Unlike most cabriolets which are connector lifts, this one at Mountain Creek services many of the mountain’s main ski runs.Large bottom terminal.View up the lift line.This lift no longer has as many carriers as it once did.Tower 1 is right next to the bottom station.Side view of the return station.Loading area.Lower half of the lift line.Upper line.The drive terminal with a second small maintenance rail.Breakover towers 14 and 15.The top terminal as quite far off the ground at its end.Drive station.Lift overview.Tower 6.View riding up the line at tower 7.T8.Double combo assemblies on tower 11.View arriving at the top.Turnaround area at the top terminal.View from the summit.T12.Lower part of the lift line.Tower 2.View arriving at the base station.Doppelmayr Worldbook entry.Doppelmayr Worldbook entry.
Any idea who the cabin maker is? CWA? Gangloff? These same cabins also make an appearance on the Garaventa CTEC cabriolet at Park City Canyons Village.
It’s Gangloff. For whatever reason there are no logos to be seen anywhere in the cabins. Panorama also has the same cabins and so does Tremblant although its the older version. Intrawest loved their cabriolets and Les Otten copied them at The Canyons. Winter Park and Blue Mountain also have cabriolets but the newer version and I’m not sure if that’s still Gangloff.
I know for sure that the Winter Park ones are Gangloff. Since Blue Mountain has the same cabins, those are also Gangloff.
Hopefully the newer version has better rust protection, the ones at The Canyons are starting to get a little rusty, though that probably has more to do with ASC running out of money to take care of things properly.
The cabriolet lift was the Intrawest signature piece of equipment. It was cheaper to install and lower maintenance than a gondola, but still allows the resort to claim they have a gondola. They installed several. This lift, Tremblant, Winter Park, and Panorama all have cabriolets. Blue Mountain operates their Silver Bullet 6 pack as a cabriolet in the summer. I saw the master plan a while back and interestingly the map lists this as a 6 pack, so that was originally planned but they went with this instead.
That’s not true, though it is one benefit of the cab. The bike park was added in 2006, 8 years after this lift was built. On the Wikipedia page it says that they had plans for a mountaintop golf course with hotels and condos, but that was cancelled due to environmental concerns.
It was chosen because it holds mountain bikes so easily. The front goes right over the side. Can hold 2 bikes and 2 people in one car easily. Its a good choice for mountain bike hauling which these do alot of. Very popular bike park in the summer
The fuck it does. The first time used it it was not clear you should wait to put your wheel over and the next cab put a small gash in my fork. It’s the worst ski lift I have ever used.
I believe the lift still has closer to the full number of carriers it was designed for in the winter. In the summer, they use less carriers and I think they already switched it over to summer mode when these pictures were taken.
If it’s anything like Tremblant’s gondola, there are 4 spacing levels called A, B, C, and D. I believe A is 64 carriers or 100% capacity, B is 58 or 90% (which they use in the winter), C is 51 or 80% (which they use in the summer), and D is 38 or 60%. Some cabins were damaged in a wind related accident, and others have been parted out since that design is no longer in production.
To achieve the same capacity, they would need to convert it to a 6 pack which can’t be done because the towers and terminals are quad gauge. A cabriolet works well for summer operations for sightseeing and the bike park. Personally, I think they should replace the Vernon Triple with a high speed quad, reopen the Opossum and Route 80 trails, and run that as the main lift for winter. The Cabriolet would then be the backup in winter and also run in the summer like it does now.
Is there a timeframe on this? I know it was mentioned on a podcast a few years back. It seems like there would be a big bottleneck getting to the base of vernon if it was to serve as the main lift, even with those older trails coming back online.
Is there a timeframe for this? I know it was talked about a few years back on a podcast. It seems there would be a bit of a bottleneck at the bottom of vernon if that was to be the main lift.
WOW, that is a rare shot indeed – early 1998 I am guessing due to the presence of both the Avalanche ride track, to the right of the Cabriolet, and the Alpine Slide going below, which was closed after the 1998 summer, on top of the old Vernon Valley Lodge having not burned down yet.
OK, it has to be following the 1998 summer season – maybe end of 1998 or beginning of 1999, as I JUST noticed that they started tearing up the Alpine Slide tracks.
