormal wind jam-up?

same that we've had in the past, only getting worse each year. The lift is 20+ years old and the chain cadence has serious allignment issues up top. When a replacement comes around, hopefully there is a new allignment that eliminates the long catwalk at the bottom of the lift, this also would most likely require a new lift to be installed from the base of where Oly & Looking Glass are at to the top of the hill that the buckaroo trail is on.

[SkiBachelor]

You could always install a mid station where the Big Valley run comes next to the Pioneer Lift.

[Peter]

Hopefully these new lift announcements will pick up, it seems like there haven't been too many this season so far...

Exciting projects on the way at Eaglecrest ski area


JIM CALVIN

Welcome to the first edition of Slopeside, a regular column providing news and information about Eaglecrest Ski Area. With this column we hope to inform skiers, borders and others about all that's happening on the mountain. It's an exciting time at Eaglecrest, with some big projects underway. We also have some interesting ski area management and operations issues to talk about in future editions of Slopeside.
Eaglecrest is an incredibly popular winter recreation area, offering fun and exercise for the young and young-at-heart alike. This year 2,000 Juneau residents bought season passes. Another 500 have purchased books of tickets or convenience passes. We expect a total of 60,000 skier and snowboader visits this year. Previous research has shown that 30 percent of Juneau households have at least one skier or snowboarder.

We've had some very exciting news recently, with the Rasmuson Foundation announcement that Eaglecrest has been awarded a $700,000 grant. This grant money will support construction of the mid-mountain lift, replacement of the Platter Pull with a chair lift, construction of a joint-use ski club and ski patrol aid building, and construction of a service corridor/trail to the top of the mountain. We are grateful for the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation. These funds are an important step in Eaglecrest's evolution as a community recreation area.

Construction of the mid-mountain lift is especially exciting and important. The mid-mountain double-chair lift will allow Eaglecrest to open earlier and remain open on low-snow years. The new lift (which is actually a used lift we purchased from Northstar at Tahoe) will reduce lines at the Ptarmigan Lift by spreading skiers and boarders out over the entire mountain. That will mean more skiing and less waiting on those bluebird powder days we live for. It's also good to know that with the mid-mountain lift, those rare but inevitable mechanical problems with Ptarmigan won't mean a temporary end of access to the top of the mountain.

The Rasmuson Foundation awarded $200,000 for the mid-mountain lift. This supplements the $800,000 in sales tax funding approved by voters in the fall 2005 municipal election and $225,000 in contributions made by local businesses and individuals. Installation of the lift will begin this spring.

We're replacing the Platter Pull surface lift because it's just not the right piece of equipment for snow boarders to learn the sport. Platter pulls were designed for skiers, not boarders. With about half of all Eaglecrest users riding boards rather than skis, it's about time we accommodate the beginning boarder with a user-friendly chair lift. Further, the Platter Pull is not easy for very young skiers. So the new chair lift will enhance the learning experience for new snowboarders and skiers alike. The Rasmuson Foundation awarded $100,000 for this project.

Eaglecrest has needed expanded ski patrol and ski club facilities for a long time. The ski club has been operating out of a room in the lodge not much larger than a closet. The ski patrol's aid room is too small and poorly suited for its purpose. The new 3,000 square foot multi-purpose facility will be located adjacent to the caretaker's cabin. Rasmuson Foundation funding for this project includes $284,000 in direct grant funds, plus a $16,000 "challenge grant." That means for every additional dollar we can raise for the project, Rasmuson Foundation will offer a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $16,000.

Finally, construction of the service corridor to the mountain top will facilitate construction of the mid-mountain lift and installation of a buried power line to the Federal Aviation Administration weather station, which is essential for airport operations. The corridor will also serve as a summer-time trail from the parking lot to the top of the ski area. Rasmuson Foundation's contribution to this project is $200,000.

These projects are part of the board of directors' long-range capital improvement plan for Eaglecrest. The plan also includes slope improvement work, construction of a hiking and biking trail system, construction of a cabin at Cropley Lake and eventually huts along the trail system. Eaglecrest is already an amazing winter recreation area. It has the potential to become a very special summer recreation area as well.

Watch for future editions of Slopeside from Eaglecrest. In addition to keeping Juneau abreast of our development projects, over the next few months we'd like to talk about our snow grooming policies and practices, the terrain park, lift ticket and season pass pricing policies and a variety of other topics. If there are any specific issues you'd like us to discuss, log on to skijuneau.com and leave us a note.

See you on the mountain!

[Peter]

Saddleback is replacing the Kennebago T-Bar with a Doppelmayr CTEC quad this summer, as confirmed on their website.