36 replies to this topic

[Snoqualmie guy]

Are those bad for snowboarders?

[Lift Kid]

Snoqualmie guy, on Apr 23 2007, 12:41 AM, said:

Are those bad for snowboarders?

Not really. The easiest way to ride one on a snowboard is to hold the platter like a handle tow. It is much easier to ride a t-bar on a snowboard than a platter.

[poloxskier]

Alot of platters are now being fitted with slotted discs that make it easier for snowboarders to ride them. They an not hard to ride at all, but are a bit harder than a T-Bar when on a board.

This post has been edited by poloxskier: 23 April 2007 - 06:14 PM

[Snoqualmie guy]

When were they first made? They are still very popular!

[skierdude9450]

Sometime in the 30s Pomagalski invented the Pomalift, and then there have been platters ever since. It's interesting that the detachable version was created before the fixed version.

[Lift Kid]

skierdude9450, on Apr 25 2007, 08:12 PM, said:

Sometime in the 30s Pomagalski invented the Pomalift, and then there have been platters ever since. It's interesting that the detachable version was created before the fixed version.

The fact that it was not fixed grip was what made the company popular. They had invented a better way of moving people up a mountain at a faster speed. There were already T-bars and J-bars so he Platter was just a different variation of the T-bar.

[Carl]

Oh, boy, the memories. I grew up on Terry Peak, SD, where there were several "platters". One was detachable and, yes, we had some fun rides. I recall some hairy platter rides at A-Basin and at Howleson Hill in Steamboat back in the 70's.

JH had one in Rendezvous Bowl with a double tower angle station. The base terminal is still in place. What a pain that lift was.
It would drift shut at the first puff of wind. Then the "hot dog" riders would derope it. One time I was dispatched up the Tram to check out a stop on the Platter. I skied down the line until I found a tower with the heavy side sheave/cross arm assembly rotated about 90°!!!
A yahoo was making turns on his way up and decided to ski right next to the tower. The "grip" got tangled up in the tower and something had to give and it was the clamping force of the crossarm's bolts!

I don't miss them one bit. We, in Maint., hated the thing. Poor ol' Paul McCollister broke his leg while riding it! It was decomissioned soon thereafter......

The new East Ridge Chair is very nice!

Carl

[snowbirdy]

skisox34, on Apr 12 2007, 11:14 AM, said:

The upper snowdon poma or poma 2 at killington is manually operated with a lever. Hella fun to ride and op. If you are ever there ask the attendent to launch you! Depending on your weight you can get a good 5-15ft of airtime.

awsome ride,why was it closed last fall,missed it

[ccslider]

Does anyone have a photo of a platter lift with a bend in mid-line? I'm particularly interested in how the return line bends around the deflection sheave(s) with the detail of how the grip is twisted and held in the downward position to allow the rope free passage around the sheave(s).

[chasl]

At one time I believe Okemo had 6 platters and 2 chair lifts -1 fixed platter, 5 - detachable platters 1- Poma chair and 1- Riblet chair If my memory is correct.

[skiersage]

ccslider, on May 9 2007, 08:39 AM, said:

Does anyone have a photo of a platter lift with a bend in mid-line?

here you go

Attached File(s)

•  IMG_0766.JPG (1.19MB)
  Number of downloads: 41

[Lift Dinosaur]

ccslider, on May 9 2007, 07:39 AM, said:

Does anyone have a photo of a platter lift with a bend in mid-line? I'm particularly interested in how the return line bends around the deflection sheave(s) with the detail of how the grip is twisted and held in the downward position to allow the rope free passage around the sheave(s).

On the platters with angle stations that I have seen, the downhill line does not follow the uphill line. It runs straight line fron the top back to the bottom.

Dino

[Ontariodude]

Fortress, Alberta has a T-Bar thats like a giant lopsided triangle and runs up one side straight, down the other, turns arounds goes back up at a different angle, station, then there is a turn followed by the downline back to the beginning. I have never seen it personally but the pictures of it are quite interesting.

Will T. (ontariodude)

This post has been edited by Ontariodude: 09 May 2007 - 03:21 PM

[Emax]

Platters look like this.

[Lift Dinosaur]

Emax, on May 10 2007, 01:49 PM, said:

Platters look like this.

platters.jpg

YOU CRACK ME ROUND!

Dino

[Winterhighland]

I've attached a pic of a Poma platter lift with a much sharper bend than the one above.



The upline is on the RHS of the lift going up, in effect the hangers go round the bullwheel on the upline the 'wrong' way. This is possible because the grip has a very short arm, only a couple of inches or so and is then connected to the main hanger by a heavy duty spring, thus the hanger arm is guided by a the grove in the bullwheel, and metal guide rails.

In fact the grip arm is not long enough to keep the hanger clear of the sheaves on any support tower, this is down with guide rails which deflect the hangers outwards. Every now and then the wind will manage to get a hanger perfectly lined up so it misses the guide rail and follows the cable through a compression sheave assembly....

This photo shows the tower sheaves and guides:

[Lift Dinosaur]

Great shots of up and down angle stations!
Skiersage- sure are a lot of U-Bolts in your pic.

Dino