40 replies to this topic

[DonaldMReif]

Speaking of which, we have video of the Colorado SuperChair now:
https://www.youtube....h?v=9hDT7yeG-_8 (snowy conditions)

https://www.youtube....h?v=o-N_aFP56_I (clear skies, but some distracting background conversation)

And, the Rocky Mountain SuperChair, showing off the repainted terminals:
https://www.youtube....h?v=IaK4Kr_OwM4

[NHskier13]

The new Colorado is pretty speedy!
Got any of the Beaver Run with new chairs/

[DonaldMReif]

Beaver Run SuperChair with new chairs (apologies if the lighting's a little overexposed; that's a problem with my video camera I'm trying to correct):
https://www.youtube....eature=youtu.be

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 24 December 2014 - 06:27 PM

[liftmech]

I want to make my motor room look like the former one from the (quad) Colorado. Much better than my old chipped concrete and peeling paint. That said, I don't think the wood trim is necessarily 'European style', just that it's probably more expensive and most American resorts/areas are a bit more concerned with the bottom line. Finally, Donald, the liftline of the former quad had hold-down assemblies where the new one has combos not because 'technology has improved in the last 30 years' but because the former lift crossed the line of the old chair 2. There were combo assemblies in 1986; the original profile of the Flyer had 7 towers with combos (fortunately they raised the tower height and made them supports instead).

[DonaldMReif]

Yesterday, I happened to notice that some parts from the original quad were being stored in a clearing not too far from the Vista Haus. They appear to be the crossarms (some with sheave wheels still on them) and the lifting frame/towerheads.

Due to the perspective, you can only see two in these photos, but when viewing this area from the Colorado SuperChair six pack, I could count at least three tower heads being stored there:

[snoloco]

I wonder what they are storing them for. Could be reused on a fixed grip built in the future.

[DonaldMReif]

In the photos, if you blow them up, you'll notice that the tower number plates are still attached to the tower heads, showing that these apparently used to be the heads on towers 16 and 17 on the original lift.

[liftmech]

They're storing them for rebuild swap-outs elsewhere. When I got parts off the old lift this spring, the guys mentioned they wanted to have a couple of of assemblies (at least one each 4, 6, and 8) rebuilt and ready to go for other lifts. That way if an assembly on, say, Beaver Run were to need a rebuild they could just swap it out rather than having to take it to the shop, rebuild it in a hurry, and put it back up.

[DonaldMReif]

...or the Falcon SuperChair, since that lift comes from the same period as the original Colorado SuperChair.

[DonaldMReif]

Second photo update: new lift name plates have shown up on a few of the Breck lifts in the past two seasons.

New name plates were added last spring to Quicksilver Super6:


A new name plate was installed on the Rocky Mountain SuperChair this year;

[DonaldMReif]

I'll give you some Colorado SuperChair pictures in sunny conditions:

[DonaldMReif]

And some profile pictures from off the lift line:

[shelldog]

liftmech, on 27 December 2014 - 08:14 AM, said:

They're storing them for rebuild swap-outs elsewhere. When I got parts off the old lift this spring, the guys mentioned they wanted to have a couple of of assemblies (at least one each 4, 6, and 8) rebuilt and ready to go for other lifts. That way if an assembly on, say, Beaver Run were to need a rebuild they could just swap it out rather than having to take it to the shop, rebuild it in a hurry, and put it back up.

Some of these crossarms are being saved for a possible rope evacuation training "lift" for patrol. You are correct though, the assemblies will be available in a pinch.

[DonaldMReif]

I doubt Breck will be needing a second rope evacuation training "lift", seeing as they already have the one that's on Peak 9 that appears to have been fashioned from a couple towers of what used to be Lift D (ride the Beaver Run SuperChair and look into the trees on your right after you cross under the Peak 8 SuperConnect but before the lift line joins Lower Sundown).

[liftmech]

Pretty sure Shelldog knows what he's talking about, Donald.

[DonaldMReif]

This was Part 1 from the Behind the Scenes videos made last year that documented the construction of the Kensho SuperChair:

https://www.youtube....h?v=vZkFm5D12sg

The way the guy in the video describes it, the wood siding on both the Kensho SuperChair and the Colorado SuperChair was custom-ordered and meant to be patterned after the appearance given to a number of detachables in Europe. The wood siding is, as has been mentioned on this thread, similar on the two lifts, but it's a darker shade of wood on the Colorado SuperChair. As originally built, the terminal supports on the Colorado SuperChair are also tan while the terminal supports on the Kensho SuperChair are more of a silvery-gray (the towers on both appear to be galvanized metal). I also noticed, looking back at my photos of both lifts from the past week, that there seem to be some small structural differences to the undersides of the terminals on the two lifts around where I believe the bullwheel is located, which is more noticeable when comparing their upper terminals, but I think these could have something to do with the fact that the Colorado SuperChair is a top-drive lift, like the original lift, and the Kensho SuperChair is a bottom-drive lift.

On the Colorado SuperChair:




On the Kensho SuperChair:

[DonaldMReif]

Having gone back to Breckenridge last Thursday:

1. The Mercury SuperChair has also received the bar-mounted map displays:


2. Besides upgrading the Colorado SuperChair and giving the Beaver Run SuperChair new chairs, the Peak 9 Restaurant was renovated and renamed the Overlook Restaurant. Of course, when I was up there in December, there were still quite a lot of signs referring to the establishment as the Peak 9 Restaurant, but most of those signs that referred to the Peak 9 Restaurant have been replaced by new signs that properly call it the Overlook, like this one near the top of the Mercury SuperChair:

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 16 March 2015 - 06:20 AM

[DonaldMReif]

Summertime operations:

Like its predecessor, the Colorado SuperChair is used for Breckenridge's summer scenic chairlift ride operations. Here's some pictures of how the operations look in the summer:

At the bottom terminal, the loading carpet is covered over by a stationary platform:


Every fifth chair has had its seat removed and is used for transporting bikes:


On the chairs not converted into bike carriers, the map displays have been taken off so that the mountain map on them can be replaced:


On an unrelated note, between towers 10 and 11, I noticed that some of the concrete footers from Lift 2, which was removed in 1997, are still present:

[RibStaThiok]

what a beautiful lift. What speed are they running her for summer ops?

[shelldog]

RibStaThiok, on 15 July 2015 - 02:05 PM, said:

what a beautiful lift. What speed are they running her for summer ops?

600 to 700 fpm