The "Sugarbush Thread"

[djd66]

We are not talking about a typical fixed grip chair. We are talking about a carpet loader.
Also no one is complaining, we are offering advise.
I have ridden all kinds of carpet loaders. The one at sugarbush is different so you have to pay attention. its not hard but it is surely different.

Agree,.. I have ridden plenty of carpet loaders out west and they function much differently. In theory, the carpet should be running slightly slower than the line, I think the carpet on the VHQ is off. I don't have an issue loading - it just whacks you if you do not know how to adjust properly.

 

[djd66]

are we really complaining about not knowing how to ride fixed grip chairlifts without help from a liftie?

Its May,.. what else are we going to talk about?

 

[Smellytele]

At least in the USA they tell you when to go. First one I ever rode on in chamonix they had no gates just little arrows on the carpet when to slide on to it. A lot of people didn’t fare too well and went off the 2-3 foot end. Quite comical.

 

[Kingslug20]

Want to get nailed by a lift..dont ski away fast enough from the F lift at Hunter...

 

[Andrew B.]

I take a step forward on the carpet before the chair gets me

As I tell my wife
Shuffle shuffle

You don’t have to be way in front just in front of the guy next to you.

 

[drjeff]

On this Mother's Day Weekend, I will be chivalrous and admit that with any fixed grip or carpet loading lift where "back of calf chair bang" is a possibility, I always hang back a bit and "take one for the team"

The fact that I am 6'3" and my wife is 5'5" often is the difference between a non bumped chair catching me up near the top of my boot shell vs a straight on metal to soft tissue back of calf hit on her...

Gotta do what you gotta do

 

[flakeydog]

So yes, it’s May and we are indeed talking about the subtle nuances of carpet loading chairs versus fixed grip. Move along if this does not appeal to you… anyway, no one should have to “take one for the team” or scoot ahead at the last second to leave an unsuspecting member to take the blow. Part of it is that the chair is restricted from too much movement (comes in on guides so it does not swing) so it comes in fast with no forgiveness. This is where a skilled chair bumper can load you smoothly with minimal impact. Probably a lost skill in this day in age.

 

[Terry]

The carpet loader at Shawnee Peak works very well. I have ridden it thousands of times and can't remember ever getting whacked by the chair. They seem to have the carpet speed set just right for loading.

 

[bigbob]

On this Mother's Day Weekend, I will be chivalrous and admit that with any fixed grip or carpet loading lift where "back of calf chair bang" is a possibility, I always hang back a bit and "take one for the team"

The fact that I am 6'3" and my wife is 5'5" often is the difference between a non bumped chair catching me up near the top of my boot shell vs a straight on metal to soft tissue back of calf hit on her...

Gotta do what you gotta do

Happy wife, happy life.

 

[WinS]

Per Dopp's specs, 550/ft/min is the top speed if you utilize a loading carpet (assuming I did my math right...they list it as 2.8 meters per second on their brochure for new lifts). Not sure of the line speeds on HG/Summit/Inverness. Liftblog has line speeds listed in their database on their website, but they seem wrong (all 3 of those are listed as in the 500-550 range which sounds too high considering that puts it in the max speed of a lift with carpet loading). Those could be original design spec speeds though and maybe they're simply not actually run at those speeds today.

This is correct. All chairs have a max speed capacity. They run slower at times for various reasons such as windy conditions. However, the steepness of the Valley House unload causes a lot of first time riders and less advanced skiers to often fall if they do not stand and exit properly, so it is usually running slower than this. The fixed grips without a carpet do require a lift attendant who knows how to “bump” the chair properly. As I recall most at running around 400-450 per minute. Inverness is definitely the slowest. While no longer making the decision, I would vote for a carpet fixed grip quad at HG with a lower profile and beginning a bit more uphill to clear up any Downspout congestion. It would be less susceptible to windhold and less complicated from a maintenance perspective. If a high speed were used I think there would need to be greater spacing between the chairs in order not to overcrowd the downhill experience,

 

[oldfartrider]

I’ve gotten into the habit of reaching down and grabbing a chairlift with my hand when boarding the chair. Ive never gotten whacked by a chair on my leg since adopting this method

 

[Kingslug20]

Yup..thats the ticket..

 

[ThatGuy]

Always do that as well…fixed grip or not

 

[Slidebrook87]

Call me crazy but I've always felt as though Inverness is the fastest of the fixed grips at Sugarbush, and a simple math calculation proves this. Granted this is not entirely accurate most likely but by dividing the length by the ride time, it gives you 493 ft/min, and in recent years it has felt every bit of that. It's pretty tricky to load at that speed as well. Definitely feels faster than Summit though.

