39 replies to this topic

[lastchair_44]

floridaskier, on Apr 20 2006, 05:39 PM, said:

It seems like a lot of new lifts are being built with 90 degree loading when the layout of the maze doesn't really need it, like resorts just want to prove they can have 90 degree loading. I bet Sterling will have 90 degree loading too.

The only time I've seen 90 degree unloading was on Baldy Express at Snowbird

Actually it's an issue of space...you could see when you were skiing DV that there was no way to load normally (left hand load). At Sultan, there's a big drop off into the canyon, and the shack is right there...at Silver Strike, there's going to be condos. I hate it because of all the stops it causes but it's just the way it is

[floridaskier]

Sultan's better because the people over there are generally better skiers. Still, some little kids go down the green run to the bottom and have trouble loading.
From Silver Strike, you can see right into a lot of people's hot tubs in that development

Back to loading gates though, I think they help on six packs. PCMR has them on all of theirs, and it would be hard to get six people to line up and go at the same time

[vons]

I have a question do ya think the gates suspended from obove like CTEC stealths had work better than regular ground monted gates? My thought is that the suspended gates would have less tangled skiers but I have only seen the suspended gates on Stella there are none in CO only the Poma style Ground gates here.

[Peter]

The Doppelmayr gates are also suspended, and are even better than the CTEC ones. The CTEC ones are so flimsy that they move with a gust of wind. The Doppelmayr ones sound terrible, but seem to work pretty well.

[mikest2]

I've got 4 sets of suspended Doppelmayr quad loading gates. They are bulletproof, if you replace all the bushings regularly and keep them well greased, you can minimize the noise but they still thunk at both ends of their travel. I've got one set of Poma suspended quad gates, each paddle has its own motor/gearbox. They work well but you can't keep paddles on them. Boarders are used to getting a pull to the load line on the Doppelmayr gates and when they try it on the Poma gates they end up with the broken off paddle in their hand and a really embarrassed look on their face.

[vons]

Sounds good from the mantinance end of things, but how are they in terms of gest expereance

[Peter]

The Doppelmayr ones that I have used seem to work really well. People actually know how many people should go and at what time.

[mikest2]

We put the first one in in 1986 and never looked back. The first year the locals talked about us treating them like cattle, but that seemed to wear off pretty quick. We see some misunderstanding with new destination traffic on mondays, but it's gone by tuesday. I'm not sure we could load at full speed without them now. They organize people really well and also give the operator the option of turning off the gates instead of stopping the lift to clean up minor misloads. The only real problem we have is when we are bottom spacing. The location of the launch clutch is such that the corner of the chair(when held) is at the edge of the load gate. When spacing we just leave the gate open, and talk people up to the load line.

[floridaskier]

The CTEC suspended gates are really flimsy. If you lean on them, they'll open. But I think not having anything on the ground is better for not getting skis caught

[skibum33]

Let me add my input on gates, they seem to help the people that are clueless on when and when not to load. I am not a fan or hater of the gates, they just seem to favor people who are stupid and clueless, and Brek is loaded with tourist that fit that category.

[skiersage]

If anyone has skiied at nubs nob, you would know thay have loading gates that are little fiberglass wands. They are good because you can ski right through them and basically they are there for visual reasons only as oppose to ones that are more prohibitive. I have been told that steamboat has similar ones.

[heavenly_romer]

Dipper at heavenly has gates, but I haven't seen them working for 2 years, even on really crowded days. They just have the gates off to the side, and they load the lift like all the other ones.

[liftmech]

mikest2, on Apr 21 2006, 05:14 PM, said:

I've got 4 sets of suspended Doppelmayr quad loading gates. They are bulletproof, if you replace all the bushings regularly and keep them well greased, you can minimize the noise but they still thunk at both ends of their travel. I've got one set of Poma suspended quad gates, each paddle has its own motor/gearbox. They work well but you can't keep paddles on them. Boarders are used to getting a pull to the load line on the Doppelmayr gates and when they try it on the Poma gates they end up with the broken off paddle in their hand and a really embarrassed look on their face.

