7 replies to this topic

[DonaldMReif]

I've been skiing the past five years, and noted that the names of new high speed quads and six packs rarely seem to correspond with the name of the lift they replaced if they replaced one.

Here are a few that were named after their predecessors and some not named after their predecessors:

Vail -- Predescessor names:
Highline Express
Sourdough Express
Northwoods Express
Vista Bahn Express
Mountaintop Express
Avanti Express
Born Free Express
Game Creek Express (?) I don't know if the Game Creek Express replaced a lift

Vail -- non-predescessor names:
Wildwood Express (replaced Hunky Dory fixed grip quad)
Riva Bahn Express (replaced Golden Peak double chairlift)

Of course, don't assume that "Golden Peak Express" would be catchy. The Wildwood Express could be called "Hunky Dory Express," but although the Yan quad is gone, the Hunky Dory name still applies to a blue run off of the lift.

Beaver Creek -- Predescessor names:
Larkspur Express
Centennial Express
Strawberry Park Express

Beaver Creek -- Non predescessor names:
Cinch Express (replaced Stump Park triple, which is now Elkhorn)
Birds of Prey Express (replaced Westfall double chairlift)
Buckaroo Gondola (replaced Haymeadow double chairlift)
In turn for the two Beaver Creek quads, had they gone by their predecessors' names, we would have the Stump Park Express and Westfall Express instead.

Winter Park:
Let's just say that the high speed quads except the Pioneer Express all use the previous lifts' name.
But in high speed six pack wise, it should be noted that the lift prior to the Super Gauge Express was called the Summit Express (a 1985 Poma high speed quad with that unusual upper terminal gantry tower), and the lift prior to the Panoramic Express was Timberline (a used Heron Poma double chairlift). I guess the new names sounded a little more catchy than Summit Express and Timberline Express.

Breckenridge:
Although none of the detachable quads or six packs reuse names of previous lifts, because the old lifts were numbered or lettered and the current lifts have names, there could be one exception. The Falcon SuperChair for instance is a 1986 Poma detachable quad that was converted from a 1985 fixed grip quad called Lift "F", which ran on this lift line.

Keystone:
The six pack and all but two of the quads reuse the name of the lift they replaced.

What are the two quad exceptions?
Outback Express: As this lift opened in the 1991 Outback expansion, it didn't replace a lift.
Summit Express: There was no lift adjacent to the River Run Gondola before 1997, however, there was a triple called Erickson, which started just a short distance east of the current River Run Gondola's midway terminal, which was removed with the construction of the Summit Express. Naturally, the Erickson Express would not be a really catchy name.
Ruby Express: The Ruby triple was called Teller but was renamed Ruby after a bullwheel failure a year or two after it opened. Since it was called Ruby in 2000, the new lift is called the Ruby Express, not something like the Teller Express.

Copper Mountain:
The lifts all once had letters for their names, but starting with the installation of the American Flyer lift, the lifts would have their letters replaced with names. Most of the names are based on the original letters, eg H lift is High Point, K lift is Kokomo, L lift is Lumberjack, A lift is Alpine, R and S lifts are Rendezvous and Sierra, etc. The original letter names can be seen on some old maps.

[Snoqualmie guy]

Most likely because they want new life in their names, so that fifty years later they dont have the same names.

[Bogong]

A lot of lifts are replaced with lifts sponsored by advertisers.

In Australia, quite a few lifts have been renamed after car companies or airlines. This renaming of lifts after sponsors happens a bit in Austria too. Portugal has taken it to the extreme with the resort "Serra de Estrela" completely changing it's name to "Vodafone Ski Resort".

I'm sure if it happens in Europe and Australia, then it happens in North America too!

[boardski]

DonaldMReif, on Jun 11 2009, 12:11 PM, said:

Here are a few that were named after their predecessors and some not named after their predecessors:

Vail -- Predescessor names:
Born Free Express
Game Creek Express (?) [i]I don't know if the Game Creek Express replaced a lift


Beaver Creek -- Non predescessor names:
Cinch Express (replaced Stump Park triple, which is now Elkhorn)
Birds of Prey Express (replaced Westfall double chairlift)
Winter Park:
Let's just say that the high speed quads except the Pioneer Express all use the previous lifts' name.
But in high speed six pack wise, it should be noted that the lift prior to the Super Gauge Express was called the Summit Express (a 1985 Poma high speed quad with that unusual upper terminal gantry tower), and the lift prior to the Panoramic Express was Timberline (a used Heron Poma double chairlift). I guess the new names sounded a little more catchy than Summit Express and Timberline Express.

