2 replies to this topic

[pomafr]

Hello,

I was browsing the net and came across this; http://www.remontees...rtage-1057.html , manufactured by a company called 'Yan' or 'Lift engineering'. I ski only in Europe, and the report states that these lifts are 'rare' in Europe. Can anybody shed any light on this company and there lifts?

Thanks.

[DonaldMReif]

Yan, or Lift Engineering, was a common manufacturer of chairlifts (mostly in North America) from 1967 to 1994. They manufactured double chairlifts, triple chairlifts, fixed grip quads, and a few high speed detachable quads.


Yan Detachable quads, like your link shows, are very rare today. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there were a good number of these Yan detachables. However, all of the ones I know of in the United States and Canada have been either A) upgraded by Doppelmayr or Poma or B) removed completely and replaced by new Poma, Doppelmayr, or Leitner-Poma detachable lifts.

For example:

Sun Valley:
All of the high speed quads are examples of Yan high speed quads upgraded by Doppelmayr.

Silver Star, BC:
The Powder Gulch Express, which is a pretty standard Leitner-Poma high speed quad, replaced a Yan high speed quad called Putnam Creek Express.
The Comet Express, likewise a pretty standard Leitner-Poma high speed six pack, replaced the Vance Creek Express, also a Yan high speed quad.

Whistler-Blackcomb:
The Big Red Express and Emerald Express lifts were originally built as Yan high speed quads, and were called Redline Express and Green Chair Express. In the late 1990s, they were upgraded by Doppelmayr with new chairs, grips, and terminals, and renamed. There was actually a third detachable quad built by Yan on the Whistler side of things, called the Quicksilver Express (which ran the lift line which the Creekside Gondola runs today). It was installed with the Big Red Express about 1989, however, in 1995, tragedy struck Quicksilver when several chairs fell off the cable, killing two and injuring ten more, due to faulty grips.

Likewise, you could safely say Blackcomb had less faulty high speed quads in that time period (as they have Doppelmayr high speed quads dated from 1986 to 1994).

Mammoth Mountain:
The Canyon and Broadway Express lifts were Yan built to begin with, and upgraded by Doppelmayr.

Killington:
The Snowshed and Superstar Express lifts were built by Yan and upgraded by Poma.

Yan also built a variety of fixed grip lifts, if you browse through this site's galleries, you'll find what you are looking for.

With the advent of newer detachable lifts, Yan lifts are getting much more rare. Here in Colorado, especially. The last Yan at Vail for instance was replaced in 2007 by the original Sourdough triple (which in turn had been replaced by a Leitner Poma high speed quad, the Sourdough Express). Same can be said for Riblets, with more detachables replacing them every year.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 29 August 2009 - 11:27 AM

[skiersage]

Here are some links to info on Yan lifts:
http://en.wikipedia....ift_Engineering
http://www.coloradoskihistory.com/chairlift/yanlifts.html
http://www.skiliftfo...hp?showtopic=85