Chairlift Appreciation Thread/Nerd Talk revisited

[SmokedGouda]

We all have used them at some point. From point a to point b, its the best way up the mountain unless your a junkie for backcountry. They allow us to see new views, scope out possible lines, and meet new people but also if someones got a speaker blaring, we gotta end up listening to their crap too....but, have you ever thought about what goes into building them, a fascination for how they work, which companies build em, well I do. I guess it started when I began playing this ski resort building game called Winter Resort Simulator, but for some reason, they just fascinate me. Especially the big ones or those gondolas with mid stations. Ive also had a pretty extensive liking to this game I was playing along with learning the different lift systems whether its a fixed grip or a detachable or even if its a chain driven terminal or a wheel based terminal. Call me off as some nerdy goofball or whatever, but a lot of technology has allowed us to access the mountains we love. If youre like me, you should check out liftblog.com. Or, you can just call me a nerd and go about your day....Anyways, now I'll leave you with a photo stream of riblet chairlifts because why not.

 

[Vish-shoe]

I’m supposed to read all that?

 

[hoodratz47]

Same. I definitely have a deep love for the machines that move us up the hill and I'm definitely a chairlift dork. A good old riblet center pole double chair. That's what I remember as a little kid at Mt hood almost everywhere. I also love just the semi brutalism of the station designs. And my years as a lifty were a blast.

 

[IsaacNW82]

Chairlifts are super cool, and as somebody who does a mix of bc and resort skiing, I'm totally of the opinion that everything has its place; the best places to ski IMO have a great mix of in-bounds and backcountry so you can mix it up and ski to the conditions.

I really love when a lift just makes perfect sense. Castlerock and Gate House Express at Sugarbush for example, the perfect lifts for those spots for different reasons. Edelweiss at Alpental, just *perfect*. The JHMR tram, of course, iconic and awesome. Pallavicini at A-bay, the MRG single, KT-22, the Revelstoke Gondola, love all these lifts for different reasons

 

[WabbleDee]

Ski community autism manifests as chair lifts instead of trains

 

[SmokedGouda]

Ski community autism manifests as chair lifts instead of trains

Don’t think any of that is autism….anyone with an engineering background or interest in it would find any moving thing fascinating

 

[Fenk]

Love chairlifts. Love gondolas. Love trams most of all. Liftblog.com is the best

 

[Quaggy]

Yo OP, how safe are chairlifts?

I've had to decrease the frequency of my skiing because I'm getting more and more scared of ski lifts. Gimme some reassurance

 

[Thegenericskier]

those new dopplemeyer lifts are pretty neat, the new one at beech looks like it has an encoder on both the driven bullwheel and the idler so you can track each individual chair. looks like it also has a sensor so if the cable goes above or below it the lift stops automatically

 

[SmokedGouda]

those new dopplemeyer lifts are pretty neat, the new one at beech looks like it has an encoder on both the driven bullwheel and the idler so you can track each individual chair. looks like it also has a sensor so if the cable goes above or below it the lift stops automatically

Yeah. Idk which you’re referring too but for me, I’m definitely not a fan of doppelmayrs new Dline skin. UNI G is better. There’s so much tech in any new lift really.

 

[Thegenericskier]

Yeah. Idk which you’re referring too but for me, I’m definitely not a fan of doppelmayrs new Dline skin. UNI G is better. There’s so much tech in any new lift really.

Never known anything other than dopprlmsyers that’s all NC has but others sound pretty neat

 

[SteezyYeeter]

I’m supposed to read all that?

 

[SteezyYeeter]

We all have used them at some point. From point a to point b, its the best way up the mountain unless your a junkie for backcountry. They allow us to see new views, scope out possible lines, and meet new people but also if someones got a speaker blaring, we gotta end up listening to their crap too....but, have you ever thought about what goes into building them, a fascination for how they work, which companies build em, well I do. I guess it started when I began playing this ski resort building game called Winter Resort Simulator, but for some reason, they just fascinate me. Especially the big ones or those gondolas with mid stations. Ive also had a pretty extensive liking to this game I was playing along with learning the different lift systems whether its a fixed grip or a detachable or even if its a chain driven terminal or a wheel based terminal. Call me off as some nerdy goofball or whatever, but a lot of technology has allowed us to access the mountains we love. If youre like me, you should check out liftblog.com. Or, you can just call me a nerd and go about your day....Anyways, now I'll leave you with a photo stream of riblet chairlifts because why not.

im at mrg so i get to ride a pretty interesting lift often. and slidebrook at sugarbush is quite long. where is that picture from? looks super fun.

