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Modified lifting frames


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#1 DonaldMReif

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Posted 14 March 2014 - 07:57 AM

I've been in Vail the last two days and I had a question about the lifting frames of some towers on the Game Creek Express and the Eagle Bahn Gondola.

Namely, the lifting frame on tower 1 of the Eagle Bahn Gondola looks like a Doppelmayr lifting frame, while the rest of the lifting frames look like unmodified Garaventa CTEC lifting frames.

The lifting frame of tower 1 (on the right) looks like this:

Posted Image
The reason I ask if it was modified by Vail Resorts or Doppelmayr sometime between 2008 and 2011 is because of this photo dated May 2007:
Posted Image

Likewise, with the Game Creek Express, when was the lifting frame on tower 1 replaced? I am sure it was not part of the original construction because the lifting frames on towers 2-15 are identical to the design of the lifting frames on all of the Northwoods Express lift's towers, and the lifting frames of the defunct Vista Bahn Express and Mountaintop Express lifts, while the lifting frame of tower 1 looks like the lifting frames of the Avanti Express lift. However, the tower tube suggests to me that tower 1 of the Game Creek Express used to have a lifting frame like those of the other towers on the lift.

For comparison:

A regular tower:
Posted Image

And tower 1:
Posted Image
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#2 Backbowlsbilly

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Posted 14 March 2014 - 01:39 PM

I noticed the new lifting frame on the Eagle Bahn a couple of weeks ago, it looks like it made the tower a bit taller than it used to be but I'm sure as to why it was done

#3 aug

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Posted 14 March 2014 - 02:31 PM

A guess? European (Wolfurt, Austria) vs. Canadian ( St Jerome, Quebec) manufacturing plant
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#4 vons

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Posted 14 March 2014 - 04:31 PM

The Ctec style hold down assemblies were warn out on the eagle Bahn and in order to get the sheaves into the same location as the original assemblies but using a standard Doppelmayr parts the tower head had to be changed out with what you see, so yes the tower is taller but the sheaves are at the same height as before. I agree with Aug on the others

#5 SkiDaBird

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 03:09 PM

Don't all pre 87 Dopp detachables, or at least the CLD models, have the upper frame shown?

#6 DonaldMReif

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Posted 15 March 2014 - 03:32 PM

View PostSkiDaBird, on 15 March 2014 - 03:09 PM, said:

Don't all pre 87 Dopp detachables, or at least the CLD models, have the upper frame shown?


If this is referring to the lifting frames on the towers, then no. Because while Vail has five Doppelmayr high speed quads with CLD terminals, two of them (the Northwoods Express and Game Creek Express) have the early 1980s lifting frame. The other three (Avanti Express, Born Free Express, and Orient Express) use this lifting frame on all of their towers, which is the standard frame that has appeared on almost all Doppelmayr lifts with the UNI terminals that I can recall (with some exceptions, as the 1980s lifting frame does show up on some UNI lifts, even those with DT-104 grips):

Posted Image
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#7 SkiDaBird

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Posted 17 March 2014 - 09:50 AM

View PostDonaldMReif, on 15 March 2014 - 03:32 PM, said:


If this is referring to the lifting frames on the towers, then no. Because while Vail has five Doppelmayr high speed quads with CLD terminals, two of them (the Northwoods Express and Game Creek Express) have the early 1980s lifting frame. The other three (Avanti Express, Born Free Express, and Orient Express) use this lifting frame on all of their towers, which is the standard frame that has appeared on almost all Doppelmayr lifts with the UNI terminals that I can recall (with some exceptions, as the 1980s lifting frame does show up on some UNI lifts, even those with DT-104 grips):

Posted Image

In 1987 they changed the frame. Orient, Avanti and Born Free are 1988, 1989 and 1988 respectively. I know the old one was used after 1987, such as on the Summit Six at Alpine. My point was that I don't think it was a difference in plant, but obviously I don't know that as I'm not actually involved whatsoever with Vail or Doppelmayr. I simply made an assumption given what information I do have.

#8 Backbowlsbilly

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Posted 12 January 2016 - 08:36 PM

Sorry to bring up an older thread but I noticed what appeared to be new Doppelmayr lifting frames on Elkhorn at Beaver Creek a couple of weeks ago. (By the way the terrain over there is not that great but it is pretty crazy to ski around all of those huge houses) Does anyone know when these were installed?

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#9 DonaldMReif

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Posted 13 January 2016 - 05:57 AM

Those frames have been around for years. Elkhorn, for the record, used to operate on what is now the Strawberry Park Express lift's alignment. I believe Garaventa CTEC added the lifting frames when they relocated the original lift to the current alignment.
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