https://www.instagram.com/p/BgCibhZF7Sa/?hl=en&taken-by=bigskyresort
This afternoon couldn’t have been a more beautiful one for unveiling what will be America’s biggest lift. Over the next nine months, Big Sky Resort and Doppelmayr will create Ramcharger 8, a machine packed full of technology on Andesite Mountain. The current Ramcharger high-speed quad will move to Shedhorn and replace one of Big Sky’s most popular high-alpine lifts while a two-stage North Village gondola and more will eventually follow as part of Big Sky 2025. “The Biggest Skiing in America is getting bigger and better, again,” said Big Sky Resort General Manager and President Taylor Middleton before the bombshell announcement. Never before has America seen an 8-passenger chair of any kind, let alone one packed with every bell and whistle available.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Big Sky Resort and the Kircher family to be part of this momentous day in the Mountain Village, where Boyne Resorts’ Stephen Kircher detailed plans for being the North American ski industry’s D-Line launch customer. Kircher emphasized Big Sky’s lengthy path to this point and how the community has really come together in the past decade. “My family is proud of its 42-year commitment to southwest Montana and will continue the momentum that is underway at Big Sky Resort,” he said. “We are excited to bring the biggest chair in the world to Big Sky, and to work with the resort team and community to recognize the Resort’s full potential – rivaling the best of the Alps and our North American brethren.” With a huge snowpack, the Biggest Skiing in America is on track to have its best season ever with more than 500,000 skier days – a feat once only dreamed of here.
Following in the footsteps of Powder Seeker, Big’s Sky’s two-year old six-pack with bubbles and heated seats, the new Ramcharger 8 will feature an in-terminal multimedia display and automated underground parking. “A fully integrated high-resolution LED screen at the lower terminal will provide up-to-date guest information and engagement,” Big Sky says. The new lift will move 3,200 passengers per hour initially at 5 m/s with an ultimate capacity of 3,600 with 8-second chair spacing. The chairs will weigh some 2,200 lbs. each and, according to Kircher, “cost as much as a Porsche.” They will be highly wind-resistant to somewhere around 60 miles per hour. Safety bars will be auto locking and unlocking but will not lower unless initiated by the rider. We all know even one fall from a chair is too many and this lift will be the safest on the continent, particularly for children. Ramcharger’s loading carpet will be the only in North America to raise and lower for guests of varying heights. Both the chairs and bubbles will be totally unique in Big Sky blue with powder coated bails rather than being galvanized. The 65 chairs will be heated, of course. “We’re building this for the long term,” Kircher noted.
According to Big Sky, Ramcharger 8 will be one of the largest lift in the world with a direct drive and no traditional gear reducer. The controls will be Doppelmayr’s next-gen system with tablets called Doppelmayr Connect. Towers will even feature public address to communicate with riders in the event of an emergency. VIP-style gondola cabins are an option for a later date (there’s an awesome restaurant at the top) and summer ops will feature bike-specific carriers. The whole thing is being imported from Austria with tapered towers and is the first eight-seater D-Line chair on the planet. I probably forgot something amid all the innovations.
You know it’s a wild day when a new high-speed quad is an afterthought. The new, speedier Shedhorn will include components from Ramcharger with new Uni-G enclosures. Ride time will decrease from ten minutes to around five. Any local who doesn’t care about the new Ramcharger will surely love the new Shedhorn.
After this construction season, Big Sky will continue its sustained commitment with a two-stage gondola to the Bowl replacing Explorer around 2020-21. By 2025, there could be a new tram, Iron Horse, Lone Moose, Headwaters and more. Asked by a local reporter how much all this will cost, Kircher replied simply, “More than the first chair we brought back from Sun Valley.” That set his father back $5,000.
Lift Blog 
Insane, I can’t wait to ride this whenever I head out to Big Sky again. This was totally Boyne’s way of one-upping Vail and Powdr (and likely Alterra if they ever announce a new lift).
So when will Boyne bring their obviously fat wallet out east?
