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Best and worst configured chairlift queues


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#1 DonaldMReif

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Posted 06 January 2014 - 06:59 AM

There are some lifts out there where the resort gets the queue line configuration perfectly and other cases where it's so-so, or outright bad.

Some examples of well-configured queues in my opinion:

Any queue where you can only enter from one side of the lift tends to work a bit more efficiently than anything else, most of the time. In this case, the Falcon SuperChair, Mercury SuperChair, and Rocky Mountain SuperChair. Honestly, I think the Rocky Mountain SuperChair's queue is a bit nicer at efficient loading compared to the current Colorado SuperChair's queue configuration. Since we don't know yet if the replacement six pack will be clockwise or anticlockwise (I would like to go for the latter because Breckenridge could go for a 90 degree load and be able to preserve the current lift shack shared between the two superchairs), whether the queue configuration for the Colorado SuperChair will have a new configuration is in the air.

Some queues that are so-so:

The Mountaintop Express lift's queue line. Both queues wrap around the Wildwood Express lift's queues and merge together around the point where the original quad's bottom terminal was located. There they have a station where an attendant is located to combine groups of six, which are then sent on towards the gates and the loading carpet. However, when I was in Vail on Thanksgiving, the issue I noted was that the singles lines from each side merge with the regular line after the grouping station, leading to some confusion. Then again, that was in the lift's second day of regular operation. Fortunately, since the merge point is about six or so groups before the gates, Vail says it is supposed to make loading more efficient than other six packs.

The Skyline Express queue is okay when lines are short. It just suffers from the bottom terminal being located on the side of a creek and the queue subsequently sloping downhill.


At Peak 6, I believe Breckenridge could do a bit more towards making the queues for both lifts a bit more logical. On Zendo, it would make more sense if both queues were curved so that you can ski directly into the south queue from the Peak 6 Parkway rather than make a turn to merge with the line, and so you can do the same when coming from Monte Cristo, Angel's Rest or Lost Horizon to the north, given the flatness of the area for Zendo's queue. Likewise, the Kensho SuperChair's queue is okay for its location, but it would make more sense if they moved the singles line across so that it is on the very inside of the chair. In the current configuration, if the singles lines breaks out of the ropes, you have an obstacle you have to cross through to get to the group lines.

Some queues where the configuration makes no sense:

Based on the last time I went to Steamboat, the Storm Peak Express, Pony Express and Sunshine Express lifts: With the Storm Peak Express, there is a queue on each side of the terminal - one for those coming from Tornado Lane or trails south of the lift, and one for those coming off Drop Out. The problem is that the two lines merge right at the "WAIT HERE" line, and the way they are configured means groups of four must make a very tight 90 degree turn from either side to line up with the line, before scooting forward to the loading line. There's a similar issue with the Pony Express lift, even though there isn't a second queue from the other side. However, as the Pony Express lift's chairs are farther spaced apart, there's more time to get ready to move forward.

The Sunshine Express lift suffers from the fact that Steamboat decided to give it a 90 degree loading. Except the lift runs anticlockwise, meaning that when you come off Lift Line, Flintlock, Quickdraw, Tomahawk or anything east of the lift, getting in line entails skiing past the lift and making a tight gooseneck turn. A similar issue existed at Vail with the Sourdough Express lift until 2010 when they reconfigured the bottom terminal to an in-line loading layout.
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#2 snoloco

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Posted 06 January 2014 - 01:09 PM

Worst? The midweek configuration of the South and Bear Peak Express at Mountain Creek. Both lifts start right next to each other and there is queue space between the bottom terminals. The midweek queue has one entrance between the lifts. Bear Peak is usually ski on, but with this configuration you need to ski around the bottom terminal, make a sharp gooseneck turn, and skate around the barriers to access the lift. This gets annoying and makes it hard to lap Bear Peak. On weekends, the Bear Peak queue is on looker's right of the bottom terminal and you can ski right into it from a Bear Peak trail. The South Peak Express needs the entire queue space between the terminals on weekends. Why can't they always use the weekend configuration? On weekends for the South Peak Express, they used to have one entrance for both groups and singles. Everyone waited in the same line until they split. There were no barriers here and it was absolute chaos. Also, no one directed the line and many quad chairs went up with 2 or 3 riders on them which frustrates me when there is a line to put it mildly.

So So? This season, they separates the single's line from the regular line and they do not merge until the loading ramp. The group from the regular line gets set up to load and a liftie calls singles to fill up the chair. This makes it easier to load 4 on a chair, but only if there is a liftie yelling at the singles to go at the last second to fill up the chairs. This is a very unusual setup and it causes lots of misloads. Also, this past Saturday, the line was so long that it stretched across the entrance to the regular line, but ski patrol looped it the other way and that solved the problem. The best thing to do would be to go back to the old configuration, but have many more barriers and more lifties directing the line.

