252 replies to this topic

[SkiDaBird]

Kind of self explanatory but I was wondering what you all think. It can be crazy, I just want to hear some ideas. As a Utah skier I will throw a few out there.

Motherlode at Park City. Long, slow and a large pod. Motherlode would help take pressure off of Silverlode.
Mineral Basin at Snowbird. Sounds odd, but Snowbird wants to extend Mineral as a part of their Mary Ellen expansion. I hope that instead of extending the existing lift, they put in a 6 pack to help move crowds that arrive on bluebird days, plus all of the Mary Ellen traffic since that will be the only egress. They could then use the old lift for a replacement of Mid-Gad or Wilbere, or both if they went from the bottom of Mid-Gad to top of Wilbere.

[snoloco]

The South Peak Express at Mountain Creek NEEDS to be a 6 pack. It is intensely crowded with a 15-20 minute quite frequently. There is massive trail acerage on South Peak and only one HSQ. The trails could handle the extra traffic and could handle it even better if they put lighting in on Red Tail. The High Peaks Lift at Gore should be replaced soon as it is an old piece of junk that breaks all the time. The Ramshead Express at Killington should be upgraded to a 6 pack and the Snowdon Quad upgraded to an HSQ.

[skier2]

Lifts that need a replacement:

The gondola / Lutsen, MN
Bull Chair / Lutsen
Bridge Chair / Lutsen
Gandy Chair / Spirit Mountain, MN
The Quad / Buck Hill, MN
Morningside / Steamboat
Elkhead / Steamboat
Bashor / Steamboat (needs realignment)
Bar Ue / Steamboat (although I appreciate the feel of this lift as a low-cap double)
Chair 2 / Loveland
Motherlode / Park City
Town / Park CIty
Thaynes / Park City (could also be removed with Motherlode realignment)

Lifts that could just be removed:

Eagle Mountain Chair / Lutsen
Priest Creek / Steamboat
Summit Chair / Spirit Mountain, MN
Half of the redundant lifts at Afton Alps, MN
Half of the redundant lifts at Welch Village, MN

[boardski]

I was noticing long lines at Mineral Basin last time I skied the bird. Seems like they almost need a second lift in addition to Mineral Basin to return skiers/ riders back to the front side. Especially if they are wanting to add more terrain which would require a lift ride up MB to return to the front. That 6 pack would be good for the second lift. Since people need to ride the lift to get back out of the bowl, the high capacity lifts would not put more people on those runs, they would just help people not get stuck in 20+ minute lines. As for the places I go in Colorado, here are a few:
Loveland: Time to modify lift #2. I would like to see them move the bottom of the current lift to the midway reload and install a new lift from the bottom (opposite side of ticket office) to E-Tow cabin.
Lift #5 should also be restored to normal operation.

Mary Jane: (at Winter Park): Sunnyside should be replaced with HSQ and current triple should be moved to replace Pony Express and Iron Horse by Starting at bottom of Pony, midway unload near top of current Pony and top station at top of Iron Horse.

A-Basin: Replace Lenawee with HSQ (or FGQ if too windy on top) and move current FGT to replace Pallavicini.

Sunlight: All new lifts needed, good place for some "not too used" triples and quads, they should also add a lift in the "Sunlight Extreme" area, great trails but the run-out is a hassle. A great area but I worry about it's future.

Steamboat: Should either start running Priest Creek (old FGD which paralells HSQ) or replace with a newer lift which can be used to make it possible to ski the Sundown area without dealing with horrendous lines and multiple slows and stops on Sundown chair.

Copper: A gondola or "Chondola" would be nice to replace Flyer. If the plan is to start grooming everything like they do around Super Bee once Alpine is upgraded, I hope the Alpine stays as is (long FGD) until it rots.

Purgatory: Needs some type of two-way transfer tow to go between lifts 3,5,8 (along the bottom would be nice) similar to the one Alta has.

