16 replies to this topic

[Lift Kid]

Hi everyone. I am working on some pages for my website, and I cannot seem to find the history of Chair 17 at Vail. I cannot find install dates or anything other than the original Yan that was there. The current lift 17 is 100% Doppelmayr, so I think. Can anyone help me out?

I would think that it was installed in 1979, like its Doppelmayr counterpart, Chair 5 (High Noon). But, there is no record of that. It is a pretty long lift, so I'm assuming it isn't built from spare parts. Any history info is great! Thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by Lift Kid: 27 June 2008 - 08:42 PM

[Lift Kid]

Another thing that has come up, I cannot confirm when Chair 9 (Minnie's) was installed. I think it might be 1972. There were two Riblets installed at Vail that year. Can anyone confirm?

[silence]

the original chair 17 was on the frontside of vail and ran parallel to the original Avanti double prior to both being removed in the late '80s when the Avanti HSQ was built. the current chair 17 was built in the sun up bowl in 1992 and there was not a lift there prior to it.

[nathanvg]

I'm sure lift 17 was discussed before at length so searching would probably get you more detail. See http://www.skiliftforum.com/index.php?show...t=0&start=0 for info on 17. You’ll see that 17 has been assigned to two lifts in completely different locations and that the current 17 came from Beaver creek.

As for lift 9, it was installed in 72. I once tried to reconcile all the lift installs at Vail and came up with the following. It's been months since I looked at it last, but I think it's all right. I never did figure out which lift is which in 76, but lift 2(second version), 16, and 17 were put in that year. Why 2 was replaced so soon is a bit of a mystery too.

64
Vail* Giant Steps (1) 2C Riblet N/A 4685 1165 970 N/A
Vail Avanti (2) 2C Riblet N/A 6150 1300 1050 N/A
Vail Wildwood (3)(hunkey dory at the time) 2C Riblet N/A 3340 800 1200 N/A
Vail Vail Village Gondola (16) Gondola Bell N/A 9548 1932 500 N/A (really 62)

67
Vail N/A 2C Riblet N/A 6114 1528 1130 N/A

69
Vail Lionshead Gondola (19) Bell N/A 9300 2200 1100 690
Vail (7)N/A 2C Riblet N/A 4576 1181 1200 500
72
Vail N/A Platter Heron Poma 15 600 100 900 480
Vail (9)N/A 2C Riblet 200E 4786 1167 1200 500 ?
Vail (8)N/A 2C Riblet 250E 5869 1408 1200 500 ?
73

74
Vail (11)N/A 2C Riblet N/A 5484 1525 1200 500 ?
Vail Gopher Hill 2C Riblet N/A 945 146 1200 350
75
Vail (14)N/A 3C Lift Engineering N/A 2390 510 1800 450
Vail (15)N/A 2C Lift Engineering N/A 822 111 1200 350
76
Vail N/A 2C Lift Engineering N/A 6110 1406 1200 500 ?
Vail N/A 2C Lift Engineering N/A 4430 1156 1200 500 ?
Vail N/A 2C Lift Engineering N/A 6300 1338 1200 500 ?
Vail Chair 4 3C Lift Engineering N/A 4360 1100 1800 475
Vail‡ Lionshead Gondola (6) Von Roll N/A 9500 2200 1100 700
79
Vail High Noon 3C Doppelmayr N/A 5540 1856 1400 500
85
Vail Mountain Top 4C-Det. Doppelmayr N/A 4310 1107 2800 1000
Vail Game Creek 4C-Det. Doppelmayr N/A 4357 1180 2800 1000
Vail North Woods 4C-Det. Doppelmayr N/A 5564 1528 2800 1000
Vail Vista Bahn (Bubbled) 4C-Det. Doppelmayr N/A 9045 1988 2650 1000
87
Vail Cascade Village 4C CTEC 400 3497 1278 1800 450
88
Vail Orient Express 4C-Det. Doppelmayr 800 7658 1565 2400 1000
Vail Born Free Express 4C-Det. Doppelmayr 700 6076 1593 2800 1000
89
Vail Avanti Express 4C-Det. Doppelmayr 700 6588 1466 2800 1000
93
Vail Pride Express 4C-Det. Garaventa CTEC 600 5415 1225 2800 984
95
Vail Wildwoods Express 4C-Det. Garaventa CTEC 500 3350 852 2800 984
96
Vail Eagle Bahn Gondola (12) Garaventa CTEC 1600 9148 2215 3000 1181
Vail Riva Bahn 4C-Det. Garaventa CTEC 1000 9051 1705 2800 984
99
Vail Tea Cup Express 4C-Det. Poma 900 6704 1244 1244 1100
Vail Skyline Express 4C-Det. Poma 900 8391 1936 1800 1100
Vail Earl's Express 4C-Det. Poma 500 4834 1357 1200 1100
2000
Vail Pete's Express 4C-Det. Poma 600 6677 1581 1800 1100

This post has been edited by nathanvg: 27 June 2008 - 09:17 PM

[skierdude9450]

Chair 17 was used and completely relocated from Chair 7 at Beaver Creek. It was built in 1992, which yes does seem odd, since Orient Express was built in the middle of no where in 1988. The original Chair 7 at the beav was built in 1980 along with their other original lifts. It was replaced along with Chair 6 by Centennial Express in 1986 only 6 years later. I think (I'm not at all sure though) that Chair 6 was relocated to be Chair 4 (Rose Bowl) when Centennial Express was built. The parts from Chair 7 were then later used for Chair 17 (Sun Up) at Vail. The number doesn't make sense because Vail used the number from the old Yan double, Chair 17 after it had been replaced by the Vista Bahn in 1985. So in short, no Sun Up and High Noon were not installed at the same time. (My friend's dad recalls having to hike to ski Yonder above where the road is now, but he said that it was always worth the powder.)