 

[SmokedGouda]

Yo OP, how safe are chairlifts?

I've had to decrease the frequency of my skiing because I'm getting more and more scared of ski lifts. Gimme some reassurance

As long as the chair is balanced, then there shouldn’t be any issues. I detachables, it’s better to lean the chair towards the towers as opposed to against if equal weight can’t be achieved.

 

[SkiBum.]

After this last 2 weeks I’m over lifts. They are expensive. They brake. They are not my forte and yet here I am fixing and trying to build next steps.

 

[Vish-shoe]

Wasn’t really a joke

 

[Pablo_Sanchez]

I forget what mountain on the east coast but the one where you’re riding and another chairlift intersects like 15 feet below, that’s pretty neat

 

[SteezyYeeter]

Wasn’t really a joke

yeah, it was a flop

 

[SmokedGouda]

I forget what mountain on the east coast but the one where you’re riding and another chairlift intersects like 15 feet below, that’s pretty neat

They’ve got one like that at Breck and if I’m not wrong, it crosses over two lifts(peak 8 superconnect over beaver run and c chair) Think it’s the only chairlift to chairlift overlap in Colorado that I can think of. There might be one with a gondola in aspen but idk

 

[GayWolf420]

2 seater/3 seater fixed grips are a dying art form out west, especially at places that are getting bought out by mega corps. Infrastructure improvements, sure, but some of these people who run ski areas nowadays never had the pleasure of riding shitty old chairs with character and it shows.

 

[Vish-shoe]

2 seater/3 seater fixed grips are a dying art form out west, especially at places that are getting bought out by mega corps. Infrastructure improvements, sure, but some of these people who run ski areas nowadays never had the pleasure of riding shitty old chairs with character and it shows.

Oh no all your old shitty chairlifts are going away??????????????

what a tragedy

 

[GayWolf420]

Oh no all your old shitty chairlifts are going away??????????????

what a tragedy

It truly is. Fuck upload capacity per hour always. Don't give a fuck that your 8-pack can get 5000 skiers up the hill

 

[Nuno812]

I forget what mountain on the east coast but the one where you’re riding and another chairlift intersects like 15 feet below, that’s pretty neat

Sugarloafs snubber and sawduster



Fun to crack a beer and/or light up on snubber, long lift with a glorious view of the loaf

**This post was edited on Feb 21st 2023 at 12:33:54am

 

[SkiBum.]

What sucks is trying to buy and reinstall these old lifts. Contracts with replacement these days makes this almost impossible

2 seater/3 seater fixed grips are a dying art form out west, especially at places that are getting bought out by mega corps. Infrastructure improvements, sure, but some of these people who run ski areas nowadays never had the pleasure of riding shitty old chairs with character and it shows.

 

[BradFiAusNzCoCa]

Nah Monarch mountain in CO has a chair overlap too. Garfield and Pioneer chairs.

They’ve got one like that at Breck and if I’m not wrong, it crosses over two lifts(peak 8 superconnect over beaver run and c chair) Think it’s the only chairlift to chairlift overlap in Colorado that I can think of. There might be one with a gondola in aspen but idk

 

[WabbleDee]

Missing an obvious joke is a pretty telltale sign

Don’t think any of that is autism….anyone with an engineering background or interest in it would find any moving thing fascinating

 

[SmokedGouda]

Nah Monarch mountain in CO has a chair overlap too. Garfield and Pioneer chairs.

And now that im just realizing it, I think theres another at loveland. Man, I was probably just tired. Ive never skied monarch so thats probably why. Should just rephrase it to the only double crossover at breck haha. Ill have to go look at it. Brecks also got the snowflake chair which was probably built by a snowflake because the mid station and angle put into the chair is like a thneed.

 

[SmokedGouda]

Sugarloafs snubber and sawduster

View attachment 1064832

Fun to crack a beer and/or light up on snubber, long lift with a glorious view of the loaf

**This post was edited on Feb 21st 2023 at 12:33:54am

Thats a unique crossover where both lifts utilize the same tower. Imagine the loads haha. Super cool!

 

[BradFiAusNzCoCa]

Yeah you’re right about Loveland. Chair 2 over chair 6. I never ride chair 2 but I ride chair 6 a lot so I should have remembered. Chair 6 is like the best place to go for a powder day there and the park is there

And now that im just realizing it, I think theres another at loveland. Man, I was probably just tired. Ive never skied monarch so thats probably why. Should just rephrase it to the only double crossover at breck haha. Ill have to go look at it. Brecks also got the snowflake chair which was probably built by a snowflake because the mid station and angle put into the chair is like a thneed.

