6 replies to this topic

[Shastacruse]

We have a magic carpet in our kids area and the unload area is always a big concern here. Our ski school likes to throw rubber mats down and the end to stop the kids at the end so they can walk the kids on a carpet for teaching. Does anyone else do this? Who is responsible for filling in around the unload area because it melts away and I've seen plywood to make a bridge instead of taking 15 min to shovel in a gap. These are just general questions since I had some time to kill.

[Gripforce]

Here at Blackcomb we insist on having snow at the unload to clear the area quick and avoid pile-ups. Then there is a carpet several feet away that the kids can then walk on with thier skiis. The operator can always push the kids along. As far as the sides of the carpet we have the groomers blade along to keep holes from forming, or just get the operator to fill in. Hope this helps!

[liftmech]

We work much the same as Blackcomb; part if not most of the operator's job is to help the kiddos unload. If you find the right guy or gal (the type that enjoys working with kids) it goes a long way. Melt holes are mainly the operator's job as we don't generally like to have groomers too close to the machinery. The carpet at the top is counterproductive, in my opinion; the kids need to learn how to slide fairly early and having them constantly walk on their skis doesn't help.

[mthornton]

Ditto in that snow is best. We find the groomers have a very hard time getting the unload gradient right. Our lift mechanics end up doing the machine-grooming around the unload because they see & understand how difficult it can be for the kids if the unload gradient is either too steep, or not steep enough.

Our baby carpet is run by ski-school, and the ski-instructors don't do a good enough job with hand-tool unload maintenance. Our big carpet, which always has a full-time top operator, always has a very well maintained unload... draw your own conclusion.

This post has been edited by mthornton: 16 December 2010 - 06:28 PM

[6207]

Our ski school likes to use long strips of carpet. The groomers hate this because ski school tends to forget the carpets and they get covered with snow. The groomers end up picking them up with their tillers. Not fun to get out of the tiller.

[Shastacruse]

thanks guys how do you deal with low snow and the sides of the carpet since low snow means you can't keep that 1:2 slope?

[liftmech]

We make snow around all of our carpets. Not sure if that's an option for you, but it helps us out quite a bit. Late spring sunny days are about all we worry about in that regard