113 replies to this topic

[DonaldMReif]

2milehi, on 05 September 2012 - 05:07 AM, said:

Took a couple of months but we did something about those gates.

You did that at the Colorado SuperChair and Rocky Mountain SuperChair, too: take the gates off. The Colorado SuperChair's gates were very clumsy since they closed a lot quicker than at other lifts.

I assume that the gates are necessary at three lifts only: both six packs, and the Peak 8 SuperConnect (the SuperConnect has a midway load and the gates make it easier to adjust the frequency of chairs to be sent up from the bottom empty; Quicksilver because it has a double load system, making them necessary at least at the uphill loading spot so that people won't be t-boned by a chair for the second station).

What about the other quads? I'm content whether or not they'll keep their gates. I assume it's a matter of how much trouble they cause.

[DonaldMReif]

Kicking Horse, on 06 March 2012 - 01:02 AM, said:

I know of one 6 pack that had fewer stops when the gates were removed... So not all 6 packs need the gates!!! It depends on the clientele and how well the load ops are working as a team!

Let me guess: Village Express at Snowmass?

[2milehi]

DonaldMReif - The only loading gates left at Breck are on 7-Chair (Rip's Ride), Independence, Quicksilver, and SuperConnect.

[DonaldMReif]

2milehi, on 09 September 2012 - 08:46 PM, said:

DonaldMReif - The only loading gates left at Breck are on 7-Chair (Rip's Ride), Independence, Quicksilver, and SuperConnect.

I guess I'm close. I can see that the six packs need gates as it seems they have more misloads than quads. Lift 7 needs them because it's a learning lift. Quicksilver both for misload reasons and because it's a double loader. And the SuperConnect needs them because it has a midway load station that needs to have people at it. I guess Imperial doesn't need them even though it is a 90 degree loader because the chairs are spaced farther.

I do think that there are a few things I think Breckenridge could do to make the lifts work better and reduce misloads.

1. Consider puting loading carpets on the learning lifts (Quicksilver could use one on the first loading station, as could Lift A).

2. Possibly reconfigure the lines for the Colorado and Rocky Mountain SuperChairs so that they don't start next to each other (as this can lead to some confusion, since on weekends, the Colorado SuperChair line is configured to be entered from uphill to accomodate more people). Preferably, I'd say the Rocky Mountain SuperChair line should start away from the Colorado SuperChair queue.

3. Reconfigure the lift queue procedures at the six packs so that after the employees group up skiers and riders into sixes, there are still four chairs left to get everyone sorted. Possibly the same at the bottom terminal for the SuperConnect. (This is best prevented at the Mercury SuperChair and the Falcon SuperChair).

Just a few nitpicky details that might be worth analyzing.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 10 September 2012 - 05:13 PM

[2milehi]

A load carpet was done on Beaver Run years ago and it was a disaster. Americans are not familiar with load carpets and as soon as they stand on one their first reaction is to back up and proceed to fall down.

[vons]

I remember the Quicksilver load carpet seemed like all it did was de-tune skis and panic beginner skiers.

[2milehi]

Was that old Quicksilver or the new one?

[vons]

I meant Beaver Run. I am just having issues keeping my thoughts strait today.

[DonaldMReif]

2milehi, on 10 September 2012 - 06:26 PM, said:

A load carpet was done on Beaver Run years ago and it was a disaster. Americans are not familiar with load carpets and as soon as they stand on one their first reaction is to back up and proceed to fall down.

Okay, I guess those are best staying on Lift 7. I know Lift 5 also services beginner terrain, but it would be impractical to put a carpet there because it's one of those Riblets with the little turn into the loading zone. I do wonder if Lift A would be practical for a loading carpet, since from what I see it exclusively services beginner terrain, just like Lift 7 (I dislike the new name Rip's Ride and refer to that lift by the original name).

Besides, I figure that removing the gates at the faster lifts was more practical than repairing them. They did look like they were wearing out after many years of use, especially at the Colorado SuperChair. Snowboarders might suffer since they could use the gate posts as a booster to get into the loading area.

