What is your favorite chairlift?

[deadheadskier]

Seems to me that all of the New England gondolas serve a four season purpose or night time dining except for maybe the Skyeship at Killington. That however is almost 2.5 miles long. I would not want to ride a chairlift that long on a freezing day.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Really? Which ones pray tell.

Without analyzing, but just off the top of my head I'd submit this list. I realize this is a subjective thing whether you agree with some of these or not, but to my mind none of these seem critically needed, and some of them are thus likely marketing decisions.

Stowe - Pleasant, but not mission critical.
Stowe 2 - Over Easy might be 1000 feet or so long. We really needed a gondy? We had the $$ I know that!
Whiteface - Not needed. Now if it went from Cloudsplitter base to near the top I'd be on-board as that's LONG.
Belleayre - This might be the best example of the bunch, it's really a joke.
Gore - Pleasant, but not mission critical parte deux.
Mountain Creek - this one maybe shouldn't count as it's stand-up gondy, but it still seems an odd choice to me.
Stratton - Again, nice to have, but I dont see why you need it. Seems more like a make the aristocrats happy thing.

I know Loon & BW have gondys too, but I've never skied them so I cant speak to whether they're logical or not.

EDIT: Similarly, over the years when the topic of "unnecessary lifts" comes up, it seems lots of people mention Chondola, but I've never skied in Maine, so perhaps someone else can comment.

 

[thebigo]

Without analyzing, but just off the top of my head I'd submit this list. I realize this is a subjective thing whether you agree with some of these or not, but to my mind none of these seem critically needed, and some of them are thus likely marketing decisions.

Stowe - Pleasant, but not mission critical.
Stowe 2 - Over Easy might be 1000 feet or so long. We really needed a gondy? We had the $$ I know that!
Whiteface - Not needed. Now if it went from Cloudsplitter base to near the top I'd be on-board as that's LONG.
Belleayre - This might be the best example of the bunch, it's really a joke.
Gore - Pleasant, but not mission critical parte deux.
Mountain Creek - this one maybe shouldn't count as it's stand-up gondy, but it still seems an odd choice to me.
Stratton - Again, nice to have, but I dont see why you need it. Seems more like a make the aristocrats happy thing.

I know Loon & BW have gondys too, but I've never skied them so I cant speak to whether they're logical or not.

EDIT: Similarly, over the years when the topic of "unnecessary lifts" comes up, it seems lots of people mention Chondola, but I've never skied in Maine, so perhaps someone else can comment.

Both NH gondis are necessary for off season wedding business. The loon gondola is ridiculous as a ski lift, especially with an 8 and several hsdq on the property. I haven't skied BW since the gondola went in but given it was a new install, not replacement, and the mountain flowed fine before - I would say it is primarily for summer business.

 

[deadheadskier]

Yes, both NH gondolas exist for summer business. The new BW Gondola also included the new Rosebrook lodge. Loon has a dining venue at the top of their gondola.

Stratton has a mountain top restaurant as does Stowe and Killington. The Chondola at Sunday River as well.

Skyeship at Killington is just too darn long to be a chair.

I'm pretty certain the reason Over Easy at Stowe is a Gondola is because it crosses a state highway and there was concern for the potential of skis and other items dropping on cars from a chair. That's why you bring your gear inside the cabin vs on racks like you normally do riding Gondolas.

So basically all of the gondolas in New England are about form, not marketing function. Can't speak for New York. Never skied those mountains

You can argue that the ROI isn't worth it on the restaurants / wedding venues those New England gondolas serve. Might be true. But there is no other realistic option for that strategy than fully enclosed Gondolas or Trams. Bubble chairs wouldn't cut it.

 

[cdskier]

Can't speak for New York. Never skied those mountains

Belleayre and Gore I would argue are mainly marketing. If these were private mountains not funded by the state, I don't know that there would have been enough ROI to justify gondolas. Gore's original gondola had an entirely different alignment than the current one and went from base to summit. That one I could understand needing to be a gondola. The current one really seems more so they could simply say they still have a gondola after the original was removed.

Whiteface is somewhat more functional I think you can potentially argue. The lift-line for that gondola is a bit rugged and not directly over any ski terrain so in the event of an evac, a gondola makes sense to protect people from the elements as an evac there is going to take longer than from a lift that is actually over ski terrain. Although perhaps there also could have been a different alignment chosen that would have been more over actual ski terrain in which case that argument for a gondola would have been eliminated. Even with Whiteface though, I don't know that a privately owned mountain would have been able to justify the ROI for the gondola.

 

[ss20]

From a skiers standpoint, nearly zero use for gondolas unless its a transport/access lift as the Skyeship stage 1/2 and Stowe Over Easy are. 10 years ago I would've argued for gondola's on very exposed rides. Now with heated bubble chairs that's a moot point.

Stratton's gondola, the gondola at Stowe, and the K1 at Killington are all painful examples of terrain people lap but have to take the skis off each time. It sucks. Less sucky at places like Gore where you take the gondola to go to another pod or use the chair to access the same terrain.

 

[raisingarizona]

It takes like two seconds to click out or click in, I don’t get the “I hate taking my skis off” comments.

I think gondolas are sweet on storm days or when winds are ripping.

They are also really sweet for downloading if that’s needed. If there’s a venue at the summit for weddings/events its definitely profitable for the seasons without skiing.

We got a new chondola here last season and the covid aspect definitely kind of sucked.