[DonaldMReif]

I think the American Flyer needs to stay a chairlift. No offense, but it does have terrain that can be lapped, and I think it's in pretty good shape.

Other lifts in Colorado I think need upgrading:

Breckenridge:

Colorado SuperChair- This one is confirmed to be happening.

Lift 6 and Lift E - both should become high speed quads to increase capacity. One of them could then be used to replace the T-Bar.


Crested Butte:
Twister could be removed, although the master plans suggest making it a fixed grip quad.

Teocalli-Either upgrade to a high speed quad and extend downhill, or run on a more regular basis

[boardski]

Would the T-Bar area at Breck be too windy for a chair though? I definitely agree with upgrading 6 and it would be nice to extend the lift lower down to originate next to E lift. More people must be using E now to warrant a high-speed lift (last time I skied Breck was 2012). The Teocalli idea sounds good too.

Regarding Morningside at Steamboat (from an earlier post), it might be worthwhile to try a loading carpet there before upgrading to HSQ. Upgrading that chair to high speed is going to make the chutes very accessible to inexperienced tourists= a lot of injuries and difficult rescues. It would be nice if the terrain could be expanded back there but I don't know where they could go. Looks considerably flat at the bottom of Morningside.

Do the ski area management personnel who make the decisions about lift upgrades read our ideas? I think we should all be hired :-)

This post has been edited by boardski: 18 February 2014 - 06:57 PM

[RibStaThiok]

snoloco, on 18 February 2014 - 06:03 PM, said:

The South Peak Express at Mountain Creek NEEDS to be a 6 pack. It is intensely crowded with a 15-20 minute quite frequently. There is massive trail acerage on South Peak and only one HSQ. The trails could handle the extra traffic and could handle it even better if they put lighting in on Red Tail. The High Peaks Lift at Gore should be replaced soon as it is an old piece of junk that breaks all the time. The Ramshead Express at Killington should be upgraded to a 6 pack and the Snowdon Quad upgraded to an HSQ.

What kind of lift is High Peaks?

[ss20]

Snowdon (either the triple or the quad) @ Killington
Sunbrook @ Mount Snow
Tempest @ Sunday River

[RibStaThiok]

skier2, on 18 February 2014 - 06:14 PM, said:

Lifts that need a replacement:

The gondola / Lutsen, MN
Bull Chair / Lutsen
Bridge Chair / Lutsen
Gandy Chair / Spirit Mountain, MN
The Quad / Buck Hill, MN
Morningside / Steamboat
Elkhead / Steamboat
Bashor / Steamboat (needs realignment)
Bar Ue / Steamboat (although I appreciate the feel of this lift as a low-cap double)
Chair 2 / Loveland
Motherlode / Park City
Town / Park CIty
Thaynes / Park City (could also be removed with Motherlode realignment)

Lifts that could just be removed:

Eagle Mountain Chair / Lutsen
Priest Creek / Steamboat
Summit Chair / Spirit Mountain, MN
Half of the redundant lifts at Afton Alps, MN
Half of the redundant lifts at Welch Village, MN

Why morningside? She was installed back in the mid-90s and when I rode her in the late 90s, it was a great lift with not too much traffic on it at the time.

[Backbowlsbilly]

Some more Colorado lifts that I think need upgrading;

Purgatory: Actually, the transfer lift between 3, 5 and 8 (Legends, Grizzly and Hermosa Park Express) is on the mountain's master plan, known as the Purgatory Subway. I would also like to see the replacement of Legends with a high speed quad and the replacement of Twlight with a high speed quad or high speed six. Legends serves some fun glades and Twilight is usually the first lift to open and both of those would be big improvements to the resort.

A-Basin: Lenawee isn't going to get replaced since it is a relatively new lift but Pali is on the master plan to get replaced, likely with a fixed double or triple since A-Basin said the new lift would be of similar capacity.

