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Sunday River Whitecap to Barker SuperLift?

ss20

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A minute from the Alta exit off the I-15!
Hmmm...this couldn't be accidental?:idea:

whitecap-barker superlift.jpg

A lift stretching from Whitecap base to the summit of Barker. It's definitely plausible. It's only 7,100 feet. You could have a midstation at the current terminating point of the Tempest chair. This would make the Whitecap base lodge more desirable with a high-speed lift and eliminate some traffic at South Ridge. Replacing Tempest would be a good idea as the ride time is long and it stopped every time I rode it the 3 days I was at SR this year. Could the top of Barker handle the traffic though? Might have to cut a new intermediate or beginner trail. Or at least add snowmaking to 3 Mile.
 

deadheadskier

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I don't see the need of having the lift go all the way up to Barker. Just replace Tempest with a HSQ and call it a day.
 

deadheadskier

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Aurora I don't mind so much. I like the terrain off that chair a lot and the slowness of that lift is tolerable enough for me because it appreciably keeps the traffic down. Just look at the Jordan trail complex and lift line on weekends compared to Aurora. Night and Day.
 

snoseek

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Remove locke triple and run it there with a midstation that loads (like the quad at Alta). White Cap is underutilized, much potential, great parking.

I agree with Aurora, its like the Midwest of SR, everyone keeps going assuming something better and Aurora's usually some of the best skiing there. Worth the wait IMO.

Tempest chair blows so bad.
 

nanjil

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This season the oz lift has been closed for most of the time, conditions too firm, may be? but OTH the north peak quad is running almost daily(because of the new terrain park?). It is always fast and not that crowded and with the addition of northwood glades, pretty entertaining
 

skiNEwhere

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All of white cap is slowww. That combined with the fact it's advanced terrain is why nobody uses it.

You would have to alter the lifeline a little, but I think I should end at Locke mid station as well , which could handle the traffic
 

Razor

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Number 1, replace the Tempest lift with a HSQ. The whole White Cap basin is underutilized due to the slowness of that lift. If you really want to do it right, extend the chondola up to the top of Aurora. From there you can ski to anywhere in the resort after only one lift ride. Make its current terminus a mid-station like the one at the Killington Skyship.
 

Edd

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i don't understand the chondola, waste of huge money.

It makes some sense to me. You can get to quite a few lifts from the top of it. I have no idea how their mountain top dinner thing turned out but I got the point there also.

It seems to me that the lift runs slow, though. It's feels like the slowest high speed lift ever.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone
 

xlr8r

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Here is my fantasy master plan for Sunday River that i was playing around with last week. Coincidental that I was similarly thinking of changing the Tempest lift around.

Purple: Gondola
Red: HS Quad
Blue: Fixed Quad
Green: Triple
Yellow: Double

SR Whitecap.jpg
SR Jordan.jpg
SR.jpg


Make Chondola a gondola and extend it to Jordan Hotel with another midstation at the base of Jordan Bowl. Build a second gondola to connect Summit Hotel with South Ridge, with a midstation at White Cap Base. Replace Tempest with a HS quad extended up to the top of Lower Upper Cut. Shorten Locke triple to become a park/race lift. Build a new double to serve summit of Locke and be early season area with uploading/downloading on new Tempest HS quad. Replace Spruce triple with a HS quad that has extra spacing between chairs to keep capacity low. Finally install old Spruce triple at Jordan bowl terminating 2/3rds of the way up Aurora, creating a new pod of terrain.
 

Vortex

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The Chondola helps make the resort 4 season viable. Wedding bookings all year long, helps with peak Dinners in the winter. I will be attending my 3rd of the season on Saturday. It does move people quicker than the old triple. I had doubts at first. It helps with the ski school a well. Little kids need 1 adult for each kid to ride the lift. The kids can pile into the Chondola, moving people out of South ridge faster at peak times.
 

mlkrgr

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I love the chondola. You can get out of South Ridge fast and easy and you can practically go to base of barker, white cap, spruce, North Peak, and Aurora from the top of it. Only place you can't end up is Jordan. It's a $$ maker as they use it for mountain biking, peak dinners, etc. and moves kids efficiently for ski school.

I believe the next lift replacement should be bottom of White Cap to the top of Locke w/ a mid station for early season skiing at the elevation of the current one. Get rid of Tempest and Locke chair. They need a reliable early season lift especially when they have to open early to remain competitive for marketing reasons. They'll get more traffic to trails that really don't see traffic, and they are operating one less lift so saves them $$ in operational costs. Though, there's no easy solution to little white cap as that's a lower intermediate area and upper white cap is advanced terrain. Keeping separate upper/lower lifts still make a lot of sense otherwise.
 

Newpylong

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People want Tempest replaced and White Cap quad is underutilized.

I would look to consolidate, not replace 1 for 1. How about replacing White Cap and Tempest quads with a HSQ top to bottom up White Heat? The alignment is perfect. The only thing you would need to do is find a way to get beginners off the summit down to where the top of the Tempest chair is now to pick up Over Easy (Green route down). Maybe this could be achieved by hooking something more towards to back or even the front with less grade across the fall line?

After that I would say replace Spruce. I think Locke should be last, it has been reliable and there are only two routes down with snowmaking vs 4 on Spruce. You also can ski 75% of Locke from Barker.
 
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