Rank The Lifts at Your Favorite Ski Areas

[tirolski]

Ptarmigan double at Lab is my favorite lift for the bumps around CNY but it hasn’t been run much in the last several years unfortunately.
Hopefully it can be back on line more often.

 

[Milo Maltbie]

the one your on

The one that takes you where you want to go.

mm

 

[Milo Maltbie]

The best lift, anywhere, imo, is one without a line.

That’s how I choose my lunch. The downside of that is I end up eating a lot of Gore pizza.

mm

 

[Zykamps]

This is all true. However.....

The terrain choices only exist for advanced skiers and even for advanced skiers there are issues.
1. There is zero green off the signature lift on the mountain that happens to be enclosed. A gondola is a bread and butter lift for new skiers, little kids/parents, green skiers, low blue skiers. Fail.
2. Excelsior is a difficult blue at best that is made more difficult by its usual icy conditions. There are no other choices for blue skiers. Fail.
3. If you are skiing Excelsior, it becomes a high speed raceway for the advanced skiers. Farther down, you might choose Lower Northway and/or Lower Empire which act as a drain for the advanced trails and glades off Approach. Now there are more advanced skiers going mach schnell and pulling Gs as they head down the mountain.
4. As for advanced skiers - yes it serves everything off Little WF and a bunch of high speed blues - but the almost 1/2 mile runout below the midstation is a useless waste of energy and boring. It is particularly true in the spring when the LWF double is not running and you are skiing thru puddles and heavy corn in order to get back up the mountain.
In the excitement to get a Gondola like Gore, ORDA has created a lift that really does not fully serve any group of skiers and sliders and completely misses the huge amount of people who are not quite at the competent blue level. This is why I ranked it the worst lift at WF.

Valid point for lift lovers.

Whitface when I was quite young... Got smeared two teeth out and a pole wrapped around my leg. I like areas that have some separation. Of course I was an a hole but downhill skier... Guy was probably 240+ and I was maybe 6 or 8?

 

[raisingarizona]

True
The best lift, anywhere, imo, is one without a line.

Ok but the Madonna summit chair has got to be one of your favorites.

If I was listing my top 5 east coast lifts it would probably be right behind the single.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Ok but the Madonna summit chair has got to be one of your favorites.

If I was listing my top 5 east coast lifts it would probably be right behind the single.

True

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I'm surprised the single chair at MRG has not been mentioned.

 

[tirolski]

I'm surprised the single chair at MRG has not been mentioned.

RA mentioned singe at MRG a bit ago, if ya go back.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

D'oh!

 

[x10003q]

The best cruising lift ( and one of my favorites) in the US is the Challenger HSQ at Sun Valley. Bring your Super-G skis.
Vertical 3143ft, length 9016, 9 minutes
It is soon to be replaced by a HS6 with a midstation.

Sun Valley sets next upgrade: 'quicker lift rides and new runs'

The Sun Valley Resort is getting ready to start another significant upgrade to Bald Mountain. Two new lifts will revamp the Warm Springs side of the mountain, speeding access and adding new terrain. The Challenger and Greyhawk lifts will be torn out and replaced with a new Challenger lift. The...

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