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This project and all of 2025 is funded by big sky itself. Boyne doesn’t use money from other resorts for these projects
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I’ve never skied at a Boyne Resort, but I see three urgent lift projects needed. At Sugarloaf they really need to replace the gondola. It takes two lifts to lap just about everything. A monocable system would struggle with the winds they get, so maybe a funitel like at Squaw Valley. Problem is obviously the money.
Loon needs to have the gondola replaced to shorten the ridiculous lines on weekends, as I saw in one of your videos. Probably just a regular 8-MGD. They won’t switch to a chair as Loon skiers in numerous marketing surveys say they’d strongly prefer a gondola.
Sunday River needs to replace Barker, so maybe that could be an 8-CLD. A 6-CLD would be fine, but now that they already built an 8, I could see it being done again.
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No CLD8 on Barker, too much capacity and too many wind related problems would stem from such a large carrier. Barker has become way too unreliable as of recently, so I think a replacement is coming soon.
The current Barker Quad had a design capacity of 3000 skiers per hour, but post-retrofit capacity is significantly lower. Any increase in capacity would overcrowd the trails because most people either ski Lazy River, Ecstacy, or Right Stuff off of Barker as it is. If they were make more snow on Agony and partially groom Top Gun, that would divert some skiers off of other trails, but that would only help so much, they really need to cut additional trails (with snowmaking) in that area to justify any increase in hourly capacity. Bubble CLD6 would be great at Barker. The only tough spot in terms of wind is at the top of Top Gun, but that’s nothing a wind fence couldn’t fix.
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This article says the 8 person chairs are highly wind resistant and can allow the lift to operate in winds of up to 70mph.
3000pph on a quad is not practical at all. It’s a less than 5 second loading interval. Every quad with that capacity that I know of is turned down to 800 fpm so it just does 2400 with closer chair spacing and a slower line speed.
As I said, a 6-CLD would be fine for Barker, but since 8-CLD’s are a thing in North America now, it’s a possibility. Doesn’t mean the capacity would need to be any higher.
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If you need more than 2,800 pph on a lift line, you really need to go for a six pack.
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I don’t know that a modern 8-MGD would have too much trouble with winds at Sugarloaf. The old gondola was really vulnerable to wind, due to the lightness of the carriers and the weird hanger design with multiple points of articulation. Newer carriers are a lot heavier. Funitels are hideously expensive (that’s part of why nobody else in the US has built one) and massive overkill for that location.
Lots of resorts have gondolas and I’m sure many of them get just as much wind. Then again, I was once there when they had to put the *T-bar* on wind hold because you couldn’t stand up at the top. =-:O
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Ramcharger 8 Is NOT By Far Your Typical Chairlift Like I Think A Majoroty Of People See. They will be highly wind-resistant to somewhere around 60 miles per hour. That Is Way Beyond The Limits Of Even Your Open Plain Jane Double, Triple, Quads & Six Packs. Ramcharger 8 Even Anilites The New Disney Skyliner Just because Gondola Systems Have Been In Exsistance For Years & Be Found At Your Major Ski Areas But NEVER Has There Ever Been A 8 Passenger Chairlift In ALL Of USA History UNTIL NOW! Ramcharger 8 Has Left A Foot Print Of Historic Imprint On The Tipping Point ushering In The Generation Of Next Generation Of Chairlift At Resorts Here In The NOT To Far Far Future. Who Knows What Cool New Ingenious Lift Technology People Will Come Up With. But Until Then The Ramcharger 8 Will Remain On Top For Generation To Ride. Big Sky Montana Where The Skiing Is Big & So Are Their Chairs.
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Hey Paul, no one cares.
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I Don’t Think Any Of These Resorts Can Afford A 8 Pack Like Big Sky Did.
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Kind of a nebulous statement. I’m willing to bet that most largish ski resorts can afford an 8 passenger chairlift. The only difference between them and Big Sky being the marketing strategies. Big Sky’s kinda going European with their marketing strategy for lift planning, and that’s ultimately why so many of their lifts seem so high tech and fancy compared to other resorts.
