This Leitner-Poma detachable quad replaced the last fixed grip lift in the Peak 8 base area for the 2023-24 season.Lift line.Maze area and return terminal.Tower 1.Tower 2.LPA chair with safety bar.Tower head.This lift services an alpine slide in the summer months.View back down the lower lift line.In the summer, this lift runs at fixed grip speed and offloads riders at tower 9.Alpine slide unloading area.Tower 12.The top terminal with Peak 8 in the background.View from the summit.Drive terminal.Side view of the top station.Upper station overview.Unloading area and lift shack.Side view of tower 5.The lower station and tower 1.Loading area and short maintenance rail.Tower 4.Another view of the upper station and tower 12.Side view of the drive terminal.Side view of the return.In the summer time, certain carriers are converted to carry up to eight alpine slide sleds.Empty sled carriers.Nearing the summer unload.Towers 9 is modified for summer ops.Summer only unnumbered hold down tower.This lift runs at fixed grip speed when the mid-station is in use.Tower 11.The top few towers.Mid unload.Side view of the slide unloading zone.Lower lift line in the summer.Loaded sled carrier.Five with the Colorado SuperChair in the background.
26 thoughts on “Five SuperChair, Breckenridge, CO”
Donald ReifNovember 18, 2023 / 6:00 pm
Compared to the old lift, the new Five runs in a straight line, hence the reason why the Alpine Slide midstation is now to the south of the starting area for the slides instead of on the north side. The old 5 had a turn with canted sheaves right below the midstation as the lower half was realigned in 1986 when the original Colorado SuperChair was built.
Weirdly, the distance from the alpine slide mid-station to the top feels a lot shorter on the new lift because of the fact that the towers are further spaced apart (on top of the whole fact the lift runs at a faster speed).
Can anyone tell from these photos what the plan is for the summer unload? The concrete paths suggest they are bringing the lift down to ground level rather than building an elevated platform but I am struggling to picture how those towers help with that.
Affirm, the haul rope will be lowered for ground level unloading. You can see the gussets on tower 9A & 9B to support the line equipment when it’s installed.
Lowering the haul rope is what they did on the old chair 5,they also added seat belts to the original center pole chairs in the summer. I remember seeing the seat belt signs when I rode this lift during ski season about 35 years ago, when it still had the center pole chairs and no restraining bars.
I think it was a pretty smart choice to create a long ramp with switchbacks from the mid-unload station to get guests down to the starting area for the slides, as it’s preferable to having to lug the sled down a staircase. Noticeably, the new path ends at the point on the north side of the building where the double’s summer midstation was.
At normal FGQ speed (around 450 ft/m) it would take 7.4 min to ride all the way up and 4.8 to go to the midstation. But since this is used in the summer for the Alpine Coaster I bet they run it closer to 300 ft/min for foot traffic, meaning it would take 7 minutes to get to the midstation and 11 to the top.
It’s because of the mid station not being detachable. If they ran Five at its design speed, it would be almost impossible to get off without getting injured.
Lift Blog 
Compared to the old lift, the new Five runs in a straight line, hence the reason why the Alpine Slide midstation is now to the south of the starting area for the slides instead of on the north side. The old 5 had a turn with canted sheaves right below the midstation as the lower half was realigned in 1986 when the original Colorado SuperChair was built.
Weirdly, the distance from the alpine slide mid-station to the top feels a lot shorter on the new lift because of the fact that the towers are further spaced apart (on top of the whole fact the lift runs at a faster speed).
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Whoever surveyed and poured the midway unload pad needs to have their eyeballs recalibrated.
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What’s wrong with it?
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Granted I haven’t seen it in person and maybe it’s the picture(s). Heck, maybe my eyes need the recalibration, but it looks crooked.
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Nothing they can’t fix once the snow melts in the spring.
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Donald, you don’t just ‘fix’ concrete in the spring.
A Mauch- I think some of it’s the perspective of the photo, but I see it too.
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Can anyone tell from these photos what the plan is for the summer unload? The concrete paths suggest they are bringing the lift down to ground level rather than building an elevated platform but I am struggling to picture how those towers help with that.
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Affirm, the haul rope will be lowered for ground level unloading. You can see the gussets on tower 9A & 9B to support the line equipment when it’s installed.
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The end result will probably look something like Screaming Eagle’s mid load.
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Exactly
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Goodness!!
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Lowering the haul rope is what they did on the old chair 5,they also added seat belts to the original center pole chairs in the summer. I remember seeing the seat belt signs when I rode this lift during ski season about 35 years ago, when it still had the center pole chairs and no restraining bars.
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I think it was a pretty smart choice to create a long ramp with switchbacks from the mid-unload station to get guests down to the starting area for the slides, as it’s preferable to having to lug the sled down a staircase. Noticeably, the new path ends at the point on the north side of the building where the double’s summer midstation was.
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I wonder how long they’ll keep using that crooked unload pad. Hopefully they fixed it before the snow started falling.
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Seems to be working just fine in the summer photos
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How come they didn’t come up with a more imaginative name?
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Just like Winter Park.
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They had the whole summer to find a good name for the gondola, yet they didn’t.
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The Five chair name is a reference to the five peaks that make up Breckenridge (6, 7, 8, 9, 10), each of which is over 10,000 feet tall.
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Oh, I was talking about the Winter park gondola.
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How long does it take to ride at fixed-grip speed?
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At normal FGQ speed (around 450 ft/m) it would take 7.4 min to ride all the way up and 4.8 to go to the midstation. But since this is used in the summer for the Alpine Coaster I bet they run it closer to 300 ft/min for foot traffic, meaning it would take 7 minutes to get to the midstation and 11 to the top.
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This lift is way too slow in the summer.
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It’s because of the mid station not being detachable. If they ran Five at its design speed, it would be almost impossible to get off without getting injured.
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The lift not only has to run at fixed grip speed, but at foot traffic speed. So that limits it to about 250 fpm.
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