Lift line with chairs off for the summer.Uni-G top station.Summit station and lift shack.Tower 22 and the drive station.Lower lift line.View down the steep line without chairs.Loading area.Loading area with EpicMix reader and new signage.Tunnel into the parking facility.Very long and steep lift line with chairs.Bottom station overview.View riding up in winter.Middle part of the lift line.View back near the summit.
In the last picture, I couldn’t help but notice that this lift has Doppelmayr CTEC style panels. Anyone know why that is, especially considering this is a full dopp?
This is actually a top-drive lift, so the top terminal isn’t the return station. That’s a distinction it only shares with Lookout, also on Mount Mansfield.
The current FourRunner actually has more towers than the old one, as the original only had 18 towers vs. the current’s 22. It also looks like they reused a lot of the original tower foundations.
This was what the bottom and top terminals used to look like:
It’s even a smidge longer than the original FourRunner, as the upper terminal was originally directly next to the Octagon Cafe instead of slightly uphill from it.
How often does this lift break down? It suffered a pretty bad one which knocked both of its drives out of commission a week ago, but how often does this happen? Its not like this lift is particularly old either.
Vail doesn’t maintain things. They care more about today’s earnings.
The proof is in the pudding. They were in a long fight with a supplier about when to replace harnesses for zip lines. Vail was arguing it was too short of a time interval. Supplier said it was an intensive use and they need to be replaced yearly. Vail was being cheap. It resulted in the death of an employee.
Hard to not look back to last six to nine months and think that good forward planning as Stowe’s Mountain Triple was being readied to be taken down to be replaced by the Sunrise Six, would have been to make sure the backup motor on FourRunner was working okay, that all parts of FourRunner were ok. . A monthly test over the summer, maybe even having a spare backup motor for FourRunner in case both primary drive and first backup motor failed. How expensive is a spare backup motor and the pieces that go with it? (easy to spend other people’s money) On the other hand Vail is in the business of delivering memorable vacation experiences. This weekend will sure be a memory. :(
I’ve read several comments over the years about ‘why don’t areas keep spare (insert name of component here) around?’ There are several reasons, the first of which is space. Where are you going to put a spare motor, especially one as large as this lift’s? Most ski areas, mine included, don’t have enough space for the parts they *do* want to keep on hand. Second, motor failures are comparatively rare so in many cases it doesn’t make sense to spend that much money on a part you may never use.
Also, if it were a drive failure as Calvin says, those have so many electronics that it is very difficult to anticipate what you might need on hand.
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In the last picture, I couldn’t help but notice that this lift has Doppelmayr CTEC style panels. Anyone know why that is, especially considering this is a full dopp?
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I’m sure they were given the option and they opted for the CTEC panels as they are easier to use for lift operators and probably are less expensive.
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This is actually a top-drive lift, so the top terminal isn’t the return station. That’s a distinction it only shares with Lookout, also on Mount Mansfield.
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Dont forget the OverEasy! Although basically flat the Mansfield Drive Terminal is 12’ taller than the Spruce Return terminal.
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The current FourRunner actually has more towers than the old one, as the original only had 18 towers vs. the current’s 22. It also looks like they reused a lot of the original tower foundations.
This was what the bottom and top terminals used to look like:
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It’s even a smidge longer than the original FourRunner, as the upper terminal was originally directly next to the Octagon Cafe instead of slightly uphill from it.
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Videos of FourRunner in action:
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This lift always runs very close to top speed.
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This lift is the probably my favorite to lap. It gets 2000 vertical in less than 6 minutes.
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Ha, as opposed to the 13 min (feels like 30) on the Smuggs doubles just across the other side of Spruce…
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Yeah. You get 2000 feet in 6 minutes. If you rip lift line you could get 5 runs an hour.
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So what happened to the original Fourrunner? Was it reused somewhere? Sold for scrap?
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https://liftblog.com/arrowhead-mohawk-mountain-ct/
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How often does this lift break down? It suffered a pretty bad one which knocked both of its drives out of commission a week ago, but how often does this happen? Its not like this lift is particularly old either.
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Vail doesn’t maintain things. They care more about today’s earnings.
The proof is in the pudding. They were in a long fight with a supplier about when to replace harnesses for zip lines. Vail was arguing it was too short of a time interval. Supplier said it was an intensive use and they need to be replaced yearly. Vail was being cheap. It resulted in the death of an employee.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hard to not look back to last six to nine months and think that good forward planning as Stowe’s Mountain Triple was being readied to be taken down to be replaced by the Sunrise Six, would have been to make sure the backup motor on FourRunner was working okay, that all parts of FourRunner were ok. . A monthly test over the summer, maybe even having a spare backup motor for FourRunner in case both primary drive and first backup motor failed. How expensive is a spare backup motor and the pieces that go with it? (easy to spend other people’s money) On the other hand Vail is in the business of delivering memorable vacation experiences. This weekend will sure be a memory. :(
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“Memorable” has more than one meaning (Vail leadership, are you reading this?).
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I’ve read several comments over the years about ‘why don’t areas keep spare (insert name of component here) around?’ There are several reasons, the first of which is space. Where are you going to put a spare motor, especially one as large as this lift’s? Most ski areas, mine included, don’t have enough space for the parts they *do* want to keep on hand. Second, motor failures are comparatively rare so in many cases it doesn’t make sense to spend that much money on a part you may never use.
Also, if it were a drive failure as Calvin says, those have so many electronics that it is very difficult to anticipate what you might need on hand.
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IDK if this is true or not but rumor has it that this has the biggest vertical drop for any chairlift on the east coast.
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Yes it beats Wildcat Express by 5 feet
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