Vail Resorts initially purchased this lift for Park City. Following local opposition, it was re-engineered and installed at Whistler.The carriers feature 8 seats and red seats/springs.This was the first D-Line and first eight place lift built by Vail Resorts.Lift overview.Loading area with Chairkit conveyor.A new plaque was made for Whistler rather than keeping the Park City one.View riding up the lower part of the line.Approximately a third of the way up the line, Fitz crossed under the Whistler Village Gondola.View after the crossing.Three section splice tower.The upper station sits near the Whistler Village Gondola mid-station and Garbanzo Express load station.A tower head and chair.Upper part of the lift line.The crossing.In summer, this lift will transport up to five bikes on each chair.Lower lift line in the village.A support tower near the base.View up the line.Return terminal at the base.Tension cylinders.A combination tower.View back down at tower 12.Arriving at the drive next to Garbanzo.Generator at the top terminal.Unloading area.Inside operator controls.Low voltage control cabinets.Drive motor and gearbox.A D-Line tire section.Fixed drive equipment.Upper station with small maintenance rail.Side view of the top terminal with English and First Nations names.Another view of the D-Line drive.View from tower 19.Upper lift line.An empty chair.Back of a chair.Middle section of the line.View down above the gondola crossing.Lift rising out of the village.Lower station.The old quad chair started in roughly the same location.Station next to sister Doppelmayr lift Excalibur.Another view of the return.Short D-Line station.Loading conveyor and queuing gates.Small operator house.Tower 3.Crossing under WVG.Breakover towers.A tower head.View back down the line near the summit.Another tower head and chair.
23 thoughts on “Fitzsimmons Express – Whistler Blackcomb, BC”
trgildanFebruary 13, 2024 / 9:10 pm
Pour one out for Park City. Silverlode will celebrate its 30th birthday as a first-generation six pack soon and the need to replace it hasn’t gone away. Maybe someday.
note the shiny paint job on the “blackcomb gondola” , now only “excalibur gondola” on the base station. It got nicely dressed up at the same time as the fitz install
I think the only reason Fitz’s came red is because that’s what was gonna be the color scheme for the Silverlode 8 but then after backlash from locals and when they decided to install it here they wanted to keep this relocation as cheap as possible so they did’t bother repainting the terminals or ordering completely new ones that were white.
All the towers on Fitz were craned into place due to the non availability of helicopters. At the crossing itself the towers were picked from their respective side of the WVG and of course this was done with the WVG shut down. We had to build a few roads for access and these were decommissioned after the construction.
Fitz was supposed to be installed in Park city. Lifts are quite customized and Vail needed to find a spot the lift would work, and a place where it would be a significant upgrade. In this case, the lift was installed to improve capacity in the bike park. Not really for skiing.
Even though it’s just Vail being cheap, I still think the red color scheme looks really good on this lift. It seems a lot more fitting to the area it’s in. In my honest opinion, I think these terminals would look rather ugly in white. Still, I think Vail could have coughed up the money to have Jersey Cream repainted blue. Hopefully, they use D-line technology to upgrade the Whistler Village and Excalibur gondolas.
Lift Blog 
Pour one out for Park City. Silverlode will celebrate its 30th birthday as a first-generation six pack soon and the need to replace it hasn’t gone away. Maybe someday.
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So did Vail not go with Direct Drive for the new Fitz?
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No direct drive on fitz.
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Why did they do that? Are there any other non-DDD D-Lines in North America?
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I’m pretty sure the whole Disney Skyliner system uses the standard gear reducer/AC motor setup.
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Deer Valley’s new Keetley express
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note the shiny paint job on the “blackcomb gondola” , now only “excalibur gondola” on the base station. It got nicely dressed up at the same time as the fitz install
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The all-red paint scheme of these terminals is what Big Red 6 should’ve gotten when it was built last year.
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I was just thinking about my comment last year on Big Red and said to myself “Now this is a color scheme worthy of the name Big Red”.
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I think the only reason Fitz’s came red is because that’s what was gonna be the color scheme for the Silverlode 8 but then after backlash from locals and when they decided to install it here they wanted to keep this relocation as cheap as possible so they did’t bother repainting the terminals or ordering completely new ones that were white.
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What is the deal with the second dopp operator house at the top?
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Drives. Too big for the standard top shack.
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Ahh interesting. Thanks!
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What are the red springs on each side of the hangar for?
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Suspension
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@aussierob, How do you install the towers below the WVG crossing?
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All the towers on Fitz were craned into place due to the non availability of helicopters. At the crossing itself the towers were picked from their respective side of the WVG and of course this was done with the WVG shut down. We had to build a few roads for access and these were decommissioned after the construction.
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Thanks, it sounds quite hard and time consuming to put all the towers up that way.
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Could you get a Leitner-Poma 8-Pack? It looks like it according to their website.
Detachable Grip Chairlifts | Leitner-Poma of America
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Why did they choose to replace this lift instead of other lifts?
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Fitz was supposed to be installed in Park city. Lifts are quite customized and Vail needed to find a spot the lift would work, and a place where it would be a significant upgrade. In this case, the lift was installed to improve capacity in the bike park. Not really for skiing.
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Even though it’s just Vail being cheap, I still think the red color scheme looks really good on this lift. It seems a lot more fitting to the area it’s in. In my honest opinion, I think these terminals would look rather ugly in white. Still, I think Vail could have coughed up the money to have Jersey Cream repainted blue. Hopefully, they use D-line technology to upgrade the Whistler Village and Excalibur gondolas.
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Wow a d-line without a direct drive. You don’t see that every day.
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