This lift has a very long, mellow profile.Just above the mid-station.Mid-unload.Lower lift line.View up the line from near the base.Riblet towers.Chairs lined up.Tension station at the bottom.Side view of the carriage.Mid-station unload ramp.Towers 32-33.Top bullwheel with vault drive.Unload number two.
Breckenridge does not list this with a midstation and I think they aren’t using it anymore, because, they have the option of skipping the midstation with the upper sheaves on the tower. I may be wrong, but this is my opinion considering Breckenridge maps have no reference to a midstation.
Mid-station unload only is still being used as of last season. A Chair is still as slow as it has ever been, but at least you can skip the crowds at the bottom on Quicksilver if you are skiing with some real green beginners before you upgrade to the intermediate runs off of Mercury Superchair.
Many of the master plans have called for Lift A to be upgraded to a high speed quad, with a turn at the midway unload station before running up to a point on Cashier just above where Country Boy begins.
The midstation was added around 1999, the year Quicksilver Super6. I don’t see any reference to it on trail maps for years prior to then. It wasn’t around in 1998, the year Ten Mile Station was built, since at the time, one simply used Wellington to get down to Ten Mile Station from the old Quicksilver Quad..
Lift A used to be known as Lift A2 and was a double chairlift from its opening in 1971 through 1975 when it was converted into the current triple chairlift. Lift A1 was a double chairlift that was replaced with the Quicksilver Quad in 1981.
…In addition, I believe this is another one of those cases of a double-converted-to-a-triple-but-still-uses-double-chairlift-line gear. At least, that’s the impression I get comparing the towers on this to photos of towers for the other Riblets on Peaks 8 and 9.
I don’t understand why this lift is still here. The lift is painfully slow and only services lower lemon, which gets very busy with all the skiers heading down to falcon from Beaver Run or Mercury. It only goes a few hundred feet above the Quicksilver, I have no idea why breck still runs this lift.
A is still there but is coming out as soon as they get approval and go forward with the new gondola out of Peak 9 base.
It is a bit of a relic of a different era and lift configuration on the mountain. It only runs Fri-Sun and busy holiday periods.
it’s a beginner lift and it’s never crowded. It’s slow but the crowds at the base of Quicksilver on peak days make for long wait times down there. It allows beginners to cycle the lower mountain greens without going all the way to the base.
Also enables those coming off the Peak 9 upper mountain runs south of cashier/country boy to get up to 10 Mile Station via the mid station.
For some reason, I feel like it’d be useful to replace the lift with a fixed grip quad that is cut back to the midstation. That way those headed to Ten Mile Station from points north of Bonanza can still have an option for reaching Ten Mile Station without having to either A) ride the Mercury SuperChair and ski down Briar Rose or Upper Lehman, or B) head all the way down to the base and come back up on Quicksilver.
I do agree with Donald on this one. I feel even though the gondola will indirectly replace A. I do feel that there is still a need for an A lift. As it serves beginner terrain and honestly while a gondola is good for beginners, they should also learn on how to ride a ski lift also. Personally I’d love to see the A triple live on along with C lift…. But those are dreams that most likely won’t happen.
I think VR is very keen to get rid of any remaining riblets with clips inserted into the haul rope … which I assume A, C, E and 6 all still have. So preserving A Chair is probably not going to happen. A replacement (quad) would be nice though.
It’s interesting A-Chair was the only one of the riblet lifts not slated to get a detachable replacement in the 2022 master plan. It would have made sense for the new gondola to deliver skiers to a premium learning area with a short, dedicated detach like Greenhorn Ranch. But I guess Peak 8 now has that, almost twice over.
I think this lift should be replaced with a HSQ once the Frontier Gondola goes in, which would open more greens and enhance the beginner experience on Peak 9.
Lift Blog 
This does not run at 450 fpm, more like 250
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I was literally just thinking to myself, why does Breckenridge always run this lift so painfully slow?
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Riblets dont tend to do nice things to beginners when they are running quickly
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Breckenridge does not list this with a midstation and I think they aren’t using it anymore, because, they have the option of skipping the midstation with the upper sheaves on the tower. I may be wrong, but this is my opinion considering Breckenridge maps have no reference to a midstation.
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Mid-station unload only is still being used as of last season. A Chair is still as slow as it has ever been, but at least you can skip the crowds at the bottom on Quicksilver if you are skiing with some real green beginners before you upgrade to the intermediate runs off of Mercury Superchair.
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Many of the master plans have called for Lift A to be upgraded to a high speed quad, with a turn at the midway unload station before running up to a point on Cashier just above where Country Boy begins.
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The midstation was added around 1999, the year Quicksilver Super6. I don’t see any reference to it on trail maps for years prior to then. It wasn’t around in 1998, the year Ten Mile Station was built, since at the time, one simply used Wellington to get down to Ten Mile Station from the old Quicksilver Quad..
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Why are there still unused sheaves above the mid?
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There is an option to skip the mid unload, the Screaming Eagle express at Grouse mtn is similar
https://liftblog.com/screaming-eagle-grouse-mountain-bc/
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Lift A used to be known as Lift A2 and was a double chairlift from its opening in 1971 through 1975 when it was converted into the current triple chairlift. Lift A1 was a double chairlift that was replaced with the Quicksilver Quad in 1981.
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…In addition, I believe this is another one of those cases of a double-converted-to-a-triple-but-still-uses-double-chairlift-line gear. At least, that’s the impression I get comparing the towers on this to photos of towers for the other Riblets on Peaks 8 and 9.
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I have went there all season they still run the mid station
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I don’t understand why this lift is still here. The lift is painfully slow and only services lower lemon, which gets very busy with all the skiers heading down to falcon from Beaver Run or Mercury. It only goes a few hundred feet above the Quicksilver, I have no idea why breck still runs this lift.
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A is still there but is coming out as soon as they get approval and go forward with the new gondola out of Peak 9 base.
It is a bit of a relic of a different era and lift configuration on the mountain. It only runs Fri-Sun and busy holiday periods.
it’s a beginner lift and it’s never crowded. It’s slow but the crowds at the base of Quicksilver on peak days make for long wait times down there. It allows beginners to cycle the lower mountain greens without going all the way to the base.
Also enables those coming off the Peak 9 upper mountain runs south of cashier/country boy to get up to 10 Mile Station via the mid station.
LikeLike
For some reason, I feel like it’d be useful to replace the lift with a fixed grip quad that is cut back to the midstation. That way those headed to Ten Mile Station from points north of Bonanza can still have an option for reaching Ten Mile Station without having to either A) ride the Mercury SuperChair and ski down Briar Rose or Upper Lehman, or B) head all the way down to the base and come back up on Quicksilver.
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I do agree with Donald on this one. I feel even though the gondola will indirectly replace A. I do feel that there is still a need for an A lift. As it serves beginner terrain and honestly while a gondola is good for beginners, they should also learn on how to ride a ski lift also. Personally I’d love to see the A triple live on along with C lift…. But those are dreams that most likely won’t happen.
LikeLike
I think VR is very keen to get rid of any remaining riblets with clips inserted into the haul rope … which I assume A, C, E and 6 all still have. So preserving A Chair is probably not going to happen. A replacement (quad) would be nice though.
It’s interesting A-Chair was the only one of the riblet lifts not slated to get a detachable replacement in the 2022 master plan. It would have made sense for the new gondola to deliver skiers to a premium learning area with a short, dedicated detach like Greenhorn Ranch. But I guess Peak 8 now has that, almost twice over.
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I think this lift should be replaced with a HSQ once the Frontier Gondola goes in, which would open more greens and enhance the beginner experience on Peak 9.
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