This lift provides access in both directions from the highway to the main lodge mid-mountain.Bottom terminal with drive and counterweight.This lift replaced a single chair in 1975.Bottom station overview.Tower 14 looking down.Fixed top bullwheel.Unloading area.Chair 1 spins Saturdays and Sundays in winter and summer.Lift line view.
It’s dependent on the mountain and on local law. Vail Resorts puts bars on all of their lifts, regardless of law. Many New England states require bars by law.
While it’s hard to see if there is a pattern for the bars in the photos, they do offer summer chairlift rides so that could be why bars are installed on some carriers.
I’m not totally sure what the rules are in California, but I know that the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board requires restraint bars on lifts that operate primarily for foot passengers.
When I last rode this chair lift in the mid 1990’s it felt ancient. I can’t imagine it today. I recall the face of the run under the chair being quite steep.
VERY steep and mogul-y. Many novice skiers ride that chair back down. I haven’t been there since the early-70s when it was a single chair, but I liked Waterman as I lived only 45 min away at the time.
This lift’s chairs remind me of the ones from the old Red chair at Red River. It was built in 1975 with this lift. However, Red was a top drive. The town of Red River has a ton of chairs from it around various stores and restaurants. One of them is in my friend’s backyard
Lift Blog 
Why do some chairs have safety bars while others don’t?
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It’s dependent on the mountain and on local law. Vail Resorts puts bars on all of their lifts, regardless of law. Many New England states require bars by law.
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I think he’s asking why some of the carriers on this lift have the bars and some of the other ones do not.
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Given that these photos were taken in the summer, perhaps some were removed for repairs.
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I think it might be for those that insist on having a safety bar to have the option of one. I don’t know for sure though.
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While it’s hard to see if there is a pattern for the bars in the photos, they do offer summer chairlift rides so that could be why bars are installed on some carriers.
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I’m not totally sure what the rules are in California, but I know that the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board requires restraint bars on lifts that operate primarily for foot passengers.
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All three chairs at Mt. Waterman are diesel powered with gasoline back-up engines as there is no electrical utility service to the remote mountain.
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why do the chairs have saftety bars but the others dont
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When I last rode this chair lift in the mid 1990’s it felt ancient. I can’t imagine it today. I recall the face of the run under the chair being quite steep.
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VERY steep and mogul-y. Many novice skiers ride that chair back down. I haven’t been there since the early-70s when it was a single chair, but I liked Waterman as I lived only 45 min away at the time.
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I assume that for that one removed lift, homemade means it was made by the resort, but could someone verify that for me? Thank you!
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I had the pleasure of riding that lift many times today. It services some really steep and fun terrain!
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Not sure if it was intentional but the sun peaking through the return terminal in the 6th picture is really cool
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This lift’s chairs remind me of the ones from the old Red chair at Red River. It was built in 1975 with this lift. However, Red was a top drive. The town of Red River has a ton of chairs from it around various stores and restaurants. One of them is in my friend’s backyard
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When I went skiing here in 2024 some chairs still had safety bars and some didn’t.
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That’s pretty normal for a place as small as this. The older lifts typically don’t have safety bars, but the newer ones do.
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Looks like a recent rockslide significantly damaged the bottom of this lift. Doesn’t look too good for the future of Waterman.
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