Breckenridge: I'd also like to see 6 Chair get replaced, it always backs up with a huge line in the morning during the rush to Imperial. This would be good as a low capacity high-speed quad, a lot like Imperial is now. Replacing 5-Chair would be good for relieving lines at Peak 8 but I don't think that's going to happen because of the lifts turn, access to the alpine slide and its newfound importance in Breck's Epic Discovery summer plans. I don't think the T-Bar needs to be replaced, especially if 6-Chair is getting replaced and I don't know how good that would go with locals because it would encoruage more people onto the T-Bar terrain. I know that many skiers don't head over to the T-Bar just because of the lift itself.

Keystone: Replacing Wayback with a high speed quad would make it so much easier to get back from the Outback and I think this one is on Keystone's plans. Replacement of Argentine or Montezuma would be nice too, just to relieve crowding on Dercum Mountain. Not sure if this counts but I'd like to see a lift in Bergman Bowl, the terrain is really fun up there but its a long hike up from the Outpost.

Vail: Sun Up Lift is one I would like to see replaced with a high speed quad, just because it funnels all the traffic from PHQ onto that lift to get into China Bowl and Blue Sky Basin. I would ski a lot more over there if it was replaced, just like I ski much more in Sun Down Bowl now that High Noon was replaced. A lift in Mongolia Bowl would be really nice too, going from the start of the catwalk to the top of the current platter. Siberia and the Mongolia Bowls are really fun but hard to get to.

Winter Park: I'd like to see either Zephyr or Arrow replaced with a new high speed lift. This is mainly because I use both of those lifts for access for my races and if one of them was faster and a higher capacity, it would be a really good improvement. I also use those to get back to Prospector and Eskimo and the new lift would relieve base area crowding, no matter which lift it replaces.

[skier2]

RibStaThiok, on 18 February 2014 - 07:20 PM, said:

Why morningside? She was installed back in the mid-90s and when I rode her in the late 90s, it was a great lift with not too much traffic on it at the time.

I feel the lift would benefit from either carpet loading or replacement with a low-capacity HSQ like Pony Express. It's not a 'bad' lift, its certainly in excellent condition--its just that the lines move slowly, and the chair sees frequent slows and stops. IMO planning the mountain so that that lift is the primary access route for the chutes was not a good idea. Many people view Morningside as low-intermediate backcountry terrain, and people ski that area of the mountain without the intent to ski the chutes; the lift becomes a funnel for both people specifically wanting to access the chutes and for inexperienced skiers lapping the backside. Not necessarily a good combination. It would be nice to have a front-side lift that accessed solely the chutes. Something above Pony Express.

[SkiDaBird]

I forgot to mention Supreme at Alta. It's an 81 YAN double that got new chairs and a few new tower heads in 2001 as well as a carpet about 5 years ago. It can get messy at times with the amount of people going there, especially on powder days or when Collins is having issues. Also, that can be a really cold and long ride. An HSQ would really smooth everything over there.

[TheEpicPancake]

A few people have mentioned Motherlode at Park City. I definitely agree with that, along with Thaynes. So many fantastic runs over there, but both of those lifts are painfully slow. Maybe if they took out both of them and just put in one HSQ. It could start at the bottom of the current Motherlode and end at the top of the current Thaynes.

Also, does anyone have a suggestion to reduce the number of lifts required to get to the top of Jupiter? Right now it takes 4 lifts to get to the top.
My suggestion: Take out the Town lift and Pioneer, and replace them with one long gondola. If you look on Google Earth, it would only take one angle station. The gondola would follow the path of Town, there could be a mid station where the current Town ends, it would continue straight up the mountain, and the angle station would be just slightly below the current base of Pioneer. The gondola would then follow the Pioneer line to the top.

This would solve many issues: Upgrading the Town lift (which PCMR should be concerned about given DV's plans for a Main Street gondola), upgrading Pioneer (which is painfully slow), and reducing the number of lifts required to get to Jupiter (including from the base area, as you could ride Payday, then load the gondola at the mid station, and then ski right to Jupiter). What do you all think?

