new lift gizmo

[Maksim]

http://alyeskalifties.blogspot.com/2008/10/loading-carpet-base-of-7.html

 

[Maksim]

http://www.emmegiski.com/

 

[billski]

Found on Okemo's site

Okemo’s “Red Carpet Treatment” Lift Loading and Unloading Carpets
Everyone loves the section of Warren Miller’s films when the camera positioned at the top of a chairlift catches the crashes of skiers trying to disembark. The more tangled the carnage, the louder the laughs. For beginner skiers and snowboarders, riding the lift can be a stressful part of the learning experience. Seasoned veterans grow increasingly impatient with each delay of elevation gain. Lift operators loading the uninitiated must be ever vigilant to maintain safety. As a way to make that first lift ride of the day less stressful and safer, Okemo is installing mechanized loading and unloading carpets on one of its base area South Ridge fixed-grip quad chairs. Although familiar to European skiers, the loading carpet is a rarity in North America. Okemo’s loading carpet will be the first one in the East and the unloading carpet will be the first of its kind in the U.S. A conveyor belt, marked with lanes and moving in synch with the chairlift, will make loading and unloading easier and safer. It will reduce lift-line lengths, minimize starts and stops, reduce ride time and improve overall lift capacity.

Gotta love marketing talk.

I wonder if the Europeans need them because they are so tanked from that 3 liter lunch that they can barely stand up straight :-D (Austria is the only place I've skied where they start drinking beer at 10AM at the mid mountain lodge).

 

[bvibert]

Not sure, but they certainly could have been. Outside of the cost, for the life of me I have no idea why they haven't put a detach down there. I'd get so frustrated by those lifts I'd take the F-10 Poma and skate up to the Sachem Quad

That Poma has been replaced by a magic carpet. I considered using it the last time I was there, but there was a lot of people using it too.

 

[deadheadskier]

That Poma has been replaced by a magic carpet. I considered using it the last time I was there, but there was a lot of people using it too.

Suppose if I was going to ski there again I'd start my day over at Jackson Gore to avoid the clusterfluk at the main base area.

 

[bvibert]

I've never been to Jackson Gore, gotta give it a try one of these days.

 

[ctenidae]

Gotta love marketing talk.

I wonder if the Europeans need them because they are so tanked from that 3 liter lunch that they can barely stand up straight :-D (Austria is the only place I've skied where they start drinking beer at 10AM at the mid mountain lodge).

3 Liters is breakfast. Lunch is 5.

They certainly have them all over Italy, and there are at least 3 bars for every lift.
They're kind of cool, but take some getting used to, since a lot of the timing is out of your hands.

 

[ski63]

I skiied at Diamond Peak 2 years ago and....using a loading conveyor was easy and efficient. I rode all day and it NEVER stopped. It was fast, so I assume it was going at 500 fpm.

As for an unloader, I wonder why it is needed if the runout off the lift is the good grade?

Sounds like a very cost efficient way to increase capacity and not put in a High Speed Lift.

 

[Smellytele]

I have seen these in Chamonix. Quite comical. People get on the thing at the wrong time and miss the chairs and fall off the end it. That might have something to do with the liters. Chairs seem to stop more often not less.

 

[Jonni]

I've never been to Jackson Gore, gotta give it a try one of these days.

I have to admit, I like Jackson Gore a bit more than most of the rest of the mountain, although you still have to go through the beginners first at the bottom. Great part of the mountain to get lots of vertical. My other favorite hang out would be South Face.

 

[Geoff]

I have that map on my wall for Jackson Hole and it's alot more purple..red..and yellow..but comparing Jackson Hole to Okemo is like comparing Andre the Giant to Danny DeVito

Agreed. Danny DeVito made a lot more money than Andre the Giant.

 

[campgottagopee]

Seems silly to me, just sayin

 

[bvibert]

Is it sad that I want to Okemo just to see this thing in action? I love gadgets, especially when they have to do with lifts. 8)

 

[gmcunni]

Is it sad that I want to Okemo just to see this thing in action? I love gadgets, especially when they have to do with lifts. 8)

if the weather down this way isn't good i'll be skiing Okemo on Friday after Turkey day. I'll take a picture for you bvibert!

 

[scootertig]

I haven't seen the pix of the new one that's going in, but I'm pretty sure they have a similar system at Hidden Valley, in PA. It takes some getting used to, for sure, and it's kind of trippy the first time, but after that, it's a snap.

Then again, if they're claiming "first in the East," is that because they're not counting PA as "east"? Is it "Mid-Atlantic", and "East" = New England?

aaron

 

[kingslug]

Hmmmm...now there is something worse than the escalators at Beaver Creek.....this is a sport isn't it??

 

[evil]

hmmmm, new roadside billboard perhaps?
"Taking care of the Slokemo"

 

[Johnskiismore]

So it will be the rides down at Disney, minus the obvious

 

[Hawkshot99]

As for an unloader, I wonder why it is needed if the runout off the lift is the good grade?

Summer use?

 

[Telemechanic]

Okemo Pictures

Anyone have pics or video of this contraption? If it helps... why not? =P

There are construction photos of Okemo's carpet at www.skiliftforum.com

Loading carpets have been used in Europe successfully for a while now. They're helpful on beginner fixed grips and big six and eight seater detachable chairlifts.