95 replies to this topic

[ccslider]

The overall steepness of a lift can be expressed as a percentage calculated by dividing the vertical rise by the horizontal length (not the slope length) of the lift.

The Gold Hill Lift at Telluride has a 1,475' vertical rise over a 3,333' horizontal length = 44.25%. The steepest segment of that lift's profile is of course much steeper.

I think there is some practical limitation to the steepest portion of a profile - maybe 45 degrees or 100.00% slope angle. At some point the steepness of a lift has to be mitigated by lengthing the hanger length so that the carrier does not impact the rope with a 15 degree backswing. This of course applies to the steepest section of the profile, usually the area directly downhill of a tower due to static and dynamic carrier loading.

[jibij]

Never been on it, but the Marte chair at Las Lenas in argentina looks pretty steep. Las Lenas is one resort I really want to go to sometime.



here's another shot:

This post has been edited by jibij: 25 February 2004 - 09:59 PM

[ccslider]

Hey jibij, what's the large retangular thing in front of ther tower - can see it best in the 2nd photo. Is this an avi deflector? Also, it looks like maybe a number of the tower basers have concrete formed to a rather a significant height - also avi mitigation?

[edmontonguy]

For steep lifts in Europe the Glacierbus 3 has to be one of the steepest and most harrowing!

[ccslider]

Yes, and removing part of cliff to accomodate the upper terminal was obviously not an issue. Did you get a chance to ride the double chair on the other side off the top of the third section of the Glacierbus? The sheave assembly that was bolted into the cliff wall was awesome!

[Kelly]

More avalanche deflection ideas - see my last post

http://www.skilifts....p?showtopic=553

[edmontonguy]

Is it possible for Funitels to opperate @ up to 90 degrees? As the cabin is supended in the middle of the cables there is nothing to stop it from reaching this angle. Though i could the need for VERY powerful grips if this were to be a reality.

[SkiBachelor]

It's impossible for a funitel to go up a 90 angle. Take a look at this picture:



The carrier would smack into the carrier's arm.

The steepest lift I have seen is the the 3 rope gondola at at Val Thornes. Now that thing is steep.

[hyak.net]

bramat, on Jan 26 2004, 10:12 PM, said:

the old Beaver Lake Chair at Summit West on Snoqualmie Pass, was quite steep, atleast from what i remember when i learned to ski at Summit West.  It seemed to immediately go over this huge drop off with water below and the lift way above the ground, straight up the mountain, and with only maybe 300 vertical feet of elevation gain, and a ride time of perhaps a minute

Here are the stats for the Beaver Lake Chair as they were before its removal.

Type = Riblet Double / 1969
Rise = 300'
Length = 959'
Slope Length = 1,005'
Ave Grade = 31%
Capacity = 1,200/hr
Spacing = 40'
Speed = 400fpm


I believe the average grade looks so low because the lift goes over flat (lake) before it hits the steep rise. Looking over the stats for the Beaver Lake trail it shows the max vertical as 72% and this is the steepest run at West (compare to triple-60 at 65% grade).

FYI

[liftmech]

KZ, on Jan 20 2004, 06:29 PM, said:

they have more then 4, usually 4-8 with one or 2 holding it down (combination)

Jumping back a few posts:
Riblet used only four sheaves per tower to allow for steeper tower angles. Tony Sowder (Doug's father) had a design philosophy wherein the sheave angle relative to the tower tube was as close to 90 degrees as possible, so he didn't want a great deal of weight up on the cap. As Riblet progressed to building triples and then quads, it became necessary to build towers with eight sheaves due to increased loads. (I was told by Doug that it would be not impossible, but difficult to build a six-sheave Riblet assembly.) If you ride Riblets a lot, you'll notice that the only eight-sheave assemblies are the newer rectangle-box ones rather than the older squashed-tube or the really old triangular box. A clarification- I refer to the number of support or depression sheaves on a tower, not the total including combo sheaves. There are some Riblet assemblies with a total of twelve sheaves, but that includes four combo sheaves. Tower 1 on Baker's C-8 has a combo with 16 depression and 8 support- the most I've seen on any lift.

[floridaskier]

That makes sense...Golden Eagle (The Canyons) has its 4 breakover towers with 4 sheaves each that could be easily done by 2 6- or 8-sheave towers on a modern lift which it needs to be replaced by. It;s hard to see how that could have been practical, as it needs a lot of extra metal for towers

[skiracing]

The steepest i ever rode is the last part of mineral basin @ snowbird

[Powdr]

Has anyone seen the old tram that goes up to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon (near Sundance), UT? That is one steep cable.

Powdr

[mcjones55]

Powdr, on Apr 27 2004, 08:18 AM, said:

Has anyone seen the old tram that goes up to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon (near Sundance), UT? That is one steep cable.

Powdr
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes I have, I've been very curious about the Bridal Veil Tram since I first moved to Utah. Here is the info that I’ve found. It was a sightseeing tram that lead up to a restaurant on the cliff. The lower station was destroyed by an avalanche on January 31, 1996. What the avalanche didn't destroy has since been destroyed by vandals. It is (was) the “world’s steepest aerial tram” according to the words painted inside what's left of the motor room. What I’ve heard was that it was not insured against such an accident hence it has not been rebuilt. Getting to the top station is on my list of things to do some day. Also just found a site saying it's for sale, the waterfall and what’s left of the tram. It's a bit of a fixer upper but for the true lift enthusiast the chance of a life time. Now all I need is $3.4 million
http://www.tomheal.c...cial/bridal.htm

[SkiBachelor]

Wow, that's a lot of money to buy something like that. I doubt anyone will want to buy that, it would take years to make your investment pay off. I think your better off buying a ski area for that price. :)

[floridaskier]

They're selling the waterfall with it?
The tram is probably beyond repair, I haven't seen it up close but from the road it doesn't look so great. And yes, it's really steep

[KZ]

Interesting. Seems like something like that would be closer to a million, but maybe some rich guy from back east will see it and turn it into something bigger.

[floridaskier]

It's a nice view, but really, it's just a scenic view off the side of the road. Fixing up the tram to use it would take a lot of money, and they would have to charge a lot for tram tickets to get anyone to use it, who knows if they could fill it up and turn a profit

[greggomatic]

My parents rode the Bridal Veil Falls tram when they were younger and living in Provo. My mom said that the floors in the cabins were made of glass so you could look straight down.

[pyrotechnik]

well, this lift isnt too scary to ride on, but the wild side lift at snoqualmie is pretty steep... at the end it has LOTS of breakovers.