51 replies to this topic

[NHskier13]

The other quad you may be thinking about on the east cast could either be the old North Peak Express at Ascutney (now the Rocket at Crotched) or the Zephyr at Bretton Woods. I could upload some images, but I'm not on my home computer so I can't right now. However, they might not be, as both were installed in the late '90s.

*EDIT : Nevermind this post ; after doing some research I can conclude that it's not a 1.0 *
Here are a couple of images anyway...
Rocket  SAM_2064.JPG (477.89K)
Number of downloads: 33  SAM_2072.JPG (474.03K)
Number of downloads: 34  Rocket 2013 Terminal Art.png (1.47MB)
Number of downloads: 35

Zephyr  SAM_1611.JPG (1.5MB)
Number of downloads: 41  SAM_1613.JPG (1.5MB)
Number of downloads: 32  Zephyr 2013 Bottom 3.png (1.75MB)
Number of downloads: 19

This post has been edited by NHskier13: 22 December 2015 - 11:56 AM

[Conrad]

Whiffletree is now online: http://www.remontees...rtage-5656.html
English translation: https://translate.go...ext=&authuser=0
Thanks for all of the help!

Next up is King Pine. Any interesting information or facts that might otherwise go unnoticed?

This post has been edited by Conrad: 24 December 2015 - 02:58 PM

[RibStaThiok]

That's a beautiful borvig.

[Sacdelic_Skier]

King Pine has a fancy half tower

[NHskier13]

random question ; is there any particular reason why people queue up and come to the loading area at an angle? You'd know more about that personally than I do

[Conrad]

I don't know "personally," but I assume it is out of convenience, not having to force skiers to go all the way around to the backside of the lift. The lift serves mostly steep terrain so stops are pretty uncommon (as far as I can remember).

[JHappel]

RibStaThiok, on 25 December 2015 - 12:04 AM, said:

That's a beautiful borvig.

Was...

The Borvig drive terminal was replaced this summer with a new Doppelmayr terminal. All the rest (line gear, chairs, and return terminal) are all still Borvig.




link to the full article: http://www.sugarloaf...ing-pine-update

[Sacdelic_Skier]

Its even more beautiful now

[RibStaThiok]

Interesting. What are generally the reasons for replacing a drive terminal only? Not able to find anymore motor compatibility? Bull wheel worn out/non-repairable/replaceable? I kinda like the more "stealthy" look of the Borvig terminal, yet I don't mind the terminals from Poma and Doppie either.

[Conrad]

The reason they're replacing the bottom drive is public relations. They don't have the money to replace the entire lift, but they needed to do something after the rollback happened last March.

[RibStaThiok]

Yup sorry about that, I forgot that this was the one that had the rollback.

[snoloco]

I believe they also needed a new drive to add a load carpet. I was skiing at Mountain Creek once and I was talking to a lift mechanic when I asked about whether it was possible to add a load carpet to one of their fixed grip quads that stopped a lot. It isn't possible without a computer controlled drive system. I guess the carpet speed can't sync up with the lift speed without it. The lift I asked about adding one to was a 1998 Doppelmayr FGQ. Unless they replace the entire drive system, they can't add a load carpet. However, they have a 2012 Partek Double which although it isn't designed for a load carpet at the moment, can have one added without replacing any of the drive system.

One interesting thing I've noticed is that most if not all fixed grip lifts with load carpets are bottom drive. I wonder if that's just a coincidence, or if it is harder to install a carpet on a top drive lift.

[Conrad]

The load carpet for King Pine isn't happening this year, but I'm pretty sure it will happen within the next couple of years. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe I heard that the lift is designed with this in mind.

[Peter]

snoloco, on 27 December 2015 - 07:13 PM, said:

One interesting thing I've noticed is that most if not all fixed grip lifts with load carpets are bottom drive. I wonder if that's just a coincidence, or if it is harder to install a carpet on a top drive lift.

3 Kings at Park City is top drive with a loading carpet. Maybe it's just that the majority of fixed-grip lifts in general are bottom drive.

[NHskier13]

We have a few load-carpet lifts in New England here, all bottom drives (like Skyline) for instance. New England resorts generally have almost all of their lifts bottom drive, since, to my knowledge, though it is more efficient (pulling a rope is better than pushing it) the top drive is more expensive to install, because you need to run power supply all the way up the hill. However, some places I've seen installed a top drive lift near a lodge, where they need to run power up the hill anyway (North Peak / Chondola at Sunday River, White Peaks at Waterville, Gondola / East Basin at Loon)
We don't have any top drives with carpets here, though, since top drives are rare, to sum it up.

[Sacdelic_Skier]

I think carpets are a waste of money. They really dont help much on skyline. I would rather see new heavier chairs and wind fencing on king pine

[snoloco]

In the east, Mount Snow and Mountain Creek seem to have the most top drive lifts. All but one of Mount Snow's lifts are top drive and all of Mountain Creek's 4 Doppelmayr lifts are top drive. Their 3 Borvig/Partek lifts are bottom drive.

In the west, top drive lifts are much more common. I'm skiing Steamboat this week and all but one of their lifts (Bashor Bowl Double) are top drive. The same is true for many other mountains. I don't get why is is, but it is definitely off topic.

[NHskier13]

I think we all are a little, but a top drive lift, though it would cost more to run power up the hill, is more efficient (Top drive lift pulls the rope, which is better than pushing it with a bottom drive) and also usually means that the lift has bottom tensioning, which is also better. The western ski areas, I'm gonna assume, have way better business and get way more customers, so they are more invested as opposed to eastern ski areas, which are smaller and you don't have many people traveling from far away to visit them and such.

[lift_electrical]

Top drive = less HP required, smaller gearbox.

It's my understanding carpet speed is controlled by a bullwheel tach so when the lift slows down, the carpet slows down and vice versa.

Jeff

[backyard lift]

Jeff is right. No problem to retrofit a loading carpet to an existing chair (either fixed or detachable). The control systems are generally self contained and use a local bullwheel tach to measure the rope speed. The challenges with existing lifts are usually existing foundations, buried conduits, etc. that need to be worked around.

Chair 1 at China Peak Ski Area in CA is an example of a top drive/bottom tension lift with a loading conveyor. It was installed in 2006.

This post has been edited by backyard lift: 31 December 2015 - 06:42 PM