 

[cdskier]

New blog post up that mentions a little bit about the capital improvements: https://blog.sugarbush.com/mountain/thank-you-for-a-great-season-2/

Here's the relevant info:

While we are excited about opening up this summer, we have already started work projects and improvements on the mountain for next winter. On the lift maintenance side, we’re investing additional capital into our lift system. The fully staffed maintenance team has already started getting everything ready to roll for next winter (and this summer for mountain biking and weddings). On the snowmaking side, we’re putting in over 9 miles of new snowmaking pipe in areas like Easy Rider, Pushover, and Reverse Traverse at Lincoln Peak and the entire Summit Quad area over at Mt. Ellen. These upgrades will allow for better, faster, and earlier snowmaking next season in those areas. A new cabin cat, new winch cat, and new free groomer are just a few other examples of additional investments we’re making on the mountain for next season.


Looking further ahead, we have a lot of other capital projects that we are working to get planned and permitted. Replacing lifts, employee housing, further snowmaking upgrades, and rebuilding the Glen House at Mt. Ellen are all currently in this planning phases. When we have more to share about those developments, we’ll let you know.

A little light on details, but better than not saying anything at all about what is being done. I wonder if along with the new snowmaking pipe on Easy Rider and Pushover whether they're also going to put in new HKD towers and Klik hydrants like they did on Northstar at ME last year. Perhaps the pipe replacement at the summit of ME will allow FIS to get a bit of snow-making again going forward too.

 

[WinS]

New blog post up that mentions a little bit about the capital improvements: https://blog.sugarbush.com/mountain/thank-you-for-a-great-season-2/

Here's the relevant info:


A little light on details, but better than not saying anything at all about what is being done. I wonder if along with the new snowmaking pipe on Easy Rider and Pushover whether they're also going to put in new HKD towers and Klik hydrants like they did on Northstar at ME last year. Perhaps the pipe replacement at the summit of ME will allow FIS to get a bit of snow-making again going forward too.

Yes to the Kliks. I am at NSAA Annual Convention and just looked at the Klink. It simplifies and speeds things up increfills. A lot safer for the Snowmakers too. Alterra really came through on CAPEX.

 

[cdskier]

Yes to the Kliks. I am at NSAA Annual Convention and just looked at the Klink. It simplifies and speeds things up increfills. A lot safer for the Snowmakers too. Alterra really came through on CAPEX.

Good to hear. Those are great trails for a setup like that!

 

[ss20]

A fixed grip double is going to run as fast or faster than a carpet loader. Quads run slowest, followed by triple, double, etc.

I believe the single at mrg cruises in the high 500s or low 600s iirc...I asked the liftie a few years ago.

Valley House should've been replaced with another double chair imho... it'd of been as fast as the carpet loader but without the misloads. Cheapest option too unless dopp/poma no longer keep double chairs as a normal order item which would not surprise me.

 

[cdskier]

Valley House should've been replaced with another double chair imho... it'd of been as fast as the carpet loader but without the misloads. Cheapest option too unless dopp/poma no longer keep double chairs as a normal order item which would not surprise me.

I don't understand the justification for having replaced that chair with a double instead of a quad at all. You might be the first person I've ever heard suggest that is what should have been done with valley house. I think the fixed grip quad with carpet was a perfect fit there and it was a rather major upgrade at the time at SB for that part of the mountain.

 

[ss20]

I don't understand the justification for having replaced that chair with a double instead of a quad at all. You might be the first person I've ever heard suggest that is what should have been done with valley house. I think the fixed grip quad with carpet was a perfect fit there and it was a rather major upgrade at the time at SB for that part of the mountain.

Eh... I'm in the camp that doesn't like carpets and believe that they increase the ride time in reality with mis-loads... even at an "advanced cliental" mountain like SB. I think a double running at 500fpm would've been ideal from a speed standpoint and would've been fine for capacity. In my experience with SB.... peanuts compared to yours... I've never waited more than 15 chairs for Valley House and frequently just ski on, and it just seems overkill for that chair to be a quad from a capacity standpoint. The unload is just horrifically tight for that many people on a chair and as Win said they don't even run it as fast as they can to limit the collateral damage up top. A double would've been able to go at the same speed if not a bit faster and would have less mis-loads.

But hey, it's there, and it will be there for the next 50ish years. I doubt either of us will see it's replacement so it's moot!