Lifts that load with a conveyer belt

[marzNC]

@Christy : figured out what happened at Crystal for the other two loading carpets. I found a note in a forum about ski lifts. Apparently did not go over well, so they were only on Lift 9 and Midway Shuttle for a couple years. So gone by 1998. Peter of Liftblog gets a lot of his info based on installation lists.

 

[bounceswoosh]

FWIW, it's been two seasons and I still hate the one at the base of peak 8 at Breck. I think they must have the spacing off. If you don't take several steps back, your skis go right over the skis of the people in the chair in front of you. I haven't had to deal with it much - we make a game of avoiding the base of peak 8, mostly due to the crowds there, compounded by the clusterf*** of lift lines and the god-awful six pack.

Next season I'll probably have to learn how to deal ...

 

[Abbi]

The Supreme lift at Alta has gates, but they are timed to the chairs instead of having a sensor that requires at least one person to be at a gate before they open. That why it's possible to ski thru while still carrying a little speed. Seem to be two types of sensors, either an electric eye or need a little pressure from a leg or knee.

I rode that this year. Not a fan! But I disliked them when Okemo had them a few years back. Happy when they didn't reappear! I just seem to always be moving at a different speed and get my balance off.

On the Supreme lift I felt as though I was going to be flung off the end before the chair got me! However, I'm very grateful there is now a safety bar on that lift! I still can't look around much going up over the tall rocks.

 

[marzNC]

On the Supreme lift I felt as though I was going to be flung off the end before the chair got me! However, I'm very grateful there is now a safety bar on that lift! I still can't look around much going up over the tall rocks.

Welcome! How did you find the Divas?

Agree that the belt is a little short on Supreme. As a retrofit, probably didn't have too much choice. The latest plan under review will replace the triple with a quad. When the conveyor was added, it was meant to be a stopgap measure. In general, Supreme has stopped less often after the addition.

 

[Abbi]

Welcome! How did you find the Divas?

Agree that the belt is a little short on Supreme. As a retrofit, probably didn't have too much choice. The latest plan under review will replace the triple with a quad. When the conveyor was added, it was meant to be a stopgap measure. In general, Supreme has stopped less often after the addition.

I may have lurked before! I think I also met (or had her pointed out) Wendy (write more books, I've finished both!) at a Women's Adventure session at Okemo in 2015. And that VT license plate is hard to miss!

On the small world front: I met a lovely woman while at Alta who commented on following the misery of New England skiing via theskidiva forurms. Very cool!

Thanks for saying it's NOT just me on the Supreme belt! How about a quad with a foot rest for my aging knees?!! All that said, Alta is my favorite Utah ski area. It's just friendly! Over a few years I've skied there, Snowbird, Park City, Deer Valley, Snow Basin and Powder Mountain (love the retro feel). So I figure I've given Utah a chance before declaring Alta! Next trip I add a few more.

 

[marzNC]

I may have lurked before! I think I also met (or had her pointed out) Wendy (write more books, I've finished both!) at a Women's Adventure session at Okemo in 2015. And that VT license plate is hard to miss!

On the small world front: I met a lovely woman while at Alta who commented on following the misery of New England skiing via theskidiva forurms. Very cool!

Thanks for saying it's NOT just me on the Supreme belt! How about a quad with a foot rest for my aging knees?!! All that said, Alta is my favorite Utah ski area. It's just friendly! Over a few years I've skied there, Snowbird, Park City, Deer Valley, Snow Basin and Powder Mountain (love the retro feel). So I figure I've given Utah a chance before declaring Alta! Next trip I add a few more.

Glad you decided to join in the discussion!

I've had a chance to ski at quite a few places out west in recent years, but Alta remains my favorite.

Where are you thinking of going for the first time next season?

 

[altagirl]

Compared to the way the Supreme lift used to load (where if the liftie didn't bump the chair perfectly it would slam into your legs) , I think the conveyor belt is wonderful. Not perfect, but a massive improvement.

 

[Abbi]

Compared to the way the Supreme lift used to load (where if the liftie didn't bump the chair perfectly it would slam into your legs) , I think the conveyor belt is wonderful. Not perfect, but a massive improvement.

OK, I agree it took a careful liftie ... and didn't have a safety bar which totally freaked me out! However, I was still scared getting on the conveyor!

 

[Abbi]

Glad you decided to join in the discussion!

I've had a chance to ski at quite a few places out west in recent years, but Alta remains my favorite.

Where are you thinking of going for the first time next season?