[TheEpicPancake]

Dreamscape and/or Dreamcatcher at the Canyons. Also, Peak 5. There are no high speed lifts on that whole side of the resort, minus Iron Mountain.

[DonaldMReif]

Backbowlsbilly, on 18 February 2014 - 09:04 PM, said:

Some more Colorado lifts that I think need upgrading;

Purgatory: Actually, the transfer lift between 3, 5 and 8 (Legends, Grizzly and Hermosa Park Express) is on the mountain's master plan, known as the Purgatory Subway. I would also like to see the replacement of Legends with a high speed quad and the replacement of Twlight with a high speed quad or high speed six. Legends serves some fun glades and Twilight is usually the first lift to open and both of those would be big improvements to the resort.

A-Basin: Lenawee isn't going to get replaced since it is a relatively new lift but Pali is on the master plan to get replaced, likely with a fixed double or triple since A-Basin said the new lift would be of similar capacity.

Breckenridge: I'd also like to see 6 Chair get replaced, it always backs up with a huge line in the morning during the rush to Imperial. This would be good as a low capacity high-speed quad, a lot like Imperial is now. Replacing 5-Chair would be good for relieving lines at Peak 8 but I don't think that's going to happen because of the lifts turn, access to the alpine slide and its newfound importance in Breck's Epic Discovery summer plans. I don't think the T-Bar needs to be replaced, especially if 6-Chair is getting replaced and I don't know how good that would go with locals because it would encoruage more people onto the T-Bar terrain. I know that many skiers don't head over to the T-Bar just because of the lift itself.

Keystone: Replacing Wayback with a high speed quad would make it so much easier to get back from the Outback and I think this one is on Keystone's plans. Replacement of Argentine or Montezuma would be nice too, just to relieve crowding on Dercum Mountain. Not sure if this counts but I'd like to see a lift in Bergman Bowl, the terrain is really fun up there but its a long hike up from the Outpost.

Vail: Sun Up Lift is one I would like to see replaced with a high speed quad, just because it funnels all the traffic from PHQ onto that lift to get into China Bowl and Blue Sky Basin. I would ski a lot more over there if it was replaced, just like I ski much more in Sun Down Bowl now that High Noon was replaced. A lift in Mongolia Bowl would be really nice too, going from the start of the catwalk to the top of the current platter. Siberia and the Mongolia Bowls are really fun but hard to get to.

Winter Park: I'd like to see either Zephyr or Arrow replaced with a new high speed lift. This is mainly because I use both of those lifts for access for my races and if one of them was faster and a higher capacity, it would be a really good improvement. I also use those to get back to Prospector and Eskimo and the new lift would relieve base area crowding, no matter which lift it replaces.

I believe the Argentine upgrade is also on Keystone's master plan.

With regards to improving lift traffic on Peak 8, I don't think a Lift 5 upgrade is necessary given that the Colorado SuperChair will become a high speed six pack next year, which is important because that lift services the early season terrain package. Or at the very least, Lift 5 should be upgraded to a triple chairlift.

This is also interesting, but when Breckenridge first announced the Colorado SuperChair upgrade, I saw a number of people on Facebook who were like "you should reuse the original lift to upgrade Lift 6". I mean, I think it would be in the resort's best interests to reuse the lift elsewhere on the mountain, in part because they replaced the chairs on the lift back in the summer of 2012. Maybe not in the Lift 6 alignment, but maybe in the Lift E alignment. However, Lift E is only about a six minute ride at most, and that's not bad by any standards.

I can agree that Sun Up at Vail could use a replacement, if for the sole fact that practically everything else on the mountain is either a high speed quad or a high speed six pack and it's the sole triple chairlift outside a learning area.

[skidude2]

First thing that came to my mind when I saw this post was indeed Motherlode at PCMR. Everything has been well stated here. Silverlode definitely needs some relief. It always has a long line.

