View from above of the upper section.Top station and lift line.Unique Riblet monopod drive terminal.Tower 14.Looking up at the motor room.Yan bottom station.Lift line view.
Originally Boulder and North Bowl were one lift with a mid station at present day base of North Bowl, the base station used to be in the building that now houses the kids ski school and lift operations office. In 1988 the lift was split with the lower portion realigned to it’s present location.. A Yan return station was constructed further up the hill. The original lift (a double chair) was called “Boulder”, after the split the upper portion was given the name of North Bowl.
I remember riding the original Boulder double with the mid station loading/unloading station in the early-mid 80’s. It was miserable, even in an era when all chairs were fixed grip. The beginner traffic getting on and off the lower section often caused multiple stoppages. Without stops, it was easily a 20-minute ride, meaning it was usually closer to 25, sometimes approaching 30, all for only about 1600′ of vertical.
Been riding the new North Bowl Express quite a bit this season, getting about 1300′ for a 4-minute ride. Folks who grew up skiing or riding since the advent of high-speed lifts need to get on a long, fixed grip chair every once in a while, (like, say Galaxy) in order to appreciate how much less time we spend on lifts these days. In the 70’s and 80’s you could be on the hill from opening to closing and sometimes get in only 8 or 10 runs. Skied Heavenly yesterday (a Thursday), and managed 20 runs, well over 20K of vertical, and was back in the parking lot at 12:45.
Is this boulder being replaced along with Northbowl? In reading the press release vail talked about reducing the ride time out of Boulder lodge so I was thinking it may revert back to a single lift with a midstation at the current Northbowl bottom station?
Lift Blog 
When did it get a Yan bottom station?
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Originally Boulder and North Bowl were one lift with a mid station at present day base of North Bowl, the base station used to be in the building that now houses the kids ski school and lift operations office. In 1988 the lift was split with the lower portion realigned to it’s present location.. A Yan return station was constructed further up the hill. The original lift (a double chair) was called “Boulder”, after the split the upper portion was given the name of North Bowl.
Sorry, that’s more than you asked for!
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I remember riding the original Boulder double with the mid station loading/unloading station in the early-mid 80’s. It was miserable, even in an era when all chairs were fixed grip. The beginner traffic getting on and off the lower section often caused multiple stoppages. Without stops, it was easily a 20-minute ride, meaning it was usually closer to 25, sometimes approaching 30, all for only about 1600′ of vertical.
Been riding the new North Bowl Express quite a bit this season, getting about 1300′ for a 4-minute ride. Folks who grew up skiing or riding since the advent of high-speed lifts need to get on a long, fixed grip chair every once in a while, (like, say Galaxy) in order to appreciate how much less time we spend on lifts these days. In the 70’s and 80’s you could be on the hill from opening to closing and sometimes get in only 8 or 10 runs. Skied Heavenly yesterday (a Thursday), and managed 20 runs, well over 20K of vertical, and was back in the parking lot at 12:45.
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Is this boulder being replaced along with Northbowl? In reading the press release vail talked about reducing the ride time out of Boulder lodge so I was thinking it may revert back to a single lift with a midstation at the current Northbowl bottom station?
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I asked this question on Heavenly’s Instagram but no response yet.
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Boulder chair will remain as is for the foreseeable future. Vail taking the low road once again.
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Is this lift equipment for sale or is it going to be for sale
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