View up the line from the base terminal.CTEC tri-leg tension terminal.Bottom loading area.Another view of the base.Top station.CTEC motor room and bullwheel.
Is there multiple ways to access this lift or must you come down from the main mountain slopes. Its going to be my first time in Vail and wanted to know how i should be planning on skiing the mountain. I’m staying near by in West Vail and I’m thinking it could be possible to walk/ski from lodging to this lift to start my days off.. Thanks and keep the snow fall coming!
Its all uphill and over a mile from the West Vail traffic circles to Cascade Village. There is a shuttle that runs along the South Frontage Road and drops off at Cascade Village and continues into Lionshead. From the top of the lift you can ski down to Lionshead Gondola or traverse over to Pride Express to access Eagle’s Nest. From there you should look at a Trail Map to figure out where you want to go.
Vail’s master plan has them replacing Cascade Village with a detachable quad. I think it would be better suited as a gondola, as the lift has a decent amount of downloading and a gondola would help Cascade Village improve as a skier portal to alleviate Lionshead.
Would make a great gondola, but if they were to do this, they would probably have to develop or be in the process of heavily developing cascade village. Me personally, would hate this, as it would give away this little hidden gem to get up Vail! However, in financial terms, would be good for the mountain, as a new village development would bring more people to Vail as well as more businesses to Vail, so I wouldn’t know why they wouldn’t just put a Gondola out of Cascade. It doesn’t even have to be big either, they could possibly just make it a 6 or even a 4 pers. gondola, I just think a village is simply better served by a Gondola then a chair.
I think this replacement is a long ways out. Like other here have mentioned, a replacement would likely coincide with a redevelopment of Cascade Village of some kind, which requires years of regulatory approvals. I would also not be surprised if the owners of the base area development have to contribute financially (at least partially) for the lift replacement. They might even already be paying VR for maintenance on the existing machine currently.
A gondola would be well suited here, since it is not a lift for return skiers and requires downloading, but I bet Chair 20 remains for a while. Could be a lower capacity lift, with short terminals to fit in a relatively small footprint at both stations, which would be especially important at the bottom. My guess is that Chairs 3, 6, 21, and the Lionshead pod (whatever the 8/19/26 replacement lifts might look like) are bigger priorities.
Lift Blog 
Is there multiple ways to access this lift or must you come down from the main mountain slopes. Its going to be my first time in Vail and wanted to know how i should be planning on skiing the mountain. I’m staying near by in West Vail and I’m thinking it could be possible to walk/ski from lodging to this lift to start my days off.. Thanks and keep the snow fall coming!
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Its all uphill and over a mile from the West Vail traffic circles to Cascade Village. There is a shuttle that runs along the South Frontage Road and drops off at Cascade Village and continues into Lionshead. From the top of the lift you can ski down to Lionshead Gondola or traverse over to Pride Express to access Eagle’s Nest. From there you should look at a Trail Map to figure out where you want to go.
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There are map displays on the Pride Express lift.
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When will vail replace this lift?
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Not for a long time, unless Vail decides to further develop Cascade Village as an alternative to Lionshead.
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Is there a ski valet service at cascade?
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There is nowhere to store anything unless you are a hotel guest, and they are not nice about it. We walked in and literally got thrown out.
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Vail’s master plan has them replacing Cascade Village with a detachable quad. I think it would be better suited as a gondola, as the lift has a decent amount of downloading and a gondola would help Cascade Village improve as a skier portal to alleviate Lionshead.
LikeLike
Would make a great gondola, but if they were to do this, they would probably have to develop or be in the process of heavily developing cascade village. Me personally, would hate this, as it would give away this little hidden gem to get up Vail! However, in financial terms, would be good for the mountain, as a new village development would bring more people to Vail as well as more businesses to Vail, so I wouldn’t know why they wouldn’t just put a Gondola out of Cascade. It doesn’t even have to be big either, they could possibly just make it a 6 or even a 4 pers. gondola, I just think a village is simply better served by a Gondola then a chair.
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I think this replacement is a long ways out. Like other here have mentioned, a replacement would likely coincide with a redevelopment of Cascade Village of some kind, which requires years of regulatory approvals. I would also not be surprised if the owners of the base area development have to contribute financially (at least partially) for the lift replacement. They might even already be paying VR for maintenance on the existing machine currently.
A gondola would be well suited here, since it is not a lift for return skiers and requires downloading, but I bet Chair 20 remains for a while. Could be a lower capacity lift, with short terminals to fit in a relatively small footprint at both stations, which would be especially important at the bottom. My guess is that Chairs 3, 6, 21, and the Lionshead pod (whatever the 8/19/26 replacement lifts might look like) are bigger priorities.
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