Lift Construction Continues as August Comes to a Close
Projects are full steam ahead in four New England states.
Sunday, August 29, 2021, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
As August comes to a close, concrete is curing and towers are going up across New England in one of the busiest lift construction seasons in recent years.
The top tower footing has been poured for Ski Butternut's Paddy Wagon beginner chairlift replacement. The 1969 Carlevaro and Savio double chairlift is being replaced with a new Sky Trac quad, the first non-Dopplemayr-CTEC installation at Butternut in forty years.
Down the road at Catamount, towers have been set for the new Glade chairlift. The 1971 SLI double was removed in 2020 to make way for the replacement, which had previously been reported to be a fixed grip quad. According to a recent post on Catamount's Facebook page, the new Glade chairlift will be a triple. Meanwhile, the 1967 Catamount double, removed earlier this year, is still slated to be replaced with a fixed grip quad, possibly using a new alignment.
In Vermont, Magic Mountain is still working to fabricate new sheave trains for three towers on its long-awaited Black Line Quad. Installation of the refurbished Poma fixed grip chairlift started in 2019, but has been slowed by COVID-19 restrictions and engineering issues. Meanwhile, significant maintenance projects are being undertaken on the Green and Red chairlifts.
Okemo appears to have completed concrete work for its dual Leitner-Poma chairlift installations. The Quantum Four bubble chairlift is being relocated to the upper main mountain, while Jackson Gore is receiving a new high speed detachable six pack. The projects represent Vail Resorts' first chairlift installations since entering the New England market in 2017.
Doppelmayr is making fast progress at Loon, as Kanc 8 towers are in place and terminals are being assembled. The high speed bubble lift will be the first eight person chairlift in the East.
Doppelmayr is also making fast progress at Saddleback, were the new Cupsuptic T-Bar is being installed. The aging Hall T-Bar it replaced had not been in use since the area closed over half a decade ago, due to an issue with its base terminal footing. The new T-Bar will restore a critical back-up lift option for the main mountain, which is now served by a high speed quad.
