Doppelmayr built this fixed grip quad to take over all lift service on Granite Peak in 1998.Steep middle part of the lift line.View up at tower 9.Fixed drive terminal at the top.Motor room view.Lift overview.Return bullwheel with tensioning.Loading area.Towers 1A and 1.View up the lift line.Doppelmayr Worldbook entry.
There is a sign at the bottom of the lift that says “Granite Peak Express.” So it might be getting an upgrade sometime soon, but they’re gonna have to build new trails if they want to get any use out of a detachable lift here.
Interesting, I had never noticed that sign before. The Intrawest master plan from the 90s had Granite as a D4C, so the lift was built for easy conversion by just changing the grips and terminals, but that never happened. It would be nice if this had happened, as it’s extremely difficult for the beginner clientele at Creek to load. When I was a lifty, Granite Return was my least favorite spot on the mountain to be stationed.
The master plan did include a few additional trails on Granite Mountain that were never cut. There also used to be a few additional trails (Granite View, Devil’s Bit, and Pipeline) that were closed and are unlikely to return.
I doubt Pipeline will ever return. It doesn’t loop back to Granite’s base anymore, but flows directly into the slopeside condos. Personally, I think it’s a shame Granite doesn’t have more terrain. Right now, it just feels like a pass-through peak in between Vernon and South.
Are you sure the Pipeline run doesn’t connect back across to the lift anymore? I poached it a few years ago and it was just an abandoned trail back then, nothing built on it.
Did some more research on Granite since my last comment, and turns out there is much more history than I had anticipated. At one point, Granite had 3 trails which are now abandoned, the Pipeline, Granite View, and Devil’s Way runs. Pipeline was abandoned in 2017, Granite View in 2007, and Devil’s Way in 1999. There was also a second out of base lift, the Rim Run Double which went to about the intersection of Pipeline and Granite View, servicing the lower part of Granite View. It was removed in 1982, perhaps due to a lack of use, and relocated to the summit as the Great Gorge Connection lift. The biggest thing I found was the master plan which they had in store. They had cut a lower part of Pipeline down to the Season’s Development (Now the Minerals Resort) and the plan was to install a Leitner gondola (Fitting, as VV/GG was an exclusively Borvig resort) from there to Granite, they apparently got so far as to put a cabin on display. The plan was later scrapped, and the degradation of Granite began. Now, it exists almost entirely as a transfer peak, a true shame considering it looks like it used to be an interesting section of the resort. Even forgetting about the Rim Run lift and the Gondola proposal, it seemed to have much more purpose before. https://prnt.sc/10vitt6
May I ask where you were able to find the Intrawest Master Plan for the resort? Is it on file anywhere with Vernon Township and/or available online? Any help appreciated.
sorry to reply to myself but I found maps from the master plan with Vernon Township Planning and Zoning filed under PB#4-98-5 “Great Gorge Resort, Inc. Ski Trail Site Plan – Signed Maps.” My pic of sheet 4 is pending upload on skimap.org
Was there last weekend and disappointed to see what had happened to Great Gorge North (Granite). It badly needs more trails, especially since it is pretty much the only place to hide from the (truly terrifying) crowds that make lift lines at Vernon and South unbearable.
Also, this is one of the worst-designed loading and terminal setups I’ve ever seen. Very hard to get into position in time and to get off in time when the bullwheel is right there and the quad chair is whipping around. They really did think it was going to be temporary, I guess.
Mountain Creek has actually reduced their trail count in recent years because it is harder to maintain with warmer winters. The cost of repeated snowmaking and grooming plus the opportunity cost of spreading themselves more thin has made a larger footprint tough to justify.
I do agree the chairs come around a bit fast. One of my poles got severely bent while loading this lift a number of years ago because of this.
There is a bit more to it than snowmaking and warmer winters. Mountain creek usually gets to 100 percent open pretty quick. granite view was flat, and was harder to navigate than southern sojourn at times. pipeline had a gnarly 90 degree turn at the bottom after the condos were built. When conditions were bad (often) it was pretty dangerous, especially with the crowds/skill level of most of creek’s skiers.
I would like to see them remove the southern sojourn trail and put the cabriolet where the sojourn double is. Then it can operate as a true transfer lift. Then two quads on vernon peak, one to take place of the cab, another in place of the triple.
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That motor room design looks awful on a quad lift.
On other lifts however, it looks just fine.
