469 replies to this topic

[SkiBachelor]

I presume it is, unless Park City wasn't thinking when it replaced the First Time triple with a HSQ.

[floridaskier]

Three Kings is staying in, the First Time HSQ doesn't access the same area and the new Ski Team HSQ won't be over there. I hope they keep Three Kings for a while, it's one of a few SLI lifts still operating outside of Telluride and it's a reminder of the old days at Park City Ski Area

[Peter]

Mt. Baker is selling off the chairs from Chair 1, one of the oldest operating lifts in North America. It is being replace by a quad this summer, giving them 7 fixed grip quads. Kind of sad to see the last Riblet double go.

http://mtbaker.us/chair1.php

[Snoqualmie guy]

By who, will the quad be made by?

[SkiBachelor]

Snoqualmie guy, on Apr 12 2008, 06:12 PM, said:

By who, will the quad be made by?

It's very doubtful it would be built by Leitner-POMA since all the other recent lifts have been Doppelmayr CTEC's.

[skierdude9450]

Wasn't that their last double?

[Snoqualmie guy]

Don't they still have the M-Latta double? Or is it gone to? According to this sites page on the area, they still have three doubles. Although I do not think it is up to date.

[SkiBachelor]

Yea, the Mt. Baker page is not up to date.

[Skiing#1]

I remember I saw an article about Solitude Project, and I found it. Printed in 2002. They said they plan to add three lifts, one private lift, alpine slide, ski night, and trails if US Forest Serivce approve or not.

http://deseretnews.com/cgi-bin/cqcgi_plus/...Q_TEXT_MAIN=YES


Forest Service backs some Solitude projects

By Donna Kemp Spangler
Deseret News staff writer

Major improvements to Solitude Mountain Resort are but a chairlift away.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service gave approval to a season-pass worth of improvements to the resort, a favorite of Utah skiers.

Approval from the Wasatch-Cache National Forest puts the resort one step closer to expansion, but because 63 percent of Solitude is located on private land, almost half of its proposed 48 projects would require Salt Lake County approval.

"We certainly are excited to finally have approval of many of the mountain projects. These are things our customers have asked for so long," said Mike Goar, vice president of operations at Solitude. "We are disappointed a few projects did not get approved, and we haven't yet decided how to proceed with that. But overall, we indeed are excited to finally receive the lift improvements."

Among the improvements approved by the Forest Service:

Expansion and improvement of base-area lodges and facilities.

An upgrade to three existing lifts to high-speed lifts and construction of one new lift. (Salt Lake County must still approve another lift on private lands.)

Night lighting for the Silver Lake Flat Nordic ski trail.

Improvements to the Moonbeam base parking system, including improvements to U-190 and expansion of an existing parking lot by one acre.

Expanded snowmaking capacity.

Construction of a summer mountain biking trail in Honeycomb Canyon.

Save Our Canyons, a local environmental group that has sued over Snowbird's expansion plans, isn't sure what to make of it yet.

"The outcome appears to be mixed," said Gavin Noyes, the group's director. "There were elements denied that would have been environmentally disasters and visual eyesores, but there are approved projects that will forever scar Big Cottonwood Canyon and will blend in with the mountain environment about as well as a yodeler would fit into the Tabernacle Choir."

The Forest Service denied Solitude's request to build an alpine slide, a skating rink, the proposed Redman lift and trail, and night lighting at other facilities.

Solitude also wanted to expand its parking beyond that authorized by the Forest Service.

Solitude's proposed master plan has been open to public comment since last spring, and it is one of four on the drawing board — the others are Brighton, Alta and Snowbird — for Wasatch Front resorts.

Noyes, although pleased with denial of some projects, is fearful of overdevelopment in the canyon.

"Solitude is proposing an extraordinarily intense development of public and private lands. It is unfortunate that there seems to be a competition going on among Utah ski resorts to be the biggest and most urbanized of them all. It's the Wasatch Mountains themselves that are being most harmed by this," Noyes said.

[Peter]

Does anyone know if there are ay new lifts planned for Northstar? Did the announced extension of the Lookout Mountain Express happen as planned last summer?

[SkiBachelor]

The Oakland Zoo in California has plans to replace its chairlift with a gondola. However, no date was given in the news article about when this will take place.

http://www.insidebay...bune/ci_8910951

[Peter]

Also, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is opening a chairlift on Memorial Day. Anyone know if it is new or used?

[Kicking Horse]

Skier, on Apr 13 2008, 05:52 PM, said:

Also, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is opening a chairlift on Memorial Day. Anyone know if it is new or used?

KNowing that Zoo my guess it is new. But I could be wrong!

[Peter]

It is a fixed grip quad, by the way.

[coskibum]

I'll email TCS since he lives down there...it should be under construction already if its opening soon.

[jaytrem]

In this article it mentions that Sun Valley will be building their River Run gondola this summer...

http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/articl...ID_Article=4870

"Sun Valley Company this summer will build its first gondola, rising from the River Run base area of Bald Mountain, two-thirds of the way up its eastern side to the Roundhouse Restaurant, allowing year-round and nighttime operation of the restaurant, which will also be renovated this summer."

Sounds like the transport gondola plan is picking up a bit of steam too.

And from their own website...

http://www.sunvalley.com/SunValley/info/pr...releases.14.xml

This post has been edited by jaytrem: 15 April 2008 - 06:33 AM

[SkiBachelor]

Earlier last month, Sun Valley stated that they have moved back the start date of the new gondola until next year.

[jaytrem]

Are you sure the delay announcement came before the building announcement? This one came out on 3/25/08, sounds like they can't make up their mind...

http://www.sunvalley...y/pr.press.aspx

Would be dissapointing if they don't get it done since I'll probably be there for a day or two next year.

Oh I got it, the next day an article came out saying it won't be ready until 09-10...

http://www.mtexpress...p?ID=2005119971

Bummer

This post has been edited by jaytrem: 15 April 2008 - 07:52 AM

[Peter]

I have been reading on a bunch of internet forums in the past few days rumors that Crystal is plotting to replace high campbell this summer with a Doppelmayr quad with half the chairs after this season's wind issues. Anyone have any info, this would be shocking, as there is nothing in their Environmental Impact Statement about a quad there.

http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowb...hp?topic=9785.0
http://www.tetongrav...ad.php?t=120232

[Snoqualmie guy]

I don't think that would make any sense to put in a four man lift. There is no place to unload that many people. And the chair is empty except on maybe a weekend or powder day.