This lift services beginner terrain on the edge of Wilmot.Tower 7 and the top bullwheel.Vail made lots of upgrades to this lift including new chairs and controls.The first few towers.Counterweight for tensioning.Loading area.Looking up the line.Portal style tower 1.Doppelmayr controls upgrade.Retrofitted Partek chair.Lift overview.
Why is it a Midwestern trend to turn chairlifts into rope tows as seen in the last pic? Is it easier to maintain? I would think that with the amount of skier visits Wilmot gets that the beginner capacity would be needed for a double chair instead of two rope tows.
The rope tows service the terrain park. The users of the park are quite happy with the ropes over a chair. It’s quite popular. This Borvig runs about 1/2 speed, so getting up the tow is twice as fast. It’s the worst lift there by far, and is rarely used.
New chairs and controls, only to have the lift decommissioned five years later? I wonder where the new chairs will end up. Ohio could really use some infrastructure upgrades. Aside from Alpine Valley’s Partek quad in 2013 and Mad River’s Riblet quad in 1999, Ohio hasn’t had any new lifts since 1988!
They spent too much energy trying to keep in running. It mechanically would not work properly any more. Clutch, belts, and other mechanical issues. It had no value to the hill to keep going.
As I mentioned above, don’t be surprised if they do a second half rope that would start near the top of the other two. But you still won’t be able to access the park from uphill, so I don’t know what that does for you.
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Why is it a Midwestern trend to turn chairlifts into rope tows as seen in the last pic? Is it easier to maintain? I would think that with the amount of skier visits Wilmot gets that the beginner capacity would be needed for a double chair instead of two rope tows.
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The rope tows service the terrain park. The users of the park are quite happy with the ropes over a chair. It’s quite popular. This Borvig runs about 1/2 speed, so getting up the tow is twice as fast. It’s the worst lift there by far, and is rarely used.
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This chair was retired. Should be removed summer 2021. May be replaced by a top half rope tow at some point.
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New chairs and controls, only to have the lift decommissioned five years later? I wonder where the new chairs will end up. Ohio could really use some infrastructure upgrades. Aside from Alpine Valley’s Partek quad in 2013 and Mad River’s Riblet quad in 1999, Ohio hasn’t had any new lifts since 1988!
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Given what small piddly hills there are in Ohio, do they really need any upgrades?
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Now that it is officially come down, yeah I have the same questions are Utah Powder above: Why decomission a lift so recently updated?
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I don’t know. A reason could be that it is going to be used to replace another lift.
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They spent too much energy trying to keep in running. It mechanically would not work properly any more. Clutch, belts, and other mechanical issues. It had no value to the hill to keep going.
As I mentioned above, don’t be surprised if they do a second half rope that would start near the top of the other two. But you still won’t be able to access the park from uphill, so I don’t know what that does for you.
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