The end is near for another vintage lift....

[WoodCore]

Stopped by Mohawk Mountain today and work has already started on the replacement of the 1961 Carlevaro Savio summit chairlift. As of today all the chairs are off the line, completely disassembled and moved elsewhere.

This lift is to be replaced by a CTEC triple that was once the North Peak lift at Loon Mountain, NH. Here's some pictures from today.........

Mohawk Double Chair

Still a little snow left

Updates on progress to follow over the summer........

 

[deadheadskier]

I thought the Loon lift was purchased by Shawnee Peak in Maine?

 

[Terry]

I thought the Loon lift was purchased by Shawnee Peak in Maine?

They did buy a triple from Loon. Not sure which peak it came from though. It is on the access road to little mtn just west of the mountain rd where the new Shawnee Peak sign is.

 

[twinplanx]

WOW...I've never seen a ski area look so green ! Looks like a country club. sweet

 

[jerryg]

That lift is a beauty. I hope someone bought it. The lattice towers are awesome!

 

[deadheadskier]

That lift is a beauty. I hope someone bought it. The lattice towers are awesome!

I'm sure there are reasons why modern lifts are now straight poles as opposed to the old lattice towers, but I wonder what those reasons are

 

[MichaelJ]

The straight pole is just a big steel tube, much easier to paint and far less surface area for corrosion. The latticework is a real pita for maintenance, plus it doesn't take as much rust to compromise a single member of the lattice or a joint/bolt/rivet as it would to actually do any damage to the big honkin' pipes, which might also be concrete-filled.

(disclaimer: I don't know that as fact for ski lifts, but it's true in principle as a engineer)

 

[Phildozer]

It is also much more cost-effective to manufacture a tube than all that lattice.

 

[Johnskiismore]

They did buy a triple from Loon. Not sure which peak it came from though. It is on the access road to little mtn just west of the mountain rd where the new Shawnee Peak sign is.

Shawnee Peak in Maine definately bought the old North Peak Triple from Loon. But, if I am not mistaking part of the lift went down to Connecticut. Don't know what parts.

 

[WoodCore]

Shawnee Peak in Maine definately bought the old North Peak Triple from Loon. But, if I am not mistaking part of the lift went down to Connecticut. Don't know what parts.

Here's some pictures of what was laying around in the parking at Mohawk last summer compliments of chairlift.org

http://www.chairlift.org/mohawk.html

Scroll to future lifts....

 

[Johnskiismore]

Ah yes, I remember those pictures from last summer! It became a little bit of a mystery because I had seen the North Peak Triple disassembled at Shawnee Peak, and SP said they would be installing Loon's old lift. But before a hike last August to Pleasent Mountain we stopped by where it was, and it looked like some parts were missing. Never pulled out the pictures to see what was taken away.

 

[WoodCore]

If I remember correctly the current drive unit for the Mohawk chair is already a CTEC. The original drive unit/base terminal was extensively damaged in the 1989 tornados and upgraded with new CTEC components at that time. Basically all Mohawk needed from the North Peak lift where stansions, tower heads, chairs and a possibly a new return wheel. That being said and seeing how the North Peak lift was quite long, it's quite possible there where enough parts to go around to unable both Mohawk and Shawnee to erect nused lifts.

 

[deadheadskier]

It probably is being used for both. I have heard there are two expansion areas on the table for Shawnee. One is going down the west side of the mountain from the summit, which would probably be 1000 + vert. The other is a new beginner area up a smaller 'mountain' over to the right of the base area which wouldn't require that long of a lift. Perhaps thats what they had in mind when purchasing part of the triple.

 

[Telemechanic]

Here's some pictures of what was laying around in the parking at Mohawk last summer compliments of chairlift.org

http://www.chairlift.org/mohawk.html

Scroll to future lifts....

There is still a bit of a mystery here. The guide sheave crossarm with the "unoload here" sign in the Mohawk pictures is not from the Loon triple. As for the other parts I don't know.

More: I did some more photographic research. The sheave assemblies shown at Mohawk definitly aren't from the Loon triple. The North Peak triple had unusual Lorunser sheaves with a solid web (Loon's 7 Brothers also has them). The sheaves at Mohawk are spoked CTEC 1200s. In the first picture on the left in the future lifts gallery you can see the steel tube with the four mini-bullwheels used to support the counter weight on wire rope. The North Peak triple's counterweight was supported on an eight wheel assembly on two steel tubes.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

To add to the mystery here, Shawnee's Summit Triple is now listed as for sale on Mad River Lifts website: http://www.madriverlifts.com/gallery2/v/aerial_lifts/1984_riblet_triple/

 

[Terry]

To add to the mystery here, Shawnee's Summit Triple is now listed as for sale on Mad River Lifts website: http://www.madriverlifts.com/gallery2/v/aerial_lifts/1984_riblet_triple/

A couple of years ago there was talk of replacing the summit triple with a quad. I haven't heard any rumors since but maybe this is going to happen?

 

[WoodCore]

I'm pretty sure the mystery of the origins of the "nused" triple chair installed at Mohawk this summer has been has been officially solved! Many thanks to to "telemechanic" and "crystalmountainskier" for their input, regardless it appears that the new lift at Mohawk is from Snowshoe, WV.

The full story can be found here....

http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic13573

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm pretty sure the mystery of the origins of the "nused" triple chair installed at Mohawk this summer has been has been officially solved! Many thanks to to "telemechanic" and "crystalmountainskier" for their input, regardless it appears that the new lift at Mohawk is from Snowshoe, WV.

The full story can be found here....

http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic13573

okay....little late and a little too tired to read through three pages of forum discussion. I'm interested in which snowshoe lift Mowawk grabbed purely for my own nostalgia purposes if it was a lift still in operation at Snowshoe during 2002-2003. If it was, I rode it.

 

[Telemechanic]

It was the Widowmaker Triple.

 

[Glenn]

Nice work guys!