Lift Blog 
Any idea who the cabin maker is? CWA? Gangloff? These same cabins also make an appearance on the Garaventa CTEC cabriolet at Park City Canyons Village.
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It’s Gangloff. For whatever reason there are no logos to be seen anywhere in the cabins. Panorama also has the same cabins and so does Tremblant although its the older version. Intrawest loved their cabriolets and Les Otten copied them at The Canyons. Winter Park and Blue Mountain also have cabriolets but the newer version and I’m not sure if that’s still Gangloff.
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I know for sure that the Winter Park ones are Gangloff. Since Blue Mountain has the same cabins, those are also Gangloff.
Hopefully the newer version has better rust protection, the ones at The Canyons are starting to get a little rusty, though that probably has more to do with ASC running out of money to take care of things properly.
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Why didn’t mtn creek go with a traditional gondola?
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The cabriolet lift was the Intrawest signature piece of equipment. It was cheaper to install and lower maintenance than a gondola, but still allows the resort to claim they have a gondola. They installed several. This lift, Tremblant, Winter Park, and Panorama all have cabriolets. Blue Mountain operates their Silver Bullet 6 pack as a cabriolet in the summer. I saw the master plan a while back and interestingly the map lists this as a 6 pack, so that was originally planned but they went with this instead.
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I would love to see their master plan.
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The Cab was added when the decision was made to open a mountain bike park, since it could be operated year round without specialized carriers.
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That’s not true, though it is one benefit of the cab. The bike park was added in 2006, 8 years after this lift was built. On the Wikipedia page it says that they had plans for a mountaintop golf course with hotels and condos, but that was cancelled due to environmental concerns.
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It was chosen because it holds mountain bikes so easily. The front goes right over the side. Can hold 2 bikes and 2 people in one car easily. Its a good choice for mountain bike hauling which these do alot of. Very popular bike park in the summer
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The fuck it does. The first time used it it was not clear you should wait to put your wheel over and the next cab put a small gash in my fork. It’s the worst ski lift I have ever used.
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I believe the lift still has closer to the full number of carriers it was designed for in the winter. In the summer, they use less carriers and I think they already switched it over to summer mode when these pictures were taken.
If it’s anything like Tremblant’s gondola, there are 4 spacing levels called A, B, C, and D. I believe A is 64 carriers or 100% capacity, B is 58 or 90% (which they use in the winter), C is 51 or 80% (which they use in the summer), and D is 38 or 60%. Some cabins were damaged in a wind related accident, and others have been parted out since that design is no longer in production.
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It seems more logical to convert this to a HSQ than having to deal with the hassle of removing equipment every run if you are a skier or snowboarder.
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To achieve the same capacity, they would need to convert it to a 6 pack which can’t be done because the towers and terminals are quad gauge. A cabriolet works well for summer operations for sightseeing and the bike park. Personally, I think they should replace the Vernon Triple with a high speed quad, reopen the Opossum and Route 80 trails, and run that as the main lift for winter. The Cabriolet would then be the backup in winter and also run in the summer like it does now.
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They are actually planning to replace Vernon with a high speed six, and it will become the main winter lift.
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Is there a timeframe on this? I know it was mentioned on a podcast a few years back. It seems like there would be a big bottleneck getting to the base of vernon if it was to serve as the main lift, even with those older trails coming back online.
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Is there a timeframe for this? I know it was talked about a few years back on a podcast. It seems there would be a bit of a bottleneck at the bottom of vernon if that was to be the main lift.
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WOW, that is a rare shot indeed – early 1998 I am guessing due to the presence of both the Avalanche ride track, to the right of the Cabriolet, and the Alpine Slide going below, which was closed after the 1998 summer, on top of the old Vernon Valley Lodge having not burned down yet.
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OK, it has to be following the 1998 summer season – maybe end of 1998 or beginning of 1999, as I JUST noticed that they started tearing up the Alpine Slide tracks.
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Worldbook entry states it was designed for a future mid station. Was or is there a plan to add a mid station? Doesn’t seem to make sense to me .
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Tower 8 was definitely designed for a mid station.
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It does say in the world book entry that this was designed for a midstation.
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Where are towers 9 and 10 ? They don’t seem to exist.
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They were probably meant to be added as part of a midstation project, which obviously never happened.
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Do any manufacturers still make cabriolets?
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Yes. If you ask for one…
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