snoloco
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2021
On Sunday, they put a note on the snow report saying that the gondola was running at reduced speed, and to use Tomahawk for upper mountain laps. I noticed on the webcam that it was running at about 3 m/sec, and continued running at the slower speed all week. I figured that it was either running on diesel, or with the RPD system deactivated. Since it was confirmed that it was running on diesel, I'll explain how the diesel backup works on that particular lift.
There are 3 ways to power the lift. The first is the electric motor, which can run at the full speed of 5 m/sec, and is used at most times. The second method is the stand-by diesel, which can run the lift at 4 m/sec, and the lift can continue to operate all day. Sometimes, resorts will run lifts on diesel for weeks or even months if there are long term electrical issues. For example, Gore ran the Burnt Ridge Quad on diesel for the last several weeks it was open last season, due to apparent issues with the power supply. The third method is the evac drive. It is a smaller diesel engine, that runs at a very low speed, I think only 1 m/sec. It is only used to unload and close the lift. If patrol did a rope evac, then either all 3 power sources were unusable, or there was some other issue that prevented the lift from moving at all. It's also possible that since it was a weekday, there may have been very few people on the lift, and it was quicker to just rope evac it than to run the evac drive for the length of time to takes to clear the line. But I highly doubt that scenario. While ski patrol has trained extensively to perform rope evacs, they are not without their risks, and it's almost always better to use the evac drive if it can be used.
Whatever the issue is with the gondola, they are in a bad place without it. This is similar to Gore last year, where the gondola broke down when it was the only way to access the summit. Belleayre's gondola is unavailable when due to which trails are open, it is the only way to access the West Side from either lodge. I think they opened the Overlook Quad today on a short notice when they had likely not been planning to run it until Friday or Saturday. Any East Side trails that were open previously required lapping the gondola and then skiing down through the lower mountain. If the gondola is going to be down for any length of time, then they need to move snowmaking to Expressway and the rest of Tomahawk Crossing immediately, so that it's possible to go back and forth without the gondola. The shuttle might be ok on a weekday, but it will become quickly overwhelmed on a weekend. Also, note that they haven't even mentioned that the shuttle is running. They also screwed up by not having the Superchief up to date on maintenance. The 3 fixed grips might be ok midweek, but they aren't going to cut it on a weekend when people have snow in their backyards.
There are 3 ways to power the lift. The first is the electric motor, which can run at the full speed of 5 m/sec, and is used at most times. The second method is the stand-by diesel, which can run the lift at 4 m/sec, and the lift can continue to operate all day. Sometimes, resorts will run lifts on diesel for weeks or even months if there are long term electrical issues. For example, Gore ran the Burnt Ridge Quad on diesel for the last several weeks it was open last season, due to apparent issues with the power supply. The third method is the evac drive. It is a smaller diesel engine, that runs at a very low speed, I think only 1 m/sec. It is only used to unload and close the lift. If patrol did a rope evac, then either all 3 power sources were unusable, or there was some other issue that prevented the lift from moving at all. It's also possible that since it was a weekday, there may have been very few people on the lift, and it was quicker to just rope evac it than to run the evac drive for the length of time to takes to clear the line. But I highly doubt that scenario. While ski patrol has trained extensively to perform rope evacs, they are not without their risks, and it's almost always better to use the evac drive if it can be used.
Whatever the issue is with the gondola, they are in a bad place without it. This is similar to Gore last year, where the gondola broke down when it was the only way to access the summit. Belleayre's gondola is unavailable when due to which trails are open, it is the only way to access the West Side from either lodge. I think they opened the Overlook Quad today on a short notice when they had likely not been planning to run it until Friday or Saturday. Any East Side trails that were open previously required lapping the gondola and then skiing down through the lower mountain. If the gondola is going to be down for any length of time, then they need to move snowmaking to Expressway and the rest of Tomahawk Crossing immediately, so that it's possible to go back and forth without the gondola. The shuttle might be ok on a weekday, but it will become quickly overwhelmed on a weekend. Also, note that they haven't even mentioned that the shuttle is running. They also screwed up by not having the Superchief up to date on maintenance. The 3 fixed grips might be ok midweek, but they aren't going to cut it on a weekend when people have snow in their backyards.
