Riblet Double Chairs

[jamesdeluxe]

For lift freaks: Powder Mag just posted an interesting article about the joys of the slow double chair, specifically those made by former Spokane-based Riblet.

I've mentioned and posted admiring pix of Riblets that are still in operation at several mountains out west over the years, including Monarch, Sunlight, Mount Spokane, Lookout Pass, 49 Degrees North, Grand Targhee, and Santa Fe. I'm pretty sure that Stowe's Lookout Double is a Riblet but doesn't have the center pole. Actually, the center pole was a pretty lousy idea (especially for people who don't wear helmets) and you couldn't put a safety bar on them.

 

[Warp daddy]

Not certain it was a RIBLET but West Mountain in Queensbury, N.Y. HAD a old center poled chair on their main hill but that one DID have a safety bar. So perhaps it was a different manufacturer. That thing was a PIA ? Glad it was replaced .

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Not certain it was a RIBLET but West Mountain in Queensbury, N.Y. HAD a old center poled chair on their main hill but that one DID have a safety bar.

Confirmed in the Wikipedia entry. That said; it entry doesn't mention the one at Sunlight, CO so the listing is likely incomplete.

 

[Brownski]

jiminy had riblets when I learned there; I think they still have them. Of course I didn’t appreciate the subtle differences between ski lift manufacturers at that time. When I worked at Alpine the lift I worked on most days was a very old Riblet which had two spots to load and two to get off. I learned a lot from that one season as a liftie. What really distinguished Riblets from other (better) lifts was their grip design. Riblet would open the weave of the haul rope and insert the grip right in between the strands so there was no way it was coming off no matter what. It caused other unintended (and undesirable) consequences though so the design died with Riblet. I found some images of the grip on the inter webs.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

What really distinguished Riblets from other (better) lifts was their grip design.

I agree. For the record, I just enjoy the time-travel effect -- like a quick drive in an old car to see how it was back in the 60s or 70s, but you wouldn't want it to be your main source of transportation every day. If you have to go old-school, let it be Halls!

 

[MarzNC]

Glad I had a chance to ride the red center-bar double Riblet at Bridger before it was replaced after 2017. Took one ride up with a ski school kid to help out an instructor. Much easier to engage a kid on a double than a quad in my experience.

 

[MiSkier]

For lift freaks: Powder Mag just posted an interesting article about the joys of the slow double chair, specifically those made by former Spokane-based Riblet.

I've mentioned and posted admiring pix of Riblets that are still in operation at several mountains out west over the years, including Monarch, Sunlight, Mount Spokane, Lookout Pass, 49 Degrees North, Grand Targhee, and Santa Fe. I'm pretty sure that Stowe's Lookout Double is a Riblet but doesn't have the center pole. Actually, the center pole was a pretty lousy idea (especially for people who don't wear helmets) and you couldn't put a safety bar on them.

Boyne Mtn in Michigan still has a three center pole Riblet quads

 

[Brownski]

Boyne Mtn in Michigan still has a three center pole Riblet quads

Jeez, that’s gotta be as rare as a single chair at this point. I’ve seen Riblet triples but never a quad.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I’ve seen Riblet triples but never a quad.

Likewise. MiSkier, we'll need pix or it didn't happen.

And I remembered another ski area that's still running a Riblet double: Pajarito, NM

 

[MiSkier]

Boyne Mtn has three of them. This is from April of 2019. The other two lifts were not running that day.