246 replies to this topic

[2milehi]

liftmech, on 12 December 2013 - 05:19 AM, said:

If you can see the rams then the entire structure moves, similar to the older Omega quads.

Yeah this is screwy looking. The other six packs and gondola at Breck have fixed terminals. This six pack has the terminal on rollers,

[2milehi]

DonaldMReif, on 19 December 2013 - 05:49 PM, said:

I still think it's taking some time to get used to the fact that Zendo and the Kensho SuperChair have tower heads that are angled inward that make them look like the 1994-2011 tower head design (used on basically all of the other high speed quads except the Beaver Run SuperChair, soon-to-be-defunct Colorado SuperChair, and Falcon SuperChair) crossed over with an early 1980s designed tower head like the kind the Falcon SuperChair uses, even if I have done a couple of trips on Gondola One at Vail. Or the fact that the Kensho SuperChair has the European Multix footrests of the kind the High Noon Express lift uses, whereas Quicksilver and the Independence SuperChair have the older type of footrest.

Also, do you have any idea of how many towers on the Kensho SuperChair are combi towers (wheels supporting and holding down the cable) and depression towers (holding down the cable only)? The photos I've seen make me count at least seven combi towers and one or two depression towers. Zendo has at least two combi towers (towers 3 and 4), and that I know from skiing past it on Monte Cristo and Angel's Rest.

Let's get some nomenclature correct - the "cable" that the chairs attach to is called a haul rope or rope for short. The rope ride over/under the sheaves. The sheaves are attached to sheave assemblies and then to the tower.

[DonaldMReif]

Well, me not being one who works on chairlifts, only one who records and takes photos, sometimes haul rope and cable get mixed up. And sheaves technically are wheels.

If the skies are clear enough Saturday, I might be able to get some more pictures of a chaired Kensho SuperChair.

[2milehi]

DonaldMReif, on 19 December 2013 - 06:40 PM, said:

Well, me not being one who works on chairlifts, only one who records and takes photos, sometimes haul rope and cable get mixed up. And sheaves technically are wheels.

If the skies are clear enough Saturday, I might be able to get some more pictures of a chaired Kensho SuperChair.

If you wanna run with the wolves, you need to learn to howl (correctly). ;-) Just trying to help out, you have a very strong passion for ski lifts.

[DonaldMReif]

The original point I had been saying is that the Kensho SuperChair looks like it's steep. There are, from the photos I have seen, at least seven towers with wheels that hold down the haul rope, including three straight (towers 15, 16, and 17, which are the three where the lift goes above timberline, and the first of the eight towers visible from Peak 9 or Peak 10). Those chairs with European multix footrests also look hot.

What reinforces my statement of "the Kensho SuperChair is the steepest lift in Breckenridge"? Well, the lift with the largest vertical rise of any lift on the mountain pre-Peak 6 is the Beaver Run SuperChair, which is 1.72 miles long (measured by Google Earth) and has, according to the trail map, a 1,591 foot vertical rise (or 1,524 if you measured it in Google Earth). The Kensho SuperChair, when measuring its approximate lift line in Google Earth, is 1.2 miles long (a half-mile shorter than the Beaver Run SuperChair), and has a vertical rise of 1,536 feet according to the trail map (or 1,620 by Google Earth's elevation profile feature).

My dad also said yesterday when I mentioned that the chairs were up on the Kensho SuperChair that Zendo is currently undergoing load testing. Getting photos of the Kensho SuperChair from the Independence SuperChair, Beaver Run SuperChair, or Mercury SuperChair, on the other hand, might be difficult tomorrow because they're expecting snow. But Breckenridge is also announcing an opening date for the two lifts today, so we'll be able to determine how long you'll have to wait for me to go up to Peak 6 to do a photo tour of the new lifts. Given that I was the person who brought you that detailed photo tour of the Mountaintop Express lift, I want to give you a similar tour of the Kensho SuperChair.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 20 December 2013 - 06:52 AM

[skierdude9450]

DonaldMReif, on 20 December 2013 - 06:47 AM, said:

What reinforces my statement of "the Kensho SuperChair is the steepest lift in Breckenridge"?

No, Imperial is significantly steeper.

[DonaldMReif]

Maybe "second most vertical rise" given that only the Kensho and Beaver Run SuperChairs have vertical rises of greater than 1,500 feet.

[Peter]

Let's get back to photos, please.

[floridaskier]

http://www.utahoutsi...13/12/Gad-2.png

Another shot of the top of the Gad 2 looking sharp in Snowbird colors

[DonaldMReif]

Really nice looking picture.

[jaytrem]

Peter, on 20 December 2013 - 04:46 PM, said:

Let's get back to photos, please.

Here some Hermitage(Haystack).... http://hermitageclub...uction-gallery/

Towers are in already, it's looking like they'll be opening the lift some time this season.

This post has been edited by jaytrem: 21 December 2013 - 12:21 AM

[DonaldMReif]

I was on Peak 7 today. It was difficult to get distant views of the Kensho SuperChair given the low visibility, but these are the pictures I was able to get of the above timberline portion (tower 15-22). Both of these were taken from the Independence SuperChair:






And here are a few views of Zendo, which was easier to do as it begins in terrain that is still inbounds.



Here's a view in which you can actually somewhat make out the upper terminal, proving that Zendo is pretty short. It appears that the lift has two compression towers, towers 3 and 4.

This post has been edited by Kelly: 24 December 2013 - 06:59 AM

[Peter]

Orchard Express at Blue Mountain

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[DonaldMReif]

It also appears that a resort employee or someone associated with the construction project posted a video of an analysis ride down the Kensho SuperChair shortly after the chairs were hung:



Obviously it looks like it was filmed with a potato (cell phone camera), but go to my "New Breckenridge lift pictures!" thread for a full photo tour of the Kensho SuperChair and videos of both it and Zendo.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 26 December 2013 - 10:45 PM

[Allan]

I finally got the opportunity to ride the Grey chair!

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[liftmech]

Nice view! What are the aftermarket clamps at the bottom of the bail near the box tube? They look like they might be performing the same function as our safety cables we had to install on those carriers a few years ago.

[Allan]

I was told they are safety clamps so the carrier doesn't fall off if those four bolts break. We've also got one or two carriers with the cable strung through the bail. I assumed the clamps were a Poma design!

[liftmech]

The cables are. I haven't seen the clamps before.

[Peter]

Looks like the Sea to Sky Gondola bottom terminal is going to be inside a building without any of the normal Uni-G terminal skin.

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[snoloco]

Peter, on 23 November 2013 - 08:05 PM, said:

Sea to Sky Gondola- looks really steep!

Looks like that is a bottom drive top tension. The bottom bullwheel does not appear to be tensioned and there looks to be drive components on top of the terminal.