Drive terminal on the Double Diamond side.Looking back at the drive terminal.Double Diamond’s very steep lift line.Breakover towers on Double Diamond.Southern Cross unload ramp.Lift line on the Southern Cross side.Southern Cross side tension terminal.Looking up Southern Cross in Mill Valley.Southern Cross side.Double Diamond unload ramp.Return terminal in the summer.
A memorial to Jim Sullivan, who built many Riblets in the PNW. My dad worked for him on at least three (at Alpental). Apparently when he was building lifts at Stevens he saw the potential of Mill Valley.
I’m assuming that 2,466 foot vertical rise this lift is listed as having on the spreadsheet is the vertical rises of the Southern Cross and Double DIamond sides combined.
Would it be possible to eventually replace this lift with a HSQ but with the shared unload terminal? It would be very expensive and I’m not sure about skier volume here to make it worthwhile but would it be possible?
Skier volume would certainly not be the problem here. It would probably be better for any replacement to be two separate lifts, as you mentioned how the cost would be an issue. Plus, there is really no benefit to having a two-stage lift these days where riders are forced to get off halfway.
If I were to replace this lift, I would install two detachable quads: one in the existing Southern Cross location and one from the main base to the top of Big Chief Mountain. The reason for the realigned Double Diamond is to provide easier access to Mill Valley, as that is its main purpose anyway, so going down to the base will better help do that and also relieve Kehr. Additionally, it will be even more fun to lap with longer runs for advanced skiers.
With this lift currently experiencing maintenance issues, and Vail growing the number of Epic passes in the Seattle market, maybe an upgrade is in order sooner rather than later.
Question I have always had on this vintage of CTEC lifts, why do so many have a tall pillar in the rear of a the tension terminal? Is it a carryover from height-adjustable terminals? Always seemed like excess steel with no purpose.
I love this lift, but I hope it gets replaced soon; reason being: it would fit perfectly at a new ski hill I’ve envisioned in NE WA.
The idea would be to buy Double Diamond from Stevens Pass and put it across the NW most ridge of Molybdenite Mountain. It would be aligned NE to SW, with a midstation at around 6200ft.
It’s private land, a square-shaped 639.76 acre parcel owned by the Stimson Lumber Co, so someone with enough cash could theoretically do this. Search for parcel number 443707000000 on the Pend Oreille County parcel map.
With the relatively high elevation, substantial snowfall (being far enough NE in WA), steep rocky terrain, and logging roads already in place to aid lift construction, I think this parcel might be the most feasible place to put a new ski hill in the entire state of Washington. Could help in revitalizing the local economy in Ione and Metaline Falls.
I couldnt tell you the proper name for it, but we have one here in Australia and its really just mentioned as a midload/valley lift. Dont think they are commonenough to have warranted their own sub-category.
There are a few things about this lift that absolutely stun me.
First of all, I am puzzled when they say “This lift services: Advanced (Black) and Expert (Double Diamond)” runs. Probably not exactly what it says, but something like that.
This isn’t true. You can ski a blue (intermediate) run by following the south divide into Aquarius, 100% blue. Fix that, stevens. You’re scaring away all the intermediate skiers.
One more thing. I don’t understand why this is an up-and-over lift, but Jupiter and Tye Mill aren’t. In reality, Jupiter and Tye Mill should be the up-and-over lift, as they have similar ride times and lift lines.
Although I know this will either take a while to happen or never happen, I think this shouldn’t be an up-and-over lift. I think Stevens Pass was just feeling a bit creative that day so they wanted to spice it up a bit. Southern Cross has huge lines on weekends, while Double Diamond rarely has any lines whatsoever. When they close the backside, as a result, Double-Diamond has to be closed too, which doesn’t make much sense. Also, if by some miracle they made the lifts discontinued from each other, Southern Cross must be updated to a High-Speed-Quad. Lines are crazy on weekends, with no croud flow control, plus the lift goes so slow in general as compared to the enormous length of the lift, and the ride up is so uncomfortable.
Runs are amazing here though, wayy better than Jupiter. Good job Stevens, just I think if these ideas mentioned above were followed, the backside would be even better than it already is.
Lift Blog 
what is on the plaque on the return terminal? (last photo)
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A memorial to Jim Sullivan, who built many Riblets in the PNW. My dad worked for him on at least three (at Alpental). Apparently when he was building lifts at Stevens he saw the potential of Mill Valley.
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When did this lift go into service?
