34 replies to this topic

[DonaldMReif]

I realized that the Prospector Express at Winter Park probably counts as "short": 10 towers and 69 chairs.

[2milehi]

DonaldMReif, on 14 October 2012 - 08:12 AM, said:

When did you change procedures? I gather that there are occassional issues with rime build-up at the top.

And I haven't been up that far, but I wonder if Imperial's top terminal has ever been buried under snow drifts considering its location. I've only been as high as Lift 6.

I have been there for 4 years and the mechanics start with 15 chairs on followed by 30 chairs on.

[zeedotcom]

The basic reason for the detaches is almost always "guest experience." I remember that being one of Heavenly's very specific reasons for upgrading the Olympic lift a few years back.

Regardless of length, a detachable is almost always easier to load/unload. From a purely practical perspective, it almost makes more sense to put high speeds in the beginner area than the rest of the mountain. A detach is generally more stable to sit on and depends less on the lifty to get anything right with timing, especially with beginners, easier overall. In addition to that, from previous instructing experience, the faster you get them back to the top and gliding on snow, the more likely they are to not repeat the mistakes you just corrected.

Beyond "Guest Experience" is marketing. That is part of it every time. There are two resorts near me. One has a high speed and you can get double the laps easily, this is a guest experience factor. The other resort has taken to naming their lifts "__________ Express" even though they are just fixed grip lifts. Marketing.

[Walt Askier]

I think Mt Holly or Bittersweet has to be the winners. At Mt Holly, it takes less than 3 minutes to do a lap (ride up AND ski down) when there's no line.

Nobody has mentioned the Six-pack at Boyne Mt, which is shorter than the HSQ at the Highlands.

[nathanvg]

Walt Askier, on 19 October 2012 - 07:54 AM, said:

I think Mt Holly or Bittersweet has to be the winners. At Mt Holly, it takes less than 3 minutes to do a lap (ride up AND ski down) when there's no line.

Nobody has mentioned the Six-pack at Boyne Mt, which is shorter than the HSQ at the Highlands.

actually they have (see below) Surprisingly, none of these are in the top 5

Peter, on 10 October 2012 - 09:20 AM, said:

These are all less than 2000', ordered from shorter to longer:

1. Tremblant Cabriolet 1100
2. Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort Easy Rider Express 1165
3. Horseshoe Resort Chair 3 1400
4. Alpine Valley Resort Super Glide 1421
5. Alpine Valley Resort Valley Flyer 1426
6. Winter Park Resort Cabriolet 1436
7. Mount Holly 3 Mach 1 Express 1465
8. Stowe Over Easy 1483
9. Snowbasin Littlecat Express 1579
10. Beaver Creek Resort Buckaroo Gondola 1671
11. Canada Olympic Park 1716
12. Texas State Fair Texas Skyway 1738
13. Ski Bittersweet Sweet Express 1816
14. Park City Mountain Resort First Time 1823
15. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area 11 Discovery Express 1875
16. Mount Bachelor Sunshine Accelerator 1888
17. Big White Ski Resort Lara's Gondola 1909
18. Boyne Mountain Mountain Express 1941
19. Canada Olympic Park Legacy Express 1959

This post has been edited by Peter: 19 October 2012 - 09:30 AM

[DonaldMReif]

Statistically, the Wildwood Express at Vail comes close to this - 4 minute ride. It has 18 towers and 76 chairs. The towers are very close together because I believe it was said somewhere that they reused the bases from the Yan FGQ that was used before 1993.

[snoloco]

The Sullivan Express and Stevenson Express at Camelback are both around 2,600 feet long. The Bear Peak Express at Mountain Creek is about 3,200 feet long. I believe that the only reason they did this was because the South Peak Express starts right next to it, and no one would use Bear Peak if it wasn't a detach and South Peak was. I think this because the Granite Peak Quad is a 3,800 foot long fixed grip, it has no other lift that is in close proximity like Bear Peak does. The fact that it doesn't serve as much terrain as the Bear Peak Express might also be the reason for this. The Needle's Eye Express at Killington and the American Express and Shooting Star Express at Stratton are of similar length to the Bear Peak Express. The Stratton lifts run at least 1,000 fpm, probably closer to 1,100 fpm, so you are at the top within 3 minutes.

[SkiDaBird]

Towers aren't an accurate measuring device because the slope make a huge difference in how many there are. Also, different manufacturers and lifts from different eras use towers differently. Ride time and chairs also aren't accurate because Colorado in particular seems to run chairs faster with more on the line. From some of Donald's videos it seems to take ~3 seconds between chairs while on the lift. Where I ski, it always takes at least 5 seconds. The only really accurate measurement is length, which was kindly shown to all of us earlier.

[Backbowlsbilly]

I saw this lift in last year 's Doppelmayr Worldwide, called the "Wetterkreuz" in Saalbach Austria. (http://www.remontees...rtage-4692.html) It is 296 meters long in total. For an American context, that's around half of the total length of the Riverfront Gondola in Beaver Creek. Not to mention, it has bubbles, seat heating and footrests that automatically lower and raise.

[Conrad]

World's 2nd shortest gondola in Austria: 1214.5 feet
http://www.remontees...rtage-4840.html

Must be inconvenient having to take the skis off and on every time you end and begin a run!

[DonaldMReif]

What's the world's shortest gondola?
I think that used to be the Buckaroo Gondola, since that's 1,800 feet long. It could be a designation that goes to the Allen Peak Tram at Snowbasin, at 1100 feet long, but that's a tramway and not a continuous looping gondola.

Shortest segment between terminals on any detachable lift would probably be the Red Pine Gondola at The Canyons, since it's only about a horizontal distance of 375 feet from the current bottom terminal location to the turn midstation installed when the bottom terminal was moved in 2010 for the construction of the Orange Bubble Express.

[Conrad]

Apparently the world's shortest gondola is in Italy and is only about 968 feet long!
Here's some information on it. Apparently it had to be rebuilt in 2006 after a mudslide!
https://translate.go...q-Xi7ThxMSp5K6Q

[snowmaster]

The bottom section of Revelstoke's Gondola looks mighty short. Anybody know how long?

[Peter]

snowmaster, on 28 May 2014 - 05:27 PM, said:

The bottom section of Revelstoke's Gondola looks mighty short. Anybody know how long?

3,363 feet