 

[Goretex_Vidal]

Ski community autism manifests as chair lifts instead of trains

Jokes on you, I fixate on both

 

[Goretex_Vidal]

I forget what mountain on the east coast but the one where you’re riding and another chairlift intersects like 15 feet below, that’s pretty neat

Attitash in NH and Mohawk in CT?

 

[SofaKingSick]

Yo OP, how safe are chairlifts?

I've had to decrease the frequency of my skiing because I'm getting more and more scared of ski lifts. Gimme some reassurance

idk shit about chairlifts but how often do we see injuries and accidents compared with the massive number of people they carry up a mountain every winter? i'd be shocked if they're even close to being close to as dangerous as driving a car

I forget what mountain on the east coast but the one where you’re riding and another chairlift intersects like 15 feet below, that’s pretty neat

attitash i think, been ages since i was there

 

[SmokedGouda]

idk shit about chairlifts but how often do we see injuries and accidents compared with the massive number of people they carry up a mountain every winter? i'd be shocked if they're even close to being close to as dangerous as driving a car

attitash i think, been ages since i was there

I believe chairlifts are regarded as the safest form of near/ground transportation in the world if I’m not mistaken and are also cheaper per mile to build vs any other travel form.

to make matters a bit better, in a sea of hundreds of chairlifts, Colorado only sees about 5-10 mishaps a year when not considering emergency evacuation due to a lift issue. Those are more prevalent than actual injury to a person. The only issue I’m aware of this season was when a chair detached from the cable of brecks peak 8 superconnect, but there were no injuries and the person skied away. The chairlift was operating in suboptimal winds but the weight is usually more than enough to keep the cable and chairs on the sheaves attached to the towers.

**This post was edited on Feb 21st 2023 at 2:21:08pm

**This post was edited on Feb 21st 2023 at 2:23:27pm

 

[SteezyYeeter]

at black mountain, their double also crosses over a platter pull.

 

[SmokedGouda]

I also no that two gondolas cross eachother at whistler blackcomb but their lift infrastructure is insane

 

[SkiBum.]

Very few incidents but when something does happen it gains much attention.

Every state has a governing body of some type over the lifts in the state. There is code and regulatory over them all

idk shit about chairlifts but how often do we see injuries and accidents compared with the massive number of people they carry up a mountain every winter? i'd be shocked if they're even close to being close to as dangerous as driving a car

attitash i think, been ages since i was there

 

[partyandBS]

I know the chairs at Breck the best even though I no longer live there. I may be mistaken but I think they have been a testing spot for a bunch of at the time new designs. I remember hearing the old Quiksilver was the first detachable chair. The building needed to do that was massive compared to the terminals we see today lol. As mentioned before, the snowflake makes that hard right and the return line has to make 3 rights and cross over itself to get back lol. Then the new quiksilver is the only chair I have seen that picks up 2 groups at the same time. Idk how that is more efficient though as 1 chair still had to go farther in the terminal to pick up. Then there’s the imperial chair taking you way up.

 

[SmokedGouda]

I know the chairs at Breck the best even though I no longer live there. I may be mistaken but I think they have been a testing spot for a bunch of at the time new designs. I remember hearing the old Quiksilver was the first detachable chair. The building needed to do that was massive compared to the terminals we see today lol. As mentioned before, the snowflake makes that hard right and the return line has to make 3 rights and cross over itself to get back lol. Then the new quiksilver is the only chair I have seen that picks up 2 groups at the same time. Idk how that is more efficient though as 1 chair still had to go farther in the terminal to pick up. Then there’s the imperial chair taking you way up.

Yep. Both Quicksilver chairs(the original 4 person and now the 6 person) have been experimental projects. The first one was a doppelmayr and although it was a detachable and the first one in the WORLD, it ran slow for one too at only 780 ft per minute (newer detaches run at 1000-1200 ft per minute) a second. The new quicksilver chair was a first for poma with a double loading and the first of that in the world. I think breck wanted to be creative with both quicksilver lifts. Imperial was also a marvel at the time being the highest lift and detachable quad in North America and one of a handful of lifts(not gondolas) where the chairs are removed from the line at night and when the lift is closed early season.

