This short high speed quad is the only chairlift in a large new beginner zone.Top part of the short lift line with Euro towers.View down the line.Tower 3.T2.View up the line.European chair with auto locking bar.Loading area.Top drive station.Side view of the top terminal.Tower 5 and the upper station.Side view of a conical tower.Lower station overview.The entire line seen from above.Chair with bar auto lowered.Tower 1.Riding up the line.Unloading area.
Not sure about the amount but i know Utah has one with more to come if im not mistaken with the DV expansion. Crest6 at brighton has the locking bars but they don’t auto lower.
The trail map’s a bit deceiving with this lift. It may just be a perspective thing, but the map kinda makes it look like it starts a bit further from the Thunderhead Express than it actually does.
Thanks Peter! I will be there next week with some new skiers, they don’t know Steamboat is an awful mountain for less than solid intermediates. `With this lift they can make some low stress turns before we attempt the long trek to Wally World. And thanks for all the great information on this site!
Aren’t the conical towers all imported from Europe? Maybe North America was out of manufacturing capacity given how many lifts were built this year, while Europe had some spare capacity. Of the 2022 new lifts, all D-Line lifts, plus this lift and Whistler Blackcomb’s new lifts have the conical towers.
Greenhorn Ranch was developed in 2021/22 simply to get the beginner’s area away from the base and eliminate the former Headwall slope tangle of chairlifts and conveyor belts. (In 2007 Headwall underwent some grading to eliminate its double fall-line.) Getting beginners used to dealing with chairlifts, with safety uppermost, was the most likely reason for the Greenhorn Ranch Express with its automatic safety bars. And yes, it replaced the Rough Rider Basin Doppelmayr platter (“poma”) lift, which appears to have gotten a new lease on life. Steamboat now just has three lifts to get passengers out of the base area and bring them back if desired.
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Auto locking bars. I think that’s a first for somewhere in Colorado.
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I may be wrong but I think this is the first HSQ in the US with auto locking bars.
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How many lifts have locking bars in North America ?
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Not sure about the amount but i know Utah has one with more to come if im not mistaken with the DV expansion. Crest6 at brighton has the locking bars but they don’t auto lower.
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I was in deer valley this winter, I can confirm at least Burns Express and Keetley Express and maybe Hoodoo Express have auto locking bars
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The trail map’s a bit deceiving with this lift. It may just be a perspective thing, but the map kinda makes it look like it starts a bit further from the Thunderhead Express than it actually does.
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The auto-locking comfort bar setup looks like it could cause all sorta shenanigans.
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On the other hand, the lift will probably not be running anywhere close to 1,000 fpm, which might mitigate things a bit.
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Good point.
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I had to check it out, and it closes so slowly you have plenty of time to prepare for it.
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Dear Valley’s Burns Chair will have the same setup of chairs, minus the Euro towers.
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Is this lift operational yet? Steamboat web site shows it closed on 12/26/2022.
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Not yet. When I was there for the gondola opening they said they were shooting to open it tomorrow, 12/27.
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Thanks Peter! I will be there next week with some new skiers, they don’t know Steamboat is an awful mountain for less than solid intermediates. `With this lift they can make some low stress turns before we attempt the long trek to Wally World. And thanks for all the great information on this site!
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Isn’t this what replaced the old rough rider Poma?
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Exactly.
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Aren’t the conical towers all imported from Europe? Maybe North America was out of manufacturing capacity given how many lifts were built this year, while Europe had some spare capacity. Of the 2022 new lifts, all D-Line lifts, plus this lift and Whistler Blackcomb’s new lifts have the conical towers.
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I could be wrong but I thought Ste-Jerome only built standard pipe towers, which would imply all conical towers are imported.
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This also the slowest hsq in the world. It travels the same speed as fixed grip lift.
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The most European beginner area in the U.S
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Greenhorn Ranch was developed in 2021/22 simply to get the beginner’s area away from the base and eliminate the former Headwall slope tangle of chairlifts and conveyor belts. (In 2007 Headwall underwent some grading to eliminate its double fall-line.) Getting beginners used to dealing with chairlifts, with safety uppermost, was the most likely reason for the Greenhorn Ranch Express with its automatic safety bars. And yes, it replaced the Rough Rider Basin Doppelmayr platter (“poma”) lift, which appears to have gotten a new lease on life. Steamboat now just has three lifts to get passengers out of the base area and bring them back if desired.
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