This Doppelmayr UNI-G detachable was constructed in fall and winter 2024-25 but was not scheduled to open until the following winter.Side view of the top terminal located on Keetley Point.Upper section of the lift line.Tower 11.View up the line at tower 10.Middle section of the line.View up the line, which is mostly low angle.Lower lift line.The bottom terminal above the bottom of Aurora.This lift provides return access to Keetley Point without the need to ski down to Aurora and the East Village.The top terminal seen from Keetley Express.Electric motor.Gearbox.Inside the UNI-G drive station.View from the summit.Breakover towers 16 and 17.Top station.UNI-G station made to mimic the D-Line next door.Lift line with exactly 100 premium chairs.Looking up at the top of Keetley and Galena.
highly doubt it. Deer Valley always had a closing date of april 20th. they did load testing on galena however. so my guess is they’ll do snowmaking over in the east village area to get more terrain open fast and spread people out. it would be very surprising to see deer valley open a brand new lift a month before closing. my guess is that they’ll did load testing on Galena so that they wouldn’t have to do it over the summer since they’ll have 9 other lifts to do load testing on this summer/fall when they’re completed.
I wonder what DV is planning to do for painting lift names on all the new D-line and lookalike new chairs. None of the new ones have names painted on them currently and they will all be easy to mix up since they all are new the same year. Nobody has figured out a great way to paint the name on D-lines yet.
DV extended their closing date one time in their history – during the crazy snow year of 2022-23, they opened early for the first time and then went into May. Seems like something Alterra isn’t afraid to do if there’s enough snow.
For opening Galena this year, it would be easy enough from the operational side to do since the terrain it serves is all already open. Is there a reason like insurance or state inspections or something that would make it not possible to do? Does it help from an operating perspective to have real world usage data to work out any kinks this summer?
Ok I thought I felt insane when I counted 100 chairs, I thought there would be a handful more arriving. When I skied the new terrain on New Years Day I stopped by the bottom of Galena (since McHenry was open) and the chairs were laying on the ground waiting to be hung and they came in groups of 4, I counted 25 groups meaning there were 100 chairs.
Why the use of the premium chairs from Europe, whereas Alterra could’ve also gone for the regular EJ Carriers? It turns out that those European chairs will also be used on Neptune, Revelator and Vulcan.
Could be any number of reasons. Comfort, regular EJ chairs suck in that regard. Production capacity potentially, maybe not enough could be made in North America to go around for every resort. Or maybe North America maybe doesn’t have the ability to paint them easily, they could be set up to only galvanize chairs.
The EJ carrier was Doppelmayr’s standard 30+ years ago before the advent of carrier suspension and bubbles / comfier seats. What people in this thread call a “premium” chair is the E98 carrier that’s been around since the late 90s. They are *everywhere* in Europe.
The key difference between EJ’s (standard in NorAm) and E98s is that the latter has individual seat / back cushions, and the comfort suspension replaces the taco hanger. Bubbles are also extremely common on E98 chairs. D-Line chairs were an evolution from this chair type to present day. EJ chairs are still popular in North America because they are simple, easy to maintain and, frankly, most US ski areas do not put cushy chairs at the top of their wishlist.
Deer Valley is the exception, they’re clearly investing in flagship D-Lines, but their bread-and-butter people movers continue to be high speed quads. Might as well make them a step up from the norm. Aurora last year was already a great proof of concept, the upgraded chair is a big step up from the standard EJ.
Erik, I believe Extell Development Company is the one paying for these lifts and not Alterra. Deer Valley is the operator and Extell and has partnered with them to operate the mountain. In regards to other assets, like groomers, I don’t know.
Lift Blog 
Maybe a late season open for this lift… you Never Know.
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highly doubt it. Deer Valley always had a closing date of april 20th. they did load testing on galena however. so my guess is they’ll do snowmaking over in the east village area to get more terrain open fast and spread people out. it would be very surprising to see deer valley open a brand new lift a month before closing. my guess is that they’ll did load testing on Galena so that they wouldn’t have to do it over the summer since they’ll have 9 other lifts to do load testing on this summer/fall when they’re completed.
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Yea I’m guessing they are gonna surprise everyone and have a late season sneak peak open of this lift.
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Are those the same chairs as Aurora or as Hoodoo?
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Looks like it.
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I wonder what DV is planning to do for painting lift names on all the new D-line and lookalike new chairs. None of the new ones have names painted on them currently and they will all be easy to mix up since they all are new the same year. Nobody has figured out a great way to paint the name on D-lines yet.
DV extended their closing date one time in their history – during the crazy snow year of 2022-23, they opened early for the first time and then went into May. Seems like something Alterra isn’t afraid to do if there’s enough snow.
For opening Galena this year, it would be easy enough from the operational side to do since the terrain it serves is all already open. Is there a reason like insurance or state inspections or something that would make it not possible to do? Does it help from an operating perspective to have real world usage data to work out any kinks this summer?
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for anyone wondering what kind of terminal it is, it’s a Uni-G with a D-Line skin. i’ve seen people calling it the “Uni-D”
wonder if doppelmayr will ever do this for another customer besides DV
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Ok I thought I felt insane when I counted 100 chairs, I thought there would be a handful more arriving. When I skied the new terrain on New Years Day I stopped by the bottom of Galena (since McHenry was open) and the chairs were laying on the ground waiting to be hung and they came in groups of 4, I counted 25 groups meaning there were 100 chairs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why the use of the premium chairs from Europe, whereas Alterra could’ve also gone for the regular EJ Carriers? It turns out that those European chairs will also be used on Neptune, Revelator and Vulcan.
LikeLike
Could be any number of reasons. Comfort, regular EJ chairs suck in that regard. Production capacity potentially, maybe not enough could be made in North America to go around for every resort. Or maybe North America maybe doesn’t have the ability to paint them easily, they could be set up to only galvanize chairs.
LikeLike
The EJ carrier was Doppelmayr’s standard 30+ years ago before the advent of carrier suspension and bubbles / comfier seats. What people in this thread call a “premium” chair is the E98 carrier that’s been around since the late 90s. They are *everywhere* in Europe.
The key difference between EJ’s (standard in NorAm) and E98s is that the latter has individual seat / back cushions, and the comfort suspension replaces the taco hanger. Bubbles are also extremely common on E98 chairs. D-Line chairs were an evolution from this chair type to present day. EJ chairs are still popular in North America because they are simple, easy to maintain and, frankly, most US ski areas do not put cushy chairs at the top of their wishlist.
Deer Valley is the exception, they’re clearly investing in flagship D-Lines, but their bread-and-butter people movers continue to be high speed quads. Might as well make them a step up from the norm. Aurora last year was already a great proof of concept, the upgraded chair is a big step up from the standard EJ.
LikeLike
Erik, I believe Extell Development Company is the one paying for these lifts and not Alterra. Deer Valley is the operator and Extell and has partnered with them to operate the mountain. In regards to other assets, like groomers, I don’t know.
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