#3 DonaldMReif

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Posted 06 January 2014 - 02:01 PM

While the Montezuma Express lift's queue is good on an average day, based on my experience last Monday, it would be more efficient if they had a few more blue jacketed people directing the line and making sure that when singles get in line, they can get a chair if they end up being hung out to dry because of confusion. Also, I'd like it if ski school groups of three would be willing to take singles with them so that when the attendant is stopping the regular lines to let ski school groups get on, singles that got shuffled out of regular groups due to confusion can be able to get a chair and get everything back on track.
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#4 boardski

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Posted 06 January 2014 - 07:34 PM

My vote for the best... Super Bee at Copper and Black Mountain Express at A-Basin. These lines give plenty of time to load every chair to capacity at times when the lifts are busy and have minimal situations where people need to "alternate" since some do not do this correctly and get angry when others "push the issue" and take their turn like they are supposed to.

Worst... Super Gauge at MJ (Hard to tell who is riding with who and many chairs go up with less than 6 people). Sunnyside also has a place where there is a 3-way alternation. I noticed Outback Express at Keystone has a 3-way alternation also. The tourists get confused and just stand there and let 10 people pass in front of them. I think the main issue is space and configuration of the loading station. Sometimes they don't have much choice.

This post has been edited by boardski: 06 January 2014 - 07:34 PM

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#5 skierdude9450

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Posted 07 January 2014 - 01:38 AM

I would say Skyline at Vail is one of the worst. The downhill grade is horrible when standing in line. If your skis are straight, you'll run into the person in front of you.

I'm a big fan of "front row" line-ups such as American Flyer at Copper with parallel lines that don't merge. It's a simple configuration, and even a cow could figure out when to go.
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#6 DonaldMReif

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Posted 07 January 2014 - 07:16 AM

View Postskierdude9450, on 07 January 2014 - 01:38 AM, said:

I would say Skyline at Vail is one of the worst. The downhill grade is horrible when standing in line. If your skis are straight, you'll run into the person in front of you.

I'm a big fan of "front row" line-ups such as American Flyer at Copper with parallel lines that don't merge. It's a simple configuration, and even a cow could figure out when to go.

View Postboardski, on 06 January 2014 - 07:34 PM, said:

My vote for the best... Super Bee at Copper and Black Mountain Express at A-Basin. These lines give plenty of time to load every chair to capacity at times when the lifts are busy and have minimal situations where people need to "alternate" since some do not do this correctly and get angry when others "push the issue" and take their turn like they are supposed to.

Worst... Super Gauge at MJ (Hard to tell who is riding with who and many chairs go up with less than 6 people). Sunnyside also has a place where there is a 3-way alternation. I noticed Outback Express at Keystone has a 3-way alternation also. The tourists get confused and just stand there and let 10 people pass in front of them. I think the main issue is space and configuration of the loading station. Sometimes they don't have much choice.


1. The Skyline Express is not alone. The Teacup Express lift requires you to do a gooseneck turn to get into the line if you're coming off the bridge. Basically, it results in an S-turn layout.

2. The Outback Express lift is not alone with three-way alternation. The Montezuma Express lift has a similar issue. Less so with the Peru Express lift.

3. Adding to "best" lines would be the Summit Express and the Mountaintop Express. Both are like Super Bee and the Black Mountain Express in that there is plenty of time for groups to form appropriately after the merge point for the extra queues but before the waiting line. The Summit Express has the benefit of the fact that the line is still shaped as if the old River Run Gondola terminal building is still right next to the lift. Likewise, with the Mountaintop Express, the reason the bottom terminal was moved 90 feet eastward when the lift became a high speed six pack was so that the lines could be reconfigured to reduce cross traffic (though still being influenced by the fact that they have to wrap around the Wildwood Express lift and its queues). The result is that there is the equivalent of space for eight or nine groups of six between the point where the lines merge and the gates where you wait for the loading carpet.

4. Breckenridge is a fan of the "front row" type lines: the Beaver Run SuperChair, the current quad Colorado SuperChair, and in a way, the Mercury SuperChair. Since it's not clear if the Colorado SuperChair will have in-line or 90 degree loading next year (and in-line would be preferable given the location), whether the front-row layout will stay is in the air.

5. Crested Butte also likes "front row" lines: they're used on the Paradise Express lift, the Red Lady Express lift, and the Silver Queen Express lift. The Red Lady Express lift's, however, is the worst, as it requires you to do a gooseneck turn coming into the base, and then you basically go through two switchbacks to get to the loading line.
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#7 vons

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Posted 07 January 2014 - 04:59 PM

View Postboardski, on 06 January 2014 - 07:34 PM, said:

My vote for the best... Super Bee at Copper and Black Mountain Express at A-Basin. These lines give plenty of time to load every chair to capacity at times when the lifts are busy and have minimal situations where people need to "alternate" since some do not do this correctly and get angry when others "push the issue" and take their turn like they are supposed to.

Worst... Super Gauge at MJ (Hard to tell who is riding with who and many chairs go up with less than 6 people). Sunnyside also has a place where there is a 3-way alternation. I noticed Outback Express at Keystone has a 3-way alternation also. The tourists get confused and just stand there and let 10 people pass in front of them. I think the main issue is space and configuration of the loading station. Sometimes they don't have much choice.

