Detachable vs Fixed Grip Lifts

[NYSkiBlog]

 

[tirolski]

View attachment 22529

A late running Saturday night T-bar would also pair nicely for POW hounds with the timing of this storm.

 

[tirolski]

See where ya get tellin the dang boarders at Hyland Hills that.
The twin rope tows are packed with them after skool nowadays.
Looks like good clean fun too.
There's times & places for em.
Ya shouldn’t wear out yer gloves if ya get goin coming in hot like they do.
With yer bike/ski experience ya could be a dang contender.

Midwest Skiers did some calculations of capacity recently with discussion of cost.
Some info about Hyland Hills' twin tows.

 

[MarzNC]

For Bogus Basin in Idaho, the decision to install two new fixed grip quads instead of one detachable quad was fairly simple. It was a matter of money. Bogus is a non-profit. But it's not small and has been updating lifts and infrastructure steadily.

Looking forward to checking out Bogus at the end of a ski safari in March.

February 2024

New Chairlifts at Bogus Basin Summer 2024 | Announcements

We are installing two NEW chairlifts at Bogus Basin in the summer of 2024, reinvesting every dollar where it counts – THE MOUNTAIN!

bogusbasin.org

 

[x10003q]

For Bogus Basin in Idaho, the decision to install two new fixed grip quads instead of one detachable quad was fairly simple. It was a matter of money. Bogus is a non-profit. But it's not small and has been updating lifts and infrastructure steadily.

Looking forward to checking out Bogus at the end of a ski safari in March.

February 2024

New Chairlifts at Bogus Basin Summer 2024 | Announcements

We are installing two NEW chairlifts at Bogus Basin in the summer of 2024, reinvesting every dollar where it counts – THE MOUNTAIN!

bogusbasin.org

Yes, it was money, but, more importantly, the lift length on both does not justify a detachable.

The new Coach Quad - 1412ft long, 323ft vertical, 2.9min ride time (replacing a 1981 Yan double).
The new Bitterroot Quad - 2462ft long, 538ft vertical, 4.9 min ride time (replacing a Riblet double from the 1970s).
Bogus Basin is on the list of places I want to visit.

 

[MarzNC]

Yes, it was money, but, more importantly, the lift length on both does not justify a detachable.

The new Coach Quad - 1412ft long, 323ft vertical, 2.9min ride time (replacing a 1981 Yan double).
The new Bitterroot Quad - 2462ft long, 538ft vertical, 4.9 min ride time (replacing a Riblet double from the 1970s).
Bogus Basin is on the list of places I want to visit.

Agree. The money part makes it that much easier to explain to the masses who don't pay attention to details. Who could argue with having TWO new lifts for less than the price of ONE.

I gather Coach serves beginner terrain. Since Bogus has a mission to serves locals, especially local families, sounds like the old lift got busy on weekends.

Had heard of it but didn't realize quite how big it is, with 2600 acres and 4 high-speed quads at this point. Pretty impressive for a non-profit.

 

[MarzNC]

BUMP

This isn't just about chairlifts but seems worth adding here. What's interesting is seeing examples of all the different types in action.

March 22, 2025

0:00 Intro 0:35 Surface Lifts 3:31 Fixed-Grip Chairlifts 6:09 Detachable Chairlifts 8:28 Gondola Lifts 10:25 Cabriolet Lifts 11:01 Chondola Lifts 11:41 Pulse Lifts 12:42 Aerial Tramways 15:50 3S and Funitel Lifts 18:29 Mountain Railways 21:13 Snowcats 22:48 Final Thoughts

 

[MarzNC]

The new Coach Quad - 1412ft long, 323ft vertical, 2.9min ride time (replacing a 1981 Yan double).
The new Bitterroot Quad - 2462ft long, 538ft vertical, 4.9 min ride time (replacing a Riblet double from the 1970s).
Bogus Basin is on the list of places I want to visit.

Got to ride both of the new quads. Completely forgot about this discussion.

There are old trail maps floating around the Internet that showed Bitterroot as a double. Was a bit confusing until someone confirmed that the Bitterroot quad was new. The 5-min ride didn't seem long at all.

Needless to say, the new quad lifts have safety bars, no footrests. Presumably the old doubles did not have safety bars.

View from Coach quad, March 2025

 

[tirolski]

There are old trail maps floating around the Internet that showed Bitterroot as a double.

https://liftblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/img_5010.jpg

Was a bit confusing until someone confirmed that the Bitterroot quad was new. The 5-min ride didn't seem long at all.

Needless to say, the new quad lifts have safety bars, no footrests. Presumably the old doubles did not have safety bars....View from Coach quad, March 2025

https://liftblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/img_5053.jpg

 

[MarzNC]

Yes, it was money, but, more importantly, the lift length on both does not justify a detachable.

The new Coach Quad - 1412ft long, 323ft vertical, 2.9min ride time (replacing a 1981 Yan double).
The new Bitterroot Quad - 2462ft long, 538ft vertical, 4.9 min ride time (replacing a Riblet double from the 1970s).

The other resort I checked out recently was Brian Head in southern Utah (3 hours from Las Vegas). Didn't look at the trail map online beforehand. Afterwards I noticed that the legend included stats for all the lifts.

Lifts 1 and 8 are the lifts that let people ski between the two peaks, mostly used by people who are at least intermediates. Lift 7 serves blue/black terrain that are mostly short runs. #3 Blackfoot starts at the Giant Steps base and serves green/blue trails, plus terrain parks, while advanced skiers can use it to get to the black terrain off Lift 5. The old triples don't have safety bars.

Brian Head has big plans to expand terrain on private land in the next couple decades. Be interesting to see what MtCapPartners does in terms of upgrading lifts. MtCapP bought the existing ski area in 2019. The new development called Aspen Meadows is on land owned by the former owner of Brian Head.