Tower 6 heavy side.Lower portion of the lift line.Poma tower and CWA Omega 8-passenger cabin.CWA stuck Doppelmayr logos in these cabins when they refurbushed them even though the lift is a Poma.Towers 23-25.Cabins in the top station.Tension terminal.Breakover towers.Top station building.View down the line.View near the summit.Summit station building.Cabin parking in the lower terminal.Tire turnaround at the base.Lift line view.Upper lift line view.
About 15 are stored at the return overnight and are pushed down to the drive to get on the line in the morning. Cabins come off the rope each night and aren’t in order.
@liftblog Would love to know the story of how Stowe’s Mansfield Gondola has a lone, newer CWA cabin (#76) with more glass than all the others. It looks more like the newer Over Easy cabins. pic.twitter.com/9CwZ8XgNz5
Sure it would be cool, but highly unlikely and certainly unnecessary in the next 10-15 years. Lift priorities at Stowe center around Forerunner to Toll House.
Yeah. This would be quite far out. The gondola is probably fourth in line for replacement. The only problem as it stands is that it goes down for wind way too often. A chairlift supplement or a more resistant gondola with lower towers would be appropriate when the time for replacement comes.
I’m in favor of the supplementary chairlift, with a lift profile similar to Sensation (which has a roller coaster profile to keep the towers all very short in height for wind reasons).
I’d do a supplementary chairlift but the fact is that the gondola needs to be replaced in the next 15 years. I would rather upgrade the gondola with lower towers and heavier 10 pax cabins. Also, a lift between the gondola and four runner going from midway and the cross of rimrock and clifftrail would open a lot of woods.
Rode this for the first time in years the other day and wow, it is showing its age. Seems to run fine, but incredibly loud over every tower. Now that this is the third-oldest lift (behind Tollhouse and Lookout), I wonder if it’s finally time for a refurb or replacement. It could get the K1 treatment with new cabins with a modern suspension system. But since the terrain is so lappable, I wonder if a telemix or bubble-8 might make more sense.
Interesting little tidbit about the Doppelmayr logo in the cabins:
The reason it’s there is because the cabins were actually refurbished by Doppelmayr Canada in Saint-Jérôme.
I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Saint-Jérôme facility back in 2013(?) and I distinctly remember the big red Stowe gondolas being worked on in there.
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What is the parking sequence on the gondola here? Do they park at the top as well?
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There is cabin parking at the top, yes
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About 15 are stored at the return overnight and are pushed down to the drive to get on the line in the morning. Cabins come off the rope each night and aren’t in order.
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Does anyone know the answer?
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I would think it would be for ADA reasons, but the cabins aren’t LWI.
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This seems like something akin to the Pioneer Express, where the lift has two Competition chairs amongst its Arceaux chairs.
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There is a lone Mansfield Gondola cabin on display at the welcome center in Guilford, VT. Maybe this new cabin replaced that one?
https://earth.google.com/web/@42.8122171,-72.5664206,128.63485342a,0d,15y,51.0180569h,86.03446679t,0r/data=IjAKLEFGMVFpcE5DVHl4NzhwUXdsaVpleFE0VGFSOUl3RW5HRXp6V0hQcW8wSUlQEAU
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To comply with ADA requirements.
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For ADA reasons, that cabin was purchased. The others cannot fit a wheel chair in them.
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Just like Steamboat’s old gondola had a newer CWA cabin.
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I’m hoping this gondola will get replaced with a d-line 10 passenger with outdoor loading.
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That would be cool, but I doubt outdoor loading.
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Sure it would be cool, but highly unlikely and certainly unnecessary in the next 10-15 years. Lift priorities at Stowe center around Forerunner to Toll House.
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Yeah. This would be quite far out. The gondola is probably fourth in line for replacement. The only problem as it stands is that it goes down for wind way too often. A chairlift supplement or a more resistant gondola with lower towers would be appropriate when the time for replacement comes.
LikeLike
I’m in favor of the supplementary chairlift, with a lift profile similar to Sensation (which has a roller coaster profile to keep the towers all very short in height for wind reasons).
LikeLike
I’d do a supplementary chairlift but the fact is that the gondola needs to be replaced in the next 15 years. I would rather upgrade the gondola with lower towers and heavier 10 pax cabins. Also, a lift between the gondola and four runner going from midway and the cross of rimrock and clifftrail would open a lot of woods.
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Stowe proposed a new pod between the Gondola and Four Runner served by a triple back in the 80s. It never materialized for reasons unknown to me.
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Everything down there funnels onto a significant riverbed. Probably a lot of nets and skier bridges would be needed. I’d still like to see it
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Rode this for the first time in years the other day and wow, it is showing its age. Seems to run fine, but incredibly loud over every tower. Now that this is the third-oldest lift (behind Tollhouse and Lookout), I wonder if it’s finally time for a refurb or replacement. It could get the K1 treatment with new cabins with a modern suspension system. But since the terrain is so lappable, I wonder if a telemix or bubble-8 might make more sense.
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Is this lift chain driven?
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nope. All tires
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Interesting little tidbit about the Doppelmayr logo in the cabins:
The reason it’s there is because the cabins were actually refurbished by Doppelmayr Canada in Saint-Jérôme.
I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Saint-Jérôme facility back in 2013(?) and I distinctly remember the big red Stowe gondolas being worked on in there.
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