 

[Smellytele]

It takes like two seconds to click out or click in, I don’t get the “I hate taking my skis off” comments.

I think gondolas are sweet on storm days or when winds are ripping.

They are also really sweet for downloading if that’s needed. If there’s a venue at the summit for weddings/events its definitely profitable for the seasons without skiing.

We got a new chondola here last season and the covid aspect definitely kind of sucked.

Tele skis are a little more than click in click out. Also not a fan of carrying and holding my skis in line.
Unfortunately most times winds are whipping gondolas are on wind hold.
Agree on the downloading if their is an an event at the top.

 

[jimk]

Gondis are fun when I'm in the tourist mode checking out a new ski area/terrain and they can be a nice refuge on harsh days. I also agree they are most useful as a gateway lift for an initial ride up to terrain and lifts that are better suited for lapping.

There are a couple of instances I can remember off the top of my head where I especially appreciated a gondola: I was with some out of town friends on a rainy, miserable day at Snowbasin (rare thing in UT). We had one day to ski the mtn and so we toughed it out for about 6 hours and the Needles gondola (2300' vertical) along with modern ski clothing were the reasons why we hung in there and still had a good time. Another time I was at Beaver Creek, CO and caught a 1+ foot storm on a Tuesday in late February 2017 when the snow kept falling lightly all day. In the spirit of the old saying “Never leave good snow to find good snow,” I hung around the Centennial chondola for six or seven runs. Even though it was in plain view of the base village, I was one of the very few people having a blast tracking out single black diamond Helmut’s trail while riding empty chondola cars to escape the elements between each powder run.
Helmut's trail and Beaver Creek chondola the day after aforementioned storm, still good:

 

[Dickc]

I did some night skiing at Sunday River with my adult kids, and on one particular night it was a bit breezy, and COLD. We opted for the Gondola cars vs the chairs as it was THAT COLD. We noted that the chair loading area had nicely groomed snow with no tracks, so we asked the attendant on the next run if anyone was riding chairs. He said no, and commented that he thought we were the only skiers out. We were a little chilly, so we skied off the the condo after that run. Noted a half hour later they had shut sown early.

 

[Hawk]

There have been many New England days that I have skied a gondola and said to myself thank god. I don't know about you but not freezing my ass off in sub zero windy days is worth any inconveniences with taking off my skis. I have spent days at Stowe lapping the Gondi for just that reason. Nope not a marketing scheme to me at all.

 

[machski]

Both NH gondis are necessary for off season wedding business. The loon gondola is ridiculous as a ski lift, especially with an 8 and several hsdq on the property. I haven't skied BW since the gondola went in but given it was a new install, not replacement, and the mountain flowed fine before - I would say it is primarily for summer business.

Because of the small cabin at Loon. If they follow to plan, that should be upgraded towards 2030 too to a much larger box.

Stowe pleasant but not mission critical is funny. They onlyhave the CliffHouse restaurant up there, perhaps the most upscale on mountain dining facility in the East. I'd say that venue alone necessitates a Gondi. And the Gondi is currently Stowe's biggest draw in the summer to the hill itself anyway.

 

[dblskifanatic]

Like th

But there are some places where they really make sense.

Like the gondola from the center of town to Peak 8 in Breckenridge.

 

[dblskifanatic]

Seems to me that all of the New England gondolas serve a four season purpose or night time dining except for maybe the Skyeship at Killington. That however is almost 2.5 miles long. I would not want to ride a chairlift that long on a freezing day.

That gondola makes sense as well - I have been on it and on a cold day it would suck to go that far.

 

[xlr8r]

Over Easy at Stowe has to be a gondola and would not work as a chairlift. This is because there is no parking over at Spruce. So the Gondola is a family friendly way to bring kids, beginners, equipment, etc from the Mansfield parking lot over to Spruce where the all the Lessons and Kid programs are located.

 

[NYDB]

......Stratton has a mountain top restaurant.................

not really

 

[Harvey]

I think Hitler made the point about Whiteface: The gondi wind argument is (somewhat) moot because the gondi are the first to close in the wind. I say somewhat because I suppose their is some amount of wind that could make YOU cold that wouldn't shut it down.

I do think the gondi at Gore is good addition to the mountain. These comments about "the gondi should go to the top" (Gore, WF) make me chuckle Would that lift EVER spin at WF?

 

[BenedictGomez]

In the spirit of the old saying “Never leave good snow to find good snow,”

I've actually never heard that before, but I like it. I can think of times in my life when that was so true, I just assumed the entire mountain would be great & I left an area only to go to an area with suboptimal conditions.

 

[ss20]

not really

Yeah I don't think there's anything up there besides a glorified snack bar?

I was shocked when Stratton upgraded that POS gondola a few years ago with new cabins, new top terminal, and (I believe) some new equipment iirc. Now it's even worse in the wind. Honestly that gondola and Loon's gondola are the ones in the East that would most benefit to becoming bubble chairs.....and both mountains put a bunch of $$$$ into them. Still scratching my head on that one, especially given the fact both mountains cater to a demographic that would absolutely eat up the novelty of bubble chairs.

 

[deadheadskier]

Honestly it just comes down to gondolas offering better weather protection than bubble chairs for four season use. It's not about ski season.

Perhaps Stratton and Loon have plans to upgrade their summit lodges. Both probably sell a fair amount of scenic rides summer and fall as well as sell mountain top wedding ceremony experiences.

Without seeing ROI numbers it's hard to say whether the investments they have made make sense over installing chairlifts instead