Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

shanny, on Jul 28 2006, 10:40 AM, said:

I agree

red dog at squaw. I hate that lift. Squaw creek isn't much better.

This is going to seem weird, but I'd put Rainier Express at Crystal Mountain on the list. Not because it's high or steep or windy or anything... but because every time I get on it, I swear the seat depth is two inches less than every other lift in the world. Maybe just my perception, but it always seems like the weight of my skis on my long dangling legs is just gonna flip me off the seat face-first. Can't comfortably ride it without putting the safety bar down.

OldSki, on May 28 2008, 12:43 PM, said:

Then You need to make a trip to Winter Park in Colorado and ride the Zephyer express and tell me what you think about that one....

;)

I've felt that on all the Poma lifts I've ridden, which isn't a very long list, but the old Tombstone at The Canyons made you want to hold on tight

The seat on REX is shorter. MHM also has one just like it, I think it's the Cascade Express

I think all Falcon carriers are the same, although I felt like I was going to die riding up the Magic Mile at Timberline when I was younger. I had a backpack on, an extra pair of skis in my hand and holding on to the backrest for dear life. I felt like I was only sitting on about 10 inches of the seat.

SkiBachelor, on May 28 2008, 10:54 PM, said:

Ahhh, the good old days at Timberline. Yes, the backpacks don't help the fact that the carriers on that chair aren't that deep...going down is even worse
This post has been edited by SkiBachelor: 29 May 2008 - 07:50 AM

Funny, I've never noticed that. Maybe it's because I'm 5'6". I've always thought seats were about the same depth no matter tha manufacturer. Never took out a tape measure to confirm, though.

A few chairs that have scared me:

• Lift 9 at Telluride
  
• Loge Peak (maybe the old one?) at Aspen Highlands
  
• Some lift up high at Blackcomb (looks like Glacier express)--crosses some point at least 100' off the ground
  
• Sublette at Jackson Hole

All of these lifts have one of two characteristics that scare the crap out of me. Either they have what seem to be very large spans where the chairs are very high off the ground (seems like 100'; probably not quite that high), or they have chairs that feel like they are sloped toward dumping me out (Lift 9 & Loge Peak for sure). The old Jackson Hole tram and the tram up Lone Peak at Big Sky both are certainly intimidating for the rocks and and cliffs they traverse, but I never felt like it was trying to slide me out!

bmr12, on Jun 19 2008, 07:47 PM, said:

Deffinately lift 9! I hear you! It is dumping you out and it is hard to load, unload, and it shakes a lot.

RideBurton, on 09 August 2006 - 02:52 PM, said:

Silver Queen's also somewhat scary as you go up a 60 degree pitch climb around tower 20 where you must be over a double black. Based on photos, Gold Hill at Telluride's scary for steepness.

SkiBachelor, on 28 May 2008 - 09:54 PM, said:

Revisiting this fours years on: The older 'Falcon' style carriers do have a different seat than the newer ones. I ordered new seat pans for an '89 (the Eagle) and they sent me ones for the Flyer ('86). They don't fit-- too small. All y'all may be correct.

Ruby Express at Keystone has sometimes given me the willies if the lift slows and the bar isn't down and we're between towers 1 and 3 (as there is a pretty high span at that point).

Much like I can't understand why on the SuperConnect, they could reduce the height of that span from tower 24 to tower 25 by putting an additional combination tower there.

Id say Red Dog @ Squaw is one that sticks out recently.

It's steep, goes under Far East, and has this one very long section with towers only on the uphill line.

I seem to recall 7th Heaven at Steven Pass getting my attention. Dinky Riblet chairs with no safty bar going what seemed like straight, up good stuff!!!

DonaldMReif, on 10 October 2012 - 07:23 PM, said:

I'll take a high span if there's no combo assembly to maintain

Any type of tramway, for two reasons

• They swing too much for my liking
  
• The Pylons are just Evil when you come down. You get a feeling you are on a roller-coaster, which is effectively what it is if something goes wrong.

DonaldMReif, on 10 October 2012 - 07:23 PM, said:

Much like I can't understand why on the SuperConnect, they could reduce the height of that span from tower 24 to tower 25 by putting an additional combination tower there.

While I don't have a vision of that span, I can tell you that if you want the haul rope closer to the ground, it's not going to be a combination tower unless it's almost as high as the current rope position. A combination assembly is generally a support assembly that in some load cases goes into compression. What you would need is a pure compression assembly, which we all know is a rough ride on a good day. You would also load Tower 25 to the point that it would need more sheaves or even another complete tower to accept the additional load. Plus, an additional tower is in the $45,000-$50,000 range.....
Close your eyes next time.
Dino