T-Bars

[deadheadskier]

I haven't ridden one in decades, but the Cannon vs Wildcat thread drummed up some nostalgia with reference to the old double T's running up Cannon.

I grew up skiing in the early to mid 80's and T-Bars were somewhat the standard everywhere I went.

What I remember most was the unique ride up the hill with my father. He was Six feet tall, I was four feet tall. So, in order for the bar to rest behing my knees, it had to rest behind his calfs. It made for interesting balancing because he was a 'newbie' as well and struggling equally as hard just to stay upright and make it to the end of the lift, while worrying about getting me to the top as well.

When is the last time any of you rode a T-Bar? or even a Poma for that matter?

To be honest, I think I'd be more excited reading about a ski area installing a new T-Bar than a HSQ. I think it would be a lot of fun to ride one again.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

Surface lifts rock!

Last time I rode a Poma was Last November at K-mart. Upper Snowdon)

Last T-bar ride: February at Saddleback. The Kenegbago T-bar. A Hall with a pitch like the old Cannon T-bars, only much longer. Goregous ride. I highly recomend it.

 

[riverc0il]

wooo! i love surface lifts. i haven't rode a tbar since i was learning at ski bradford a long time ago. more than 15 years i would guess. pomas on the other hand can be found at some larger areas and are just as fun. last year i spent time on kmarts snowdon poma and burke's poma which i will get plenty of rides on this coming season. two thumbs up for surface lifts!

 

[ALLSKIING]

I rode a poma lift at sugarbush last year. Problem was people kept falling in front of me. Stick me on a chair with a view anyday.

 

[thetrailboss]

Love surface lifts. No wind-holds, your skis never leave the snow, and if it stops, you ski away! :beer:

Last season, I rode MANY surface lifts and still do--rode a J-Bar at Pats on opening weekend and the POMA at Burke...old school one dated 1954 I believe and she is mean on the legs on the upper section :x but she is fast! There are a lot of benefits to surface lifts--especially cost and maintenance. Hell, the biggest surprise I ever got was at Zermatt where I rode THREE Trams to get to the top of Klein Matterhorn and then spent much of the day on the glacier skiing off a T-BAR. Why a T-Bar? Well, the glacier can shift and, as I saw, the snow can get pretty frickin' deep up there and the weather can be wild. So the Swiss resort to having a decent T-Bar up there in case something happens to the glacier. A T-bar is easier to move and repair than a chairlift.

I personally like the Snowdon Poma as well. Nothing wrong with a surface lift! :beer:

 

[Geoff]

When is the last time any of you rode a T-Bar? or even a Poma for that matter?

My last T-Bar ride was August 24 at Termas de Chillan. I was last on a platter lift on August 26 at Valle Nevado. It's hard to ski in South America without riding surface lifts.

Killington has a poma running up Upper Bunny Buster on Snowdon and I use that occasionally.

 

[ga2ski]

My first lift ride was a t-bar at Gunstock back in 1982. similar to deadheadskier, mine was with my father. The bar was at my butt and below his knees.

My last surface ride was the poma at K last year. Last T-bar was at whistler in 2001.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Breckenridge last year. It's the last lift to get to Peak 7 (I think it's 7).

 

[eatskisleep]

I have ridden a Poma Platter Pull and a J-Bar last year but as for the T-Bar I ahve yet to ride one.

 

[kcyanks1]

Last t-bar was last year at Whistler. Last poma was probably many years ago at Killington. I used a rope toe recently at Jackson Hole to get from the lodging to the mountain. Probably haven't used a j-bar since my first couple years skiing at Gore.

 

[teachski]

If you want to ride a T-bar(hall) or rope tow (real rope, not paddles), come to Pine Ridge Snow Park in Barre. These are the only lifts at the area at this time. Hopefully the new owner will add at least one more lift in the near future.

 

[smootharc]

Bunch of 'em in central New York.

Favorite: Snow Pocket T at Snow Ridge. A trip back in time to the powdery goods.

 

[Lostone]

North Lynx at Sugarbush used to be a poma. Never went on wind hold. And the nice thing is nobody used it!

The snow up there was fantastic! There was no snowmaking, but only those that knew would "put up" with the poma to get to the top.

Always one of the places to avoid lines both up and (more importantly) down the mountain.

My last time on a T-bar was at Smuggs. It was a powder day. It was afternoon. We'd trashed all the rest of the freshies, and coming down to the line, we saw it untouched. Last three rides of the day. One of their only customers. Big smiles on our faces.

We knew there was powder, but were in shock when we got back to my buddy's truck and found around 2' of now on it.

Yep! That was a day that sucked! :beer:

 

[ski_resort_observer]

The bunny hill I learned on had a J Bar, the T bar was on the advanced terrain. No problen with your partner being too tall or too wide. These lifts also virtually eliminate smoking and drinking debris along the lift. Course, not totally true when it came to candy wrappers :lol:

 

[Birdman829]

Last time I rode one was March at the loaf. T-bars are kind of nice when I'm in the mood (or when the wind is blowing :wink: ). It is my understanding that there are tons of them in Europe.

 

[Zand]

The first lift I ever rode was a T-Bar at Pine Ridge in February of 2000. The last one I rode was the one at Okemo that accesses the Dew Zone. It says Poma, but it's really a T-Bar. I've never ridden a Poma nor have I ridden a J-Bar. I haven't used a rope or handle tow since 2002. As for Carpets, I can't balance on them for some reason and fell over on one in front of all of the beginners at Okemo. That's the good thing about them. If you fall over, you can just sit down the whole way up.

 

[teachski]

Wow Zand! Got a little trigger happy and posted the same thing multiple times?

Zand, you've been to Pine Ridge? Unfortunately for you, you were there under the OLD management. The NEW management has cleaned the place up a lot. They have secured a lot of "modern" equipment including many snowboards and shaped skis. The lodge is completely remodeled and is CLEAN all of the time. You should come check it out again.

I am the new Patrol Director there and am looking for some people to join me. If you are interested send me a PM.
Laurie

 

[RossiSkier]

They have a few t-bar at Willard Mountain in upstate NY. They have two in their learning areas. My wife fell off it a couple of times during her intro to skiing. It's can be exhausting riding on one of those things and it's really hard to hit your flask for a little eye opener. They are the coolest things though.

 

[skibum1321]

I rode the T-Bar at Smuggs last year a couple times and the Snowdon Poma at Kmart in years past. I'm going to have to throw out the first vote for hating surface lifts. There are positives such as no wind hold or lift lines. I would rather take the chair because the current state of surface lifts is that they either bring you to a park or really easy terrain. Plus you don't really get a rest and they jerk you around (which can be hazardous with a large metal bar between your legs if ya know what I mean).

 

[skijay]

Mont Shefford - Eastern Townships, QC, Canada. This is a Mueller T-bar which takes you to a 1000' VD. As of right now Shefford has 3 T-bars and no chair lifts.

Looking down from near the summit: