I've never seen a detachable double. That would be pretty cool. Maybe a waste of money, but cool to see and ride.
They do exist.
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/liste-5-type-36.html
I don't think you'll see a new one built again. Resorts would probably just opt for a quad with bigger chair spacing.
It might be 8 or not much more, I have heard the 8'ers in practice have not a whole lot more capacity than 6'ers due to the difficulty in loading 8 skiers in a line every time.
Most 8 packs have big chair spacing, so there is not necessarily more capacity than a 6. Boyne has 2 in operation and 2 more announced for 2022. Ramcharger currently has an hourly capacity of 3200, but is upgradeable to 3600. Kancamagus has a theoretical and current capacity of 3500. The two announced 2022 projects will have hourly capacities of 3200. While these capacities are all achievable with a 6, the loading intervals are shorter. For a 3600 hourly capacity, you can load 6 every 6 seconds or 8 every 8 seconds. For 3200, it's 6 every 6.75 seconds, or 8 every 9 seconds. The question is whether loading more people on each chair, but with a longer interval between chairs is better than loading fewer people per chair, but with a shorter interval between chairs.
I've ridden the Big Sky 8 pack and even when there's a pretty long line it loads less than 8 on a lot of chairs. When you ride with 7 other people, sometimes it feels a little like a subway car, where you feel like you need to be careful about how you talk. I don't think we're gonna see many lifts bigger than 6.
I went to Big Sky the year Ramcharger 8 opened. It never had much of a line when I was there, so they were never trying to group people. I actually don't think I ever got on it with a full chair.
If you go back in history, the first high speed quad in the world was built in 1981 at Breckenridge. The first 6 pack was built in 1991 at Mont Orignal in Quebec. In North America, 6 packs have never been as popular as quads. In Europe, quads have been almost entirely displaced by 6 packs and 8 packs. But similar to North America, 8 packs have never displaced 6 packs.
I think you'll see some more 8 packs in North America. They are useful for when a resort needs a very high-capacity chairlift on a relatively short route. None of the Boyne 8 packs are over 5000 feet. The one Vail has announced for Park City will be 5370 feet long. It's the first one in the chain, and I think there will be more. It's actually replacing a 6 pack. That brings us up to 5 either operating or announced in North America, and I think there will be more in the coming years.
www.stormskiing.com