I'd be willing to deal with the thunk if my gates were suspended rather than buried in the ice. Right now the ground-level version just catches people's skis and trips them up. Years ago at Crystal, we had the Poma suspended gates on Rex. They were the same as you described at your place; we ended up removing the flimsy paddles in favour of fiberglass wands. I didn't really see the need for them on that lift as it is an expert lift, but whatever. Anyone who skis Crystal these days know if those gates are even still there?

[mikest2]

liftmech, on Apr 27 2006, 05:42 AM, said:

I'd be willing to deal with the thunk if my gates were suspended rather than buried in the ice. Right now the ground-level version just catches people's skis and trips them up. Years ago at Crystal, we had the Poma suspended gates on Rex. They were the same as you described at your place; we ended up removing the flimsy paddles in favour of fiberglass wands. I didn't really see the need for them on that lift as it is an expert lift, but whatever. Anyone who skis Crystal these days know if those gates are even still there?

I like the wand idea, I think I'll do that.

[Lavalamp]

They got rid of the gates on Rex a while back, maybe 5 years ago? I can't exactly remember. But its been a while.

This post has been edited by Lavalamp: 27 April 2006 - 01:02 PM

[Alastair]

Over here in France, I don't think I've seen a chairlift without loading gates for a very long time.

With the modern 'double entry' loading systems (two separate groups of 6 gates for a 6 man chair, with chairs alternating between the loading areas) I don't think you would have a chance of making the lift work at all without the gates.

[Lift Kid]

skiersage, on Apr 22 2006, 06:39 PM, said:

If anyone has skiied at nubs nob, you would know thay have loading gates that are little fiberglass wands. They are good because you can ski right through them and basically they are there for visual reasons only as oppose to ones that are more prohibitive. I have been told that steamboat has similar ones.

Breck used fiberglass wands on chair 5 in the summer for some time with the alpine slide so little kids could load better. Then they put in a stop light and removed the wand. However, the wand's base is still there and it still is operationable because it clicks loudly and moves when the stop light changes.

Also, the loading gates at Breck can be annoying. On several lifts like Mercury and Rocky Mountain the maze slopes down toward the gates. I know that if somebody is out of control or it is icy those gates really hurt if you hit them hard enough. They do pop open if you push them forward far enough.

This post has been edited by Lift Kid: 29 April 2006 - 07:41 PM

[palindrome]

Gates probably help out on the 'Super Connect' at Breckenridge - specifically at the mid loading station.

[vons]

So would most agree that over head supported gates are usefull but the post style gates get too many people hung up in them and cause problums?

[DonaldMReif]

Lift Kid, on 29 April 2006 - 07:37 PM, said:

Breck used fiberglass wands on chair 5 in the summer for some time with the alpine slide so little kids could load better. Then they put in a stop light and removed the wand. However, the wand's base is still there and it still is operationable because it clicks loudly and moves when the stop light changes.

Also, the loading gates at Breck can be annoying. On several lifts like Mercury and Rocky Mountain the maze slopes down toward the gates. I know that if somebody is out of control or it is icy those gates really hurt if you hit them hard enough. They do pop open if you push them forward far enough.

They seem to work differently, from what I observe. At the Falcon SuperChair (Peak 10), the gates don't open until about a second after the chair passes them, probably because of the longer space between the gates and the loading line. At the Colorado SuperChair, you have to move through the gates immediately after they open so as not to get stuck. And the way the gates oppen seems to differ: at many lifts, the gates have the two sets opening in opposite directions (one to the inside and one to the outside). The only exceptions to this I can think of are at the Independence SuperChair (where all gates swing towards the outside of the chair), and at the Mercury SuperChair (where the sets all swing towards the inside).