-
Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!
You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!
Sugarbush applies to USFS to Upgrade Valley House Double to Quad
- Thread starter gostan
- Start date
jaysunn
New member
I am assuming a High Speed Quad, from the link it mentions a new four passenger lift. Are my assumptions correct, if so, nice!!
steamboat1
New member
The cover letter says a fixed grip quad.
gostan
New member
No, not necessarily. I think it is a fixed grip quad.
sounds good.........except for widening the Mall. that part blows
I believe the plan is a fixed grip quad.
EDIT: the scoping notice confirms this. It also says new unloading area will be right where the Mall meets VHT. As in, 50' downslope. The lift will be on the same line. They were thinking of a new load area right beside the Super Bravo, but I don't know if that is in the cards.
Tin
Active member
That area sees enough people from the Super Bravo but better over there than in Castlerock.
Newpylong
Well-known member
Good addition I think. Take some heat off the Super Bravo.
Last edited:
sugarbushskier
Member
Glad they're finally trying to make this happen and think lowering unloading area up top makes sense, but still wish they'd consider dropping the loading area closer to the base.
xlr8r
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2009
- Messages
- 947
- Points
- 43
I don't seem to understand the logic of this plan really. First of all, why are they having the lift start in the same spot as the current VHD. The only reason to have the same base terminal location, is if the Valley House Lodge is going to stay long into the future. But I do not see the point of keeping the VH lodge around at all. It is uphill, far away from the parking lot, and seems to get little use. I know their would be a lack of lodge space without it, but they should then plan to add seating space to one of the relatively new base buildings. The VH lodge is just too outdated and terribly located. If the do plan on tearing down VH lodge, then the new lift would isolated and uphill from the base.
I also don't think they need a quad in this location. A double is ideal, and a triple would be okay. But a quad puts too many people around that unload area, even though it will be relocated. There will still be plenty of people coming from Super Bravo anyway to use those trails, making it very crowded there.
Replacing the Village double should be their first priority. I also think an on mountain lodge/restaurant located at the area where Gatehouse, North Lynx, and Slidebrook all converge, would eliminate the need for Valley House Lodge anyway, and be extremely popular.
I also don't think they need a quad in this location. A double is ideal, and a triple would be okay. But a quad puts too many people around that unload area, even though it will be relocated. There will still be plenty of people coming from Super Bravo anyway to use those trails, making it very crowded there.
Replacing the Village double should be their first priority. I also think an on mountain lodge/restaurant located at the area where Gatehouse, North Lynx, and Slidebrook all converge, would eliminate the need for Valley House Lodge anyway, and be extremely popular.
steamboat1
New member
Anyone remember the double chair up Spring Fling? It would be a better idea to replace that chair & eliminate Valley House chair completely. A Spring Fling chair would service that area better for the intermediates who routinely ski that trail pod. It's not like those intermediates are going to ski Steins, the Mall or Moonshine(?) anyway which are already serviced from Super Bravo. Yes there's a traverse involved but even late season Super Bravo services those trails not the Valley House chair. The chair could run right down to the base outside Timbers eliminating the discussion about the future of VH Lodge & access from the main base. Gate House Lodge would still be a fustercluck, nothing new there. The new lodge never solved that problem anyway. Adding a level within the existing Gate House Lodge, which there is ample for, with tables & seating would eliminate part of the problem.
Last edited:
That makes some sense, but I don't think it would be wise to have that terrain pod serviced by a lift that doesn't access the reverse traverse trail like the VH now does and the future lift still will.
Why? Because if the Super Bravo goes down, that means essentially the Heaven's Gate goes offline as well. You can't access Heaven's Gate from Valley House. That mean's in order to ski the summit, you have to rely on Castle Rock Chair and Run being open and funnel all those skiers down a very challenging trail to get to the Heaven's Gate lift. The Valley House lift as it's currently placed offers a lot of insurance to be able to still ski all of the middle and summit of the mountain in the event that the Bravo goes down.
I'm not really worried about the bottom terminus of the new VH lift not going all the way down to the Super Bravo area for now. It will be where it is today, but can easily be dropped down to the Super Bravo area when they take the VH lodge out, which I have to imagine is in the long term master plan. No reason to keep that lodge around for the long term.
Why? Because if the Super Bravo goes down, that means essentially the Heaven's Gate goes offline as well. You can't access Heaven's Gate from Valley House. That mean's in order to ski the summit, you have to rely on Castle Rock Chair and Run being open and funnel all those skiers down a very challenging trail to get to the Heaven's Gate lift. The Valley House lift as it's currently placed offers a lot of insurance to be able to still ski all of the middle and summit of the mountain in the event that the Bravo goes down.
I'm not really worried about the bottom terminus of the new VH lift not going all the way down to the Super Bravo area for now. It will be where it is today, but can easily be dropped down to the Super Bravo area when they take the VH lodge out, which I have to imagine is in the long term master plan. No reason to keep that lodge around for the long term.
gostan
New member
deadheadskier;815637 I'm not really worried about the bottom terminus of the new VH lift not going all the way down to the Super Bravo area for now. It will be where it is today said:
The Spring Fling Triple, RIP, was a Borvig Triple that they removed in 2002. It started pretty far uphill as well.
The plan initially was to have the new lift go to the base. But I think that they were planning on demoing the Valley House. Some folks protested (because of the Wunderbar aka the Mushroom) and I think that Win reconsidered.
Agree that the eyesore...err...Village Double, and Sunny D for that matter, need to be replaced.
The plan initially was to have the new lift go to the base. But I think that they were planning on demoing the Valley House. Some folks protested (because of the Wunderbar aka the Mushroom) and I think that Win reconsidered.
Agree that the eyesore...err...Village Double, and Sunny D for that matter, need to be replaced.
Actually the spring fling isn't dead. It's now opperating at Knoebel's amusement park in PA. It a very fun park, I actually got the chance to ride the spring fling at the park. It's painted brown now.
I don't like this move. The way I see, a wider lift means a wider mall. I'd rather see the village chair and summit triple get replaced before.
steamboat1
New member
Should be replaced with a high speed detachable single chair.
:lol:
Hey, if it means not widening The Mall, I'm all for it.
Maybe they could put in a High Speed Double like Ruthies at Aspen.
jaytrem
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 1,992
- Points
- 83
Ruthies is the Crying Game of doubles, it's really a triple.
gostan
New member
Posted by Tin Woodsman on SKiMRV
From the map provided, it looks like the only widening of The Mall would be at the way bottom, as the base terminal would be somewhat to the East of the current version. Looks like the summit terminal will be right at the crest of The Mall where it hits the VH Traverse. VHT would then be widened to the South to provide more room for people coming down the trail. They'll have to blast through that cliff right at/before the last turn on VHT before you hit VH double, but that's really the only card they can play with the topography.
Sort of bummed they didn't place the base terminal down below VH lodge, but the extra capacity will be much appreciated on weekends, holidays and wind hold days.
From the map provided, it looks like the only widening of The Mall would be at the way bottom, as the base terminal would be somewhat to the East of the current version. Looks like the summit terminal will be right at the crest of The Mall where it hits the VH Traverse. VHT would then be widened to the South to provide more room for people coming down the trail. They'll have to blast through that cliff right at/before the last turn on VHT before you hit VH double, but that's really the only card they can play with the topography.
Sort of bummed they didn't place the base terminal down below VH lodge, but the extra capacity will be much appreciated on weekends, holidays and wind hold days.
