Beaver Run has updated Poma Omega chairs.Looking up the lift line.Lower station at the Beaver Run Resort.Poma built only a few Poma high speed quads with this terminal style.Loading zone.Grip maintenance facility and rail.Crossing under the Peak 8 SuperConnect.Tower 11.Unloading ramp at the summit.Top station from below.Upper lift line view.Lift overview.Middle portion of the line.Drive station.
29 thoughts on “Beaver Run SuperChair – Breckenridge, CO”
Benjamin BartzAugust 11, 2017 / 9:32 pm
Most of the new chairs were originally replacements on the old Colorado SuperChair. Once that lift was replaced the chairs were brought over to help upgrade Beaver Run, with additional chairs purchased to fill the longer line.
Second one is about 1000, not 1050 which would be over the lift’s design speed. It’s so cool to see an old detachable running full speed. Good motor sound too.
Much like the Cinch Express at Beaver Creek, this lift used to have a name that is now used on another lift. This was actually the first Mercury SuperChair, and only given its current name of the Beaver Run SuperChair in 1993, three years after it opened. The Mercury SuperChair name was then given to the mid-mountain high speed quad built in 1997 to replace Lift B.
The upper Peak 9 high speed quads replaced two of the four Riblet double chairlifts that used to serve the upper slopes. That’s why the fixed grip lift lettering on Peak 9 has no Lift B or Lift D. The Beaver Run SuperChair replaced Lift D, which ran from Beaver Run up to about where the EpicMix racecourse on Sundown is located. Part of Lift D can still be seen today, as it was repurposed as a ski patrol lift evacuation training area (you’ll see it to your right on the Beaver Run SuperChair right after crossing under the Peak 8 SuperConnect).
I think I once read somewhere that this lift used to have 219 chairs before they trimmed it down to the current 186 for practical purposes (I don’t see how 219 chairs could work without a lot of misloads; I think one of those old chairs is the Poma Competition chair you see on the Lift D rope evac training line).
The chairs are spaced about 96.5 feet apart here. That’s slightly larger than the 95 foot spacing of chairs on the Mercury SuperChair. I think if there was a time when there were 219 chairs on the lift, they would’ve been spaced about 85 feet apart.
The originals were at or beyond their design lifecycle. We had the same ones on our old Eagle lift, and we were repairing more and more every year. Since they had the ones from the original Colorado already, it made sense to put them on.
It also allows a degree of parts uniformity, because now all of the quads and the older six packs have Omega chairs. (The only ones to not have Omegas are the newer high speed six packs, which have LPA chairs)
And there’s the fact that Peak 9 doesn’t really need additional uphill capacity on the main face, as the two high speed quads (Beaver Run and Mercury) combined offer 5,600 pph capacity. And between those two, the Beaver Run SuperChair is primarily the one you use for longer runs and for if you’re starting out at Peak 9 base area / coming to Peak 9 via the Sawmill catwalk, while the Mercury SuperChair is the one you use for lapping the upper trails. So it evens out.
This lift needs to be replaced, and soon. I was wondering if a 6/8 chondola with a capacity of 3,400/hour would be a good replacement for the lift. There would be cabins every 8 chairs instead of every 4-5 chairs. The cabins would be used for guests who want to ride up in the comfort of a gondola or for the beginner ski school. I have seen very long lines on this lift and Mercury. This may also reduce traffic on Quicksilver as well. If Breck wanted to, they could use the chondola in the summer for biking or scenic rides over on Peak 9. Let me know your thoughts.
True, this is the primary lift from which to access Bonanza, which is Peak 9’s designated intermediate learning trail. But adding any more uphill capacity would clog Bonanza more. And the foot traffic that uses the lift is primarily employees who work at the Overlook restaurant. I would like them to upgrade Lift C to a high speed quad first, as I think that would disperse some traffic away from the Mercury and Beaver Run SuperChairs, especially for those lapping the trails north of American. There was actually a master plan a few years back that had a Lift C replacement on the proposals.
As for using an upgraded Beaver Run SuperChair for scenic rides/bike hauls, well, I don’t know if Breck would be up for doing a secondary summer operation that’s away from the main one at Peak 8 base.
Upgrading the Beaver Run SuperChair to anything with a wider line gauge than a quad would also have the additional hurdle of “would the chairs still fit through the point where they cross under the Peak 8 SuperConnect”? Because from what I’ve seen, six pack chairs would come pretty close to tower 2 on the SuperConnect, possibly necessitating that the SuperConnect’s towers there be moved, requiring more work.
Right now, I don’t think any of Breck’s master plans have called for this lift to be touched for now. Although maybe things will change after 2021, if the Peak 7 infill high speed quad gets built.
Coming back on this, I do have to wonder what the lift would have to be renamed if it became a chondola. Would they stick to just calling it the Beaver Run SuperChair or would they rename it as the Beaver Run SuperChondola?
