199 replies to this topic

[liftmech]

Crystal Coach, on 05 August 2010 - 09:25 AM, said:

Also the line speed: 800 fpm doesn't seem that fast. None of Crystal's high speed lifts seem as fast as those at Stevens or White Pass. I assume this is done to save money, correct?

Not necessarily. I recall working on Rex in the mid-90s and we'd run at different speeds depending upon conditions and clientele. Most weekdays we ran full (1000 FPM) speed, busy Saturdays we'd go down to 900 or so to give guests that extra bit to load. (Unloading didn't seem to be that much of a problem). Wind would also cause us to slow down. During the summer we'd turn the slow dial down, and load and unload guests at 300 FPM while running them up or down at full speed.

[Peter]

I'm kind of going out on a limb here, but it seems as though Crystal may be rigging up some sort of gravity pipe system for getting concrete down the line for the tower footings. There is a large tank at the top next to a concrete mixer machine with a metal pipe coming out of it. I am just going off of the picture here, but it looks like there is some mechanism to have the tank spin. Further down the mountain there is a long section of pipe along the line but right now it does not go all the way to the tank. Has anyone heard of something like this before?

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[zeedotcom]

Don't know if it is the same thing, but I was told that one of the lifts at a local area around here had been poured from the top. They added some sort of compound to the concrete to make it extra runny (though it was not water) and then pumped it downhill. I guess the whole thing basically set up before they got the last couple poured and they wound up carrying it in buckets or something.

[Peter]

Well according to an update today on Crystal's site, the pipe is for 5,000 feet of communication line. They are hand digging the trench for it. Anyone know why it would be underground and not on the towers?

[Keymech]

Skier, on 10 August 2010 - 05:47 PM, said:

Well according to an update today on Crystal's site, the pipe is for 5,000 feet of communication line. They are hand digging the trench for it. Anyone know why it would be underground and not on the towers?

What type of communication? Max. voltage allowed in a tower mounted comm-line is 48 volts, If I remember correctly, some lee way for telephone ringer signal.

[vons]

A buried line is less likely to get damaged in a storm or snap from Ice buildup.

[Peter]

Crystal also just announced RFID Axcess ticketing and electronic lift status signs all over the mountain. http://www.blogcrystal.com/
A lot of money being spent this summer!

[Peter]

Lost of progress at Crystal in the last few weeks. I hiked straight up the lift line today. They are starting to build the forms for the load platform at the bottom. Nearly all of the tower holes have been dug. The communications trench along the whole line has been dug, pipe put in and refilled except for gaps at each tower location. The top is coming along too. More parts are in the lot, including grips, hangers, windows, terminal cladding, and roof sections. The terminals are going to be white with silver end pieces. All that's missing still is the towers, drive, and cabins.

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[Peter]

Crystal just tweeted, "34 degrees at the Summit today- it's starting to feel like winter! In the spirit of snow, we ordered another five gondola cabins today- bringing the total to 23!"

[Bill]

White Pass got snow at the top of Coulier Express (sp?)...

[Crystal Coach]

Crystal just added more photos. They are putting together the bottom terminal, among other work. www.skicrystal.com

[Peter]

New trail map

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[Crystal Coach]

Where will the drive system be, top or bottom?

[Peter]

Drive is at the bottom. It has already been installed.

[vons]

From the resort photos, the lift looks to be a bottom drive/tension with a fixed top return.

[Peter]

Screenshots from a video on Crystal's site:

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[Limelight]

Any idea when they may fly the towers?

[Peter]

Crystal site says: "We expect to fly the towers sometime around the 18th of October – stay tuned!"

[Limelight]

Very cool! Why so late?? Weather in mid OCT is not going to be very helicopter friendly. Didn't they push it into late fall during construction of the last one?

[Peter]

Northway was in November!