Killington Resort and a local developer will invest $110 million to revitalize Bear Mountain over the next few years, including the addition of a fixed-grip quad chair at South Ridge next summer. Most of the plans involve base infrastructure and real estate but the lift news is exciting given the South Ridge area has been without direct service since its triple chair was removed in 2011. The $3 million quad chair will be the first new lift at the East’s most visited resort since the addition of the Skye Peak Express in 2008. “This Bear Mountain Revitalization Plan is especially exciting for me because I know that our core group of season pass holders has wanted a new South Ridge lift since the day we removed the old one,” says Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort. “With the trail work our team has planned, this layout should greatly enhance the Killington experience by improving connectivity between the north and south sides of the resort.” The Bear Mountain Quad, a 1979 Yan will remain for now but is likely to be upgraded in the future with new development at its base.
Lift Engineering built the old South Ridge lift in the shape of a triangle, a wacky setup that will not be repeated. The new version will follow the path of the old light side from the bottom of Roundabout to an unload near the summit of Killington Peak. “From the top of the Bear Mountain Quad, the long-awaited replacement of the South Ridge lift will give skiers and snowboarders easy access the resort’s north side terrain including the Canyon and Snowdon areas, or easy access to the many trails in the sunny South Ridge area,” says Jeff Temple, director of mountain operations. Leitner-Poma is likely to build the fixed-grip quad as a longstanding supplier to Killington, but there’s also a chance it could go to Doppelmayr with Powdr Co.’s recent history. In further good news, The Beast also announced an agreement yesterday to host World Cup ski racing in both 2017 and 2018.
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Too bad they’re not bringing back the wacky triangle routing – loved that quirk!
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I had to look up the reason for it. According to New England Ski History, there was a mid-station on the uphill side for early- and late-season skiing. It wasn’t used and was eventually removed. The pictures of the nearby/abandoned Devil’s Fiddle quad are also interesting. http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=554 The motor room of that lift is now a bar! http://www.killington.com/site/to-do/resort-dining/motor_room
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My understanding is that it wasn’t about early/late season skiing so much as the unusual topographical set up of that pad. the flatter beginner terrain was on top and then got steeper on the bottom half, prompting a desire to have a mid-station that would allow beginners to lap the high-elevation, low-angle terrain that is somewhat of a rarity in the East.
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Do you know how the triple was tensioned? Seems if one of the bullwheels moved the rope would no longer line up with the sheaves in the tension terminal.
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Looks like it had counterweight tensioning at the return. You make a good point as the depression sheaves would need to move laterally. http://www.chairlift.org/pics/k/k57.jpg
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I recently heard (while skiing at Killington) that the Snowdon Quad will be relocated to South Ridge, and a new detachable lift (possibly a six-pack) will replace both the Snowdon Triple and Snowdon Quad on the Snowdon Quad’s alignment. The Upper Snowdon Pomalift will also remain in operation. I am not sure how credible this information really is, but interesting news nonetheless. I would be surprised to see the triple be completely removed, and I wonder if they would shorten it to end at the current midstation to provide access to the steeper lower mountain terrain that is often used for racing.
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Didn’t Killington just put a bunch of money into the Snowdon triple? New mid-station, crossarms, sheave assemblies, etc. Did you hear this from a ski instructor by chance?
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I heard it from a ski patroller while riding the Snowdon Triple. I would be surprised to see the triple removed because of all the money Killington just poured into it, but the frankenlift (Yan / Poma) quad running parallel to it is another story. The triple isn’t Snowdon’s main lift anymore, it is really just for racing and to back up the K1 Gondola on busy days, the quad is really the main lift because you can’t get back to the triple from all of Snowdon’s terrain with out hiking up a long flat slope between the base of the triple and the base of the quad, and for that reason, a new detachable would run on the quad’s alignment.
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I was just in Killington I heard this too. I think its a great idea, as there are a lot of nice trail and glades in that area. It would also provide better connectivity to Ramshead and Pico. (if that expansion ever goes through)
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It would also improve access to the North Ridge Triple and the Canyon Quad, both of which access some awesome terrain, but take forever to get to because you either have to wait in line at the K1 Gondola or ride one of the Snowdon lifts.
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Yes that is very true. North Ridge is a very underrated part of the mountain, despite it having short trails. It is actually my favorite warm up run in the morning (Great Northern form the peak through Rime or Upper East Fall and then to the Canyon Quad or K1 via Lower East Fall) Snowdon is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the mountain. It never get skied, because people don’t want to ride a slow quad or triple all day. If they did upgrade the quad (I hope it would be a six pack, but realistically would probably be a express quad) it would become one of the most important lifts on the mountain, along with K1, Skye Peak Express and Superstar.
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There’s no way they remove the triple. It has been heavily invested in by KMS for racing. With the uncertainty around the Killington Village http://www.livekillington.com/ (which is way too ambitious to actually get built in my opinion) you won’t see anything happen to Snowdon 4 or the aging Snowshed 4 anytime soon. What Killington really needs is a buyer to reunite the land ownership with the ski operation and invest in a proper scale village and lifts which are all showing their age.
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