As for Minnie's, you're right about 1972. The lift was shortened sometime since then. (Possibly in 1988 when Born Free Express replaced Chair 8??) The lower station was moved a bit uphill. This is just a picture looking down what used to be the lower part of the line.

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This post has been edited by skierdude9450: 27 June 2008 - 09:20 PM

[Lift Kid]

Thanks for the info! I did use the search box, but it didn't yield any information for me....

This post has been edited by Lift Kid: 27 June 2008 - 09:24 PM

[nathanvg]

Good info skierdude. One bit of info, 9 was shortened but it was well after lift 8 was upgraded based on my memory. I think 9 was shortened in the mid 90's but not sure exactly. Link of 9 after 8 upgraded: http://teachski.com/...il/Vail%202.jpg Link also shows the 1st lift 17. The 1st 17 wasn't replaced until 89 when Avanti was upgraded to a HSQ. Lots of neat info on that site.

This post has been edited by nathanvg: 27 June 2008 - 09:32 PM

[Lift Kid]

While we're on the topic of Vail and Beaver Creek lifts, where did Beaver Creek's Chair 14 (Elkhorn) come from? I think it was installed elsewhere on the mountain in 1980, but where, and what was its name/number?

[Peter]

It was the Stump Farm lift, #8.

[nathanvg]

Skier, on Jun 28 2008, 01:35 AM, said:

It was the Stump Farm lift, #8.

Are you sure? I thought Elkhorn came from strawberry but don't know for sure. Strawberry was upgraded in 94 and lift 8 (had several names) was upgreaded in 96. Elkhorn was installed in 97 according to this site. (which sounds right)

[silence]

nathanvg, on Jun 27 2008, 09:31 PM, said:

Good info skierdude. One bit of info, 9 was shortened but it was well after lift 8 was upgraded based on my memory. I think 9 was shortened in the mid 90's but not sure exactly. Link of 9 after 8 upgraded: http://teachski.com/...il/Vail%202.jpg Link also shows the 1st lift 17. The 1st 17 wasn't replaced until 89 when Avanti was upgraded to a HSQ. Lots of neat info on that site.

if i remember correctly, lift 9 was shortened when the Pride Express was installed.

[boardski]

I believe #14 at Beaver Creek (Elkhorn) was the original lift #12 (Strawberry) and was reinstalled the next season after #12 was upgraded to the current version. Also #4 is the reinstalled #6, it was relocated the same year the current #6 was installed. However, the reason lift #7 existed at Beaver Creek was to carry skiers from the top of the old #6 (farther down the hill) to the top of the current #6. In other words, the current #6 (Centennial Express) runs the length of both old #6 and 7. After #6 was upgraded, #7 was hardly ever used. In 1992 it was relocated to Vail in its current location (#17) which is no where near original #17. I think they just did not want a gap in the numbering system. Although, I'm not sure why they assigned #36-39 to the lifts in Blue Sky Basin. Not sure if they are eventually planning on filling in the gaps (30-35).

[Lift Kid]

boardski, on Jun 28 2008, 08:53 PM, said:

I believe #14 at Beaver Creek (Elkhorn) was the original lift #12 (Strawberry) and was reinstalled the next season after #12 was upgraded to the current version. Also #4 is the reinstalled #6, it was relocated the same year the current #6 was installed. However, the reason lift #7 existed at Beaver Creek was to carry skiers from the top of the old #6 (farther down the hill) to the top of the current #6. In other words, the current #6 (Centennial Express) runs the length of both old #6 and 7. After #6 was upgraded, #7 was hardly ever used. In 1992 it was relocated to Vail in its current location (#17) which is no where near original #17. I think they just did not want a gap in the numbering system. Although, I'm not sure why they assigned #36-39 to the lifts in Blue Sky Basin. Not sure if they are eventually planning on filling in the gaps (30-35).

Are you sure about 14 being old 12? 14 was installed where it currently sits in 1997.

[skierdude9450]

That's what I would say also. However, it does use CTEC tower heads and lifting frames.

[Lift Kid]

skierdude9450, on Jun 29 2008, 10:42 PM, said:

That's what I would say also. However, it does use CTEC tower heads and lifting frames.

Garaventa CTEC modified it. They did the relocation.

On my site I went with 14 being old 8 because the dates on record were much closer.

This post has been edited by Lift Kid: 29 June 2008 - 07:47 PM

[liftmech]

Quote

Although, I'm not sure why they assigned #36-39 to the lifts in Blue Sky Basin. Not sure if they are eventually planning on filling in the gaps (30-35).

I think 30-35 are assigned to some carpets that aren't big enough on the map to have a number.

[coskibum]

the new strawberry park hsq uses the old doppelmayr tower tubes w/ garaventa ctec cross arms for what that's worth