Worst 10 lifts in the East?

[moresnow]

+1 on the Freezer...on my one and only trip to Jay I ended up taking that lift more than I wanted. :x

It's got to be the Freezer.

Nothing worse than hunkering down, hood up in the fetal position, and just watching the rime ice form on the fold of your pants. Add the fact that they slow it way down when the wind is blowing (when it is running) . Brutal. Just brutal.

 

[riverc0il]

High country double at WV. I can't believe no one has said it.

+1

 

[St. Jerry]

Magic Carpet at Killington. Always packed with kids and newbies who don't know how to ski. Plus it goes super slow.

 

[Cannonball]

The two trams in New England @ Jay and Cannon. I can't stand being jammed in like that and it's not like the Aiguille du Midi where a tram is the only possible way to run a lift on the terrain.

I've been hearing that a lot lately. But I don't get it. I love both of those trams. Especially Cannon's. That fact that you can run in, use the bathroom, get a drink, change a layer, whatever, and still catch the next tram...all in the time that you would otherwise be standing out in a liftline.

High country double at WV. I can't believe no one has said it.

+100. No doubt a terrible lift. I can't even remember last time I go on it.

 

[Cannonball]

Quad at Wildcat. When it's running, it's one of the best. But when it shuts down (which is all the time) it shuts down most of the mountain. The placement is terrible. OF COURSE it's going to be affected by wind all the time....look where you are. IMO they should have built a 2/3 quad with a separate summit lift. A surface lift may even make sense.

Actually, it only shuts down six trails off the top third of the mountain. I <3 the Tomcat Triple. Not having the old summit double is definitely a handicap. They would do well to build a t-bar in the former gondi line to replace the old upper mountain double that was where the current quad is now.

I like the Tomcat too. BUT I've been at Wildcat AT LEAST 6 times when the quad was on wind hold and they didn't fire up the Tomcat. Including that awesome October opening a few years ago. So maybe this is more of a commentary on management than lifts. But WTF?

 

[skiersleft]

Snowdon Quad at Killington. Long ride time, and always cold. The preservists at Kzone, will argue it's importance especially on icey and windy days and of course the preservation of snow.

+1. Replace the Snowdon Quad now!

 

[skiersleft]

The summit chair at Whiteface. Closes ridiculously often. Terrain served is great, though.

 

[steamboat1]

+1. Replace the Snowdon Quad now!

I actually like that the Snowdon Quad is slow. Gives me a chance to sit back, relax & take a breather after doing laps off the other high speed stuff. Canyon Quad is the same deal. Except of course on those bitter cold windy days.

 

[Northeastskier293]

Here's my 5 worst:

Freezer at Jay Peak (You saw it coming)

All lifts at smugglers' notch (The marketing people spend money on real estate developments instead of good ski facilities. If not for this, the resort would be awesome)

Sunbowl Quad, Sunapee (way too slow)

Rosebrook Summit Express Quad, Bretton Woods (Making this lift an express quad was such a waste of money IMO. It could be just as good as a triple chair)

Ramshead Summit Triple Chairlift, Killington (Because it doesn't exist and I've always wanted to ski the old ramshead summit trails)

 

[thetrailboss]

Sunbowl is a slow lift. Yeah and the Rosebrook HSQ is overkill. It takes like two minutes to ride.

 

[MadPatSki]

I had my son on all the lifts at Gore when he was 4. There was no way I would ever put a 4 to 6 year old on a lift alone.

Take the kid sit on your lap. Riding a single chair solo when you're a kid is the same feeling when you get to drive a car when I turned 16. Same feeling. Same buzz (for me at least).

Rode the singleS (north and south sides) at Tremblant as a kid (okay, there were double not far), it was a rite of passage. You wouldn't believe the buzz my kids got the first time they got to ride a chairlift alone, the single at MRG. They didn't want to ride the double again.

