The average detachable chairlift has 108 carriers while the average fixed grip lift has 103. Most people would assume the longest lifts have the most carriers but that’s usually not the case. One of the reasons is longer spacing on detachable chairlifts and gondolas. Also many long fixed-grip lifts get designed with lower hourly capacities and bigger spacing to save money. In fact, only one of the top ten lifts with the most chairs is also among the ten longest. Each of the lifts below has more than 200 chairs and, not surprisingly, all but two are fixed-grips.
- Cyclone – Sunrise Park Resort, AZ – 352 Yan triple chairs
- West Mountain – Sugarloaf, ME – 280 Borvig double chairs
- edited to add later: Town – Park City, UT – 264 CTEC triple chairs
- Alpine – Copper Mountain, CA – 218 Yan double chairs
- Porcupine – Snowbasin, UT – 212 Stadeli triple chairs
- Summit – Attitash, NH – 207 CTEC triple chairs
- C-Chair – Breckenridge, CO – 206 Riblet triple chairs
- A-Chair – Breckenridge, CO – 206 Riblet triple chairs
- Snowflake – Breckenridge, CO – 205 Poma double chairs
- Northwest Express – Mt. Bachelor, OR – 204 Doppelmayr quad chairs
- American Flyer – Copper Mountain, CO – 203 Poma quad chairs
What about gondolas? There are a bunch of them that stretch two-plus miles. Even so, no gondolas come close to making this list. The Sunshine Village Gondola has the most cabins in North America with approximately 175 CWA Omegas and the Whistler Village Gondola comes in at number two with 160 Sigma Diamond cabins. The average North American gondola has just 74 cabins.
Now, who can guess which lift has the most towers?
Lift Blog 
Two other triples with more than 200 chairs are Town lift and the old Motherlode at PCMR
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Town’s days are probably numbered too.
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I’m guessing you just are surveying North America. I was surprised to see that Leitner installed a fixed grip double in Italy in 2008 with 203 chairs!
https://www.leitner-ropeways.com/en/company/references/cf2-monte-falcone-882/
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For towers I’d think either Slide Brook Express or the Gondola at Silver Mountain.
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The original Killington Gondola had 64 towers. Not sure how that compares to newer gondolas, but I have never heard of another lift with that many towers.
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Actually it is Sandia Peak’s Chair 3, a 1981 Riblet double with 41 towers. Also would go in with it’s 240 center pole chairs.
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Before that, another Riblet in New Mexico (Red chair at Red River which was removed in 2009) used to have 44 towers. The Doppelmayr triple replacement has 25 towers.
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Actually scratch that…the Whistler Village Gondola, if we’re counting both sections as one lift.
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Town lift (Park City) is running currently with 228 triple chairs, might want to fix the 264 number
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Did they remove some this summer when they added comfort bars?
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Possibly, I can’t imagine they added too much weight, they don’t have footrests or maps, though I do remember more chairs last year
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I think I remember Solstice at Stratton having 200+ chairs. Don’t quote me on that, as I can’t find anything online.
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You might have thought of the removed Kidderbrook quad. It had 230 chairs.
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Slide brook has 40 towers. Not sure about the Silver Mountain gondola. The Flyer has 35.
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Chair 3 at Sandia Peak (1981 Riblet double) has 41 towers.
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I found out that Buckhorn lift (Chair 1)
China Peak is in #4 with 246 chairs.
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The old Northeast Passage Triple at Killington (before it was shortened to become Sunrise) had 314 Yan triple chairs.
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I wanted to put that in too. Too bad it was truncated.
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Summer maintenance on that beast must have *sucked*.
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0’s and 5’s; 1’s and 6’s…63 a year 😳
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What’s the count on Alpine Now that the bottom moved uphill a little?
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201.
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Worldwide the most towers I have seen is Matterhorn Express (assuming all 4 sections are counted). It has something like 48 towers. Also wonder if it breaks 200 cabins (considering its just over 3 miles long).
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I’m pretty sure that Sundance at Mount Snow has just over 205 chairs…
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At purgatory, grizzly has 222 chairs, and I’m pretty sure needles has at least 225, and twilight has around 215
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iron horse at winter park has 218 chairs and is a fixed grip.
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Shouldn’t this list be updated since some of these lifts have been removed or upgraded?
Also, which high speed six pack has the most chairs of any in operation? Is that American Flyer or is that Snowmass’s Village Express?
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I’m pretty sure the old steamboat gondola had 157 cabins
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Does Dynamite a 1972 Riblet double at China Peak come in on this list with 246 chairs?
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I don’t know. It was removed years ago.
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Old kidderbrook had 230 chairs according to skilifts.org. Shame that it’s long gone now. http://www.skilifts.org/old/images/resort_images/vt-stratton/kidderbrook/kidderbrook.html
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Same! According to Remotes-Mecaniques, the old Legends triple at Purgatory had 224 chairs. The 2 lifts were both by Poma, Legends in 1985 and Kidderbrook in 1989 (that’s about 4 years apart). I heard Kidderbrook was also sold to 2 ski areas:
https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=661
also saying it’s install year and removal. Somehow, I managed to find that both lifts were top drive Alpha.
Legends:
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsf3-legends-poma-5205.html
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You should include the Platinum chair From Red River and Chair 3 from Sandia Peak. Then there will be 12 lifts with lots of chairs.
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Yeah Platinum has 225 chairs. Copper chair at Red has 31 towers which is the most I’ve seen.
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Chair 3 at Sandia (It is in New Mexico just like Copper (It is also a Riblet)) has 41 towers along the 7,500 foot lift line.
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What about galaxy at Heavenly?
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Some you could add:
Chair 3 Sandia Peak NM (240 Riblet double Chairs)
Platinum Red River NM (225 Doppy Triple Chairs (the old one had roughly the same amount))
Twilight Purgatory/Durango (I have no idea how many Riblet double chairs)
Legends used to have 224 but was removed
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I have a GOOD list of some from New Mexico and Colorado
From New Mexico
Chair 3, Sandia Peak NM with 240 Riblet chairs.
At some point before 2017, Chair 3 used to have 262 chairs.
Millennium, Ski Santa Fe NM with 199 Leitner Poma triple chairs.
Platinum, Red River NM with 225 Doppelmayr triple chairs.
The previous Red double, a Riblet, had 224 chairs I think.
Sierra, Ski Santa Fe NM with 189 Riblet chairs.
From Colorado
Twilight, Purgatory/Durango CO with 216 Riblet chairs
It is getting removed for the 23/24 season.
Grizzly, Purgatory/Durango CO with 222 Riblet chairs.
Needles, Purgatory/Durango CO with in between 220 and 229 Poma chairs
Former lifts
Legends, Purgatory/Durango CO with 224 Poma chairs
It was removed in 2015
Red, Red River NM with 224 (I think so) Riblet chairs.
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Wait what’s going on with Twilight?
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It is eventually being replaced with a triple or hsq in between summer 2023 or 2024.
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Do you have a source for this?
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Red chair’s removal was in 2009 as well.
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Edits to my long post above
The old Red Chair actually had 223 instead of 224
Needles has 226 chairs
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The 6000′ Roebling double at Mt. Sunapee removed in 1987 had 222 carriers.
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