I made some adjustments but found it almost impossible to reconstruct the Boreal lift history with the information I have. At various points, lifts had letters, numbers and names. The numbers were in geographic order rather than construction order. It’s clear both the Riblet and Yan installation records I have are not complete.
New England Chairlifts & SkiingApril 16, 2022 / 9:05 am
Looking at trail maps from the mid to late 2000s, it appears Gold Rush was shortened in 2005 and renamed Discovery, and was removed in 2008 when Castle Peak was built.
Based on some trail maps, I have some new information. It looks like Mineshaft was removed in 1992 and replaced with 49er. Gold Rush was shortened and renamed to Discovery around 2005 and then it was removed in 2008.
I have attempted to piece together the complicated lift history of Boreal with the limited information out there.
According to a trail map from 1970, there appears to be four “chairlifts” and three T-bars of different lengths. The three T-bars (I’m not sure if they ever had names) seem to match up well with the Buhler T-bars on the spreadsheet. This is consistent with photos I have been able to find from the Charles F. Dwyer photo collection. With regards to the four chairlifts listed (B, C, D and E), one of them is likely not documented. The spreadsheet only lists three Riblet installations before 1970, which means there is a fourth chairlift that is probably not documented. Since Boreal was founded in 1965, if it was a new installation it should show up in Skilifts.org’s installation surveys. I will take a guess that one of Boreal’s original lifts from the 1960s was a relocation from elsewhere
Comparing relative lengths, it seems plausible that Lift B was the 1970 Riblet double due to its significantly shorter length. It also seems likely that the 1965 Riblet was Lift C since it would have been the longest alignment on the mountain. I’d take a guess that lift E was the 1966 Riblet, as its alignment is measured to be about the same from google earth imagery. I have no other confirmation but it seems accurate that Lift D is either not accounted for in lift installation surveys or was a relocation from elsewhere.
The next trail map I have of Boreal is from 1981 when all the lifts were referred to as numbers. Per geographic location, I think it is safe to assume that B was renamed to Chair 3, C was renamed to Chair 4, D renamed to Chair 5, and E renamed to Chair 6. Chairs 1 and 2 are likely the two Riblets from 1973. The length of the shorter Riblet appears to be Chair 2 and the longer appears to be Chair 1. Comments have confirmed that the existing Dutchman lift and that is likely Chair 8 on the trail map due to its location. The lifts 2 ¼ and 2 ½ are likely Nugget and Gunnars, respectively, which appears to have been documented correctly.
Fast forward to 1987, most of Boreal appears to be relatively unchanged. However, it still doesn’t solve where Cedar Ridge may have come from, or what lift from Boreal became Donner Ski Ranch’s Chair 5. Taking a guess from the height adjustable terminals and chair design on Cedar Ridge, I’ll take a guess that it is the old Lift 3 at Soda Springs. Seems plausible considering that Boreal typically preferred top drive lifts along with the terminals of Cedar Ridge looking very similar to that of their current triple. Cedar Ridge would have replaced Chair 1 in 1987, which was likely the lift from Boreal that ended up at Donner Ski Ranch in the mid 1980s. My guess would be that Chair 1 at Boreal became Chair 5 at Donner Ski Ranch.
The next major changes at Boreal appear to have happened in 1992 when Chairs 4 and 5 were replaced with Accelerator. Per Google Earth Imagery, I would imagine that Chair 4 was relocated to Donner Ski Ranch and became Chair 6. This was also when all the lifts received names. It appears that Chair 2 was renamed to Goldrush, Chair 3 renamed to Claim Jumper, and Chair 6 renamed to Mineshaft. At some time in the late 1990s, Chair 6 was replaced with 49er, which has been confirmed to be the old Crescent Quad from Park City according to the spreadsheet. All the Type 6 line gear look to have been replaced while the lift itself was downgraded to a triple similar to Chair 26 at Mammoth. At some point in the early 2000s, Goldrush was shortened and renamed to Discovery.
While a lot of information here is hard to verify, I hope this helps narrow down the complicated lift history of Boreal.
Lift Blog 
What about the Mineshaft double and Chair 5 (https://skimap.org/data/523/1/1359348835.pdf / https://skimap.org/data/523/2200/1444605806.jpeg)? Could it be that 49er was a new installation in 1991 or 1992? And that the Dutchman has always been a triple? Also it loks like Chair 4 is the ancestor of the Accelator and not Chair 1 (https://skimap.org/data/523/2200/1444605806.jpeg).
