Top station adjacent to Four Points lodge.Middle part of the lift line.Looking down the line.Lower station with counterweight tensioning.View back down the line.Doppelmayr added new chairs to this lift in 2012.Tall Yan Y tower.Nearing the top station.Arriving up top.Drive station and unloading ramp.Side view of the motor room.Looking down the line.Loading area from above.
This is actually the original Storm Peak lift. There was a Miner Denver double chair version of Four Points which ran up the tornado run and crossed under the current Four Points when it was Storm Peak from 1968 to 1992. There was also a Yan double chair called WJW which ran from the bottom of the current Storm Peak to a place slightly above Bar U E.
It was more efficient to build the Storm Peak Express starting from the bottom of WJW because it meant that the Drop Out trail could be lapped from the top-to-bottom lift and not require its own lift. And then cut the original triple back down to Four Points Hut so that there was still a Four Points lift. One can see how if Four Points continued climbing higher, it would have had its unload right about where the Storm Peak Express’s drive is located.
WJW ended where the Wapiti exit trail splits off from Longhorn on Pioneer Ridge.
The original Four Points lift ran up what is now Nelson’s Run. In the summer, you can actually see the concrete tower footings for the old lift running up Nelson’s Run from where it feeds into the Ego runout.
The original counterweight would’ve been inside the mast. It’s sister lift, the Sundown Triple, which is now the Canyon Quad at Killington was also converted to hydraulic tensioning. Interestingly, both lifts have Doppelmayr drive bullwheels.
New England Chairlifts & SkiingNovember 1, 2019 / 1:59 pm
You probably already know this, but The doppy bullwheel on the Canyon Quad was an upgrade Steamboat did. Killington to my knowledge has never installed a Doppelmayr lift or equipment any type.
Yes, I was pretty sure it came from Steamboat already having the Doppelmayr bullwheel. My guess is the drive bullwheels were replaced on both lifts after the Teller/Ruby accident at Keystone in 1985.
You can see the foundations in the summer for the towers that were removed in 1992 when this lift was shortened, showing that the offload area was originally about where the Storm Peak Express lift’s drive terminal is.
I’ve only been to Steamboat once, but it seems like they shortened the wrong half. Would’ve been nice to be able to lap the upper mountain without the runout all the way to Storm Peak Express. As is, this lift seems kind of pointless?
Bar-UE fills that purpose, although it admittedly is a bit redundant and someone was floating on that lift’s page that it would be more practical to replace Bar-UE with a high speed quad running to the top of Morningside Park.
Not sure I understand this comment. There is no run out that I am aware of below the summit of Four Points where you are apparently advocating for the base of a Storm Peak lift to begin. All such a lift would access is a brief, 600′ vertical straight shot to the peak that wouldn’t be all that interesting to lap. The “run out” beneath that location consists of 1400-1600′ of nicely pitched intermediate and expert terrain. The two blue runs in that area which are the only possible candidates for the “run out” moniker (Rainbow and Buddies) are nicely pitch blues that represent some of the most popular runs on the mountain.
IMO, the change they made here was exactly on point. Maybe you can quibble that they should have kept the Storm Peak base closer to where it was near the intersection of Nelson’s Run and Rainbow, but that’s splitting hairs.
Hell, the reason the Storm Peak Express lift was built was partially to reduce the number of redundant lifts on Storm Peak.
Here’s how it looked before the high speed quad was built:
And here’s after:
The idea is that the Storm Peak Express lift is Storm Peak’s workhorse lift, and the lift you do most of your laps on, while Four Points provides a slower alternative.
Of course, a lift that only covers the upper part of the Storm Peak face did once exist, in the form of the Storm Peak platter, prior to 1983.
You guys are right, I take my comment back. When I was there they’d had a melt & refreeze cycle and the only good snow was above about the Four Points lodge elevation. When I read that this lift had actually been shortened I dashed off that comment without really thinking through what it would be like during better (probably more typical) conditions.
The “run outs” I was referring to (runs like Tornado, Cyclone, Rainbow) were in the sense of stuff you ski to get elsewhere. I didn’t mean to say they’re flat, but skidding down them to Storm Peak or Bar-UE got a little old given the conditions. If it’s not icy I’ll bet some of those runs- especially the trees in that area – would be excellent.
In fact they are excellent runs and the trees around there when it’s not icy. I have been to steamboat 9 times and it is amazing there when it’s not icy. Honestly I think it’s time for a Bar UE replacement. That lift feels very slow when your on it. But back to the point with the HSQ replacing Bar UE. I think runs like The ridge, Crows nest, Huevos, and The chutes would be tracked more or get too much skier density with a HSQ up to the top of morningside.
Low snow year this year and you can see the old Four Points line complete with a few tower footings from Burgess Creek
Is this the only example of CTEC grips and hanger arms paired with Doppelmayr EJ chairs? There are square-section adapters on the rounded hanger arms to fit into the standard EJ tacos
From height alone and looking at the old tower footers in Google Earth, it’s clear that tower 14 is where the lift originally crossed over the old Four Points.
