Killington Skye Peak HSQ Pictures

[loafer89]

I took these pictures of the construction in progress on the Skye Peak High Speed Quad yesterday while on our way home from skiing at Killington. It looks like the lift towers are mostly finished and I am guessing that the haul rope is what is coiled up in the drum to the left of the lift:

Chair's in the parking lot:

 

[RootDKJ]

Yeah, that's a haul rope alright. I've love to see how the string it up and do the final splice. I'm guessing rollers on strand won't work here

 

[thetrailboss]

Very nice, very nice. Why are the pylons about 2/3 the way up silver/gray instead of black? I've always wondered that...they did this on the original Skye Peak Quad and on some other lifts.

 

[Highway Star]

Very nice, very nice. Why are the pylons about 2/3 the way up silver/gray instead of black? I've always wondered that...they did this on the original Skye Peak Quad and on some other lifts.

I think simply to blend in with the color of the snow vs. trees, however some people have claimed it is because of uneven thermal expansion causing the towers to tilt slightly.

 

[Highway Star]

Sweet pics!!! Even though I think the whole "stash" park is a bad idea, I am looking forward to the new quad and how it changes the skiing around skye peak....hopefully for the better.

This will be Killington's tallest (most vert) HSQ, compareable to the K-1 and Skyeship stage 2. Not counting the Pico Summit Quad, which is also around the same vert.

 

[thetrailboss]

This will be Killington's tallest (most vert) HSQ, compareable to the K-1 and Skyeship stage 2. Not counting the Pico Summit Quad, which is also around the same vert.

Good point. I think it will fundamentally change how people ski Killington.

 

[deadheadskier]

How many vertical feet does it rise?

 

[Glenn]

Cool pics!

Seems like they're cutting it close though with the start of the season. I'd imagine putting up the cable. installing the chairs, testing and inspecting are all things that will take more than a few days.

 

[Jonni]

It rises 1,515 vertical feet with an inclined length of 4,964 feet.

 

[Jonni]

Cool pics!

Seems like they're cutting it close though with the start of the season. I'd imagine putting up the cable. installing the chairs, testing and inspecting are all things that will take more than a few days.

Hanging chairs only takes a few hours if that. Stringing the cable and splicing as well as all the inspections can take two to three weeks.

 

[thetrailboss]

Hanging chairs only takes a few hours if that. Stringing the cable and splicing as well as all the inspections can take two to three weeks.

Hey Jonni--do you know why the upper pylons are not painted black? Can you confirm what HS was saying?

 

[loafer89]

Saddleback is just finishing splicing the haul rope on the Kennebago Quad this week. If anyone risks a snowstorm or bad weather to disrupt their schedule, they would be my pick.

 

[Glenn]

Hanging chairs only takes a few hours if that. Stringing the cable and splicing as well as all the inspections can take two to three weeks.

That's what I was assuming for the cable and the inspections. I didn't know the chairs could be put up so quickly. But I guess with a good crew and some nice air tools, anything is possible. 8)

 

[WJenness]

That's what I was assuming for the cable and the inspections. I didn't know the chairs could be put up so quickly. But I guess with a good crew and some nice air tools, anything is possible. 8)

It's my guess that detachables are much easier to mount than fixed grips... particularly if you've got a storage rail (don't know if this lift does), as you just slide them into the terminal and then the clutches should space them for you.

-w

 

[Glenn]

It's my guess that detachables are much easier to mount than fixed grips... particularly if you've got a storage rail (don't know if this lift does), as you just slide them into the terminal and then the clutches should space them for you.

-w

It would help if I took that into consideration. I'm thinking fixed grip...a very good point.

 

[mondeo]

Hanging chairs only takes a few hours if that. Stringing the cable and splicing as well as all the inspections can take two to three weeks.

And they've got a month and a half.

 

[Johnskiismore]

Nie pictures, it's nice to see the birth of a lift!

 

[JerseyJoey]

Gonna be agreat addition to Killington. Getting out of bear in 6 minutes or so and over to the other side is a huge plus. Kudos to K for the new lift.

 

[loafer89]

Nie pictures, it's nice to see the birth of a lift!

I like seeing new lifts/trails being created. The last new lift that I saw being built and have pictures of at Killington was of Skyeship and I was one of the first skiers to ride the lift.

 

[Jonni]

Hey Jonni--do you know why the upper pylons are not painted black? Can you confirm what HS was saying?

I honestly don't know why they are painted the two different colors, but I would assume that the explanation that HS has given is very logical. It could also be to lessen the visual impact of it from further away, (in order to make the "view" of the mountain better). Personally, I prefer darker color towers from a mechanical point of view because the ice and snow will melt off of them faster than a lighter color tower, which makes climbing them when it's bad weather that much easier (if there isn't ice from previous storms on the tower).

It's my guess that detachables are much easier to mount than fixed grips... particularly if you've got a storage rail (don't know if this lift does), as you just slide them into the terminal and then the clutches should space them for you.

-w

They basically are, due to storage rails or even the standard emergency rail that many detachables have. Looking at those chairs on the ground it's hard to tell if the grips are on them yet, but once they are it's just a matter of putting each chair on the rail and pushing them into the terminal while the lift is running on slow. Hanging fixed-grip chairs usually involves setting up a work platform on the downhill side of the lift at the bottom such that each chair can be hung from the cable. Once the chair is on the cable, the spring pack has to be screwed on and set (the cylindrical body on the outside of the grip), and the final castle nut and cotter-pin is put in. Each chair also has to be shaken while the spring pack is being set in order to help seat the grip onto the cable.

So the difference really is more a matter of just hanging the chairs and pushing them on while it's running (detachables); or hanging, setting, shaking, torquing and moving the lift one chair length at a time for each chair.