This lift was one of two on Bear Mountain but is the only that remains.The bottom station is a classic Yan model with three legs.Top terminal with fixed drive.View down from the summit with new tower heads from Poma.Looking up at the breakover.View down the steep lift line.Lower station near the Skye Peak Express.Side view of the bottom terminal.Lift overview.
This lift could really use an upgrade with the South Ridge Quad back. Skye Peak Express regularly has large lines because it is the best way to get from the Bear Mountain base to the main area of the mountain. If this lift went detachable, it could relieve Skye Peak as skiers would now be incentivized to go Bear Mountain -> South Ridge go from there.
True, although given that the trails from Bear Mountain are mostly expert and the lift isn’t too long I doubt they would put a detachable here without the South Ridge Quad being in place to allow beginners to have somewhere to go. Usually, lifts go detachable because they are either A) long or B) service a wide range of skiers/are popular. Since ride time isn’t an issue here, B would be good justification.
There’s literally no need to upgrade this lift. It only runs on weekends and doesn’t get crowded. Most people take the Skye Peak Express and this is really just a reliever lift for it. The only terrain you can only get to from this lift is the very top of Outer Limits and Devil’s Fiddle and most customers can’t even ski those trails anyways.
I’m interested as to what they’ll do with this liftline. I feel like it’s getting to that age, and the fact it’s a Yan doesn’t help matters. I’d say it has 10-15 years max. At that point, should the replacement be detachable or Fixed Grip? I’d imagine they’d go with another Fixed Grip because it’s short and mostly bump runs, but I don’t ski at Killington very much.
This lift could really use an upgrade with the South Ridge Quad back. Skye Peak Express regularly has large lines because it is the best way to get from the Bear Mountain base to the main area of the mountain. If this lift went detachable, it could relieve Skye Peak as skiers would now be incentivized to go Bear Mountain -> South Ridge go from there.
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And not everything on Bear Mountain can be reached from Skye Peak.
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True, although given that the trails from Bear Mountain are mostly expert and the lift isn’t too long I doubt they would put a detachable here without the South Ridge Quad being in place to allow beginners to have somewhere to go. Usually, lifts go detachable because they are either A) long or B) service a wide range of skiers/are popular. Since ride time isn’t an issue here, B would be good justification.
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There’s literally no need to upgrade this lift. It only runs on weekends and doesn’t get crowded. Most people take the Skye Peak Express and this is really just a reliever lift for it. The only terrain you can only get to from this lift is the very top of Outer Limits and Devil’s Fiddle and most customers can’t even ski those trails anyways.
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I’m interested as to what they’ll do with this liftline. I feel like it’s getting to that age, and the fact it’s a Yan doesn’t help matters. I’d say it has 10-15 years max. At that point, should the replacement be detachable or Fixed Grip? I’d imagine they’d go with another Fixed Grip because it’s short and mostly bump runs, but I don’t ski at Killington very much.
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