There are also the logistics of how to configure the gondola and chair mazes at the base. The American Eagle lift has this down nicely as people who want to ride the chairs are directed to one side of the lift and those going to the gondola cabins are directed to the other side. It can do this because there’s plenty of space on both sides at the bottom for this. With the Beaver Run SuperChair, configuring a chondola to run counterclockwise would mean gondola traffic would have to cross the paths of those getting in line of the chairs. Running it clockwise would make more sense, with gondolas loading and unloading on the north side at both terminals, but that might necessitate having to modify the bus stop to add a gondola maze, with the gondola maze being for those arriving at Beaver Run by bus as well as foot traffic, while those coming in from on the mountain would use the chairs.
Having a Chondola seems like a interesting idea for Peak 9, but having a cabin on every 8 chairs seems a lot of time for waiting for the gondola. Plus Chondolas are very rare in the U.S. (not really)
The only foot traffic on such a chondola would be for the Overlook restaurant. Honestly, if any lift were to become a chondola, I would rather they do a chondola conversion of Quicksilver Super6, where that lift already being a double loading lift would work nicely in its favor, coupled with it directly dropping people off at Ten Mile Station (compared to the Beaver Run SuperChair, which drops you off on the opposite side of a meadow from the Overlook Restaurant). They’d just need to readjust the contours a bit to send all chairs through the first loading area while sending all cabins to the second loading area, and also perform an extension of the upper terminal.
Also, turning the Beaver Run SuperChair into a chondola might necessitate making modifications to the Peak 8 SuperConnect where that lift crosses over this one.
These pictures show the temporary fix that extended the Competition Chairs lifespan. If you look at the bottom of the chair, you’ll notice a cable that was run through the entire bail and secured to the horizontal seat frame to prevent a loaded chair from coming apart in the air. There have been occurrences of the bolts that connect the seat frame to the bail, failing during loading. It happened once that I know of on the Beaver Run driving the replacement of the chairs.
I think it’s telling there’s currently only one high speed quad in Colorado still using Competition chairs, and that’s the Silver Queen Express. American Eagle and the Zephyr Express were upgraded, and the Beaver Run SuperChair got new chairs.
Wow, looks beautiful. Competition terminals remain my favourite Poma and LPA terminals to this day. They have a very similar side profile to Doppelmayr Unig-Gs, with the large seemless windows, and angled lower trim.
Lift Blog 
Most of the new chairs were originally replacements on the old Colorado SuperChair. Once that lift was replaced the chairs were brought over to help upgrade Beaver Run, with additional chairs purchased to fill the longer line.
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Here’s a video I made showing the lift before the chairs were replaced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDPQw81sLxQ
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Didn’t look like it was running at full speed in the vid was it or was it not?
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I think that this is 1,000 fpm:
And this is 1,050 fpm:
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Second one is about 1000, not 1050 which would be over the lift’s design speed. It’s so cool to see an old detachable running full speed. Good motor sound too.
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Much like the Cinch Express at Beaver Creek, this lift used to have a name that is now used on another lift. This was actually the first Mercury SuperChair, and only given its current name of the Beaver Run SuperChair in 1993, three years after it opened. The Mercury SuperChair name was then given to the mid-mountain high speed quad built in 1997 to replace Lift B.
The upper Peak 9 high speed quads replaced two of the four Riblet double chairlifts that used to serve the upper slopes. That’s why the fixed grip lift lettering on Peak 9 has no Lift B or Lift D. The Beaver Run SuperChair replaced Lift D, which ran from Beaver Run up to about where the EpicMix racecourse on Sundown is located. Part of Lift D can still be seen today, as it was repurposed as a ski patrol lift evacuation training area (you’ll see it to your right on the Beaver Run SuperChair right after crossing under the Peak 8 SuperConnect).
I think I once read somewhere that this lift used to have 219 chairs before they trimmed it down to the current 186 for practical purposes (I don’t see how 219 chairs could work without a lot of misloads; I think one of those old chairs is the Poma Competition chair you see on the Lift D rope evac training line).
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The chairs are spaced about 96.5 feet apart here. That’s slightly larger than the 95 foot spacing of chairs on the Mercury SuperChair. I think if there was a time when there were 219 chairs on the lift, they would’ve been spaced about 85 feet apart.
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Lift D evac training zone:
Also visible from the Peak 8 SuperConnect:
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In 2017, the upper terminal was repainted from Beaver Run Orange into a much duller gray/olive color. https://youtu.be/O_LjMQSbuLw?t=559
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Why did they replace the chairs?
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The originals were at or beyond their design lifecycle. We had the same ones on our old Eagle lift, and we were repairing more and more every year. Since they had the ones from the original Colorado already, it made sense to put them on.
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It also allows a degree of parts uniformity, because now all of the quads and the older six packs have Omega chairs. (The only ones to not have Omegas are the newer high speed six packs, which have LPA chairs)
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And there’s the fact that Peak 9 doesn’t really need additional uphill capacity on the main face, as the two high speed quads (Beaver Run and Mercury) combined offer 5,600 pph capacity. And between those two, the Beaver Run SuperChair is primarily the one you use for longer runs and for if you’re starting out at Peak 9 base area / coming to Peak 9 via the Sawmill catwalk, while the Mercury SuperChair is the one you use for lapping the upper trails. So it evens out.
