Attitash Summit Triple Problems 2018-2019

[thetrailboss]

HSDT - High speed detachable triple - I have only seen 1 at Gore but it has since been replaced

There is one at Alta (Sunnyside) that is slated to be replaced in the near future. There is also one at Aspen that is used as a double.

 

[canobie#1]

I'm wondering if Peaks is going to be making some tweaks to their investment plans for the next couples seasons. Mount Snow has been pretty vocal about a Sunbrook replacement coming very soon. I'm wondering if Attitash is going to get bumped up in front of them on the list of to-dos.

 

[EPB]

Attitash's afternoon snow report update says the summit triple is down again...

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[Smellytele]

Attitash's afternoon snow report update says the summit triple is down again...

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HAHAHA. Glad I wasn't planning on hitting Attitrash this year

 

[thetrailboss]

Attitash's afternoon snow report update says the summit triple is down again...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jz1TjCphXE

 

[MEtoVTSkier]

Then the unload needs to be before the bullwheel. The local bump up here has the summit unload right after the last tower, and the chairs continue traveling straight forward and then travel around the upper station. Maybe that's a better idea for higher line speeds.

 

[EPB]

Not to get too in the weeds in this, but the double-doubles run at roughly 250 feet per minute these days. The triple is capable of doing 500 and seems to be operated at that speed on weekends. The carpet would be necessary to make it easier for beginners to load if Attitash wanted to run the lift closer to the 500 feet per minute end of the spectrum.

I skied regularly at Greek Peak when I lived in the area for a few years. Their main lift is a fixed quad with a carpet load. It moved quickly for a fixed quad. Issues unloading were minimized by a steep unloading ramp. I didn't notice the lift stopping that often, and the lift was by no means an expert only operation.

Shawnee Peak installed a carpet load on Loon's old North Peak CTEC triple. I believe they run it at 525 feet per minute and bill it as the fastest triple in the east. I've never been, so I have no idea if it has unloading issues.

I haven't been to Okemo in about 15 years, but they now have loading and unloading carpets on one of their quads out of the base lodge. Maybe SR needs to look into this:

https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsf4-b-quad-poma-6324.html

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[deadheadskier]

Carpet at Shawnee works great. Appreciable difference in ride time from before.

Skyline at Sugarloaf also works very well and is a noticeable improvement.

Moving the triple to the double doubles might be a decent move. Doesn't seem long enough to warrant a carpet. If they were to only upgrade the summit triple with a carpet, I'll take up trapping squirrels this summer.

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[ss20]

Okemo had carpets for loading (pretty sure) and unloading (that I am positive on) for one of there base area quads. The unload carpet has been gone a few seasons now...it was monumentally stupid.

In my experience, a carpet mitigates load/unload issues minimally and freaks people out more than anything. Berkshire East has one on their main lift and it has a tendency to stop. Sugarbush has Valley House with a load carpet and it works fine... I really think it depends on the general ability level of the clientele.

As far as Attitash Triple vs Sunbrook quad being replaced...both are probably the most over-due lift replacements needed in the East. Bonnie at Jay a close 3rd.

 

[Cheese]

Couple things to consider about high speed and carpet loaders but might require fact checking as the information I had is outdated and perhaps inaccurate.

Attitash is running the summit lift into the White Mountain National Forest. I've heard they are restricted on uphill capacity because of this. Therefore, if they were to put in a high speed lift they'd have to space the chairs far enough apart that the actual number of skiers delivered to the summit wouldn't change.

I've heard that the carpet loaders weren't so much for speeding up the lifts but more about reducing the repetitive stress injuries on the lifties that have to swing the chairs for skiers and riders to load. Carpets don't require the "swing".

 

[So Inclined]

As far as Attitash Triple vs Sunbrook quad being replaced...both are probably the most over-due lift replacements needed in the East. Bonnie at Jay a close 3rd.

Agreed, both very overdue, but with a somewhat different level of urgency and consequences. If Sunbrook is slow or goes down for a day, Mount Snow goes on. If the summit triple at Attitash is fakakta to the point of being down, like recently - alert, unnecessary hyperbole ahead! - you might as well just hang a "closed today - go ski Bear" sign at the base lodge. The couple times that lift's been out of commission while I'm there, I bounced right over to Bear and stayed there. The Yankee quad's for making quick warm-up runs, not lapping all day. In fact I'd rather lap the Abenaki quad as long as the glades below it are skiing.
Now if you want to talk about a lift that's slow as dirt...

 

[deadheadskier]

As far as Attitash Triple vs Sunbrook quad being replaced...both are probably the most over-due lift replacements needed in the East. Bonnie at Jay a close 3rd.

Sunday River Barker Quad is the most over-due lift replacement in the East. The most important lift at what most years is the second busiest place in New England next to Killington. Severe reliability issues with Barker Quad.



