egieszl, on Jan 13 2008, 01:40 AM, said:
What is the rope speed on this lift? 500 fpm?
I tend to find that the new Poma fixed grip lifts run very slow. Snowmass replaced the Campground Riplet Double with a painfully slow Poma FGD. The same is true for the FGT at the bottom of Aspen Highlands. I hate these lifts.
I think that the rope speed is 450 fpm on Zuma. I haven't ever seen a FGQ run at 500 fpm I think because of loading issues. I don't think that it was running slow today, it seemed normal speed. When I was riding Lenawee lift I guaged the speed to a carrier on Norway, and even though it felt like Lenawee (Poma) was going slower than Norway (Yan), both chairs ended up at the station around the same time. (This is not exact since the two lifts are at different angles, and I don't want to put triginomety into this.)
Lift Kid, on Jan 13 2008, 05:16 PM, said:
I believe the speed can range from 350-500 FPM, depending on the drive settings. Some ski areas choose to run certain lifts slower than others. This could be because of novice skiers, wind, or the loading line being really close to the bullwheel.
Off Topic: Does anyone think that loading the chair a ways in front of the bullwheel, such as on C-chair, 5-chair, and E-chair at Breckenridge, makes it easier to load and allows the lift to run around 500 FPM?
On the other hand, all of the Yans at A-Basin are behind the bullwheel, and they run at 500 fpm just fine.
RibStaThio, on Jan 11 2008, 10:20 PM, said:
Well, not a bad way to break in a new chair... Too bad its not a HSQ...
Truly, I don't think a HSQ would have made any difference. The chairlift already has 2400 p/h, and I doubt that they would go for 2800 p/h on a HSQ. So, the lines would be just as long as a HSQ. The lift really isn't that long anyway, so it's not an issue of ride time. I think it just came down to money. A-Basin is a small resort with no funding from lodging; just ticket sales and food. Their budget would have been quite tight if they chose a HSQ. Also, it would be very hard to get parts to the bottom station of the lift where it is situated...
boardski, on Jan 12 2008, 08:19 PM, said:
The line will probably not be quite that bad once the newness wears off. This weekend will be ugly back there though!
I never waited more than two minutes today. I think that the limiting factor is the lifts that serve Montezuma Bowl. All you have are Lenawee with 1800 p/h, and Norway with 1200 p/h. Most people would choose Lenawee because it's less of a hike/walk. So there's a maximum of 3000 people per hour entering the area, and with a 2400 p/h lift, that would only have minimal lines. Now this might change if they replace Exhibition and Norway with a HSQ. (I don't that will happen any time soon, though.)
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