Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

Gadzooks?

We never actually called them by names, but Baker's lifts did have them. My favourite was old chair 6, known as 'Stickey Wicket'

GadWarp? GadDrive? GadRace? I've got so many GadIdeas that we'll have to wait until winter.

How do the resorts come up with these names?

I'm sure most of the newer ones come out of the marketing department. Older ones, who knows. In some cases it was pure practicality-- old chair 2 at Crystal was also called Iceberg Ridge because the upper portion of the line ran up said ridge; Super Bee at Copper because it replaced B and B-1 lifts. I've also heard of naming contests-- name this lift and win a season's pass!

DonaldMReif, on 24 September 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

E-Gad

It's too bad that when Big Mountain changed its name to Whitefish, it also lost The Glacier Chaser in the transformation. Cool name for sure.

Yooper Skier, on 23 October 2012 - 02:21 AM, said:

Yeah, what a shame.

I'll say that Beaver Creek's high speed quads score points in most lifts to have super long names. Not in the Centennial Express (which by the way was built 10 years later than it should have ) , or the Cinch Express, but in the fact that I don't know what a shorter name for the Upper Beaver Creek Mountain Express lift is, or the Birds of Prey Express.

"The Rocket" at Crotched Mountain which was the former North Peak Express at Ascutney, VT. The terminal decals display "The Crotched Rocket." Clever!

I really like Revelstoke's names: Revelation, The Stoke and The Ripper.

DonaldMReif, on 23 October 2012 - 03:13 PM, said:

I've a shorter name for Birds of Prey-- chair 9.
Al the runs off that lift are just that-- think Osprey, Golden Eagle, and so forth. Makes sense to me.

To be fair, I know Beaver Creek and Vail both number and name their lifts, although I generally tend to go by the names, rather than the numbers. I always think of Chair 2 as the Avanti Express lift, and Chair 3 as the Wildwood Express lift. The numbering system doesn't help in Blue Sky Basin, as the numbers aren't posted on the lift terminals themselves, nor are the names, due to the terminal skins of the Poma high speed quads in the back bowls.

How long will it be before the big western resorts stop using "Express" on their lift names? A lot of them are getting to the point where nearly every important lift is a detachable. Vail, Beaver Creek, Snowmass, Deer Valley, Whistler, Steamboat

floridaskier, on 28 January 2013 - 04:54 PM, said:

Copper's definitely an exception here. Their only high speed quad with "express" in the name is the Timberline Express. The four Poma high speed lifts - American Eagle, American Flyer, Excelerator and Super Bee - don't have the extra word added in. Nor does Union Creek.

Your inclusion of Steamboat in that list? I should point out that Steamboat's got a lot of fixed-grip chairlifts that have daily use, including Preview and Bashor on the lower mountain. On the upper mountain, the chairlifts you have to take to get back from Storm Peak or Sunshine Peak - Burgess Creek and Elkhead - are a triple and a fixed grip quad. Storm Peak has BAR-UE and Four Points for fixed-grip service, while Sunshine Peak has South Peak, and then there's Morningside Park.

So at Steamboat, I think putting the "express" word on the high speed quads and Christie Peak Express is necessary because the number of fixed grip lifts (six triple chairlifts, three double chairlifts) outnumbers high speed lifts (five high speed quads, one high speed six pack).

Vail, I can agree with, considering that the only lift on the main mountain not in a learning area to not be a high speed quad is Sun Up. Arguably, I think some of the high speed quads might be able to do without "Express" in their names, but one that definitely needs it is the Orient Express lift. The Blue Sky Basin high speed quads also need it.

Beaver Creek might be another good case, since the only two long fixed grip lifts are Elkhorn and Drink of Water, both of which aren't used that much anyways. Everything else is HSQ.

Aspen-Snowmass is an interesting case. The high speed quads at Aspen Highlands are just Loge Peak, Cloud Nine and Exhibition. The high speed quads at Snowmass are just called Two Creeks, Elk Camp, Alpine Springs, Big Burn, Sheer Bliss, Coney Glade, Sam's Knob, and Village Express.

Telluride's started using the "express" designation in their high speed quads, but I don't know if Ute Park uses it.

I can agree on Deer Valley's inclusion because fixed grip lifts there are now limited to learning areas and transitioning between pods.

What about Pony Express at Winter Park? Not an express lift - Named years before express lifts were conceived.

In the case of Vail, I don't think any of the lifts had names until around '85 or '86 when the first detaches where installed. You can always tell someone who's skied Vail for a long time compared to someone who hasn't by whether they refer to the lifts by name or number. I don't think I've ever heard a long time local call Chair 4 Mountaintop Express.

Me either. By contrast, we didn't name our lifts until 2000 or so, but almost no-one calls them by the letters anymore, long-timers included.

liftmech, on 31 January 2013 - 04:35 PM, said:

I think the high speed quads were the first to actually receive names, based on historical map analysis.

I also think that at Breckenridge, the Imperial Express SuperChair has a name that is redundant.

Whistler's and Blackcomb's high speed quads are really some impressive names: the Big Red Express, the Solar Coaster Express, Seventh Heaven Express, etc. Jersey Cream also is high on the "cool names" list for me. And on Whistler, with Big Red and Emerald, their terminals are painted to match the name.

In Colorado, I don't know whether Winter Park's high speed six packs have cool names, "Super Gauge" and "Panoramic".

liftmech, on 31 January 2013 - 04:35 PM, said:

Me either. By contrast, we didn't name our lifts until 2000 or so, but almost no-one calls them by the letters anymore, long-timers included.

I left before they 'named' the lifts so all I know is the letters.
I remember when all the trails had numbers...and then names. I was skiing with Trail Crew one day on "E" Lift - now Excelerator- and got a call to meet the rest of the crew on "High Pitch"- Trail 20. After traversing all the way to "I" LIFT (Now Timberline) on "A" Road, I realized I had gone to "High Point"- Trail 37.
As stated, many people forgot the names right away...if you new both names and numbers you were considered 'Bilingual"!!
Dino

Blackcomb was a logging theme, and Whistler was all colors ('cept the Tbars)
http://blog.whistler...-called-hooker/