66 replies to this topic

[Emax]

What (new) features of a control station would make the job more interesting?

[rbox]

Cool. Thanks for the nice posts. i guess if you just sit there and stare blankly at the lift all day without bothering to interact with anyone its partly your own fault if you get bored. Another thing, i'm guessing there are lift mechanic people that actually start the lifts each day and then lifties just turn up and load people on? sorry for the stupid questions. would be kind of cool to see how the lifts actually work engine-wise as well though i think. have often wondered if there's much involved in starting them or whether you just turn up and press a button or 2. Also, while i'm on a rant, are their diesel and electric powered lifts or is it just all electric or what? just asking as the Poma lifts i've seen sound quite different to the old doppelmayr ones at the resort i go to, though there's a newer doppelmayr from about 2002 that sounds more like the Poma ones so i guess it's just technology chagning..
sorry for going off topic, and again for all the stupid questions. you lot must all think i'm a complete dumbass...! have to learn things somehow!!

[Peter]

Most lifts are electric, but some have diesel drives if they are in remote locations.

[dh_lift_op]

All but 3 chairlifts at Devil's Head are diesel but in this area its the only place I know with them so I'm assuming they starting slowly getting rid of diesels.

[Allan]

rbox, on Apr 13 2007, 06:48 PM, said:

Cool. Thanks for the nice posts. i guess if you just sit there and stare blankly at the lift all day without bothering to interact with anyone its partly your own fault if you get bored. Another thing, i'm guessing there are lift mechanic people that actually start the lifts each day and then lifties just turn up and load people on? sorry for the stupid questions. would be kind of cool to see how the lifts actually work engine-wise as well though i think. have often wondered if there's much involved in starting them or whether you just turn up and press a button or 2. Also, while i'm on a rant, are their diesel and electric powered lifts or is it just all electric or what? just asking as the Poma lifts i've seen sound quite different to the old doppelmayr ones at the resort i go to, though there's a newer doppelmayr from about 2002 that sounds more like the Poma ones so i guess it's just technology chagning..
sorry for going off topic, and again for all the stupid questions. you lot must all think i'm a complete dumbass...! have to learn things somehow!!

We startup the lifts for the operations staff - so yes basically they just show up and ask for clearances then send staff and eventually public up. We have a whole sheet of lift checks to complete before turning the lift over to operations. There's a topic somwhere called starting up a lift or something similar in the technical section you can look at also. I'm sure a mechanic where you end up working would be happy to explain how things work for you - or continue to visit the site!
And remember, there are no stupid questions!!

[Lift Kid]

rbox, on Apr 13 2007, 08:48 PM, said:

Cool. Thanks for the nice posts. i guess if you just sit there and stare blankly at the lift all day without bothering to interact with anyone its partly your own fault if you get bored. Another thing, i'm guessing there are lift mechanic people that actually start the lifts each day and then lifties just turn up and load people on? sorry for the stupid questions. would be kind of cool to see how the lifts actually work engine-wise as well though i think. have often wondered if there's much involved in starting them or whether you just turn up and press a button or 2. Also, while i'm on a rant, are their diesel and electric powered lifts or is it just all electric or what? just asking as the Poma lifts i've seen sound quite different to the old doppelmayr ones at the resort i go to, though there's a newer doppelmayr from about 2002 that sounds more like the Poma ones so i guess it's just technology chagning..
sorry for going off topic, and again for all the stupid questions. you lot must all think i'm a complete dumbass...! have to learn things somehow!!

Most lifts actually have both electric and diesel motors/engines. Aerial lifts always have an aux. diesel engine to run the lift if the electric motor or drive breaks, or the power goes out. The electric motor is the main motor to run the lift during normal operations.

Turning a lift on is actually not that hard. You turn on the drive switches, check to make sure all of the drive components are set properly, press the main drive Reset button, finally, you press the Start button. However, all of the tests and check-ups need to be preformed by the mechanic or lift supervisor, such as brake tests and control tests.

As for the sound differences, every lift sounds a little bit different because, although they may look the same, lifts are All different somehow. If you're talking about detachable lifts, POMA's grip is a lot different that Doppelmayr's. The Doppelmayr grip comes into the terminal and detaches. The Doppelmayr grip remains open while it is in the terminal and is reattached to the cable. The POMA grip comes into the terminal and detaches. Then the grip closes while it is in the terminal, then is reopened and reattached. The newer Doppelmayr grip acts just like the POMA grip so they have a similar sound. The major grip differences, or similarities, make the chairlifts sound differently.

[liftmech]

Lift Kid, on Apr 14 2007, 06:53 AM, said:

Turning a lift on is actually not that hard. You turn on the drive switches, check to make sure all of the drive components are set properly, press the main drive Reset button, finally, you press the Start button. However, all of the tests and check-ups need to be preformed by the mechanic or lift supervisor, such as brake tests and control tests.

You sound like you've done this before. There's a lot more to it than you think, though.

Mt Baker is another area with primary diesel power. All their lifts save chairs 1 and 2 have dual diesel drives, while those have gasoline engines. Chair 1's is a classic Chevy flathead V-8 :)

I believe Ski Bluewood is also diesel powered, except they have a large generator in the base area and that runs elecric main drives.

[Peter]

The guys at Alpental were having fun today, the lift operators were grilling hot dogs next to the lift shack for $2. A bargain compared to $8 in the lodge. They were sold out by noon.

