Chairlift Identification Help

slatham · Mar 29, 2020

Great pics. Fist time I skied, at 5years old, was at Split Rock. And of course I'm always curious about double lift towers, being an active Bromley skier.

Rowsdower · Mar 29, 2020

slatham said:
Great pics. Fist time I skied, at 5years old, was at Split Rock. And of course I'm always curious about double lift towers, being an active Bromley skier.

JF/BB has several more of them. I suppose they were a solution to adding more uphill capacity in the 80s before high speed lifts and larger 6 person chairs became a thing? They all seem to have been manufactured by Borvig, at least the JF/BB ones...

Anyway, here's another mystery for everyone. I had visited the former Blue Marsh/Heidelberg Ski Club some time ago. I know there was a double chair installed there servicing a beginners area, but I can't find any info on this lift, at all. Not on the skilifts list, nowhere, and there's very little left at the ski area today. I have a newsclipping from when the area closed that has a tower in the background, and a few shots of the tower footings, but thats' about it.

The earliest it could have been installed was the late 60s, although I don't think it was added until the early 70s, but not sure.

Not Sure · Mar 29, 2020

Rowsdower said:
That's bizarre. So they installed a double-double frame for the bottom terminal, but added a single tower pylon, so they can't actually use that other side of the terminal unless they replace that pylon?

I definitely want to get to Hahn Mtn, however its private land and the owners live at the bottom next to the lodge. Now is definitely not a good time to go around knocking on strangers' doors and asking to wander around their property! But I would like to get up there at some point if I find a way to get in touch with the owners.

From what I understand Fernwood is still in operation as a tubing hill. There's a whole bunch of areas up around NE PA that I have on my list. It will take some time to get through them all, but I'll definitely check it out if I'm nearby.

I remember the chairlift at Hahn quitting all the time . Story goes the owner was on it by himself with no one around and it quit , he tried to climb down on the cable to a tower and fell. I don't know any more details about where the lift ended up It really was a POS . The towers looked similar to split rocks.

Fernwood had a chairlift but with only 100' vert not sure what happened to it .

Rowsdower · Mar 29, 2020

Siliconebobsquarepants said:
I remember the chairlift at Hahn quitting all the time . Story goes the owner was on it by himself with no one around and it quit , he tried to climb down on the cable to a tower and fell. I don't know any more details about where the lift ended up It really was a POS . The towers looked similar to split rocks.

Fernwood had a chairlift but with only 100' vert not sure what happened to it .

Pretty sure Hahn had a Hall double installed in the early 70s. Tons of pics here: http://jeff-z.com/hahn/pics/pics.html

They also had a t-bar. Not sure who the manufacturer was on that.

I've heard the same story re. the last owner falling off the lift. Although there are some... variations to the story lol. I imagine it didn't get regular maintenance towards the end.

Not Sure · Mar 29, 2020

Rowsdower said:
Pretty sure Hahn had a Hall double installed in the early 70s. Tons of pics here: http://jeff-z.com/hahn/pics/pics.html

They also had a t-bar. Not sure who the manufacturer was on that.

I've heard the same story re. the last owner falling off the lift. Although there are some... variations to the story lol. I imagine it didn't get regular maintenance towards the end.

I have a retired friend that worked as a Patroller there when it was Big Valley . Maybe he can answer questions that you might have .

Dickc · Mar 29, 2020

Rowsdower said:
Pretty sure Hahn had a Hall double installed in the early 70s. Tons of pics here: http://jeff-z.com/hahn/pics/pics.html

They also had a t-bar. Not sure who the manufacturer was on that.

I've heard the same story re. the last owner falling off the lift. Although there are some... variations to the story lol. I imagine it didn't get regular maintenance towards the end.

Looking at those pictures that is a Hall branded T-Bar. Mt. Whittier in West Ossipee, NH had a couple of those Hall T-Bars. I skied there as a teenager as my Dad was an instructor, so I got a free pass.

ERJ-145CA · Mar 29, 2020

Rowsdower said:
That's bizarre. So they installed a double-double frame for the bottom terminal, but added a single tower pylon, so they can't actually use that other side of the terminal unless they replace that pylon?

I always figured they were going to eventually replace Ol' Pete, an old Hall used when it gets busy on Weekends and holidays, with another lift on the other side. I guess if they did they would need to get 1 single tower for the other side too.

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danimals · Mar 30, 2020

I believe you can see Hahn from the pinnacle and pulpit trail along the AT if you are looking for some good shots from afar.

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Rowsdower · Apr 5, 2020

Who wants to take a crack at where this Borvig double used to reside?

danimals · Apr 5, 2020

Rowsdower said:
Who wants to take a crack at where this Borvig double used to reside?

Vineland times...Vineland nj...ski mountain in pine hill or holly mountain?

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Rowsdower · Apr 5, 2020

danimals said:
Vineland times...Vineland nj...ski mountain in pine hill or holly mountain?

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Pine Hill/Ski Mountain never had a chairlift, that I was aware of. This was Holly Mountain. Probably one of the most unusual ski areas in the NE owing to its location.

danimals · Apr 5, 2020

Rowsdower said:
Pine Hill/Ski Mountain never had a chairlift, that I was aware of. This was Holly Mountain. Probably one of the most unusual ski areas in the NE owing to its location.

Ski mountain did have a chairlift! Not sure which kind though.

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Rowsdower · Apr 5, 2020

danimals said:
Ski mountain did have a chairlift! Not sure which kind though.

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Never saw that one before. I've only looked at their old map and thought maybe it was planned but never installed.

Looks like a Hall double, installed in 1978. When did they close?

ERJ-145CA · Apr 6, 2020

According to the book Skiing in New Jersey by Liz Holste Ski Mountain went bankrupt in 1986.

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Rowsdower · Apr 8, 2020

Yeah I saw that as the last year of operation. Seems like they were only ever able to operate about six weeks a year.

edit: Oh you meant Ski Mountain! I thought you were talking about Holly Mountain which also closed in 1986. Weird coincidence.

Rowsdower · Apr 10, 2020

I've posted the full video of Holly Mountain in case anyone wants to check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwBrEQSA9q0

There is very little left, although you can still see the top terminal and footers for the old Borvig double installed in 1972. The author of the NJ ski history book, Liz Holste runs an amazing Facebook group for Holly Mountain with some incredible photos from back in the day. If anyone remember skiing here I would encourage you to check out her group.

Rowsdower · Apr 11, 2020

This J-bar bullwheel has been idle for some time.

Rowsdower · Apr 21, 2020

Here is the history and some video of Tamiment Resort in the Poconos. Another of the big Pocono resort and hotels from the post-war era which added skiing in the 70s. Although it was most prominent in the 60s and 70s, Tamiment was originally founded in the 20s by the Rand School of Social Sciences in NY.

They had a Hall double chair installed in 1972. Classic early Hall with the lower "t" towers and the drive on rails. I was surprised to see so much of the lift still on the property. After the resort closed in 2003, and a fire in 2012 severed the haul rope caused the line to lose tension. However, everything is still in place, and many of the chairs are now sitting on the ground, still attached to the haul rope. Interesting place. Sad to see such an iconic piece of Poconos history go, but eras come and go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_oQ76ue8PU

asnowmobiler · Apr 22, 2020

I would love to have one of those Lift Chairs.

danimals · Apr 22, 2020

asnowmobiler said:
I would love to have one of those Lift Chairs.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on some abandoned areas since I’m stuck at home. It’s amazing how many chairs are just sitting in the woods.

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Chairlift Identification Help

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