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Future resort Expansions-Your Ideas


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#161 liftmech

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Posted 12 June 2016 - 07:58 PM

View Postjulestheshiba, on 09 June 2016 - 08:56 AM, said:


I thought you said the interior structure was different on the Flyer compared to something like the old Siberia?

I don't believe I ever said that. Siberia had an Alpha drive terminal while I have a vault; aside from extra sheaves to move the rope through the terminal of Siberia the two are basically the same.
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#162 liftmech

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Posted 12 June 2016 - 08:02 PM

View PostRibStaThiok, on 09 June 2016 - 09:15 PM, said:



Very cool. How do they spread out mechanic responsibility among the other lifts? Also- How many new lifts has Copper had installed in the past 10 years? Anything new or planned for this year or next?

One mechanic per detach and one for every two fixed-grip, and the bosses split Blackjack and Mountain Chief.
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#163 RibStaThiok

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Posted 13 June 2016 - 03:46 PM

View Postliftmech, on 12 June 2016 - 08:02 PM, said:

One mechanic per detach and one for every two fixed-grip, and the bosses split Blackjack and Mountain Chief.


I like a boss who gets out and get their hands dirty.
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#164 ewillso7

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Posted 23 June 2016 - 06:46 AM

I'm interested to see what Steamboat does with this move north into the "golf course". There is talk about a 300'+ bridge over Burgess Creek back to the BC ski way so you could lap the area via Thunderhead + Pony. It's never been anything more than a rumor, but you have to wonder if there will ever be plans to bring Fish Creek Canyon into the boundary. No way you drop a lift back there, but a very low volume, restricted access model, with a bus running back to the ski area from the falls lot, could be interesting.

Also, if Wolf Creek gets serious about building Matchless Pod, that places will go from Flats, Inc. to a pretty top tier destination for expert terrain in the state.

#165 boardski

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Posted 03 September 2016 - 05:45 PM

Just thought of an idea for Steamboat which coincides with their master plan in some ways but with a little digression: How about a new gondola beginning at the bottom of Preview (Preview would be removed and beginner area relocated) with a midpoint at the bottom of Thunderhead, That lift in "Giggle Gulch" would be installed using any usable parts from Christie 3, which would be removed also) and the top station would be next to Storm Peak's top station (opposite side than where Bar UE is). The Sundown 2 lift should be built soon after as well as the second lift in the Pony Express area to provide more options for the additional capacity. Thunderhead would stay "as is" since most would opt to ride the new gondola all the way up and Christie Peak to Thunderhead would still remain an efficient alternative to accessing the hill. This would also reduce lines significantly at the existing gondola. The beginners would down load the new gondola from the mid-point to the bottom when they are finished skiing or ready for lunch.
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#166 Tin Woodsman

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Posted 08 September 2016 - 09:56 AM

View Postboardski, on 03 September 2016 - 05:45 PM, said:

Just thought of an idea for Steamboat which coincides with their master plan in some ways but with a little digression: How about a new gondola beginning at the bottom of Preview (Preview would be removed and beginner area relocated) with a midpoint at the bottom of Thunderhead, That lift in "Giggle Gulch" would be installed using any usable parts from Christie 3, which would be removed also) and the top station would be next to Storm Peak's top station (opposite side than where Bar UE is). The Sundown 2 lift should be built soon after as well as the second lift in the Pony Express area to provide more options for the additional capacity. Thunderhead would stay "as is" since most would opt to ride the new gondola all the way up and Christie Peak to Thunderhead would still remain an efficient alternative to accessing the hill. This would also reduce lines significantly at the existing gondola. The beginners would down load the new gondola from the mid-point to the bottom when they are finished skiing or ready for lunch.


Given the plans already underway with the new gondola taking skiers to Bashor Basin, the associated upgrade of Thunderhead to a 6 Pack, and the increasingly imminent need to replace the Silver Bullet, I'm not sure this idea would be the wisest allocation of scarce capital.

#167 RibStaThiok

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Posted 08 September 2016 - 03:33 PM

What is wrong with Silver Bullet.. aside from it being 30 years old this year.
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#168 Lift Dinosaur

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Posted 08 September 2016 - 03:38 PM

View PostRibStaThiok, on 08 September 2016 - 03:33 PM, said:


What is wrong with Silver Bullet.. aside from it being 30 years old this year.

Running Summer and Winter (including night ops for restaurants); everything having been rebuilt at least twice; frankly put- it's worn out.
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#169 boardski

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Posted 08 September 2016 - 06:19 PM

View PostTin Woodsman, on 08 September 2016 - 09:56 AM, said:


Given the plans already underway with the new gondola taking skiers to Bashor Basin, the associated upgrade of Thunderhead to a 6 Pack, and the increasingly imminent need to replace the Silver Bullet, I'm not sure this idea would be the wisest allocation of scarce capital.

View PostTin Woodsman, on 08 September 2016 - 09:56 AM, said:


Given the plans already underway with the new gondola taking skiers to Bashor Basin, the associated upgrade of Thunderhead to a 6 Pack, and the increasingly imminent need to replace the Silver Bullet, I'm not sure this idea would be the wisest allocation of scarce capital.

This would be the gondola to Bashor Basin, that is where the midpoint would be and then extending to the top of Storm Peak. With the gondola continuing to the top of Storm Peak, upgrading Thunderhead would not be necessary.