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Big Sky only gets about 500k skier visits. I’m sure most of the resorts that get more visits can afford a similar lift.
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Most of the large ski resorts could afford an eight pack, but choose not to because they build their lifts based on what’s most efficient for them, not what’s flashy. The Kensho SuperChair being the highest high speed six pack in North America wasn’t something Breck bragged about when they built Peak 6. Copper doesn’t really brag about American Flyer being the longest bubble lift in the world.
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Alterra, Vail, and Powdr all spend more than enough every year to afford an eight-passenger lift. They have just all determined that it makes more financial sense for them to spend their money in other ways. Big Sky has a different strategy.
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Says as Vail buys Peak Resorts for over 100 Million Dollars.
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I’m gonna try to get out there next February break and record it!!!
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I think vail will definitely follow big sky with an 8 pack. Vail is always trying to be ahead so they could even announce one for next season. There is one in Lech Austria called the steinmahderbahn.
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Vail just released its second quarter results today and confirmed its 2018 capital plans. No lift changes or additions from the preliminary December announcement.
http://investors.vailresorts.com/news-releases/news-release-details/vail-resorts-reports-fiscal-2018-second-quarter-results
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I Would Be Very Surprised If Your Resort Was To Get One. Big Sky resort Made HISTORY! Like The Astronots 1 Small Step For man Kind. For Skiing It Is 1 LAGE Step For Skiers Of Every Kind.
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Oh please.
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WAT
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Yeah I think I’m too poor for this sport.
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“I’m going to go out on a limb and predict an eight-pack debuts in the U.S. or Canada by December 2018.”
Correct prediction!
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Do you have the article where he said this? I’m honestly surprised that he was right.
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Was that me? Haha.
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You have psychic powers, Peter!!! Congrats for correctly predicting when NA’s first eight pack would launch.
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Your slide showing Slovakia>U.S. is better and more colorful though.
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It Is JUST Not US But My Home State MONTANA. Of ALL Of The Major Ski Resorts In The US Montana Made HISTORY! The King Of The Mountain Goes To Big Sky Resort For Ramcharger 8.
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Sure, Big Sky gets to bear that distinction, but it’s not exactly at a ski area that gets Vail-sized crowds.
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Pretty stoked to ride this beast next winter! Glad Big Sky joined Ikon and Mountain Collective.
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Just when you thought new lift week couldn’t get any better…
Big Sky reveals that they will install an Eight Pack.
Well then, Big Sky Resort was able to topple the beast of the east with a BIG announcement!!!
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And there will be more. We have yet to hear from the Alterra family of resorts, and I’d be shocked if they didn’t have some large scale investment planned, especially since Intrawest didn’t invest anywhere for years.
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That Is Why The WEST WAS WON! The East Is Fake & The West Is Real. NOW Who Has The Bragging Rights For KING Of The Mountain. That Would Be RAMCHARGER 8.
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Honestly, it’s just a chairlift. Most people couldn’t care about it being an eight-pack. I mean, you don’t see Breck using Quicksilver’s double loading feature as bragging rights.
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Oh brother
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That statement is just simply not true. The East brings in a lot of skier numbers and one lift won’t change that. It might help Ikon sales, but Ramcharger isn’t trying to compete with the East any more than competing against Vail and Alterra and pressuring them into more infrastructure upgrades.
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Agreed, I see Ramcharger 8 as nothing more than a very large publicity stunt. If you want more capacity for a lift, go with a 6.
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The best part is the fact that this dude lives in Utica, NY lmfao
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That explains the Hunter Mountain comparisons.
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Does anyone know how you can see the hover cards to see their emails? I know some people have done this in the past.
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Hovercards don’t allow you to see anyone’s email (only the moderator can), but they do show you if it is the same user you are seeing. It is easy if someone has a WordPress account, but if they don’t, hovering your cursor over a hovercard will make the hovercard flash. If you come across that same user again on that same page, it won’t flash. That proves to be very useful for catching trollers. There’s a way to get around it, but I’m not saying it here in case a troller is looking at this thread.
