Chairlift Identification Help

[Rowsdower]

Hey all,

I'm back with more chairlift questions. I've been putting together history videos for abandoned ski areas around the Mid Atlantic (and later NE too I'm hoping). I came across this area in the Poconos with a still standing double chair. However I could find very little information online about the area itself, let alone info on the lift. It appears to have been installed in 1972 per a nameplate on the bottom terminal, however the nameplate is only for the gearing in the drive, not the manufacturer of the rest of the lift components.

Does anyone want to take a crack at identifying this based on the pictures? I'd appreciate any help!

 

[ss20]

That's a Borvig lift with 99% confidence. Has their trademark hanging sheaves off the towers.

I don't have a great picture but you can see the same carrier shape and the same tower/sheave setup on the summit double at Thunder Ridge; pretty sure it's also from 1972 but I could be a couple years off.



Any pics of the terminal?

 

[jg17]

Agreed on being a Borvig, the square towers, tapered crossarms, and that bail design were common in the early 70s.

Which resort is this? Pretty neat that the lift is very intact even though it's abandoned.

This link may be helpful as well: http://www.skilifts.org/old/install_na1972.htm

 

[Rowsdower]

Thanks for the tips! I actually found it on the skilifts.org list. I had checked previously, but didn't see the mountain's name. It's actually listed under the development company's name for the lift install, which is why I missed it. So its definitely a 1972 Borvig.

The ski area's name was Kahkout Mountain. It's close to Shawnee Mountain, PA, and was developed by the same person, incidentally. It was one of the wave of private ski areas in the Poconos built for vacation communities in the 60s and 70s. Unfortunately these groups no longer have the money to run the ski areas, so most of them have either closed, transitioned to fully public ski areas, or gone public and then closed anyway. I believe the lift last ran in 2008.

 

[Slidebrook87]

That's a Borvig most likely from the early 70s since it uses some of their earliest designs. It is very similar to Snow Valley Vermont's double chair which has been abandoned since 1983. The only difference between the two is that the drive terminal on this is a pretty standard early Borvig monopod unit while Snow Valley's has a drive that I haven't seen on any other Borvig lift. Hope this helps.

 

[Rowsdower]

Ok I've actually got another one!

This time a t-bar. Installed in 1962 as best I can reckon, so its not on the skilifts list. It's quite overgrown so I'm sorry for the quality of the pictures. I didn't stop to take regular photos, these are just pulled from some video I was shooting.

 

[Not Sure]

Ok I've actually got another one!

This time a t-bar. Installed in 1962 as best I can reckon, so its not on the skilifts list. It's quite overgrown so I'm sorry for the quality of the pictures. I didn't stop to take regular photos, these are just pulled from some video I was shooting.

Not helping with ID but a location question . Apple hill?

 

[Rowsdower]

Not helping with ID but a location question . Apple hill?

That it is.

 

[Slidebrook87]

Not helping with ID but a location question . Apple hill?

Looks like an early model Hall T-Bar based on the towers and sheaves. The drive is probably Hall but I haven't seen that type on any of their other T-Bars.

 

[Rowsdower]

Looks like an early model Hall T-Bar based on the towers and sheaves. The drive is probably Hall but I haven't seen that type on any of their other T-Bars.

It wouldn't surprise me if the drive was modified at some point. This place was a very local operation.

 

[Rowsdower]

I have the full Apple Hill video up now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyhGOINI-Fw&t=610s

If anyone remembers skiing here I encourage you to leave your recollections in the comments!

 

[Not Sure]

I have the full Apple Hill video up now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyhGOINI-Fw&t=610s

If anyone remembers skiing here I encourage you to leave your recollections in the comments!

I’ve skied there many times in 1970 it was a couple miles from my high school. The hill that the T bar is on bumped up nicely. Kind of vague memory of the rope tow on the left side. Lodge was/is kind of cool with the round open fireplace in the middle.

My most vivid memory was a crash I had . Tucked the left side Green trail from the top . My friends had built a 4’ jump , small by today’s standards but nice with speed. I’m just about to hit the jump when some young gaper kid comes out of a brushy hill area to my right and turns into my landing zone. All I see from between my skis is his head and shoulders. I went back seat as much as possible but snapped my tail on my left ski . He was ok after crying for 10 minutes.

DC ski has a whole page devoted to peoples experiences . They actually had a “30yr “closing reunion Lol.

Edit After watching your video my I have to correct my recollection of dates

 

[Rowsdower]

Sharing some more old lift history:

This is the Poma T-bar installed in 1968 at Split Rock Lodge in Lake Harmony, PA.

You can see more here: https://youtu.be/Aa4fK8R_jDE

There was also a Roebling J-bar which is no longer extant, and a single Borvig double chair on a double-double style tower. The chairlift was removed sometime in the early 2010s or late 2000s and is now in service at Mt. Peter, NY.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

My daughter has a gymnastics meet at Split Rock every year, well not this year. Anyway I knew there was a defunct Split Rock ski area next to the hotel but I just found out a couple of weeks ago, after going down a chairlift history rabbit hole caused by this thread, that the Hailey's Comet lift at Mt. Peter, which was installed in 2004 came from Split Rock. I remember when it was first installed at Mt. Peter, I thought it was brand new. It's a Partek BTW which I found out is the successor to Borvig and Partek still makes chairlifts and parts in Pine Island, NY, about a half hour from my house

Sent from my SM-G970U using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[Not Sure]

Is Hahn mt or Fernwood on your list ? A couple Pa. local that come to mind .

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I wanted to add pictures from Mt. Peter but it wouldn't let me add then in an edit.
Hailey's Comet (used from Split Rock)



The Patriot (New Partek quad installed 2018)



Sent from my SM-G970U using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[Rowsdower]

I wanted to add pictures from Mt. Peter but it wouldn't let me add then in an edit.
Hailey's Comet (used from Split Rock)



Sent from my SM-G970U using AlpineZone mobile app

And it still uses the double-double pylons and everything. I actually thought it was moved slightly later but I guess they auctioned it off as soon as the area closed.

Actually the bottom terminal looks different. In the Mt Peter pics there's a provision for a second drive to use the other side of the pylons. During the Split Rock days there was only one side used, so they must have rebuilt or installed a new drive terminal.

 

[machski]

And it still uses the double-double pylons and everything. I actually thought it was moved slightly later but I guess they auctioned it off as soon as the area closed.

Actually the bottom terminal looks different. In the Mt Peter pics there's a provision for a second drive to use the other side of the pylons. During the Split Rock days there was only one side used, so they must have rebuilt or installed a new drive terminal.

Definitely a different drive terminal from Split Rock to Peter. Mt. Peter has the true double-double terminal frame and the side in use is hydraulically tensioned vs counterweighted on the split rock installation.

Sent from my SM-T830 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Definitely a different drive terminal from Split Rock to Peter. Mt. Peter has the true double-double terminal frame and the side in use is hydraulically tensioned vs counterweighted on the split rock installation.

Sent from my SM-T830 using AlpineZone mobile app

I think I read that Hailey's Comet used the towers and chairs (with new seats) from Split Rock and the terminal is new. Interestingly one of the towers is a single tower so I guess they needed one more tower than Split Rock had.

Sent from my SM-G970U using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[Rowsdower]

I think I read that Hailey's Comet used the towers and chairs (with new seats) from Split Rock and the terminal is new. Interestingly one of the towers is a single tower so I guess they needed one more tower than Split Rock had.

Sent from my SM-G970U using AlpineZone mobile app

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?

Is Hahn mt or Fernwood on your list ? A couple Pa. local that come to mind .

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.