Lift Blog 
This is actually the original Storm Peak lift. There was a Miner Denver double chair version of Four Points which ran up the tornado run and crossed under the current Four Points when it was Storm Peak from 1968 to 1992. There was also a Yan double chair called WJW which ran from the bottom of the current Storm Peak to a place slightly above Bar U E.
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It was more efficient to build the Storm Peak Express starting from the bottom of WJW because it meant that the Drop Out trail could be lapped from the top-to-bottom lift and not require its own lift. And then cut the original triple back down to Four Points Hut so that there was still a Four Points lift. One can see how if Four Points continued climbing higher, it would have had its unload right about where the Storm Peak Express’s drive is located.
WJW ended where the Wapiti exit trail splits off from Longhorn on Pioneer Ridge.
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The original Four Points lift ran up what is now Nelson’s Run. In the summer, you can actually see the concrete tower footings for the old lift running up Nelson’s Run from where it feeds into the Ego runout.
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On pic 4 the caption says that it has counterweight tensioning, but it has hydraulic if you look closely.
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The original counterweight would’ve been inside the mast. It’s sister lift, the Sundown Triple, which is now the Canyon Quad at Killington was also converted to hydraulic tensioning. Interestingly, both lifts have Doppelmayr drive bullwheels.
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You probably already know this, but The doppy bullwheel on the Canyon Quad was an upgrade Steamboat did. Killington to my knowledge has never installed a Doppelmayr lift or equipment any type.
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Yes, I was pretty sure it came from Steamboat already having the Doppelmayr bullwheel. My guess is the drive bullwheels were replaced on both lifts after the Teller/Ruby accident at Keystone in 1985.
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You can see the foundations in the summer for the towers that were removed in 1992 when this lift was shortened, showing that the offload area was originally about where the Storm Peak Express lift’s drive terminal is.
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I’ve only been to Steamboat once, but it seems like they shortened the wrong half. Would’ve been nice to be able to lap the upper mountain without the runout all the way to Storm Peak Express. As is, this lift seems kind of pointless?
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Bar-UE fills that purpose, although it admittedly is a bit redundant and someone was floating on that lift’s page that it would be more practical to replace Bar-UE with a high speed quad running to the top of Morningside Park.
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Not sure I understand this comment. There is no run out that I am aware of below the summit of Four Points where you are apparently advocating for the base of a Storm Peak lift to begin. All such a lift would access is a brief, 600′ vertical straight shot to the peak that wouldn’t be all that interesting to lap. The “run out” beneath that location consists of 1400-1600′ of nicely pitched intermediate and expert terrain. The two blue runs in that area which are the only possible candidates for the “run out” moniker (Rainbow and Buddies) are nicely pitch blues that represent some of the most popular runs on the mountain.
IMO, the change they made here was exactly on point. Maybe you can quibble that they should have kept the Storm Peak base closer to where it was near the intersection of Nelson’s Run and Rainbow, but that’s splitting hairs.
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Hell, the reason the Storm Peak Express lift was built was partially to reduce the number of redundant lifts on Storm Peak.
Here’s how it looked before the high speed quad was built:
And here’s after:
The idea is that the Storm Peak Express lift is Storm Peak’s workhorse lift, and the lift you do most of your laps on, while Four Points provides a slower alternative.
Of course, a lift that only covers the upper part of the Storm Peak face did once exist, in the form of the Storm Peak platter, prior to 1983.
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You guys are right, I take my comment back. When I was there they’d had a melt & refreeze cycle and the only good snow was above about the Four Points lodge elevation. When I read that this lift had actually been shortened I dashed off that comment without really thinking through what it would be like during better (probably more typical) conditions.
The “run outs” I was referring to (runs like Tornado, Cyclone, Rainbow) were in the sense of stuff you ski to get elsewhere. I didn’t mean to say they’re flat, but skidding down them to Storm Peak or Bar-UE got a little old given the conditions. If it’s not icy I’ll bet some of those runs- especially the trees in that area – would be excellent.
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In fact they are excellent runs and the trees around there when it’s not icy. I have been to steamboat 9 times and it is amazing there when it’s not icy. Honestly I think it’s time for a Bar UE replacement. That lift feels very slow when your on it. But back to the point with the HSQ replacing Bar UE. I think runs like The ridge, Crows nest, Huevos, and The chutes would be tracked more or get too much skier density with a HSQ up to the top of morningside.
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The Miner Denver double ran a different alignment.
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What kind of chairs are those in the first pic? I know the second pic is heron Poma. Is the first Yan?
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Four Points was a Miner Denver.
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Low snow year this year and you can see the old Four Points line complete with a few tower footings from Burgess Creek
Is this the only example of CTEC grips and hanger arms paired with Doppelmayr EJ chairs? There are square-section adapters on the rounded hanger arms to fit into the standard EJ tacos
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From height alone and looking at the old tower footers in Google Earth, it’s clear that tower 14 is where the lift originally crossed over the old Four Points.
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