Chair 6 – Dodge Ridge, CA

This lift was put together with a mix of parts from the previous double, a Yan/Riblet double from Sun Valley and custom new parts.
The bottom terminal and tower 1.
The old lift started higher up and had center pole chairs.
The Yan/Doppelmayr drive terminal came from Sun Valley.
Upper terminal overview.
Motor room and operator house.
Towers were reused from the previous lift with new lifting frames added.
The old lift ended in a similar location but had a vault drive.
New E-Max controls.
View down the line.
Lower part of the line.
Bail chair from Sun Valley.
Upper part of the lift line.
The first few towers.
Side view of the bottom terminal, which features a Skytrac tension system.
Overall this lift features components from Yan, Riblet, Skytrac and Doppelmayr.
Side view of the bottom terminal.

16 thoughts on “Chair 6 – Dodge Ridge, CA

  1. skier72 November 14, 2020 / 7:07 pm

    Replacing an old Riblet with another old Yan/Riblet/Doppelmayr. Interesting.

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    • julestheshiba December 29, 2020 / 9:09 pm

      It might be more compact and parts are more readily available.

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  2. Ben Eminger November 15, 2020 / 7:36 pm

    I believe this is what’s left of Cold Springs and Sunnyside from Sun Valley

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    • Curt Martin December 27, 2020 / 4:27 pm

      Only Cold Springs lift parts

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  3. Sam Altavilla November 30, 2020 / 2:29 pm

    Does anyone know the reasoning behind making the fast switch key-operated here?

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    • pbropetech December 30, 2020 / 10:19 am

      Makes it more difficult to inadvertently hit a fast when the other terminal wants the lift to stay slow. Same reasoning as the start key.

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  4. Vintage Chairlift January 16, 2021 / 5:33 pm

    The only place I’ve seen those lifting frames is on Chair 4 at White Pass. Weird to see brand new ones on this lift.

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  5. Vintage Chairlifts January 23, 2021 / 4:26 pm

    So i know that Superior Tramways still sells Riblet parts, but I’m surprised that they haven’t tried to get in on the small ski area lift replacement market. Do they have rights issues fabricating full chairlifts?

    Because this new bottom terminal and those lifting frames are definitely Riblet designs, and I’m assuming SkyTrac fabricated them?

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    • pbropetech July 29, 2021 / 9:49 am

      Superior only seems to fabricate less bulky parts these days- sheaves, clips, assemblies, and so forth. They also produce Heron parts (we have to go through them for our Pitchfork lift and it takes a bit) They may not have a facility large enough to build entire lifts.
      The lifting frames are custom- Riblet never made any like that. Any that you’ve seen like this have been added by the ski area or a contractor. Also, that’s an original Riblet return, Skytrac just added the tensioning.

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      • Kirk July 29, 2021 / 12:52 pm

        The rear column, tension system components and lifting frames were fabricated and installed by the ski area. Tension system electrical and cylinder were supplied by Skytrac.

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        • pbropetech August 2, 2021 / 9:43 am

          Copy. I bet it was easier to design a new rear mast than to modify the old one.

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  6. Ryan Gardner August 16, 2021 / 9:41 pm

    What a great looking lift.

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  7. Cascade Concrete December 28, 2023 / 8:55 am

    This chair has been named Clementine according to their most recent trail map

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  8. Jon Rickard February 11, 2024 / 1:32 pm

    Per an interview with Tim Cohee on The Storm Skiing Podcast this lift will be upgraded to a quad using parts from lift 4 at Taos.

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    • Kirk February 11, 2024 / 4:10 pm

      Not this year

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