I have a weekday pass for Okemo in VT and rent an apartment in town for winter. Western trips are always up in the air. This year was a no brainer in so many ways. First I got to ski on SNOW vs man made hard pack. Tough season in NE (after a banner 2015, of course). Secondly, I have a friend who lives closer to the Cottonwood Canyons end of greater SLC with an extra room. Happy, happy me! So the answer is ... not a clue! If we get a spectacular year in VT ..... I might just ski like crazy here.

I have the opposites life where I live. Ski in the winter, sail in the summer. All good!

 

[Blondeinabmw]

FWIW, it's been two seasons and I still hate the one at the base of peak 8 at Breck. I think they must have the spacing off. If you don't take several steps back, your skis go right over the skis of the people in the chair in front of you. I haven't had to deal with it much - we make a game of avoiding the base of peak 8, mostly due to the crowds there, compounded by the clusterf*** of lift lines and the god-awful six pack..

I HATE THAT CHAIR. It totally throws you off balance, goes way too fast and you do end up practically falling into the chair in front.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I HATE THAT CHAIR. It totally throws you off balance, goes way too fast and you do end up practically falling into the chair in front.

I'm going to be skiing greens and blues starting in January, so I'm going to have to make my peace with it - or just hang on peak 9 or 7 as much as possible.

 

[marzNC]

With the replacement of the Supreme triple at Alta that had conveyor loading added as a retrofit, thought of this thread about the pros and cons of different types of conveyor loading. Since 2015 a few destination resorts have added conveyor loading, and not just for beginner lifts. The new Challenger lift at Big Sky is for advanced/expert terrain only and has conveyor loading.

Question for skiers who have conveyor loading at their home mountain: do you like conveyor loading? Is the conveyor loading for a quad? Fixed grip (like Massanutten) or detachable (like Mt Snow)?

 

[Abbi]

With the replacement of the Supreme triple at Alta that had conveyor loading added as a retrofit, thought of this thread about the pros and cons of different types of conveyor loading. Since 2015 a few destination resorts have added conveyor loading, and not just for beginner lifts. The new Challenger lift at Big Sky is for advanced/expert terrain only and has conveyor loading.

Question for skiers who have conveyor loading at their home mountain: do you like conveyor loading? Is the conveyor loading for a quad? Fixed grip (like Massanutten) or detachable (like Mt Snow)?

I hated the conveyor in every form I found it. Okemo took the ones at the base out after an experiment with them. The one on the Supreme lift at Alta made me feel as though I was going to go off the end before the chair caught up with me!

 

[newboots]

After the bunny trail, I learned on the main lift at Berkshire East, that has a conveyor belt. Probably because I started using it so early (and have mercifully not remembered until this minute falling down on it, requiring the lift line to shut down), I haven't found it a problem. Ahem. Do I erase this post entirely or just hit "post reply?"

 

[santacruz skier]

They're all over Europe and I'm always afraid I'll go flying backwards . Those and drag lifts are my nemesis!

 

[marzNC]

I think my daughter was about six when Massanutten replaced an old double with a fixed-grip quad that included conveyor loading. It's a beginner lift from the base. While there are still newbies who mess up, the lift stops a LOT less than it did before. The next season, Mnut added conveyor loading to the other base lift as a retrofit. Novice skiers usually do okay if they don't get their poles stuck somehow. Novice snowboarders are a different story.

Since my daughter and I learned how to use conveyor loading at Mnut, dealing with it was easy when the retrofit was done for Supreme. The first season, it was clearly the advanced/expert skiers who had the most trouble. They had the habit of moving as fast as possible after make the turn beyond the RFID gates. The ones who were trying to time the open gate didn't stop when they reached the belt. Since it's relatively short, that meant a few ended up off the the end before the chair reached them. The new lift is a detachable quad.

What I learned from this thread is that there is more than one type of conveyor loading. I didn't know that conveyor loading was also possible for detachable chairlifts.

Massanutten in VA, fixed-grip quad

Beaver Creek in CO, detachable 6-pack

 

[santacruz skier]

The ones I was on in Kitzbuehl loaded 8 people on the chair....

 

[newboots]

OMG

The most I can handle is six, if there are no snowboarders next to me.

 

[ski diva]

I hated the conveyor in every form I found it. Okemo took the ones at the base out after an experiment with them. The one on the Supreme lift at Alta made me feel as though I was going to go off the end before the chair caught up with me!

@Abbi, there's still a conveyor on one of the quads at the base. Ugh.

 

[Abbi]

@Abbi, there's still a conveyor on one of the quads at the base. Ugh.

I guess it's not running on the Friday mornings I take a lift from the main base with the OFF group. I hadn't even noticed it was still there!