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Out of curiosity, what broke most often on the chairs? Grips?
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No. It wasn’t any one thing, just worn-out parts. Nothing ‘broke’ in that sense.
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This lift needs to be replaced, and soon. I was wondering if a 6/8 chondola with a capacity of 3,400/hour would be a good replacement for the lift. There would be cabins every 8 chairs instead of every 4-5 chairs. The cabins would be used for guests who want to ride up in the comfort of a gondola or for the beginner ski school. I have seen very long lines on this lift and Mercury. This may also reduce traffic on Quicksilver as well. If Breck wanted to, they could use the chondola in the summer for biking or scenic rides over on Peak 9. Let me know your thoughts.
LikeLike
True, this is the primary lift from which to access Bonanza, which is Peak 9’s designated intermediate learning trail. But adding any more uphill capacity would clog Bonanza more. And the foot traffic that uses the lift is primarily employees who work at the Overlook restaurant. I would like them to upgrade Lift C to a high speed quad first, as I think that would disperse some traffic away from the Mercury and Beaver Run SuperChairs, especially for those lapping the trails north of American. There was actually a master plan a few years back that had a Lift C replacement on the proposals.
As for using an upgraded Beaver Run SuperChair for scenic rides/bike hauls, well, I don’t know if Breck would be up for doing a secondary summer operation that’s away from the main one at Peak 8 base.
LikeLike
Upgrading the Beaver Run SuperChair to anything with a wider line gauge than a quad would also have the additional hurdle of “would the chairs still fit through the point where they cross under the Peak 8 SuperConnect”? Because from what I’ve seen, six pack chairs would come pretty close to tower 2 on the SuperConnect, possibly necessitating that the SuperConnect’s towers there be moved, requiring more work.
Right now, I don’t think any of Breck’s master plans have called for this lift to be touched for now. Although maybe things will change after 2021, if the Peak 7 infill high speed quad gets built.
LikeLike
Coming back on this, I do have to wonder what the lift would have to be renamed if it became a chondola. Would they stick to just calling it the Beaver Run SuperChair or would they rename it as the Beaver Run SuperChondola?
There are also the logistics of how to configure the gondola and chair mazes at the base. The American Eagle lift has this down nicely as people who want to ride the chairs are directed to one side of the lift and those going to the gondola cabins are directed to the other side. It can do this because there’s plenty of space on both sides at the bottom for this. With the Beaver Run SuperChair, configuring a chondola to run counterclockwise would mean gondola traffic would have to cross the paths of those getting in line of the chairs. Running it clockwise would make more sense, with gondolas loading and unloading on the north side at both terminals, but that might necessitate having to modify the bus stop to add a gondola maze, with the gondola maze being for those arriving at Beaver Run by bus as well as foot traffic, while those coming in from on the mountain would use the chairs.
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Having a Chondola seems like a interesting idea for Peak 9, but having a cabin on every 8 chairs seems a lot of time for waiting for the gondola. Plus Chondolas are very rare in the U.S. (not really)
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The only foot traffic on such a chondola would be for the Overlook restaurant. Honestly, if any lift were to become a chondola, I would rather they do a chondola conversion of Quicksilver Super6, where that lift already being a double loading lift would work nicely in its favor, coupled with it directly dropping people off at Ten Mile Station (compared to the Beaver Run SuperChair, which drops you off on the opposite side of a meadow from the Overlook Restaurant). They’d just need to readjust the contours a bit to send all chairs through the first loading area while sending all cabins to the second loading area, and also perform an extension of the upper terminal.
Also, turning the Beaver Run SuperChair into a chondola might necessitate making modifications to the Peak 8 SuperConnect where that lift crosses over this one.
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Donald, you know you have to walk like 100 yds from the top of beaver run to the overlook right? Just sayin
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The lift when it had Competition chairs:
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These pictures show the temporary fix that extended the Competition Chairs lifespan. If you look at the bottom of the chair, you’ll notice a cable that was run through the entire bail and secured to the horizontal seat frame to prevent a loaded chair from coming apart in the air. There have been occurrences of the bolts that connect the seat frame to the bail, failing during loading. It happened once that I know of on the Beaver Run driving the replacement of the chairs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s telling there’s currently only one high speed quad in Colorado still using Competition chairs, and that’s the Silver Queen Express. American Eagle and the Zephyr Express were upgraded, and the Beaver Run SuperChair got new chairs.
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The current paint scheme on the drive terminal as of 2017:
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Wow, looks beautiful. Competition terminals remain my favourite Poma and LPA terminals to this day. They have a very similar side profile to Doppelmayr Unig-Gs, with the large seemless windows, and angled lower trim.
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The lower terminal of the Beaver Run chair got a repaint over the summer 2023 (along with the hideous dated looking Beaver Run Resort).
The red / orange / copper colors scheme has been replaced with grayscale and black colors.
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Video of the lift with the repainted terminals.
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