This Borvig triple replaced a shorter Heron-Poma double as part of a real estate development in the late 1980s.Loading area.Uphill side of the drive station.Borvig was the second contractor for this project after a dispute over nonpayment with Poma. Hence the Poma towers.View up the lift line.Lower part of the lift.Middle lift line section.View down the line with Borvig chairs and Poma towers.Towers 10 and 11.Poma top station.Unloading area.
“While the Heron Poma chairlift was originally supposed to be partially reused, it was sold, and Poma commenced construction on the new lift with some used towers from Stratton. Tenney paid $210,000 of the $705,000 contract prior to work stopping. Tenney and Poma then sued each other during the summer of 1987, whilst Poma ended up selling the rest of the new lift to Magic Mountain. Borvig later came in and finished the Eclipse Triple Chairlift for the 1987-88 season.”
—
“In 1986, the Heron Poma chairlift was to be replaced with a new Poma chairlift. Lawsuits regarding lift towers were filed by both Tenney and Poma that summer, halting construction… Finally, for the 1987-88 season, the new 622 foot vertical by 3,124 foot long triple chairlift was completed by Borvig. Serving primarily intermediate terrain, the new Eclipse chairlift also created easy access to a planned summit area expansion. The Eclipse area also featured night skiing for some time.”
*The Heron-Poma chairlift was the lift that previously serviced the lower section of the present day Eclipse area*
I think this is the first lift on which Borvig used a bi-pod style drive/tension terminal, which would become standard on late model Borvigs. However this particular terminal is different than those that followed it; note that the legs are parallel to the haul rope (as in not slanted inward) like the later Borvig terminals. This may be because the foundations for the Poma Alpha terminal that was supposed to go here may have already been poured, so Borvig adapted their drive terminal to use the Poma foundation, and this was the result. They must have liked it enough to stick with it as the standard terminal starting in 1988. They did change it so that the terminal legs slant inward, but other than that the basic design is the same.
Lift Blog 
What’s the story with the nonpayment with Poma?
LikeLike
From NewEnglandSkiHistory:
“While the Heron Poma chairlift was originally supposed to be partially reused, it was sold, and Poma commenced construction on the new lift with some used towers from Stratton. Tenney paid $210,000 of the $705,000 contract prior to work stopping. Tenney and Poma then sued each other during the summer of 1987, whilst Poma ended up selling the rest of the new lift to Magic Mountain. Borvig later came in and finished the Eclipse Triple Chairlift for the 1987-88 season.”
—
“In 1986, the Heron Poma chairlift was to be replaced with a new Poma chairlift. Lawsuits regarding lift towers were filed by both Tenney and Poma that summer, halting construction… Finally, for the 1987-88 season, the new 622 foot vertical by 3,124 foot long triple chairlift was completed by Borvig. Serving primarily intermediate terrain, the new Eclipse chairlift also created easy access to a planned summit area expansion. The Eclipse area also featured night skiing for some time.”
*The Heron-Poma chairlift was the lift that previously serviced the lower section of the present day Eclipse area*
LikeLike
What happened to that Heron-Poma?
LikeLike
I think this is the first lift on which Borvig used a bi-pod style drive/tension terminal, which would become standard on late model Borvigs. However this particular terminal is different than those that followed it; note that the legs are parallel to the haul rope (as in not slanted inward) like the later Borvig terminals. This may be because the foundations for the Poma Alpha terminal that was supposed to go here may have already been poured, so Borvig adapted their drive terminal to use the Poma foundation, and this was the result. They must have liked it enough to stick with it as the standard terminal starting in 1988. They did change it so that the terminal legs slant inward, but other than that the basic design is the same.
LikeLike
The chairs have been painted blue this year.
LikeLike