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Your probably checking liftblog every day until someone comments about Ramcharger 8 and then you go off on them for no apparent reason. It’s almost like you sold your soul to Big Sky.
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It seems, at least, that this will be the best winter-use detachable season since the recession, as 21 detachables are being added to ski resorts so far. This consists of 1 D6C/8G at Copper, 5 gondola stages (2 D10Gs at Blackcomb, and 3 D8Gs at Yellowston Club, Silver Star, and Bretton Woods), and 15 chairlifts, with the D8G-BH at Big Sky, 2 D6C-Bs at Copper and Killington, 3 D6Cs at Whistler, Windham, and Hunter, and 9 D4Cs at Taos, Sun Peaks, Sun Valley, Big Sky, Blackcomb, Loveland, Purgatory, Park City, and Wolf Creek. I wouldn’t be surprised if future announcements get the total to over 25 new detachables. It seems that the creation of the IKON pass has spurred a new period of competition in the industry.
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As Last Count Big Sky Resort Remains On Top For The Biggest, Most Technologically Advanced Chairlift Just Because No Other Resort Still As Of Now Has Not De Throwned Ramcharger 8. Everyone Else Clearly Are In A Legue Of Their Own. Plenty Of Various 6 Packs Like The Plain Jane East Coast Ski Resorts Such As Hunter Mtn & Windham Mtn Who Both Recent Attained Your Base Open 6 Pack Chairlifts With NO Auto Load Conveyor System To Assits Their Loading. Most Of The Time During High Winds Their Lift Close After Paying FULL Price Lift Prices. Ramcharger Can Operate SAFELY Operate In Winds Up To 60 MPH. Allowing MORE Bang For Your Buck.
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How much are they paying you? You sound like that dude from the Chevrolet commercials.
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Yeah, Ramcharger 8’s a heated bubble lift and there’s nothing really special about it besides the eight-pack stuff. I mean, IMO, the American Flyer bubble six pack is a much more stand-out lift by virtue of being the world’s longest bubble lift (and it was built alongside the American Eagle chondola).
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It seems pretty clear to me that he’s just trolling us over the emphasis on all the bells and whistles that we like to talk about Big Sky purchasing.
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I know plenty of other lifts that can run in high winds too.
Also, what’s with you needlessly capitalizing every word in your sentences?
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Great news. While Swifty and 6-Shooter could both use the heated seats and bubbles a lot more than Ramcharger, this is a great long-term investment for Big Sky. The refreshed Ramcharger moving over to the Shedhorn alignment is huge. There’s a lot of excellent, underutilized terrain back there.
Peter, did you get any indication as to whether the upper stage of the future gondola is planned to terminate at the bottom of the bowl, allowing loading to Powderseeker, or whether it might extend to the upper part of the bowl, allowing a direct transfer to the tram? I’d guess the former is much more likely, but am interested in your insights.
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Just about anything is possible now but the current plan is for gondola stage two to unload just slightly towards Powder Seeker from where the old Gondola One unloaded.
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So sort of where the restroom is?
BTW, thanks for the great reporting on the conference.
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Ramcharger was likely given priority over swifty so shedhorn could be upgraded sooner, it would be a waste to put a lift as big as that on sheddy. The gondola is only a few years out aswell.
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As a matter of fact they just recently announced replacing SC with a d-line bubble 6 with heated seats.
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@ah, most likely where the electrical box at the top of rice bowl is, same spot as the old one. From there you can still get to Lobo, calamity etc.
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Peter this is for you. Citing one of your past articles you say you are not entirely sold on the D-Line enclosure. Has this changed? I was not pleased with enclosure at first but it has grown on me due to there being more of them in Europe and now the US. Here is the article- https://liftblog.com/2015/12/16/more-on-doppelmayrs-d-line/
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I haven’t seen one in person. I like the sides a lot and the ends are growing on me. The floor to ceiling windows look great. You’ll notice in the Disney renderings, they axed the rectangular ends in favor of a more traditional shape. It makes sense for Big Sky to keep them because of the media display at the bottom. I would not be surprised to ski other American customers do the Disney adjustment. Everyone is so used to the LPA and UNI-G, which are basically the same shape.