This post has been edited by boardski: 08 September 2016 - 06:22 PM

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#170 RibStaThiok

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Posted 09 September 2016 - 02:36 PM

Ahhh 60 years of use then. Yup, time for a replacement! Too bad. First 8 person Gondi in the US.
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#171 DonaldMReif

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Posted 10 September 2016 - 11:06 AM

I'd replace Silver Bullet in its existing alignment, and add a midstation at the top of Christie Peak.
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#172 Tin Woodsman

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Posted 10 September 2016 - 11:58 AM

View Postboardski, on 08 September 2016 - 06:19 PM, said:

This would be the gondola to Bashor Basin, that is where the midpoint would be and then extending to the top of Storm Peak. With the gondola continuing to the top of Storm Peak, upgrading Thunderhead would not be necessary.


Aaaahhh. That wasn't clear to me before. Not sure I'd go there, but I understand the idea.


View PostDonaldMReif, on 10 September 2016 - 11:06 AM, said:

I'd replace Silver Bullet in its existing alignment, and add a midstation at the top of Christie Peak.


Love the idea, though I think that's why they put in the new Christie 6 terminating there. Silver Bullet is really more important to get people up to Thunderhead in order to access the upper mtn. If you add in the mid-station, it enables better access to Christie Peak terrain but ultimately impedes the ability to achieve its core mission - moving people to mid-mountain and beyond.

#173 Sacdelic_Skier

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Posted 31 October 2016 - 12:30 PM

bump
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#174 Smacpats

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Posted 09 November 2016 - 05:51 PM

My ideal stratton front side:
Posted Image
Ideal Stratton backside (White = Trail, Red = Lift, Blue area = tree runs).
http://i.imgur.com/OtFgLd5.png (Won't let me post PNG as image)

This post has been edited by Smacpats: 09 November 2016 - 05:54 PM


#175 Backbowlsbilly

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Posted 18 March 2017 - 06:25 PM

Hiked Independence Bowl at Keystone today and it reinforced my hopes for lift served expansion into the bowls at Keystone in the near future. Keystone is often labeled as too flat, without any real steep expert runs, but the hike to terrain in the bowls is fantastic. Specifically, Erickson and Independence Bowl have some great steep terrain, in addition to the intermediate-advanced terrain in Bergman, North and South Bowls. I have a picture of the proposed improvements from the 2009 master plan, and the improvements I would make (red is planned and blue is mine)

Master Plan
1. The Outback Surface Lift, from near the top of the Outback Express to the top of North and South Bowls. Capacity of 1,200 pph
2. The Windows Triple, from around the summit of Dercum Mountain to the the top of the Windows terrain. Will also be able to access new Bergman Bowl lift. Capacity of 1,800 pph
3. The Bergman Bowl Express, a high speed quad right up the center of Bergman Bowl, 2,400 pph
4. The Independence Lift, a fixed grip triple up the edge of Independence Bow, 1,200 pph
5. Upgrade Wayback to a high speed quad, 2,400 pph

My Improvements.
1. The North Bowl Express, a high speed quad from the bottom of the Badger trail (which would likely need to be widened and possibly groomed) to the top of North and South Bowls. Direct access to North Bowl terrain, but a person would have to lap back down to the Outback Express to ski South Bowl, keeping one bowl less tracked out and busy. 1,800 pph to keep crowds low, possibly full chair parking to prevent rime or ice on storm nights
2. The Bergman Bowl Express, a high speed six pack but with a low capacity of around 2,400 pph. Will keep crowds down with less downtime due to wind, possible option to upgrade to 3,000 pph in the future. New top terminal location on the edge of Bergman Bowl and Erickson Bowl, still serving Bergman Bowl in the same fashion but better serving Erickson Bowl. Erickson, like South Bowl, would not be direct access, keeping it less crowded and appealing to those who don't want lifts in the bowls.
3. The Windows Triple, keep the triple on the same alignment but decrease capacity to 1,200 pph, to keep crowds at a good rate for the Windows terrain.
4. The Independence Triple, slightly different alignment that runs from the base of the bowl to a higher altitude location on the ridge, creating more direct lift access terrain while still allowing the other half of the bowl to be hike to terrain. Keep low capacity of 1,200 pph to keep capacity down in the bowl.
5. The Wayback Express, a high speed six pack with a capacity of 3,000 pph. With all of the new lift development in the bowls, Wayback will likely see heavy crowding as the day closes out and people leave the backside. A six pack will be able to achieve this, possibly with side loading to make the lift maze better aligned.

Also, given its heavy current workload and increased usage in the future from lift expansion, the Outpost Gondola will likely have to be retrofitted at some point with a similar process to what was done at Northstar and Steamboat, but with just new grips and refurbished cabins (it already has tire banks in the terminals). I didn't mind the roughly 4.5 mile hike to the edge of Independence Bowl and back at all, but it did take a pretty good chunk of time that made it impossible to ski several laps in Independence. Expansion into the bowls would, in my opinion, completely change the skiing experience at Keystone. Given that most of Keystone's guests are intermediate skiers, Bergman Bowl would be especially popular and fits in with the recent theme of above treeline intermediate terrain expansion (Breck Peak 6, Pano at Winter Park). The added lift serviced expert terrain puts Keystone on the map for a type of skier that previously would not have thought to visit the resort. I have heard that the KAT skiing and hike to terrain operations would be expanded to new terrain adjacent to Independence Bowl, so the mountain would add new lift served terrain while still catering to those who liked the KAT skiing and hiking (myself included). However the final results turn out, there is no question that the bowls of Keystone will still be enjoyable and fun to ski.

Any thoughts?

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This post has been edited by Backbowlsbilly: 18 March 2017 - 06:31 PM






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