Lift Construction

Snow King Transformation

Peter Landsman1 Comment

Little Snow King Mountain in downtown Jackson, Wyoming is in the midst of an $8 million transformation.  They are simultaneously building a new Doppelmayr quad, Wiegand alpine coaster, zip-line adventure course and brand new base lodge.  The lift is nearly complete and expected to open shortly along with Snow King’s famous alpine slide.  The goal was June 15th but I think it will probably be a week or so later.  The alpine coaster is well on its way and planned to open in August.  With a $4 million base-to-summit TechnoAlpin snowmaking system installed last summer, the future is looking good for this community ski area.  The only thing they need now is a detachable summit lift and restaurant overlooking the Town of Jackson with the Tetons in the background.  Willamette Pass’ six pack with gondola conversion would be perfect.

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Parts Arriving in Jackson Hole

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The crew from Doppelmayr is just about finished at Snow King and they are moving down the road to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to build the new Teton detachable quad.  Most of the return terminal parts are now on site along with the haul rope.  I was surprised to see the rope was manufactured in France by a company called ArcelorMittal.  Apparently it’s the largest steel company in the world and they supplied the rope for Vail’s Gondola One.

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Snow King Rafferty Construction

Peter Landsman2 Comments
Dopperlmayr's new
Dopperlmayr’s new Alpen Star terminal.

I got to check out the Rafferty lift construction at Snow King Mountain this weekend.  This project is on track to be Doppelmayr USA’s fastest lift installation ever. Snow King actually sells more alpine slide rides in the summer than they do ski tickets in the winter so the lift needed to be completed quickly in between seasons.  Construction began in April and will be done by June 15th.  Snow King is also building a Wiegand Alpine Coaster that will open in August.

New and old Rafferty lift lines.
New and old Rafferty lift lines.

The old Rafferty was a Hall double installed in 1978.  It will find new life at the Bearizona Wildlife Park in Williams, Arizona.  The new Rafferty quad goes 400 vertical feet higher than the old one but the load- and mid-stations are pretty much in the same spots.  The bottom drive-tension terminal is a brand new design from Doppelmayr called the Alpen Star.  It is a single-mast terminal that looks a lot like SkyTrac’s Monarch design to me.  Check out more pictures below of this $8 million project.

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