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[Snoqualmie guy]

I don't like the lifties at Crystal. The most I ever got from them was a nod. Also for the last run I was the last chair, all the lift guys were smoking and didn't even say bye or thanks for coming. At Snoqualmie they are freindly for the most part.

[Kicking Horse]

Lift Kid, on Apr 14 2007, 06:53 AM, said:

However, all of the tests and check-ups need to be preformed by the mechanic or lift supervisor, such as brake tests and control tests.

Funny Dude, Becasue I did this every morning that I was top drive operator. We did the Brake tests and control checks.

Why dont you be a lifty for real someday and see how it really is.

Yes the techies do more tests then we do but brakes and controls are tested before loading the lift for employees / public operations.

[Lift Kid]

liftmech, on Apr 19 2007, 09:37 PM, said:

You sound like you've done this before. There's a lot more to it than you think, though.

I was trying my very best to sum it up quickly. I know that there is a lot to do. If you are curious about the control functions, Click Here. For information about lift start-ups, Click Here.

[Skiing#1]

Snoqualmie guy, on Apr 27 2007, 06:27 PM, said:

I don't like the lifties at Crystal. The most I ever got from them was a nod. Also for the last run I was the last chair, all the lift guys were smoking and didn't even say bye or thanks for coming. At Snoqualmie they are freindly for the most part.

I laughed. The Snake Creek Express at Brighton, I was behind, the lift operator put a sign "Closed", he didn't say anything. On the last chair, I was with the ski patrol man and I asked him that why he held something looked like a sleeping bag. He answered that it showed the lift operator and the ski patrols at the top that we were the last chair. Once we got off, and they shut the lift down.

I skiied ALONE, no one was around, I felt like "private and the mountain is MINE" LOL. It was fun.

This post has been edited by Skiing#1: 27 April 2007 - 06:14 PM

[liftmech]

Kicking Horse, on Apr 27 2007, 06:37 PM, said:

Funny Dude, Becasue I did this every morning that I was top drive operator. We did the Brake tests and control checks.

Why dont you be a lifty for real someday and see how it really is.

Yes the techies do more tests then we do but brakes and controls are tested before loading the lift for employees / public operations.

I think you mean stop tests. Brake tests are not performed by lift operators; they are static pull tests of the actual braking system and done by the mechanic on that lift. Brakes must be set up to certain specifications and tested once a month unless adjustments need to be made.

I've heard from many people that Crystal's ops were less than stellar this past season. I recall training up there with Jace mentioning the 'fake smile' once a week at least. We were always being told to at least act happy and talk to people, even if we didn't really feel like it. It's part of the job.

[Lift Kid]

Kicking Horse, on Apr 27 2007, 07:37 PM, said:

Funny Dude, Becasue I did this every morning that I was top drive operator. We did the Brake tests and control checks.

Why dont you be a lifty for real someday and see how it really is.

Yes the techies do more tests then we do but brakes and controls are tested before loading the lift for employees / public operations.

Okay. Every area is different.

Just so you know, I hope to have a job as a lifty at our local hill in less than 2 years.

[boardski]

Snoqualmie guy, on Apr 27 2007, 06:27 PM, said:

I don't like the lifties at Crystal. The most I ever got from them was a nod. Also for the last run I was the last chair, all the lift guys were smoking and didn't even say bye or thanks for coming. At Snoqualmie they are freindly for the most part.

Loveland's lift ops are usually not overly friendly but still seem consciencious. I came accross a lift op (actually a ticket checker) at A-Basin the other day at Pallivicini lift who actually swore at two of the customers for not waiting at the end of the lift maze lane while he closed two lanes and opened two others. He said "Hey wait, what the F*** is your problem?, did you not hear me?!" I actually don't think the skiers did hear him and he was definately in no hurry to accomplish the task he was doing. I thought about reporting him but the incident did not involve me so I figured I would let the two guests who were yelled at handle the situation by doing what they thought was appropriate. I was just quite surprised. The other lift ops resembled Loveland's (not overly friendly but at least do their jobs and don't swear at the customers).

[rbox]

boardski, on Apr 28 2007, 07:44 AM, said:

Loveland's lift ops are usually not overly friendly but still seem consciencious. I came accross a lift op (actually a ticket checker) at A-Basin the other day at Pallivicini lift who actually swore at two of the customers for not waiting at the end of the lift maze lane while he closed two lanes and opened two others. He said "Hey wait, what the F*** is your problem?, did you not hear me?!" I actually don't think the skiers did hear him and he was definately in no hurry to accomplish the task he was doing. I thought about reporting him but the incident did not involve me so I figured I would let the two guests who were yelled at handle the situation by doing what they thought was appropriate. I was just quite surprised. The other lift ops resembled Loveland's (not overly friendly but at least do their jobs and don't swear at the customers).

That's pretty poor. if you get cranky with people so easily being a lifty would seem like an odd jobb choice. i guess some people are just in it for the snow though. where i applied for this winter they emphasised customer service and just being chatty and nice to people. you wouldn't think it would be too hard...

[Lift Kid]

Swearing at PAYING guests who PAY the ski area that PAYS the liftys is pretty bad.

[Skiing#1]

Wow, at the top of the lift, three lift operators keep busy while people keep falling off the chairlift. Some of them made me laugh. Last part of the video, the one person won't get off and kept sitting, half way of the round, the lift oeprator stopped and other operator put the person off the chair. I don't understand why many people keep falling.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2vWusfUiI5g

[SkiBachelor]

This lift was upgraded to a HSS three years ago.