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Lodgepole at Diamond Peak somehow avoided this problem:
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There is a sign at the bottom of the lift that says “Granite Peak Express.” So it might be getting an upgrade sometime soon, but they’re gonna have to build new trails if they want to get any use out of a detachable lift here.
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Interesting, I had never noticed that sign before. The Intrawest master plan from the 90s had Granite as a D4C, so the lift was built for easy conversion by just changing the grips and terminals, but that never happened. It would be nice if this had happened, as it’s extremely difficult for the beginner clientele at Creek to load. When I was a lifty, Granite Return was my least favorite spot on the mountain to be stationed.
The master plan did include a few additional trails on Granite Mountain that were never cut. There also used to be a few additional trails (Granite View, Devil’s Bit, and Pipeline) that were closed and are unlikely to return.
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I doubt Pipeline will ever return. It doesn’t loop back to Granite’s base anymore, but flows directly into the slopeside condos. Personally, I think it’s a shame Granite doesn’t have more terrain. Right now, it just feels like a pass-through peak in between Vernon and South.
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Devil’s Bit was renamed to Grand Prix and it is definitely open this year
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Are you sure the Pipeline run doesn’t connect back across to the lift anymore? I poached it a few years ago and it was just an abandoned trail back then, nothing built on it.
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Did some more research on Granite since my last comment, and turns out there is much more history than I had anticipated. At one point, Granite had 3 trails which are now abandoned, the Pipeline, Granite View, and Devil’s Way runs. Pipeline was abandoned in 2017, Granite View in 2007, and Devil’s Way in 1999. There was also a second out of base lift, the Rim Run Double which went to about the intersection of Pipeline and Granite View, servicing the lower part of Granite View. It was removed in 1982, perhaps due to a lack of use, and relocated to the summit as the Great Gorge Connection lift. The biggest thing I found was the master plan which they had in store. They had cut a lower part of Pipeline down to the Season’s Development (Now the Minerals Resort) and the plan was to install a Leitner gondola (Fitting, as VV/GG was an exclusively Borvig resort) from there to Granite, they apparently got so far as to put a cabin on display. The plan was later scrapped, and the degradation of Granite began. Now, it exists almost entirely as a transfer peak, a true shame considering it looks like it used to be an interesting section of the resort. Even forgetting about the Rim Run lift and the Gondola proposal, it seemed to have much more purpose before.
https://prnt.sc/10vitt6
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Hello,
May I ask where you were able to find the Intrawest Master Plan for the resort? Is it on file anywhere with Vernon Township and/or available online? Any help appreciated.
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sorry to reply to myself but I found maps from the master plan with Vernon Township Planning and Zoning filed under PB#4-98-5 “Great Gorge Resort, Inc. Ski Trail Site Plan – Signed Maps.” My pic of sheet 4 is pending upload on skimap.org
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Was there last weekend and disappointed to see what had happened to Great Gorge North (Granite). It badly needs more trails, especially since it is pretty much the only place to hide from the (truly terrifying) crowds that make lift lines at Vernon and South unbearable.
Also, this is one of the worst-designed loading and terminal setups I’ve ever seen. Very hard to get into position in time and to get off in time when the bullwheel is right there and the quad chair is whipping around. They really did think it was going to be temporary, I guess.
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Mountain Creek has actually reduced their trail count in recent years because it is harder to maintain with warmer winters. The cost of repeated snowmaking and grooming plus the opportunity cost of spreading themselves more thin has made a larger footprint tough to justify.
I do agree the chairs come around a bit fast. One of my poles got severely bent while loading this lift a number of years ago because of this.
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There is a bit more to it than snowmaking and warmer winters. Mountain creek usually gets to 100 percent open pretty quick. granite view was flat, and was harder to navigate than southern sojourn at times. pipeline had a gnarly 90 degree turn at the bottom after the condos were built. When conditions were bad (often) it was pretty dangerous, especially with the crowds/skill level of most of creek’s skiers.
I would like to see them remove the southern sojourn trail and put the cabriolet where the sojourn double is. Then it can operate as a true transfer lift. Then two quads on vernon peak, one to take place of the cab, another in place of the triple.
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Southern Sojourn is one of my favorite trails. The only downside is the end where it is flat.
Granite View was also flat for a small area, but other than that was a cool long trail in the middle of the woods. Wish they would bring it back.
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The tower foundations from the original Borvig are still there, you can see one of them in the second photo
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