Erica Spas and I tried a few different mazes before getting Super bee to work right, so thanks for the recognition :thumbsup:.

This post has been edited by vons: 07 January 2014 - 05:00 PM


#8 floridaskier

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Posted 07 January 2014 - 06:56 PM

Silverlode at PCMR is a mess, mostly because of the enormous crowds that are there all day. Coming down from King Con run requires you to maintain speed and go down a gully and back up the other side to reach the line, but they have slow signs at the bottom so you don't plow into the queue. The singles line usually stretches all the way back to the ski racks at the Snow Hut lodge, blocking access from King Con and Claimjumper (2/3 of people coming to the lift). I don't know if there are any other good ways to do it there, besides building another lift to handle some of the crowds there (I propose a triple chair to the left up Claimjumper to the top of Crescent)
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#9 SkiDaBird

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Posted 20 January 2014 - 12:52 PM

Collins at Alta uses a front row method and it works beautifully. They have a massive area for about 5 lines to all just turn 90 degrees to the right and it's simply straight onto the lift from there.

#10 Backbowlsbilly

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Posted 27 January 2014 - 04:24 PM

A couple of examples of two chairlifts ques that tend to work pretty well; Thunderbowl and Exhibition at Aspen Highlands, Sky Cab and Village Express at Snowmass, and the Eagle Bahn Gondola and Born Free Express in Vail. All lifts that have bottom terminals fairly close to each other but seldom have issues with line configurations.

#11 SkiDaBird

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Posted 27 January 2014 - 08:54 PM

The queue for MBX is currently downhill into a 90 degree turn with little space...

#12 floridaskier

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Posted 28 January 2014 - 06:02 AM

Is there anything special that needs to be done (i.e. reinforcing the chair rails inside the turnaround) to set up 90 degree loading? Mineral Basin was built just before anyone thought of 90 degree loading, and while it rotates the wrong direction to set it up there, other lifts built around the same time would probably be well served by 90 degree loading.

Are there any CTEC Stealth 2s with 90 degree loading out there?
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#13 SkiDaBird

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 10:29 PM

They really need to go back to what they had 4-5 years ago at MBX. It worked fine. It's such a mess right now that with the downhill and how tight the queue is my big 189s don't fit through without serious effort. Also, the fact that they are now scanning at MBX occasionally doesn't help either.

#14 liftmech

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Posted 07 February 2014 - 05:48 AM

View Postfloridaskier, on 28 January 2014 - 06:02 AM, said:

Is there anything special that needs to be done (i.e. reinforcing the chair rails inside the turnaround) to set up 90 degree loading? Mineral Basin was built just before anyone thought of 90 degree loading, and while it rotates the wrong direction to set it up there, other lifts built around the same time would probably be well served by 90 degree loading.

Are there any CTEC Stealth 2s with 90 degree loading out there?

I've never worked on a CTEC detach, but I would guess that as long as it doesn't have a cadence chain (do they?) you could set one up for contour loading. There are only a few considerations, most of them operational like keeping a closer eye on the tires in that section.
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#15 DonaldMReif

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 06:46 PM

I was at Vail yesterday and today. They appear to have fixed the Mountaintop Express lift's singles lines so that they merge with the regular line before the "Carpet Ahead - Please Form Groups of Six" station.
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#16 snoloco

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Posted 19 February 2014 - 06:22 PM

I think that Killington does a pretty good job with its lift queues. They use the front row setup on Ramshead and Snowshed with one scanner, and two people to direct the line. On Superstar, Skye Peak, and Needle's Eye, they have a 4 row line. Each pair of rows merges with each other and then the two rows merge with each other and they have a lifty directing the singles line to fill in the chairs. All of the chairs on these lifts go up full unless there is a misload. The gondolas have one singles queue and one group queue. They use the group queue until numbers don't add up, then they fill in the remaining seats with the singles queue. I think it works great on all their lifts.

#17 DonaldMReif

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Posted 28 June 2015 - 09:11 AM

The Colorado SuperChair six pack does have inline loading and a line configuration identical to its predecessor. Except I think the merge point is a little too close to the gates for the loading carpet.
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#18 ceo

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Posted 10 July 2015 - 09:25 AM

Whiffletree Superquad at Sugarloaf and Cannonball Express (which is a fixie) at Cannon both have a front-row setup where the queues come from both sides (both bases are in kind of space constrained locations). Which works OK when there's someone there to manage it and a giant horrible mess when there isn't.

#19 NHskier13

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Posted 10 July 2015 - 09:52 AM

I can definitely second that. I usually just take the Tram and walk the rest of the way up when there is a big line.

#20 vtbubble

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Posted 03 September 2015 - 01:49 PM

worst queue ever is probably the sunburst six at okemo. the lift queue is configured the same way as the prior northstar quad however it has contour loading unlike the prior lift resulting in the queue to make 1 90 degree turnand then a180 degree turn with sungles joining the groups just before the turn. the queue would not have any problwms had in line loading been used. thankfully to mach the bad queue the queue is sufficently overstaffed





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