2020-21 Sunday River

[jimmywilson69]

is the gondola dead now or shortly in the future with advent of the 8-person bubble chair?

 

[crystalmountainskier]

is the gondola dead now or shortly in the future with advent of the 8-person bubble chair?

No.

 

[snoseek]

Gondola? Where they.plan on running that?

 

[jimmywilson69]

I just meant in general. Seems sort of silly to have a gondola if you can install an 8 person lift.

 

[drjeff]

Much easier to load a bunch of food and beverage supplies into a Gondola if there's a restaurant at the top of it, and it's not just transport cat accessible, than an 8 pack. Especially wiht many resorts having year round food and beverage ops at the top of their gondolas.

 

[ScottySkis]

Gondola? Where they.plan on running that?

Big news for Sunday River: an 8-pack will replace the Jordan Express, setting up a monster terrain expansion beyond Jordan Bowl. The Jordan Express will move over to Barker and replace that troubled lift.

 

[sugarbushskier]

So will the Oz chair eventually be removed?

I've only skied the very top part of Lost Princess, Tin Woodsman etc. a few times and there's nothing really remarkable about that short pitch, but curious if the new 8 will make it obsolete. With that said, it's nice to have a dedicated chair to those trails, even if it doesn't run as often as I'd like.

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Gondola vs. 8-pack

Skiers/snowboarders are used using chairlifts. The general public are not always comfortable using chairlifts. Now the 8-packs I have ridden are pretty sweet.

 

[xlr8r]

So will the Oz chair eventually be removed?

I've only skied the very top part of Lost Princess, Tin Woodsman etc. a few times and there's nothing really remarkable about that short pitch, but curious if the new 8 will make it obsolete. With that said, it's nice to have a dedicated chair to those trails, even if it doesn't run as often as I'd like.

I highly doubt it, even if it rarely runs, the chair is still one of the newest on the mountain with very low hours on it. Oz is also the highest peak at Sunday River, so it would be odd to intentionally reduce the vert and summit elevation of the resort.

 

[thetrailboss]

I highly doubt it, even if it rarely runs, the chair is still one of the newest on the mountain with very low hours on it. Oz is also the highest peak at Sunday River, so it would be odd to intentionally reduce the vert and summit elevation of the resort.

So did it say somewhere that the 8-Pack is going to be realigned to end at the summit of Oz? I don't recall Oz being that much higher than Jordan.

 

[ss20]

An SR expansion over there would be amazing. Solid 1,400+ vertical feet out there and wiiiideeeee open for development.

The fastest bubbled 8-pack in North America...they seem keen on expanding over there shortly, IMO, or else they wouldn't have gone so "extra" as the kids say these days.

 

[deadheadskier]

Seems like coming soon to every Boyne property should be what Bubble 8's are known as right now!

Any bets on the old Jordan HSQ being laterally moved over to replace Barker?

I would think Aurora would be more appropriate. Barker really needs at least a 6 Pack IMO

 

[machski]

And based on a Storm Skiing Journal social media post that I just read, the old Jordan HSQ will be the "new" Barker HSQ for the '22-23 season

23-24 for Barker

 

[machski]

So did it say somewhere that the 8-Pack is going to be realigned to end at the summit of Oz? I don't recall Oz being that much higher than Jordan.

No, but you can access almost all of Oz from Jordan except for the few hundred vert that doesn't have much special the Oz Chair reaches. I would assume after the 8 goes in, SR gets back to making snow consistently on both Lost Princess and Eureka in Oz and probably even goes back to grooming Eureka frequently. The Western Expansion probably is not imminent, likely years down the road still. The 8 is going there for the wind issue at Jordan. It is almost always the first to go down and the last to come off hold. They likely went up to the 8 as those chairs are even heavier than the D-Line 6 chairs.

The upgauge in traffic with the 8 is not that much. Jordan is rated at 3000 riders per hour (though it hasn't been run at design speed in years so likely more like 2800 max right now) with 113 chairs on the line. The 8 will move 3200 riders per hour and drops the chair count to 60 on the line, almost half the current carriers.

 

[Dickc]

I would think Aurora would be more appropriate. Barker really needs at least a 6 Pack IMO

Aurora is only 1100 vertical. A new more reliable drive terminal and carpet load would make Aurora quite a bit better.

 

[Jully]

An SR expansion over there would be amazing. Solid 1,400+ vertical feet out there and wiiiideeeee open for development.

The fastest bubbled 8-pack in North America...they seem keen on expanding over there shortly, IMO, or else they wouldn't have gone so "extra" as the kids say these days.

The area over there isn't the most interesting though, is it? I thought I remembered discussion a few years ago about the terrain and it wasn't much of a win for the advanced crowd.

Of course, more blues like Rouge Angel/Excalibur in Jordan over 1400 vertical would obviously be fantastic for the resort, generally speaking.

 

[machski]

The area over there isn't the most interesting though, is it? I thought I remembered discussion a few years ago about the terrain and it wasn't much of a win for the advanced crowd.

Of course, more blues like Rouge Angel/Excalibur in Jordan over 1400 vertical would obviously be fantastic for the resort, generally speaking.

If they just keep expanding out on the same ridgeline, nothing steep sustained. But it would be great for glading, Jordana nd beyond hold snow very well. What we don't know if an expansion would include the backside of Jordan and off the shoulder of Oz. If that were to be in play, that is where you find great expert terrain.

 

[machski]

I don't know the alignment of the current Tempest lift but assiming they just extend up Cascade to the new top location to the skiers right of T2. That does not affect the race configuration at all. Also the travest over to grand junction does not affect the race configuration eather. I think if the top is placed correctly there is only a small amount of woods they have to go through at the flatest section of T2 at the borrom. Obviously the traverse will be closed on reace days or a crossing guard can be implemented.
View attachment 51988

At one time this would have worked. But with the T-Bar in now and the way they block flow for that, midseason you cannot cut over CFC from T2/Bims at all. Those only flow into Cascade midseason now. Can't even get into MM easily (you often have to cut around the tree island to do so). Given the new flow, no way Tempest ever gets extended now.

 

[deadheadskier]

Aurora is only 1100 vertical. A new more reliable drive terminal and carpet load would make Aurora quite a bit better.

That would work for me. Actually I'd prefer that. Just a little bit faster lift, but not something shiny that draws attention. When I lived in Portland and the River was my home hill for a couple of seasons, Aurora was the lift and terrain I skied the most even despite the slow lift. Partly because of terrain, partly because of lesser crowds. Spruce Peak would be second on that list for the same reasons.

 

[machski]

That would work for me. Actually I'd prefer that. Just a little bit faster lift, but not something shiny that draws attention. When I lived in Portland and the River was my home hill for a couple of seasons, Aurora was the lift and terrain I skied the most even despite the slow lift. Partly because of terrain, partly because of lesser crowds. Spruce Peak would be second on that list for the same reasons.

Both Tempest and Aurora are on the 2030 plan to get new lifts, both likely carpet loads. Of course, the Western Expanse wasn't so who knows what is staying from that plan and what is changing.