The Born Free Express (#8) was actually a riblet FGD called "Bwana" originally and the Game Creek Express (#7) was also a Riblet FGD but I think it was still called the "Game Creek" lift The lifts at Vail also have numbers which prior to the HSQ revolution, the names were rarely used to identify them and were not even on the map, they just had the names on a small wooden sign at the bottom of each lift. Most all of the lifts have kept their same numbers over the years with the exception of lift 5 which was lift 3 at one time and lift 4 was lift 2 when Vail first opened. Also the current Avanti Express replaced both lifts 2 & 17 which ran paralell to each other. From 1989 to 1992, there was no lift 17 until the former (and no longer needed) lift 7 was moved from Beaver Creek and became the current lift 17 and named "The Sun up lift". The name of the old lift 17 was "Upper Mid Vail Express" even though it was not a high speed lift (Yan FGD).
An interesting note about Beaver Creek: When the Stump Park triple was replaced (#8) in 1993ish, the new lift was originally called "Birds of Prey Express". In 2004ish when the current lift 9 was installed replacing the original FGD chair, it was given the name Birds of Prey Express since lift 9 actually serves those runs and lift 8 was renamed "Cinch Express" since most of the runs other than the steep sheet of ice toward the bottom of that chair are beginner runs. Or maybe the former name was scaring beginners. Most of the lifts at Beaver Creek have their same numbers with the exception of Riverfront gondola which is #7 and runs nowhere near the former #7 and #14 which was once a short platter tow lift for condo owners in the same vicinity but nowhere near the current length. I'm thinking the former platter tow lift may have been also moved to Vail to become the current #22 but I am not positive.
In the case of Winter Park: Pioneer is actually the original lift which has always served the Vasquez Ridge area which was supposed to be developed into a third mountain with its own base area and at least 6 more lifts but was somehow lost along the way probably with increasing difficulty of getting permission from the forest service to expand. The Panoramic Express chair runs a completely different line than the former Timberline lift although the top teminal is in the same location.
As for Breckenridge, they still have some names, some letters, some numbers, I'm not sure if it confuses people but they seem to get around OK still. To throw in more confustion, I noticed on the lift report on their website, they have a numbering system that covers all the lifts and does not coincide with former numbers or letters. Oh well.
At Copper, I have gotten used to the names but I liked the letters quite a bit better. I always thought it was unique. A couple of years ago, I asked a bus driver if they were going to the parking lot by the A-lift and they didn't seem to know what I was talking about so most people must not still refer to the lifts by letters.

This post has been edited by skiersage: 12 June 2009 - 08:11 AM

[floridaskier]

Are there any sponsored lift names in North America? You see plenty of advertising signs around resorts on places like ski racks and trail maps, and lots of sponsor cars parked all over (Deer Valley and Park City have Chevy trucks everywhere, and The Canyons has BMWs) but I've never seen the naming rights to a lift or an entire ski resort sold here like it sounds like in Australia

Maybe new ownership didn't like the old names and took the opportunity to change it when a new lift was installed in these situations? Also, some of the names of former Yan high speed quads were changed after the Quicksilver accident, like the Quicksilver's replacement itself, and the other Yan HSQs at Whistler, and also the Prospector lift at PCMR became Silverlode after the accident.

None of the Utah resorts have lift numbers, and it sounds like most of the big Colorado resorts do. PCMR had numbers on the trail map in one year, but they took them off the next year and they don't appear on the mountain at all. Just an observation

[Peter]

American Express at Stratton is branded with signs for the American Express credit card company. At one point, Pontiac sponsored the Grand Prix Express at Blue Mountain, Ontario. I imagine that one is over.

[Ontariodude]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think that Blue Mountain, Ontario has the Silver Bullet Express to advertise Coors Light. The billboard is right on the lift terminal from what I remember.

[DonaldMReif]

Ontariodude, on 17 June 2009 - 07:07 PM, said:

Correct me if I am wrong but I think that Blue Mountain, Ontario has the Silver Bullet Express to advertise Coors Light. The billboard is right on the lift terminal from what I remember.

That reminds me - the Gondola at Steamboat was once called the Silver Bullet Gondola, but they probably renamed it so that it wasn't associated with a beer company.