Beech Mountain, North Carolina will replace two of its workhorse chairlifts ahead of the 2018/2019 winter season as had been rumored for weeks. Lift 5, which ascends to the 5,506-foot summit and was originally built in 1987, is currently being disassembled in preparation for the installation of a new Doppelymayr fixed-grip quad. The new lift will include a loading conveyor to ensure safe boarding, higher travel speeds and shorter trip times. Lift 5 will now include 144 chairs with a 6.5 minute ride time accommodating 2,400 people per hour.
This marks only the second time in North American history that a fixed-grip chairlift will replace a detachable one, though there could be more in the near future. Sugarbush, Vermont swapped the 1990 Green Mountain Express for a fixed quad in 1995, though the route went detachable again in 2002. Willamette Pass, Oregon’s detachable six-pack is currently up for sale, eyed to be replaced with a fixed-grip lift that would be more affordable to operate. A used T-Bar may also rise this summer at Ascutney, Vermont on the site of a former high-speed quad. If Tamarack, Idaho is ever able to rebuild the Wildwood Express, it could be another detachable-turned-fixed-grip scenario.
Back to Beech, Lift 6, currently a double chair with parts from Goforth Brothers, Hall and Doppelmayr, will be replaced with another Doppelmayr fixed-grip quad. This one will feature 106 chairs and a 6.5 minute travel time with a capacity of 2,000 people per hour. Both quad lifts will feature footrests, upholstered seating and back rests. Guests can now expect to reach the mountain’s 5,506-foot summit with easy on-and-off loading, comfortable seating, and a more efficient layout to eliminate congestion.
Lift Blog 
Sounds like the HSQ was out of commission for much of this season anyways.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g48948-i5568-k11272280-Beech_Mountain_Ski_Resort_High_speed_quad_lift-Beech_Mountain_North_Carolina.html
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Thanks for the great update Peter!
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I think it might be the only detachable with lattice towers in the US.
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I think you are right. Crazy that before the high-speed quad, it was a detachable gondola. Carlevaro-Savio “skis on” style from 1967-1987.
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I guess you could count Mount Snows Gondola 2/Ego Alley as a detachable replaced by a fixed grip. Oddly enough it’s the same type “gondola” that Beech had. It also uses most of the original towers.
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From what can be seen on this video of ski beech from 1980, The gondola was actually converted to a fixed grip double prior to being replaced. It is shown at 7:30 in the video.
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I thought that only Mount Snow had a skis on gondola.
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Why would Beech replace a high speed quad with a fixed grip quad? It would make more sense to replace it with a high speed quad or a high speed six. Unless the new quad will eventually be converted to a detachable, then it would make more sense to replace lift 5 with a detachable.
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Quoting from a Seattle Times article about the Tamarack case:
“Chris Kirk, the Tamarack homeowner who organized the smaller lift’s purchase, said the terms of a Wildwood Express deal just never added up. Bank of America wanted millions for a lift that, even once it was running again, would likely continue to cost operators around $100,000 annually while adding nothing to revenue. Better let it go, Kirk advised Tamarack’s 389 homeowners. “At the end of the day, I crunched a bunch of numbers … It just didn’t make sense,” Kirk, a Tamarack Municipal Association board member, told the AP, adding he favors Tamarack eventually installing a slower “fixed-grip” lift that costs less to maintain on remaining lift tower foundations.”
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/bank-pays-to-dismantle-idaho-ski-lift/
North Carolina can be a tough place to run a ski resort and 1987 was a different era than 2018.
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That makes sense, Peter. The detachable at Beech was too short anyway. It would better fit a fixed grip quad.
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Money, detachable lifts are expensive to buy and to maintain. The fixed grip lift will move the same number of people as a detachable but keep more people in the air at any given time making a little resort seem less crowded. I bet they got the pair for the same price or less than one detachable.
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What’s the maximum speed with a loading conveyor?
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I’d imagine 3m*s^-1 (300ft/min), but I vaguely remember something higher than that on certain expert lifts.
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Maximum speed with only a loading conveyor is still 450fpm. The speed can only increase if there are conveyors at both ends.
The Loading conveyor will give them increased efficiencies IF staffed properly. MHO
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Ok, I didn’t think about both ends! Makes sense though.
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They claim a .7 mile ride (based on the old Quad alignment, and Google’s ruler tool) in 6.5 minutes. They need a 550 fpm speed, or that ballpark, to make it in time.
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What are the thoughts on the loading conveyor? Do the numbers show it actually increases efficiency because I seem to have observed the opposite?
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I have attached a link to a 360 degree video of Lift 5 (The former HSQ). The carrier spacing is huge. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s hourly capacity was 1,000.
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Capacity when constructed was 2,400 and speed 1,000 fpm. It sounds like chairs were later removed and the speed often turned down in recent years.
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The towers look like Carlevaro & Savio towers with Doppelmayr lifting frames.
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Two more areas once served by detachable quads but now fixed-grip only are Home Run at Silver Star and High Country at Waterville Valley. Both now serviced by T-Bars!
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