Detachable vs Fixed Grip Lifts

[Ripitz]

A resort owner once told me that having a “high speed” lift listed for your hill equated to a 20% increase in ticket sales.

and 80% less fresh tracks. The Big Sky HS6 Marz mentioned replaced a fixed grip triple in the Bowl. There was way more powder and the tram line much shorter with the old lift. The old triple was also prone to mechanical failures. When it broke down you could be stuck on “tram island”, a crazy phenomenon to experience, where you ski the Big Couloir or First Gully to Cron’s back to the tram. You could do laps with no line since the rest of the mountain couldn’t get there.

Ah, the good ole days,

I’ve heard stories of how it was even better back in the day before the chair and the tram were there. From the top of the old gondola, a snowcat took you up the bowl and you hiked to the peak.

I understand improvements have to be made but they don’t always make for a better ski experience. Now they need the high speeds to meet the demand due to Ikon.

Boyne is an amazing enterprise. I had the great privilege of knowing Everett Kircher who started it all. His sons John and Stephen have done a great job living up to his legacy. A high speed lift on a small hill definitely makes sense. 8 just seems silly to me, maybe because it is.

 

[x10003q]

All those commenting on how they prefer slow lifts have forgotten about skiing when the only choice was slow, low capacity lifts. For those of us on the East coast, it wasn't just standing in line for 20 minutes, it was also freezing to death (even when wearing the supplied wool poncho blankets) on a 20 minute ride up the mountain with multiple stops after standing around freezing at the base for 20 minutes. I am so thrilled to now have HS lifts so I can SKI, not stand around freezing and then sit on a chair for the better part of an hour. I love skiing, I can stand and sit anywhere.

By having HS lifts at most major ski areas, we can now experience a nostalgia party at Smugglers Notch and MRG. For a day or two, you can pretend that the old school lifts are better. Decades ago there where no choices, we had to endure the waiting and long rides at every area and it sucked.

 

[Harvey]

The high speed lifts I ride regularly are two of the lifts at Gore (Gondi and BRQ) and the fixed chairs are at Plattekill, McCauley, Snow Ridge. I like BRQ, great terrain, for me. I never find myself thinking I am cold or whatever. I also never find myself considering the lifts when deciding where to go.

Sometime I do go to a lift served ski area vs skiing in the woods, because there are lifts. I guess that is somewhat the same.

That one Smuggs chair does take forever, but it leads to nirvana.

Be interesting to see who does more "waiting" (line plus lift ride) in an average day, you at Stratton or me at Plattekill.

 

[MarzNC]

Personally I'd rather wait on the lift than standing in line, even before covid.

That may make sense on a busy weekend. But midweek at a small hill, riding 12 min for a 2 min run gets old really fast. That was the case for Sugar in NC before they replaced the original double that was 50 years old with a HS quad a few years ago. I skied at Berkshire East one morning on the way to Boston. Same situation. Luckily I connected with the only adult skiing that morning who wasn't with the race club kids. So had good conversations on the lift rides.

Jiminy Peak invested in a HS6 in 2000. It serves roughly 80% of the terrain, all ability levels. Also runs during the off-season on weekends. Having a short ride to the top makes for a very fun morning for locals as well as travelers who can ski midweek. For their primary market in terms of people who actually spend money on more than a season pass, my guess is that the HS6 was a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[Harvey]

But midweek at a small hill, riding 12 min for a 2 min run gets old really fast.

I must be doing something wrong. I'm rarely dissatisfied with skiing.

How long do the Plattekill lifts take? I just don't get impatient there.

When you guys stop for a break on the way down (if you do) is that enjoyment, or does that get old really fast?

When you are an oddball, there are some advantages.

 

[ScottySkis]

Platy quick 10 minutes I guess

 

[MarzNC]

The Big Sky HS6 Marz mentioned replaced a fixed grip triple in the Bowl. There was way more powder and the tram line much shorter with the old lift. The old triple was also prone to mechanical failures. When it broke down you could be stuck on “tram island”, a crazy phenomenon to experience, where you ski the Big Couloir or First Gully to Cron’s back to the tram. You could do laps with no line since the rest of the mountain couldn’t get there.

Ah, the good ole days,

I’ve heard stories of how it was even better back in the day before the chair and the tram were there. From the top of the old gondola, a snowcat took you up the bowl and you hiked to the peak.

I understand improvements have to be made but they don’t always make for a better ski experience. Now they need the high speeds to meet the demand due to Ikon.

Boyne is an amazing enterprise. I had the great privilege of knowing Everett Kircher who started it all. His sons John and Stephen have done a great job living up to his legacy. A high speed lift on a small hill definitely makes sense. 8 just seems silly to me, maybe because it is.

Boyne Resorts has had a lot of patience after buying Big Sky in 1976. Back in the good ole days, I assume finding a flight to Bozeman wasn't that easy. Weren't many options when I went the first time in 2011. If the skier visit numbers were the same in 2019-20 than 1979-80 or even 1999-2000, the long term vision Everett Kircher had when he bought Big Sky wouldn't be happening. Quite a family for sure.

Alta used to have less people tracking up Ballroom after a powder storm too. The old Alta lifts were slow and cold when it was windy.

I noticed that Boyne Mountain is going to build a sky bridge. They know how popular the sky bridge is in Gatlinburg, TN. The money made from the original chairlift Kircher installed there in 1953-54 provided funding for ski resort development in the early years. Can make a good profit when running a lift year round where it doesn't snow.

 

[Harvey]

Platy quick 10 minutes I guess

I googled it couldn't find it. Texted Laz he said 7 minutes and something.

 

[MarzNC]

I must be doing something wrong. I'm rarely dissatisfied with skiing.

How long do the Plattekill lifts take? I just don't get impatient there.

When you guys stop for a break on the way down (if you do) is that enjoyment, or does that get old really fast?

When you are an oddball, there are some advantages.

I don't ski that fast and I don't track vertical. In fact, at a small hill like Massanutten I make lots of turns to make a run last longer. I used to have to stop on the blacks on the upper mountain once or twice to reset, but haven't needed to do that for the last 10 years or so. Skiing solo for 10-min laps that are a 7-min lift ride and at most a 3-min run is hard to do for more than an hour or so before I want to take a break and go inside. Doing the same at Jiminy Peak means a 4-min lift ride and a 3-4 min run, so I get in a lot more time on snow in an hour. Also means I don't get as cold since I'm moving more than sitting. So given a choice, I prefer a ski area with a high-speed lift.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the day I skied solo at Plattekill on a Friday in March.

Lift rides that access blue/black terrain are typically 5-10 min, with 7-8 being fairly common. A few of the destination resorts out west have lift ride times and length on the trail map. Sometimes I time the primary lift at a small mountain when I go exploring. Doesn't seem to matter if it's a HS4, fixed-grip quad, fixed triple, or a double installed decades ago. Few people want to be on a lift more than 10 min. Not sure any old lifts that are 12+ min are still around.

 

[Harvey]

I find on the BRQ at Gore, if it is zero or below, the lift makes me cold.