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I made some adjustments but found it almost impossible to reconstruct the Boreal lift history with the information I have. At various points, lifts had letters, numbers and names. The numbers were in geographic order rather than construction order. It’s clear both the Riblet and Yan installation records I have are not complete.
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Looking at trail maps from the mid to late 2000s, it appears Gold Rush was shortened in 2005 and renamed Discovery, and was removed in 2008 when Castle Peak was built.
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Based on some trail maps, I have some new information. It looks like Mineshaft was removed in 1992 and replaced with 49er. Gold Rush was shortened and renamed to Discovery around 2005 and then it was removed in 2008.
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From the base area of Boreal, you can see what appear to be old Riblet towers. From google street view:
From Skilifts.org:
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I have attempted to piece together the complicated lift history of Boreal with the limited information out there.
According to a trail map from 1970, there appears to be four “chairlifts” and three T-bars of different lengths. The three T-bars (I’m not sure if they ever had names) seem to match up well with the Buhler T-bars on the spreadsheet. This is consistent with photos I have been able to find from the Charles F. Dwyer photo collection. With regards to the four chairlifts listed (B, C, D and E), one of them is likely not documented. The spreadsheet only lists three Riblet installations before 1970, which means there is a fourth chairlift that is probably not documented. Since Boreal was founded in 1965, if it was a new installation it should show up in Skilifts.org’s installation surveys. I will take a guess that one of Boreal’s original lifts from the 1960s was a relocation from elsewhere
Comparing relative lengths, it seems plausible that Lift B was the 1970 Riblet double due to its significantly shorter length. It also seems likely that the 1965 Riblet was Lift C since it would have been the longest alignment on the mountain. I’d take a guess that lift E was the 1966 Riblet, as its alignment is measured to be about the same from google earth imagery. I have no other confirmation but it seems accurate that Lift D is either not accounted for in lift installation surveys or was a relocation from elsewhere.
The next trail map I have of Boreal is from 1981 when all the lifts were referred to as numbers. Per geographic location, I think it is safe to assume that B was renamed to Chair 3, C was renamed to Chair 4, D renamed to Chair 5, and E renamed to Chair 6. Chairs 1 and 2 are likely the two Riblets from 1973. The length of the shorter Riblet appears to be Chair 2 and the longer appears to be Chair 1. Comments have confirmed that the existing Dutchman lift and that is likely Chair 8 on the trail map due to its location. The lifts 2 ¼ and 2 ½ are likely Nugget and Gunnars, respectively, which appears to have been documented correctly.
Fast forward to 1987, most of Boreal appears to be relatively unchanged. However, it still doesn’t solve where Cedar Ridge may have come from, or what lift from Boreal became Donner Ski Ranch’s Chair 5. Taking a guess from the height adjustable terminals and chair design on Cedar Ridge, I’ll take a guess that it is the old Lift 3 at Soda Springs. Seems plausible considering that Boreal typically preferred top drive lifts along with the terminals of Cedar Ridge looking very similar to that of their current triple. Cedar Ridge would have replaced Chair 1 in 1987, which was likely the lift from Boreal that ended up at Donner Ski Ranch in the mid 1980s. My guess would be that Chair 1 at Boreal became Chair 5 at Donner Ski Ranch.
The next major changes at Boreal appear to have happened in 1992 when Chairs 4 and 5 were replaced with Accelerator. Per Google Earth Imagery, I would imagine that Chair 4 was relocated to Donner Ski Ranch and became Chair 6. This was also when all the lifts received names. It appears that Chair 2 was renamed to Goldrush, Chair 3 renamed to Claim Jumper, and Chair 6 renamed to Mineshaft. At some time in the late 1990s, Chair 6 was replaced with 49er, which has been confirmed to be the old Crescent Quad from Park City according to the spreadsheet. All the Type 6 line gear look to have been replaced while the lift itself was downgraded to a triple similar to Chair 26 at Mammoth. At some point in the early 2000s, Goldrush was shortened and renamed to Discovery.
While a lot of information here is hard to verify, I hope this helps narrow down the complicated lift history of Boreal.
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