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[gregnye]

Agreed, both very overdue, but with a somewhat different level of urgency and consequences. If Sunbrook is slow or goes down for a day, Mount Snow goes on. If the summit triple at Attitash is fakakta to the point of being down, like recently - alert, unnecessary hyperbole ahead! - you might as well just hang a "closed today - go ski Bear" sign at the base lodge. The couple times that lift's been out of commission while I'm there, I bounced right over to Bear and stayed there. The Yankee quad's for making quick warm-up runs, not lapping all day. In fact I'd rather lap the Abenaki quad as long as the glades below it are skiing.
Now if you want to talk about a lift that's slow as dirt...

While we're talking about dumb/overdue for replacement lift setups--we cannot forget about Waterville's Green Peak Triple chair! I understand they wanted to do the expansion cheaply, but come on now--that thing is so slow. They should have moved the Valley Run quad (or "Quadzilla"--by the way why don't they call it that anymore??)

 

[machski]

Couple things to consider about high speed and carpet loaders but might require fact checking as the information I had is outdated and perhaps inaccurate.

Attitash is running the summit lift into the White Mountain National Forest. I've heard they are restricted on uphill capacity because of this. Therefore, if they were to put in a high speed lift they'd have to space the chairs far enough apart that the actual number of skiers delivered to the summit wouldn't change.

I've heard that the carpet loaders weren't so much for speeding up the lifts but more about reducing the repetitive stress injuries on the lifties that have to swing the chairs for skiers and riders to load. Carpets don't require the "swing".

So what about the WMNF. What do you think Wildcat HSQ, Lonn's HSQ's and Gondola or WV's HSQ run into? I think that arguement is out the window, Peaks has plenty to base an upgrade to the triple and multiple examples of where higher capacity lifts are allowed into the WMNF.

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[sull1102]

While we're talking about dumb/overdue for replacement lift setups--we cannot forget about Waterville's Green Peak Triple chair! I understand they wanted to do the expansion cheaply, but come on now--that thing is so slow. They should have moved the Valley Run quad (or "Quadzilla"--by the way why don't they call it that anymore??)

WV "new" ownership took off the hat and repainted it green cause they suck and hate fun. Quadzilla was the best when I was a kid.

I think the summit is more important to Attitash as a resort, but the Sunbrook quad is more important to Peak corporate because of how much more important Mount Snow is to the company as a whole. Do you upgrade your minor league team's stadium before you finish refurbing your MLB club's ballpark if you can only afford one? Ideally you could of course afford both at the same time.

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[EPB]

Re: summit capacity. The excuse I recall from Attitash is that they don't have the downhill capacity to handle a quad (not forest service related unless they claim it's impossible to cut new trails, which seems to be their half baked implication), and the rumor is that the permit from the Les Otten days to upgrade to an HSQ has expired. I never heard about the forest service capping capacity. Remember, there used to be a double (Top Notch) which let off just shy of the summit. It ran every day on the weekends right next to the triple from 1986 to at least 1998 when the Yankee was installed.

Re: loading carpet. I think it would be necessary if the triple replaced the double-doubles because that is a beginner area, and I doubt the clientele could load it at it's spec speed without a lot of wipeouts.

I would also submit the Superquad at SL (reliability), the Sterling double at Smuggs and any borvig lift (half in jest) as lifts on the short list of being most in need of replacement.

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[EPB]

Re: dull. That's been the logic for the last 15+ years. The problem now is the choice might be between upgrades at the major leagues and no viable minor league park at all.

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[deadheadskier]

This was a long time ago, but when the Attitash triple replacement was brought up during an AZ challenge in 2004, the mountain claimed there would be terrain expansion to meet added downhill capacity needs. I wonder what they had in mind at the time. It would be nice to add a second intermediate trail skiers right of Saco that wraps around down to Ammossuc

http://www.alpinezone.com/skiing/ch...allenge-2004-sven-cole-of-attitash-bear-peak/

 

[Katahdin]

Latest update from Attitash. Sounds like an expensive repair. I wonder how much money has been spent on this lift that could have gone toward a replacement.

January 8, 2019 - Light at the end of the tunnel
As you may have noticed, The Summit Triple was not running today. We've gone ahead and decided to replace the entire drive of the lift in order to get to the root of the issue and solve things once-and-for-all. While we had originally considered waiting until after the coming weekend to begin this work, we decided that there is no time like the present to get this fix going, and so will be diving into it today.
Here is the timeline for the coming week:

• Several parts arrived today, with the main drive system scheduled to arrive from Salt Lake City tomorrow morning.
• Wednesday morning, a technician from SkyTrac Lifts, along with our lift mechanic team here at Attitash and several technicians from some of our sister resorts, will get to work installing this new drive system, which is scheduled to take two days and finish up on Thursday.
• Once the work has been completed, we will begin load testing the new lift under the supervision of the New Hampshire Tramway Board. This process is slated to take place on Friday and if everything goes right, we plan on having the lift spinning for the coming weekend.

 

[GregoryIsaacs]

Yikes! I guess they finally got sick and tired of putting lipstick on the pig...

All of this work probably shows that they will stick with (or be stuck with) the triple no matter what replacement comes. Thinking of the cheapest way out, is there anything at Saddleback that could be salvaged and transported over?

There is that abandoned gondola from Mount Whittier in Ossipee..... Sure it has the limited capacity they are looking for LOL