Colburn – Schweitzer, ID

This lift ends in the same spot as the previous Snow Ghost double but starts in a much different location.
Top drive.
Skytrac Monarch station.
This was one of the first Skytrac-Leitner-Poma joint projects. The Cedar Park Express, left, was built alongside Colburn.
The lift is named for nearby Colburn Lake.
The upper half of the lift is extremely steep.
Middle part of the lift line.
There is a flat section in the middle of the alignment.
Two hold down towers in a row.
View up the Lakeside Chutes.
Upper half of the lift line.
Lower lift line with Stella in the background.
The first few towers.
The previous Snow Ghost lift had a mid-station near this spot.
View riding up.
Lower lift line seen from above.
Upper lift line.
The steepest part of the line.
Towers with Leitner-Poma sheaves.
The flat segment.
View up.
Towers 1 and 2.
The bottom terminal.
Lift line overview.
Galvanized tower.
Riding up.
View back down.
Nearing the summit.
The top terminal.
Side view of the drive station.
Lift line overview.
Looking straight down.
Breakover towers 18 and 19.
Top station.
Unloading area.
The alignment seen from Stella.
Another look up the line.
Loading area.
Skytrac triple chair.
Arriving at the top station.

8 thoughts on “Colburn – Schweitzer, ID

  1. BarkeeStone's avatar BarkeeStone February 28, 2020 / 5:32 pm

    Not gonna lie the SkyTrac equipment with Leitner-poma sheaves look amazing!

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Kyle W.'s avatar Kyle W. February 29, 2020 / 7:17 am

    10th photo from the bottom, guy must be a fan of the site lol

    This lift is gorgeous.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Aidan Reilly's avatar Aidan Reilly July 7, 2021 / 5:13 pm

      no

      Like

  3. Nolan's avatar Nolan July 30, 2023 / 4:09 pm

    Seems to me like this one shoulda been a detach

    Like

    • ryand1407's avatar ryand1407 July 20, 2024 / 7:40 pm

      there was a specific choice not to. It definitely wasn’t cost, as building a longwr detach at the same time as a shorter fixed grip is certainly more expensive than a ligner single lift detachable replacement, even with a mid-station.

      The reasons are mostly;

      1. Schweitzer isnt as cold as it is the perfect combo of climate factors to lead to lots of rime ice and plenty of somewhat sticky snowfall. This is where the “snowghost” regional moniker for frozen over trees comes from. This is a giant pain for detachable lifts, and much less so for fixed grip lifts.
      2. It creates 2 separate terrain pods that are each easily lapable, the lower Cedar Park being more glades and intermediate/advanced groomers, while the upper pod is mostly chutes, some cliffs, and some of the steepest trees you’ll find inbounds at any area. Both are now much easier to lap due to improved alignments and large overlap. Often times on chair 6, you’d have to ride a 20 min lift to lap 1 run because there wasn’t a way back to the mid.
      3. Schweitzer already tried this with Lakeview/Basin replacing an equally long Riblet double that included a mid-station, and it has definitely been a success. The south bowl chutes and lower Basin terrain like the park ski much better.

      Like

      • Donald Reif's avatar Donald Reif July 21, 2024 / 8:15 am

        And if one of the lifts goes down, the other pod can still be lapped. If Colburn goes down, Cedar Park can still be lapped and vice-versa (though lines get longer at Stella under those circumstances since that becomes the only egress from this area).

        Like

  4. probowlerkid's avatar probowlerkid August 5, 2024 / 2:15 pm

    The reason this lift has Leitner-Poma sheaves is because Leitner-Poma owns Skytrac

    Like

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