I don't know if it would be practical to reconfigure the SuperConnect to have a regular straight-on-load instead of a 90 degree load. I'm sure that if it were done, it would reduce stops and slows due to misloads in the bottom terminal, and it would allow the line to be reconfigured so that people could still enter the lift from Sundown, but also ski right into the lift line from the hill leading down from Grand Timber Rock without having to then go around the lift and go uphill to enter the line. (This was the situation at Vail when the Sourdough Express lift was built - they configured the lift with 90 degree loading so that you entered the maze from the east side. For people coming off the Timberline Catwalk from Patrol Headquarters to the west, this meant having to ski past the lift then make a 180 degree uphill turn to enter the queue. They reconfigured the lift to regular straight-on-loading in 2010 to allow for PHQ-coming skiers to directly enter the line.)

The benefits I see to such a change if it were implemented are that it would make accessing the SuperConnect somewhat easier for someone who was intending on going to the midway station from Gold King or Volunteer but missed their turnoff and ends up going down to Sawmill by mistake, so that they don't need to cut across on Lower American and ride the Mercury SuperChair again.

Just an idea that popped into my head. I'm sure the "cut down on misloads" part might be the key phrase, although I do like 90 degree loading lifts as they are a rare thing to find. I think Imperial would be better with an in-line loading because it would make it possible to offload Lift 6 and not need to cross under the lift and swing back around to the queue maze. The 90 degree unloading, however, cannot be changed simply because of location.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 30 December 2012 - 03:13 PM

[DonaldMReif]

I was at Breckenridge last week. I have to say that taking off the gates had its pluses and minuses:

Pluses:
1. It made loading much easier at the Mercury SuperChair, since the ramp there is rather flat and you have to scoot very quickly because I think that lift runs at 1,100 fpm.

2. At the Colorado SuperChair, also easier loading.

3. Haven't been on the Falcon SuperChair yet, but I think the scoot forward to the loading area will be a lot easier and you won't be hustling to get ahead of the chair before it completes the turnaround.

4. I think misloads due to gate troubles have been reduced at those lifts. I did see a particularly nasty misload that happened right in front of me at the Independence SuperChair, by a kid who wasn't able to move fast enough and might have gotten caught on the gate, then moved forward and was pwned from the side by the chair (no pun intended).

Minuses:

1. At a few of the lifts, like the Beaver Run SuperChair and the Rocky Mountain SuperChair, the slopes into the loading areas are such that you can sort of let gravity pull you up to the yellow line. With the gates, it was possible to let them stop you, rather than make a wedge with your skis, which you have to do to stop at the load line.

[DonaldMReif]

Interestingly, while Breckenridge didn't install gates on the Kensho SuperChair, they may have put gates on the new Colorado SuperChair this year.

[liftmech]

You mentioned they are building a loading carpet, which as far as I can tell requires a set of gates.

[DonaldMReif]

liftmech, on 18 September 2014 - 04:09 AM, said:

You mentioned they are building a loading carpet, which as far as I can tell requires a set of gates.

At the time of writing, I hadn't yet known that that was in fact a loading carpet.

[snoloco]

Mountain Creek's two high speed quads could benefit from loading gates. They both have a sloped ramp into the loading area. Also, they have installed lanes to keep people in groups of 4. In this case I think that they would reduce misloads because if you go through the gates, it is a point of no return, you must continue to load. No one could bail out and not load which causes many issues. It also cuts off when people can load so less people will get hit by the chair in the turnaround. The Granite Peak Quad, also at Mountain Creek could benefit from a loading carpet and gates. It is long enough that it would be good to run it faster. Also, it stops a lot because the chairs have no padding at all and are hard for the lifties to properly bump which results in a lot of hard loads, some of which knock people over. That lift would do better though if it were just upgraded to a high speed quad. The Sojourn Double could also benefit from a loading carpet as it gets little traffic, so upgrading to a high speed lift there makes no sense, but the lift could benefit from increased speed. It is usually run at 450 fpm which means that it takes 12 minutes to ride. With a carpet, it could probably run 550 fpm which would shorten the ride to just under 9 minutes.

On the other hand, I think that if Hunter Mountain removed the gates from the Kaatskill Flyer, it would reduce misloads. It has a 90 degree load and you have to move the second the gate opens in order to safely load. The gates add more trouble to the loading and I think that it would probably work much better without gates, not to mention the fact that they break sometimes and cause even more misloads when one gets stuck open.