Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

DonaldMReif, on 18 September 2015 - 04:18 PM, said:

Speaking of older detachable chairlifts, here is an oddity that I found in Switzerland:

•Tschuggen-Ost, Arosa, WSO Städeli-Lift, 1983. As if being a detachable triple wasn't unique enough, this lift also has no footrests, which is very unusual for European fixed grip lifts, let alone detachables. To top it off, this lift shared all of its towers with a parallel T-bar, whose removal in 1998 left the chairlift with strange offset towers.

Another unusual detachable chairlift is the Nazhvan quad. This lift is a standard Yan high speed quad in all respects, except for the fact that it runs through a park in Esfahan, Iran. Lift-world.info lists the install date as 2014: is this an error, or do any American resort employees recall selling a lift to Iran?

Here are two chairlifts with turns, both by Doppelmayr:
http://www.remontees...rtage-3785.html
http://www.remontees...rtage-4031.html
This post has been edited by Conrad: 19 September 2015 - 03:57 AM

You mean the only HSQ valt drive? I know of another HSQ with a valt drive, (Needles Express, HSQ Doppie at Snowbasin, top drive)
http://www.skilifts....topstation4.jpg
http://www.skilifts....topstation3.jpg

Needles is a gondola, not a chairlift.

Here's another odd lift from Europe:
•Chalvet, Alpe d'Huez, CECIL, 1980. This fixed grip double climbs up a very steep rocky slope, and is also a rare model as it is one of only 4 chairlifts constructed by CECIL, a French snowmaking company who diversified into ski lifts for a brief period in the early 1980s before having to shut down due to the disappearance of the manager.

passengerpigeon, on 18 September 2015 - 07:24 PM, said:

My recollection is that Silver Star, BC which had installed a few Yan detachables began stockpiling used lift parts as they became available. When they eventually replaced their Yan detaches the package of their lifts and the used lifts were sold to an unidentified Broker and the rumored destination for the lifts was Iran. I believe Ski Lifts Unlimited was involved in the packaging of the components for container shipment.
I never followed the lifts after that.
Dino

Lift Dinosaur, on 20 September 2015 - 07:45 AM, said:

Dino's comment about the Iran Yan lifts possibly coming from Silver Star would make sense on a practical level. The two Silver Star YAN detachable Quad lifts were first installed new at Silver Star in 1991. They were replaced in 2002 by the Comet Express and Powder Gulch Express (both Leitner Poma). In 2002 these lifts were only eleven years old, not much wrong with them except that the name YAN carried bad memories when it came to detachable Quads in the USA and Canada. So I am not surprised to hear that they were both shipped offshore.

Donald there are still a few of vault drive HSQs other than Flyer, Eagle at Solitude and Peruvian at Snowbird come to mind.

vons, on 20 September 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

He meant Poma, but you are absolutely right.

DonaldMReif, on 19 September 2015 - 07:42 PM, said:

Same thing. just an enclosed cabin and can carry 4 more people. Well kind of. :P ok not really.

Lift Dinosaur, on 20 September 2015 - 07:45 AM, said:

Do you know the types and manufacturers of the other lifts in the bundle? It would be interesting to see where they ended up.

passengerpigeon, on 22 September 2015 - 10:46 PM, said:

They were all pieces and parts from various Yan detachables. Not sure if there were any other complete lifts included.
I'm out of town but will do some sleuthing when I get back.
Dino

The Georgian ski resort of Bakuriani has a few lifts that look like they were built during the height of the Dark Ages and haven't been repaired since. There is this single chairlift, which has no safety bar, a rudimentary backrest and looks very flimsy, and this lift, which is also a single chairlift but is much better constructed. Another notable lift in the first video is a fixed grip platter lift which for whatever reason is equipped with detachable platter grips.
This post has been edited by passengerpigeon: 24 September 2015 - 04:13 AM

The chairs on this one rotate to face outwards. https://www.youtube....hC6k-Hv556_r4Rw

passengerpigeon, on 24 September 2015 - 04:10 AM, said:

Almost looks like a T-bar that was converted to a chairlift plug 'n play style...

woofydoggie, on 24 September 2015 - 04:23 PM, said:

That's probably the most pointless feature I have ever seen on a chairlift.

I concur.

I can imagine that lift having more wind closures than a typical chairlift.

The old Garaventa Pulse at Squaw was a bit unique. It was a jig back gondola with two groups of four cabins with a turn. As far as I can tell it was a jig back to make the turn easier, the grips could face the same direction on both sides of the haul rope making it not necessary to do the whole three lefts to make a right a fixed grip usually goes through. It had large horizontal sheave assemblies to make the turn. The lift would slow while the cabins were in the turn, which both sets were not in the turn at the same time (since the turn wasn't in the exact middle of the lift) so lit which never ran fast in the first place, would slow down twice for every trip. It was removed somewhere around 2010, or 2011 I can't quite remember.

http://www.skilifts....pulse/pulse.htm

The defunct South Ridge lift at Killington was unique. It was a triple chairlift, but the uphill line traveled diagonally away from the bottom terminal, made a midway turn with two bullwheels, then traveled to the top terminal. The downhill line was a straight shot from the top terminal to the bottom terminal. I think they'd planned to build a mid-station at the turn at one point, but this never saw the light of day.