Dreamcatcher at Canyons needs to be made into a detachable. Dreamscape and Peak 5 are not too long so I'm fine with fixed grips there but Dreamcatcher is a long lift with decent vertical and a lot of great runs that get ignored.

Also (since I'm in Utah):

Solitude could use a couple replacements on some of the shorter lifts. They need more length!

[CH3skier]

I would like to see Snowbasin replace Wildcat and Becker with new lifts. Both are painfully slow and I don't think I can ever get through a ride without multiple stops. Porcupine is a long lift with about 1500 vertical, making it a HSQ would take some pressure off the Needles gondola since it wouldn't funnel everyone back down the bottom of the mountian.

[snoloco]

RibStaThiok, on 18 February 2014 - 07:15 PM, said:

What kind of lift is High Peaks?

1966 Riblet Double. It broke for a few weeks a couple years ago, and I have heard of multiple breakdowns this year. It is in their master plan to replace it though, most likely with a fixed grip triple or quad.

[floridaskier]

Park City:
- Thaynes isn't too bad, it's pretty short and mostly serves bump runs, so it's nice on the legs. Motherlode is a different story though. That's just painful, and a high speed quad there would take a lot of the pressure off the overcrowded Silverlode. My proposal: King Con six pack, and use the old King Con to replace Motherlode. A single lift to replace Motherlode and Thaynes would be pretty bad for the Thaynes pod - it's a flat, long, narrow runout down Thaynes Canyon to get to Motherlode (and more runout to get all the way down to King Con).
- Town Lift isn't used much but it's a very high visibility lift for the whole town. Would be great to see a gondola here (and my pipe dream of the Town Lift to Deer Valley Silver Lake gondola probably ain't happening, but it would be cool)

The Canyons
- Dreamscape, Dreamcatcher, Peak 5, Day Break are all too slow, poorly aligned, and not covered with any

Snowbasin
- Agreed that it would be great to see Wildcat, Becker, and Middle Bowl replaced at some point. Middle Bowl isn't open very often, and it would be nice to be able to lap the terrain there faster. The gondolas are nice, but it would be good not to have to take your skis off every time.


I remember there was talk in the newspaper about Motherlode getting replaced in the summer of 2008, but they did Ski Team/Crescent instead (a better idea in my opinion). I would think Motherlode is at the top of the list once they get their ownership issues ironed out with Vail and Talisker, but not before

[RibStaThiok]

CH3skier, on 19 February 2014 - 01:12 PM, said:

I would like to see Snowbasin replace Wildcat and Becker with new lifts. Both are painfully slow and I don't think I can ever get through a ride without multiple stops. Porcupine is a long lift with about 1500 vertical, making it a HSQ would take some pressure off the Needles gondola since it wouldn't funnel everyone back down the bottom of the mountian.

Wildcat rarely gets used anymore. It's more of a back-up in case Becker or Needles goes down. Every once in awhile it will get used on a Saturday and Sunday. If Needles goes down, Needles Lodge can still be used via access from Middle Bowl which would get access from Wildcat and Becker. As for Middle Bowl it is a good lift in the late season as there is still a considerable amount of snow in the Middle Bowl area in spring time and if you will recall a few years ago after the resort had closed winter ops, they ended up re-opening Middlebowl via access from Becker because of the amount of snow still in that area. They had to take Needles down for its maintenance and preps for summer ops, so MB was the workhorse of the mountain.

If Sun Valley has the desire to spend some $$$ then yes, Becker and Porcupine could benefit from an upgrade to a HST or HSQ to shorten the ride time but I don't think an upgrade of Middlebowl or Wildcat is needed since they are not used all the time as it is.

There had been some discussion a few years back about putting in a FG lift in the Strawberry area for access into and out of should the Straw Gondola ever go down or be shut down due to the high winds that tend to frequent upper Strawberry. I had suggested back then the possibility of an upgrade and relocate of the Thiokol Wildcat Tripple over to Strawberry Bowl.

This post has been edited by RibStaThiok: 19 February 2014 - 07:35 PM