What is the fastest lift ever?

[redalienx11]

So I don't exactly know how to ask this question because i realize there are different kind of lifts (gondi's, trams, high speed quads etc) but I was wondering what lift has the fastest speed. Maybe in different categories- fixed grip, detachable etc.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

So I don't exactly know how to ask this question because i realize there are different kind of lifts (gondi's, trams, high speed quads etc) but I was wondering what lift has the fastest speed. Maybe in different categories- fixed grip, detachable etc.

I'm guessing a tram which goes about 20mph..but also some resorts in the Alps have ski trains..

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm guessing a tram which goes about 20mph..but also some resorts in the Alps have ski trains..

probably correct


the fastest chairlift I've ever ridden is the Wildcat Express.

 

[Newpylong]

Fastest I've been on is the TGV at Tremblant... Slidebrook seems real quick at Sugarbush too, haha.

 

[St. Jerry]

The Sunegga Express at Zermatt is the fastest I ever went on. Easily goes 30 MPH.

 

[davidhowland14]

one of the resorts up in alaska has a bus lift system. prob. hit 40mph on the flats below the mountain.

 

[riverc0il]

the fastest chairlift I've ever ridden is the Wildcat Express.

Seconded

The Burke Poma is pretty fast for a surface lift, not sure if there are other faster ones in New England.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

The New England Ski Journal has an article about the fastest lifts in New England in this months February 2008 issue..

http://www.skijournal.com/archive/

The fastest high speed detachables move at `1200 feet per minute like the Slidebrook express at Sugarbush. Most high speed detachables run at about 1,000 feet per minute..most fix grip chairs run at about 500 feet per minute. I know the Poma on Bunny Buster at Killington is about 700-800 feet per minute..pretty fast but I'm sure there are faster...a fun ride though

 

[Skier75]

Not sure which is the fastest, but found today which one wasn't........that would be the double at Black Mtn today. Got 2nd in line only to get about a 1/4 the way up to stop and sit for at least 5 min....could've been 10. Man I get to go skiing, finially only to sit on a chair covered in snow for no apparent reason....go figure.

 

[Telemechanic]

Many of the fastest detachable aerial lifts in N.E. are Poma's or Leitner-Pomas. L-POA likes to build lifts with faster top speeds but put fewer chairs on the line. They achieve the same uphill capacities as slower lifts with more chairs but save the customer money.

Concerning the Doppelmayrs on the list, I believe Slidebrook was built for speed because of its extreme length. I don't know why the Wildcat Express was built fast, maybe just a customer design request.



The trams at Cannon and Jay still reign in New England at 10 m/s (when winds cooperate)

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Let's break it down:

Per ANSI B.77, the following are the maximum carrier speeds for fixed grip lifts:

Single: 600fpm
Double: 550fpm
Triple: 500fpm
Quad: 450fpm

Areas can pick and choose their FG lift speeds as long as they are within those limits. Many areas with FG doubles have at least one running close to the max speed.

ANSI B.77 places no limit on detachables, beyond the manufacturer's specifications. Currently, the fastest engineered detachable chairlifts run at a max line speed of 1200fpm.

When the original Green Mountain Express was installed at Mt. Ellen (Sugarbush), it was the fastest detachable quad in the world, running at a line speed of 1100fpm. When the Slide Brook Express chair was installed at Sugarbush, it then became the longest and fastest detachable quad in the world, at 11,022 feet long, with a line speed of 1150fpm.

Doppelmayr's funitels can operate at up to 7.5m/s, or 1475fpm, or about 17mph.

I believe that the fastest aerial passenger tramways are Doppelmayr's Reversible (Jig-Back) Tramways, which can operate at up to 12m/s, or about 2350fpm.

So, now that we've got the background out of the way, the simplest answer to the OP's question is this: it depends on the day, and how fast an area chooses to run a lift.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Actually, now that I think of it, Poma makes a tram that does 12.5m/s (2460fpm/28mph).

 

[millerm277]

I may be wrong, but I believe Killington used to run the Snowdon Quad faster than 450fpm.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

I may be wrong, but I believe Killington used to run the Snowdon Quad faster than 450fpm.

Yeah, those are the most recent standards from ANSI. When my dad was a manager at K-Mart (80's), I believe they were turning Snowdon at more than 500fpm.

 

[billski]

the fastest chairlift I've ever ridden is the Wildcat Express.

I was on it today. Damn fast. I had to take breaks in the lodge because I hardly caught my breath before we were atop. No lines. That made for a new "problem" for me!

 

[KevinF]

I know the Poma on Bunny Buster at Killington is about 700-800 feet per minute..pretty fast but I'm sure there are faster...a fun ride though

It's not here in the north-east, but Copper Mountain in Colorado has a poma (it services the double-black Spaulding Bowl) that absolutely flies. Hang on for dear life when you get the initial jolt of that thing starting up. The liftie when I was there told me to NOT STOP. Just glide through the loading area, grab the next poma, hang on, and once you're moving maneuver it between your legs. Once you're on, it's not too bad, but I've never been on a lift with less room for error during the loading process!

One friend of mine described that poma by saying "I thought my gonads had been ripped off by that thing !"

 

[BushMogulMaster]

It's not here in the north-east, but Copper Mountain in Colorado has a poma (it services the double-black Spaulding Bowl) that absolutely flies. Hang on for dear life when you get the initial jolt of that thing starting up. The liftie when I was there told me to NOT STOP. Just glide through the loading area, grab the next poma, hang on, and once you're moving maneuver it between your legs. Once you're on, it's not too bad, but I've never been on a lift with less room for error during the loading process!

One friend of mine described that poma by saying "I thought my gonads had been ripped off by that thing !"

That's the Storm King. They might have run it faster before, but now they only turn it at about 500fpm. Kind of disappointing.

The detachable poma at Killington still runs 750fpm, I believe. I think the poma at Burke also turns pretty quick. 700 or 750, it feels like.

 

[millerm277]

The detachable poma at Killington still runs 750fpm, I believe.

That would sound about right, as it's moving a lot faster than the Quad.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

That would sound about right, as it's moving a lot faster than the Quad.

I always get a kick out of riding a surface lift that's moving faster than it's chaired neighbor

 

[tjf67]

Great info.

The tram at Snowbird seemed to me the fastest access to 3k vert that I have ever experienced.

Does anyone know what the six pack is at Jimney? That thing takes you up pretty quick.