6 replies to this topic

[snoloco]

Just wondering if the conditions that a lift typically operates in or the pattern that it is used in can affect its reliability.

I am going to use the South Peak Express and the Bear Peak Express at Mountain Creek as an example.

They are located at a mountain that has night skiing which means long hours that these lifts are run. They are also located in NJ which has a short ski season usually lasting from mid-December to late-March. That means that they end up sitting collecting dust for 9 months of the year.

These two lifts serve exclusively terrain parks. That means that the park rats ride them and do this to the chairs. There are many chairs on these lifts in far worse shape than the one pictured here.



It seems that these lifts run in very harsh conditions. This may cause their reliability to decrease as they seem to break down a lot. This may be the fact that I am at Mountain Creek so much each year. It is given that I will be there at least a few days when a lift craps out.

I would assume that these problems are not due to age. These are Dopplemayr high speed quads from 1998, so they are about 15 years old. There is at least one other lift that is in similar condition that I know of and that is the Nitro Express at Mount Snow. It is a Poma high speed quad from the same era. It serves terrain parks as well.

Maybe the lifts that serve terrain parks are in rough shape and break down slightly more.

Has anyone else noticed similar issues on other lifts?

[Lift Dinosaur]

1) Putting stickers on lifts and poking holes in seat pads is Vandalism and in no way contributes to "break downs".
2) A lift that "ends up sitting collecting dust for 9 months of the year" is a misconception. The off season to ski operations is when Maintenance Crews gear up to do the heavy maintenance that is required to keep the lifts running in the winter (@ 1000-1200 man hours for a detachable lift). If the lift is truly stationary and collecting dusty for 9 months it WILL break down more in the winter.
3) A "break down" to me is a stop that lasts over 5 minutes. Others will comment on their time lines. If a lift stops frequently during your ride for times less than 5 minutes, its an Operational problem- mis-loads, people falling at the top or bottom, bad policy to stop all chairs loading children, etc.
4) When it "craps out", hopefully they have a competent Ski Patrol that has an Evacuation Plan in place (as required by ANSI B-77).

Dino

[kwoodsparky]

Dino, thank you, you are very correct. These lifts do not sit dormant all summer. We are always doing maintenance to them, and they are turned a few times each month. As far as break downs, we have very few break downs, maybe a few more stops during the course of the day but that has nothing to do with the lift only the riders using them. Here in NJ we have way more than our share of inexperienced riders and for that reason we cannot run them at full design speed or we get even more stops. The chairs he is referring to have only had a couple times that they have been down, mostly weather. We have had only one mechanical issue this season with any of our lifts. As far as the seat pad in the picture, it is just a foam pad and our riders do a great deal of damage to them. Since these did serve just terrain parks until this season, there was a very high percentage of kids using them, thus a very high damage rate. The pads are expensive and we will change them when they get torn enough. Note to snoloco: from the picture, you were riding alone in the chair, and sitting all the way to the left. Anyone that knows anything about lifts knows you should have been riding in the center of the chair, ESPECIALLY a detach.

This post has been edited by kwoodsparky: 02 February 2014 - 06:45 AM

[snoloco]

kwoodsparky, on 02 February 2014 - 06:39 AM, said:

Note to snoloco: from the picture, you were riding alone in the chair, and sitting all the way to the left. Anyone that knows anything about lifts knows you should have been riding in the center of the chair, ESPECIALLY a detach.

I always sit in the middle. I just moved over to take this picture, but moved back to the middle after I took it.

[snoloco]

kwoodsparky, on 02 February 2014 - 06:39 AM, said:

Here in NJ we have way more than our share of inexperienced riders and for that reason we cannot run them at full design speed or we get even more stops.

According to the Doppelmayr World Book, South is 5,500 feet long and has a design speed of 5 m/s or 1,000 fpm. I have timed this lift and gotten up in 5.5 minutes. It also seems to run as fast as any other detach I have ridden. It was really moving when I rode it today. On the other hand, I have never seen Bear run at 1,000 fpm. Since it is only 3,300 feet long according to the world book, it makes little sense to run it at that speed since it would be a 3 minute ride.

[liftmech]

One-word answer to your topic title question: no.

As well, you mention 'harsh conditions'. To a lift, harsh conditions are wind, extreme cold, abrasive dust, frost on every moving part. Park riders are an annoying nuisance who happen to buy lift tickets. The damage they cause can be taken care of after ops. I wouldn't exactly call them harsh.

[aug]

Those marks on the seat pad looks like woodpecker damage ... Moths like to live in the voids under the foam seat pads ... the woodpeckers have seemed to have figured this out at the SW ski areas I have been employed at.