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1987
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How common are fixed grip lifts like these?
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https://liftblog.com/2015/04/23/up-and-over-lifts/
Not very common, but Peter wrote an article about up and over lifts a while back.
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Why are there expert only signs at Double Diamond when it goes to the same place as Southern Cross which Dosent have Expert signs?
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Double diamond is a black diamond run on the northwest side of the up and over lift. The southeast side is served by a blue run
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I’m assuming that 2,466 foot vertical rise this lift is listed as having on the spreadsheet is the vertical rises of the Southern Cross and Double DIamond sides combined.
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Can you ride this up and over and get off at the other side?
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No. All riders must exit at the middle.
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Southern Cross side:
Double Diamond side:
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Would it be possible to eventually replace this lift with a HSQ but with the shared unload terminal? It would be very expensive and I’m not sure about skier volume here to make it worthwhile but would it be possible?
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Skier volume would certainly not be the problem here. It would probably be better for any replacement to be two separate lifts, as you mentioned how the cost would be an issue. Plus, there is really no benefit to having a two-stage lift these days where riders are forced to get off halfway.
If I were to replace this lift, I would install two detachable quads: one in the existing Southern Cross location and one from the main base to the top of Big Chief Mountain. The reason for the realigned Double Diamond is to provide easier access to Mill Valley, as that is its main purpose anyway, so going down to the base will better help do that and also relieve Kehr. Additionally, it will be even more fun to lap with longer runs for advanced skiers.
With this lift currently experiencing maintenance issues, and Vail growing the number of Epic passes in the Seattle market, maybe an upgrade is in order sooner rather than later.
LikeLike
Question I have always had on this vintage of CTEC lifts, why do so many have a tall pillar in the rear of a the tension terminal? Is it a carryover from height-adjustable terminals? Always seemed like excess steel with no purpose.
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Of course, I had the immediate realization after posting that it probably contains the counterweight…
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I love this lift, but I hope it gets replaced soon; reason being: it would fit perfectly at a new ski hill I’ve envisioned in NE WA.
The idea would be to buy Double Diamond from Stevens Pass and put it across the NW most ridge of Molybdenite Mountain. It would be aligned NE to SW, with a midstation at around 6200ft.
It’s private land, a square-shaped 639.76 acre parcel owned by the Stimson Lumber Co, so someone with enough cash could theoretically do this. Search for parcel number 443707000000 on the Pend Oreille County parcel map.
With the relatively high elevation, substantial snowfall (being far enough NE in WA), steep rocky terrain, and logging roads already in place to aid lift construction, I think this parcel might be the most feasible place to put a new ski hill in the entire state of Washington. Could help in revitalizing the local economy in Ione and Metaline Falls.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not sure when they were added, but they’ve added restraint bars similar to Tye Mill fairly recently.
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What is the term for the opposite of an up-and-over where the lift loads in the valley and goes up towards the terminals in both directions?
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I couldnt tell you the proper name for it, but we have one here in Australia and its really just mentioned as a midload/valley lift. Dont think they are commonenough to have warranted their own sub-category.
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An up-and-up
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There are a few things about this lift that absolutely stun me.
First of all, I am puzzled when they say “This lift services: Advanced (Black) and Expert (Double Diamond)” runs. Probably not exactly what it says, but something like that.
This isn’t true. You can ski a blue (intermediate) run by following the south divide into Aquarius, 100% blue. Fix that, stevens. You’re scaring away all the intermediate skiers.
One more thing. I don’t understand why this is an up-and-over lift, but Jupiter and Tye Mill aren’t. In reality, Jupiter and Tye Mill should be the up-and-over lift, as they have similar ride times and lift lines.
Although I know this will either take a while to happen or never happen, I think this shouldn’t be an up-and-over lift. I think Stevens Pass was just feeling a bit creative that day so they wanted to spice it up a bit. Southern Cross has huge lines on weekends, while Double Diamond rarely has any lines whatsoever. When they close the backside, as a result, Double-Diamond has to be closed too, which doesn’t make much sense. Also, if by some miracle they made the lifts discontinued from each other, Southern Cross must be updated to a High-Speed-Quad. Lines are crazy on weekends, with no croud flow control, plus the lift goes so slow in general as compared to the enormous length of the lift, and the ride up is so uncomfortable.
Runs are amazing here though, wayy better than Jupiter. Good job Stevens, just I think if these ideas mentioned above were followed, the backside would be even better than it already is.
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