This was the first complete Skytrac lift built at Pine Knob.The top terminal is next to two other similar terminals on modified Riblet lifts.Top tower integrated into the station.View down the short lift line.Middle part of the line.Monarch drive station.View up from the bottom terminal.Lift overview.Loading area and operator house.Another look down the line.
I have ridden on the predecessor lift, but never on a Skytrac. These carriers don’t look safe to me without safety bars. What does one hold onto while riding the lift?
Yeah, the only time they get any use here in Michigan is when there’s a 8 year old kid riding up. And there are a lot of other places where the lifts don’t have them, like nubs nob and boyne highlands
I use the safety bar everytime. Those of us with a fear of heights feel a slight more comfortable riding lifts with one. This lift might give me anxiety because there’s no bar or rail to hang onto.
I don’t think I could ride this lift. I can do ok on a center-pole double, but I can’t do the outside of a centerpole quad.
I have noticed I now have a fear of heights, something that cropped-up in my late 30s. I can jump off cornices and 5-10 foot cliffs but high chairlifts freak me out. Ladders above 8-10 feet freak me out. I can do fixed grip lifts hanging on to the outside of the bail, but I don’t think I could ride this lift.
Let’s be kind to those who want safety bars…there are plenty of people who have a fear of heights. I don’t do well on chairs without safety bars that get super high.
I think part of the reason for a lack of usage in Michigan is that the lift rides are short enough that as soon as you put it down, it feels like you need to put it up again. I recently visited Mount Brighton, where Vail Resorts installed them on all chairs, and while I normally use them all the time at Western/Eastern resorts, I didn’t even bother there.
I just visited Pine Knob and rode this lift for the first time (also first SkyTrac carriers for me). I was pleasantly surprised at the safe feeling on the lift. As all of the good manufacturers have done, the chair design leans you back slightly with the seatback and chair bottom angles. The seat bottom is long enough even for tall skiers so there is no lack of stability for them. I would advise sitting on the outside for the heights-averse, as the side “handles” are bigger than they look and taller than I remember the ones on the old center-pole Riblet quads being. Also, due to the consistent pitch of the slope and relative stability of snowpack height in the Midwest, SkyTrac seemed able to design the lift without too much height off the ground at any given point. That is common across all of Pine Knob. Ride away!
Good to hear. Yes, it looks like those side bars are higher up than on centerpole Riblets. As for “fear of heights,” I think there are many of those who haven’t been on lifts when kids are pumping their legs and swinging chairs around on the line. I still think I would prefer Doppelmayrs over SkyTracs. Still wondering what kind of ride the new SkyTrac quad at Nubs will be like next year.
Lift Blog 
I have ridden on the predecessor lift, but never on a Skytrac. These carriers don’t look safe to me without safety bars. What does one hold onto while riding the lift?
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well only safety nerds use safety bars and at indianhead Michigan on all of their lifts there is not one chair with a safety bar on it
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Yeah, the only time they get any use here in Michigan is when there’s a 8 year old kid riding up. And there are a lot of other places where the lifts don’t have them, like nubs nob and boyne highlands
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I use the safety bar everytime. Those of us with a fear of heights feel a slight more comfortable riding lifts with one. This lift might give me anxiety because there’s no bar or rail to hang onto.
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I don’t think I could ride this lift. I can do ok on a center-pole double, but I can’t do the outside of a centerpole quad.
I have noticed I now have a fear of heights, something that cropped-up in my late 30s. I can jump off cornices and 5-10 foot cliffs but high chairlifts freak me out. Ladders above 8-10 feet freak me out. I can do fixed grip lifts hanging on to the outside of the bail, but I don’t think I could ride this lift.
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Let’s be kind to those who want safety bars…there are plenty of people who have a fear of heights. I don’t do well on chairs without safety bars that get super high.
I think part of the reason for a lack of usage in Michigan is that the lift rides are short enough that as soon as you put it down, it feels like you need to put it up again. I recently visited Mount Brighton, where Vail Resorts installed them on all chairs, and while I normally use them all the time at Western/Eastern resorts, I didn’t even bother there.
I just visited Pine Knob and rode this lift for the first time (also first SkyTrac carriers for me). I was pleasantly surprised at the safe feeling on the lift. As all of the good manufacturers have done, the chair design leans you back slightly with the seatback and chair bottom angles. The seat bottom is long enough even for tall skiers so there is no lack of stability for them. I would advise sitting on the outside for the heights-averse, as the side “handles” are bigger than they look and taller than I remember the ones on the old center-pole Riblet quads being. Also, due to the consistent pitch of the slope and relative stability of snowpack height in the Midwest, SkyTrac seemed able to design the lift without too much height off the ground at any given point. That is common across all of Pine Knob. Ride away!
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Good to hear. Yes, it looks like those side bars are higher up than on centerpole Riblets. As for “fear of heights,” I think there are many of those who haven’t been on lifts when kids are pumping their legs and swinging chairs around on the line. I still think I would prefer Doppelmayrs over SkyTracs. Still wondering what kind of ride the new SkyTrac quad at Nubs will be like next year.
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