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Arapahoe Basin plans for 6-pack

marzNC

Angel Diva
Arapahoe Basin is going to replace the Lenawee triple with their first high-speed detachable 6-seat chairlift. Construction is planned for 2022. Lenawee provides access to a lot of the upper mountain terrain, including Montezum Bowl on the backside. Also good for lapping the open blue terrain more or less under the lift.

"Arapahoe Basin has reached a deal with its longtime lift supplier Leitner-Poma to replace the Lenawee Mountain triple next year. The mountain’s first six place chairlift will increase throughput from 1,800 skiers per hour to 2,400. “In addition to 6-packs being more stable in high winds, we felt this lift would do the best job of increasing capacity,” wrote Chief Operating Officer Al Henceroth on his always informative blog. “Through our planning we felt the need to upgrade the capacity of Lenawee from 1,800 people per hour (pph) to 2,400 pph. While this could technically be achieved with a quad chair, we felt that in actual use, the 6-pack would be far more effective achieving that goal of 2400 pph,” he continued.
. . ."
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
Well. The current Lenawee chair does take foreeeevveeeeeer, so I'm not necessarily surprised or bummed to see this chair moving to a detachable, but I did think there were real disadvantages to operating a detachable in an above-treeline location like that, in terms of keeping things running in the wind and snow.

I'm not a fan of 6-packs in general, because I feel like people are terrible at loading them and they're just so BIG. Al does mention the weight of the chair being more stable in high wind, so maybe the 6-pack vs the 4-pack is necessary up there. I've also read elsewhere that even though detachables move faster, the chairs are farther apart, so the capacity improvements aren't as big as you might think for a fixed 4 vs a detachable 4, so maybe they also needed a 6-pack to get the capacity gains they were hoping for. That chair does really back up currently, and it's one of only 2 lifts that runs very early and late season.

I am pleased to see A-Basin continuing to make capital improvements in a post-Epic pass world.. seems like a vote of confidence in the Ikon situation.

In summary, time passes and things change. :smile: I imagine I'll get over my crankiness at the 6-pack when the lift ride takes half the time it does now and I can do double the early and late season laps.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Well. The current Lenawee chair does take foreeeevveeeeeer, so I'm not necessarily surprised or bummed to see this chair moving to a detachable, but I did think there were real disadvantages to operating a detachable in an above-treeline location like that, in terms of keeping things running in the wind and snow.
I've read often that a 6-pack is less likely to need to go on wind hold. The added weight of the chairs helps, in comparison to an old triple/quad fixed-grip lift. Also a detachable is designed so that chairs can be taken off relatively quickly. That's more of an advantage in places where icing is an issue, like New England.
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
I'm not a fan of 6-packs in general, because I feel like people are terrible at loading them and they're just so BIG. Al does mention the weight of the chair being more stable in high wind, so maybe the 6-pack vs the 4-pack is necessary up there. I've also read elsewhere that even though detachables move faster, the chairs are farther apart, so the capacity improvements aren't as big as you might think for a fixed 4 vs a detachable 4, so maybe they also needed a 6-pack to get the capacity gains they were hoping for. That chair does really back up currently, and it's one of only 2 lifts that runs very early and late season.
Really depends on how the situation is handled. The 6-pack at Jiminy Peak doesn't seem to run into loading issues. Also depends on whether or not conveyor loading is part of the installation. Even the 8-pack at Big Sky has pretty smooth loading because of the entry gates that get people in position well before they get to the loading conveyor and the chair.

When Alta replaced the Supreme triple with a detachable quad, they were well aware of not wanting to put too many people on the slopes at the same time. Between chair spacing and speed, the uphill capacity can be adjusted as needed.
 

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