Before building lifts on Eagle Peak, growing Inland Northwest ski area Lookout Pass will replace core out-of-base Chair 1 with a Skytrac quad, its first brand new lift in 37 years. The fixed-grip quad will double uphill capacity on the Interstate 90 side of the mountain and better position Lookout for planned future expansion. The ski area, which sits at 5,600 feet along the Idaho-Montana border, added three Riblet chairlifts in the early 2000s but all came used via other mountains.
The new Chair 1 will follow the existing alignment and utilize some of the current Riblet towers with a slope length of approximately 2,900 feet and vertical rise surpassing 800 feet. Lookout’s project is the fourth announced new lift for the State of Idaho in 2019 following commitments by Tamarack Resort and Schweitzer. Sun Valley recently pushed back its Cold Springs quad project to 2020.
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Hell yes! Using the old Riblet towers will be interesting.
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If I hear another damn announcement about a fixed-grip quad replacing a classic, historic double chair, I think I will burst. Fixed-grip quads are my least favorite type of lifts.
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While you’re complaining about a lift announcement, I’m highly dissapointing that Gore Mountain cancelled their replacements of old, classic, and greatly unreliable double chairs. I don’t mind fixed grip quads unless they constantly slow down and stop like the Bonaventure Quad at Jay Peak. My least favorite kind of lift is a slow detachable.
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I should’ve phrased my comment differently. I should’ve made it clear that on high capacity routes quads are totally necessary, similar to Gore’s case, but I would rather see Gore add more trails off of Burnt Ridge and in North Creek Ski Bowl. Another necessary quad addition was Valley House at Sugarbush. It provides a reliable backup to Super Bravo and takes some pressure off of Super Bravo on busy weekends. What I don’t like is when mountains that don’t need to add a quad, add a quad just so they can brag about their brand new quad. I find Sunny D at Sugarbush to be a useless upgrade to a quad. The capacity isn’t needed and the snowboarders LIKED the double. The only reason they replaced both of them was that they probably got a good deal on 2 new quads from Doppelmayr. Village sorta needed to be replaced in that case. These classic Riblet doubles are going away FAST and it is frustrating to see another resort get rid of one. I really want to ride one at some point soon but they have become so uncommon at major resorts that I probably won’t ride one. My only chance to ride one was when Bridger Bowl still had their Riblets. That would’ve been a logical place to go for my family.
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Lookout Pass will still have two of them, Schweitzer will still have one next season, yet it is also slated to be replaced in the coming years(Sunnyside), although if you want to ride old Riblets all day, come to Mt. Spokane. 5 classic center-pole Riblets ranging from 1956-1977.
While I agree with your sentiment that fixed grip quads can be unreasonable in some places. This will greatly improve the experience on busy days at Lookout. The lines on chair 1 can get to be quite long, and I’m sure this chair will be appreciated by all, especially those not having to wait in as long of a line anymore.
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Lookout’s classic double will be reused and installed once we get our expansion to Eagle Peak which brings 14 new trails to the mountain and a 1,650ft continuous vertical. There will be another new quad added for this addition and the classic double will be installed to service specific terrain as part of that expansion.
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Historic they may be, but as they age they’re increasingly difficult to maintain. Don’t forget that Riblet is out of business and parts are hard to come by. Sometimes there really isn’t a choice.
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Possibly one more lift for Idaho this summer.
https://www.kmvt.com/content/news/Owner-Magic-Mountain-Resort-sees-best-season-yet-506579811.html
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