 

[tutipups]

Yep. Both Quicksilver chairs(the original 4 person and now the 6 person) have been experimental projects. The first one was a doppelmayr and although it was a detachable and the first one in the WORLD, it ran slow for one too at only 780 ft per minute (newer detaches run at 1000-1200 ft per minute) a second. The new quicksilver chair was a first for poma with a double loading and the first of that in the world. I think breck wanted to be creative with both quicksilver lifts. Imperial was also a marvel at the time being the highest lift and detachable quad in North America and one of a handful of lifts(not gondolas) where the chairs are removed from the line at night and when the lift is closed early season.

what are the other lifts where chairs are removed at night. i know when i went to jay peak there was a day where no chairs where on the flyer but could be because it was a windy day and they removed it for that

 

[SmokedGouda]

what are the other lifts where chairs are removed at night. i know when i went to jay peak there was a day where no chairs where on the flyer but could be because it was a windy day and they removed it for that

It’s usually a majority of the lifts that go above treeline in high wind areas. Some resorts will also just unload the chairs that are above treeline and not below. In Europe, most lifts will unload the chairs at night but such a process can only be done for detachables. Fixed grip chair attachments are weaved into the cable.

 

[ErthwurmpRevenge]

Grew up riding all riblet chairs near Spokane. I love the sound of a riblet and I miss riding a two seater chair, the one seat chairs in Japan look super cool too i'd love to ride one some day.

 

[r00kie]

Love me an old Riblet single post. Also, Mission Ridge's high speed is sick. Feels old but has so many features on it. The Boyne resorts in Michigan have a lot of chairlift history to them as well. First triples and quads I believe and they really helped pioneer the detachables.

 

[SmokedGouda]

Love me an old Riblet single post. Also, Mission Ridge's high speed is sick. Feels old but has so many features on it. The Boyne resorts in Michigan have a lot of chairlift history to them as well. First triples and quads I believe and they really helped pioneer the detachables.

Oh yeah. I saw a weird video just recently though of a high speed double chair. Only weird one of those that I k ew of before was ruthies at aspen which is a high speed triple chair. Those setups are goofy and seems like a waste of money for such low capacity.

to add on now that I think of it, the first high speed 6 pack chair was in the Midwest and featured on a warren Miller film. Thought that was cool.

**This post was edited on Feb 24th 2023 at 1:39:43pm

 

[partyandBS]

Has anyone put in new fixies recently?? Breck put in a fixed 4 pack because its intended to get people to terrain they would lap and would not be lapping it itself. Assuming it saves energy usage as well. Has any resort recently redone a lift

or put in a new fixed lift??

 

[SmokedGouda]

Has anyone put in new fixies recently?? Breck put in a fixed 4 pack because its intended to get people to terrain they would lap and would not be lapping it itself. Assuming it saves energy usage as well. Has any resort recently redone a lift

or put in a new fixed lift??

Abasin redid the Pali chair with a new double. A lot of the big resorts will still put in fixed grip chairs as a means of an egress lift. I think beaver creek put in a new one recently too. There still being built though. That’s for sure.

 

[r00kie]

Has anyone put in new fixies recently?? Breck put in a fixed 4 pack because its intended to get people to terrain they would lap and would not be lapping it itself. Assuming it saves energy usage as well. Has any resort recently redone a lift

or put in a new fixed lift??

They still happen. Canrefae in MI did one this year, Bohemia is allegedly doing one as a replacement. Boyne announced doing a fleet of them over the next couple of years. I think they still have a place in the market for small, non destination operations.

 

[hoodratz47]

Shit your pants on blue chair .......





And the bottom terminal at Anthony lakes just a cute little 3 seater workhorse

 

[SkiBum.]

Skytrack is the main one doing them. They did 4 of them at JFBB this year

Has anyone put in new fixies recently?? Breck put in a fixed 4 pack because its intended to get people to terrain they would lap and would not be lapping it itself. Assuming it saves energy usage as well. Has any resort recently redone a lift

or put in a new fixed lift??

 

[SmokedGouda]

Skytrack is the main one doing them. They did 4 of them at JFBB this year

I think skytrack also did a bunch of upgrades on one of coppers backside lifts

 

[r00kie]

Shit your pants on blue chair .......

View attachment 1065261

View attachment 1065262

And the bottom terminal at Anthony lakes just a cute little 3 seater workhorse

That off ramp is wild lol. Also, rode that Anthony Lakes chair on Monday, cool little spot you got there.

 

[Goretex_Vidal]

Crossing over the platter pull on the summit double at Black Mountain.