Plus riding chair lifts with my kids has been just as great as skiing down the trails with them.:grin:

x10003q;652336, you got to cut the umbilical cord sometimes. ;-)

 

[andyzee]

Base area Quads at Okemo - all three of them. One of the most annoying things about skiing at Okemo is having to always take a lift, purely for the purpose of getting to the other lifts that you actually do your skiing off of. I couldn't believe they repeated this horrible design over at Jackson Gore to create the same annoying problem.

I'll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to tell anyone. Since I started doing this, I never used the quads again. Take walk up to lift C which is the Magic Carpet, take that to lift D, Sachem Quad.. Once you do that, you have access to all other lifts.... I like doing this because 1. I avoid the Quads, 2. I think I look real cool on Magic Carpet. I even start playing air guitar to Magic Carpet Ride

 

[riverc0il]

I like the Tomcat too. BUT I've been at Wildcat AT LEAST 6 times when the quad was on wind hold and they didn't fire up the Tomcat. Including that awesome October opening a few years ago. So maybe this is more of a commentary on management than lifts. But WTF?

Perhaps it was mechanical? I was at Wildcat during one of their October openings and only rode the Tomcat. I think that was 2005.

 

[riverc0il]

I'll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to tell anyone. Since I started doing this, I never used the quads again. Take walk up to lift C which is the Magic Carpet, take that to lift D, Sachem Quad.. Once you do that, you have access to all other lifts.... I like doing this because 1. I avoid the Quads, 2. I think I look real cool on Magic Carpet. I even start playing air guitar to Magic Carpet Ride

My only time skiing Okemo, I saw a boarders just walking onto the carpet for the ride while I was on the Quad. I instantly knew that would be my strategy the next time I skied Okemo. Later in the day, I decided that I would never ski Okemo again so the point was moot.

 

[andyzee]

My only time skiing Okemo, I saw a boarders just walking onto the carpet for the ride while I was on the Quad. I instantly knew that would be my strategy the next time I skied Okemo. Later in the day, I decided that I would never ski Okemo again so the point was moot.

Good point. Think I've been there once in the past 5-6 years.

 

[Newpylong]

I'll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to tell anyone. Since I started doing this, I never used the quads again. Take walk up to lift C which is the Magic Carpet, take that to lift D, Sachem Quad.. Once you do that, you have access to all other lifts.... I like doing this because 1. I avoid the Quads, 2. I think I look real cool on Magic Carpet. I even start playing air guitar to Magic Carpet Ride

Take a magic carpet to take a fixed grip Quad that brings you to the rest... You're already at two lifts just to get to anything decent (South Face, Glades Peak)... their lift layout sucks.

 

[cannonist]

F*&k.....THAT....LIFT.

The fact Waterville claims the vertical that they do and a 4000 foot summit with this lift is bullshit. (The top of the double is below 4000.) Without the double they got like 1500 vertical on the quad.

You could make an argument that their antiquated detachable quad sucks too, place is a joke.

This is completely unnecessary hostility toward the valley. The place may not carry the kind of terrain that many favor on this forum, but it is what it is. A good mountain for families and groomed runs.

I believe that for the amount of time that the High Country Double is open it does the job. (Recall the High Speed Quad ran up there for a season and was closed every other day due to wind) The High Country double services some of the best backcountry and gladed terrain in NH and I wouldn't want any kind of lift with higher capacity.

 

[riverc0il]

The High Country double services some of the best backcountry and gladed terrain in NH and I wouldn't want any kind of lift with higher capacity.

Huh? Something going on up there that I am not aware of? Clue me in please if I am missing out on "the best backcountry and gladed terrain in NH" by skiing Cannon and not Waterville via the High Country Double. Even if the lift serves its purpose, it is hands down the slowest lift in the region (has any one been on a slower chairlift ever any where?).

 

[thetrailboss]

I only know WV from hiking it and looking at trail maps, but doesn't High Country serve like two slopes at most?

 

[cannonist]

Yes the lift is slow. Very slow. But lets not go as far as saying Waterville is a joke.

I should have been more specific, High Country is home to some of least known stashes in nh.