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I was reminded today that Boyne Resorts created the world’s first triple chair in 1964 at Boyne Highlands, the very first quad at Boyne Mountain the same year and America’s first six-pack in 1992. So this really is in their DNA.
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Boyne has been around longer than any major ski area operator. They’ve stood the test of time when others like S-K-I, ASC, Intrawest, Booth Creek, and countless others (which operated major ski areas) couldn’t. Their history of innovation in both lifts and snowmaking is unrivaled in the industry.
Boyne and Doppelmayr have come up with some great projects in the past such as Boyne Mountain’s Six Pack (the first six pack in the United States) the Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky, the Mt. Rainier Gondola at Crystal, Sunday River’s Chondola, Powder Seeker and now this monstrosity at Big Sky. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
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Just Like Airbus Leads The Airline Industry Now Boyne Resorts Leads The Rsorts & Skiing Industry. I Beleive They Even Blow Walt Disney World Was For Their Skyliner System Considering That Gondola Systems Have Been At A Majoroty US Ski Resorts. And So Boyne Resorts Jumps Into History As Being Now The !st Resorts To Have The Mighty RAMCHARGER 8.
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Please just stop acting like Big Sky is the best resort.
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You even like your own comments.
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Interesting comparison, if Airbus leads the airline industry, why are more F15s and 737s being built? The Air Force One is still a Boeing and Boeing is quite a bit bigger than Airbus, at least in the US. Is Big Sky really leading the skiing industry? Two years later and a five minute wait time is still a problem at Big Sky. Vail and Alterra aren’t loosing any money because of this. If they were, they would be doing bubble lifts like Powdr and Boyne by now.
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What company/companies built that first triple and quad?
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Boyne did both first
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I think they also got North America’s first six pack.
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Oh, sorry. I meant manufacturer.
I found the info anyway:
Two triples, MacGully and Camelot, were made in 1963 by Riblet. Both are still at Highlands.
Heron made the the first quad 2 years later at Boyne Mountain.
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The stoke and nerves are very high right now. Saw you at the conference Peter, didn’t have a chance to say hi, we had to bail about halfway through for some lift maintaining. Hope to see you around this summer while this beast is being built.
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I like the new lifts, but the separation pucks on those chairs are annoying…and getting a footrest bar between your legs as standard operation is a bit intrusive…worse yet my big feet can not rest of those little stubs, I have no choice but to leave them hang…understanding this new design is intended to keep kids in the seat, no chance of dropping…however I like the much more comfortable Leitner design which is more traditional without the pucks and has standard double side footrest spacing…
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I agree about the stub footrests. They are clearly geared toward the Euro market and the very skinny skis over there. The separation between seats doesn’t bother me and makes sense for chairs where the bar rests between the legs.
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The seats are also significantly wider per person so the dividers will likely be a non issue
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Also trying to imagine if you ever had 6+ people loading how they’d actually sit in the right place without dividers. It would be like backless bleachers at a football game – everyone sprawling except for one guy who gets squeezed out.
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AH- well, they seem to do ok over on Sixer at Moonlight without seat dividers, but without those safety-bars-between-the-legs, I guess dividers aren’t needed.
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Swift current detach 8?
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That’s what I’m wondering…
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They went 6 pack for some reason. I wonder why since Swift Current seems to serve a lot more terrain. They probably just didn’t need the capacity.
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Doppelmayr is doing a similar project to Shedhorn in Les Arcs, France this summer including fitting Uni-G enclosures onto early ’90s terminals that are being relocated.
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Lifting is great. On mountain amenity needs upgrading too. Eating, drinking and bathroom facilities are not state of the ark
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