35 replies to this topic

[crazyskier91]

They don't run it in high winds do they?

[Kicking Horse]

yes they run it in high winds. i'm pretty sure that they will close if they if it's too windy.

[KZ]

Any lift will close. At boreal they stop the hsq at 50 M/H winds, so the gondola would probably be something like 40 or so since it probably isnt too aerodynamic.

[crazyskier91]

I've ridden the skyeship at Killington on a day with 35 mph crosswinds in the middle of a snowstorm. Freaky.

[liftmech]

Silver Queen has run in winds of up to 50 mph- some of the guys I work with went there a few years ago and were the last cabin loaded during a storm. It took them 40 minutes to get to the top, what with all the stops for side gusts.

[crazyskier91]

That must have been really creepy, I wonder if they ever bumped into a tower, would that be possible?

[KZ]

I doubt it. The rails on the sheave assemblies ( i dont know the proper term) would prevent it from hapening. The hanger arm would hit that first im pretty sure. I know ive talked about the funitel when it closed, a 20 minute ride, and when that closes you really know its bad. We were in one of the last 5 before it closed. That was the scariest ride ever.

[Allan]

KZ's right - the chair guides should stop the carriers from hitting the towers. We had 110kph winds one day this March... we closed :)

[edmontonguy]

Are lifts less likely to close in a headwind?

[CAski]

I think funitels are more likely to close in a headwind.

[liftmech]

Lifts will still close in a headwind. January of '99 during the Banked Slalom we closed all but C-5 because it was the only sheltered lift. If it hadn't been for the race we would have closed that too, simply because you had to walk half a mile to get into the bottom terminal. The headwinds on C-7 were so strong they were keeping people from unloading at the top- skiers/boarders were literally being pushed back into their seats. For those who do't know how Baker is laid out, a headwind on C-7 is a crosswind on most other lifts, so the others were banging off tower guidage.

Someone asked earlier if a chair can hit the tower- in most cases it will hit the guidage first. Look at any older Riblet and you'll see the 'halo' around the top of the tower, below the sheaves- that's chair guidage. Other lifts have not-so-obvious guidage, or none at all. If we got a crosswind strong enough, carriers on the flyer and other Pomas like it could potentially hit the sheaves and derail. They're so heavy, however, that the possibility is very unlikely.

[KZ]

Well those are some rough days. The funitel can run to 75mph crosswinds, but has to close at lower headwinds. When i rode it last april, it was a headwind that forced it to close.

[crazyskier91]

I haven't looked at any of the tower guards or whatever they are called recently but I made a couple of sketchs and still don't understand how effective they would be in high crosswinds. The guards would catch the hanger arm but by the time that happened the angle of the arm and cabin would already be hitting the tower. What am I missing in my thoughts?

[Allan]

YAN guides are on the sheave assemblies, they are the bars that run the whole length, and are bent around the end of the assembly in the D shape. They should catch the carrier before the tower does. I'm not sure how well they work though... if the wind is blowing that hard - it's usually VERY foggy too.

Attached File(s)

•  MotherLode___Support_Sheave_Assembly_Bottom_View.JPG (88.03K)
  Number of downloads: 43

[Allan]

Thiokol tower guide - the bar around the tower... if a chair hits a tower here, it must have been because this thing fell off! :)

Attached File(s)

•  Paradise___Support_Tower.JPG (105.77K)
  Number of downloads: 58

[floridaskier]

Those Thiokol ones look to be pretty useless. Wouldn't the chair hit the tower before it would hit the chair guide?

[crazyskier91]

I don't think so, they look like smaller versions of the riblet Halo. Still I would think that if you actually hit that thing it would be a bit of an impact.

[Allan]

floridaskier, on May 27 2004, 10:13 AM, said:

Those Thiokol ones look to be pretty useless. Wouldn't the chair hit the tower before it would hit the chair guide?

The chairs most definitely hit the guides, I've seen it happen with my own eyes :) I've never seen a chair hit the guide with people on it, well except the bottom tower. The chairs violently impact the one at the top terminal on the downhill side on windy days.

[iceberg210]

On a really windy day at solitude you see chairs hit the guide on Powderhorn (Thiokal Double) however it is almost always on the down hill side of the lift and I have never hit a guide in my life. At Brighton though on the old Riblets there are kids who try to get the chair to hit the halos. These kids are also not ussually welcome to come back to Brighton if caught.

[Allan]

It would have to be pretty windy to blow a chair loaded with people into a guide. Kids tend to hang on to our guides.