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I have always wondered when they switched to bale carriers only.

The newest lifts I know of that use the center bar chairs are High Alpine at Snowmass, which is no longer and Teocalli at Crested butte which soldiers on. Both installed in 1979. My best guess as far as why they switched to bail style chairs would be to provide more wind resistance due to the extra weight, improved ability to balance the chair and ease of loading. Many Center bar chairs have had chairs replaced with bail style chairs. Many of the Riblet chairs at Breckinridge come to mind.

My memory is a bit hazy but I'm pretty sure Big Powderhorn, MI has all center pole Riblet doubles, the last of which was installed in 93. I suspect they ordered it center pole to match all the other lifts to simplify maintenance. I think they still have 8 center pole Riblets running.

93
Big Powderhorn N/A 2C Riblet 75 2457 331 1000 375

nathanvg, on 10 May 2017 - 09:34 AM, said:

One of my all time favorite areas, All 9 Chairlifts are Riblet Center Pole Doubles still in operation, the lifts are all bottom drive , 3 of the older lifts (3,4,6) have switched from vault to overhead in the late 80s I believe, Chair 8 still remains a vault. But yes Chair 2 was installed in 1993 and Chair 9 in either 1987 or 1988 both those lifts feature a somewhat upgraded center post version with a completely flat backrest unlike the traditional bends in the backrest for each passenger and much higher side handles, I also believe that two of their oldest lifts (4 and 6) are on their second set of center post chairs since the 80s
This post has been edited by Midwestrider: 11 May 2017 - 03:31 PM

You could order bail-style carriers as long ago as 1962. All original Riblets at Crystal (WA) were bail-style; chairs 1 and 2 in 1962, chair 3 in 1963, and chair 4 in 1964.