This gondola came used from Squaw Valley. Both stations were inside buildings at Squaw so Lake Louise custom fabricated terminal skins to match their Leitner detachables.Bottom terminal with maintenance rail.Bottom terminal at the ski area base.Top terminal with vault drive from below.Unloading platform on the roof of the vault drive building.Breakover towers just before the summit.View down the line.Lower section of the line.Another view of the base.The below-treeline portion of the line.View up this very long gondola.View up the line from the base area.Top terminal under cover.Breakover towers.View down from near the summit.Middle part of the lift line.Lift line.View toward the namesake Lake Louise.A support tower.View up the line.Lower lift line.Lift overview.
21 thoughts on “Grizzly Express Gondola – Lake Louise, AB”
CollinJanuary 19, 2018 / 4:59 pm
It looks like the towers are Leitner rather than the original Poma ones from Squaw Valley. Why would they have not reused them? Line gear appears to still be Poma.
These seem to be the original Poma towers, with a modified tower head to match the other Leitner detachables on the mountain. If such a great effort was made to match the Leitner terminals, why not the towers too?
These are Poma towers consistent with the late 80s/early 90s designs. It appears that they had permanent lifting hooks welded on the ends of the original gantry frames- when we wanted to lift the rope on those kind of towers we had an insert we’d slide into the box tube to attach our rigging to. Modifying the towers in this fashion means one less thing to bring with you (or forget) while doing tower service. It’s probably coincidental that the modifications match the Leitners- they may have copied them because it was an easy model to use.
Every lift profile is different and when towers can be reused, they are. Otherwise, new towers need to be fabricated. In addition, some of the old towers may have been Yan/LE due to the POMA gondola replacing a two year old installation at Squaw.
Poma definitely reused the Yan towers at Squaw Valley. Poma towers were always bolted onto the footings, so there would’ve been no reason to cut it off like that when they could’ve just unbolted it. In that case, the Yan towers would’ve been scrapped, and new towers used at Lake Louise which are pre-merger Leitner.
I also wonder if it still has the original chain driven contours from Squaw, or if they were replaced with tires when the lift was reinstalled.
Not necessarily. All Pomas at Copper through 1989 had embedded towers because the install crew was more familiar with Yans. It’s possible that happened at Squaw.
Honestly, the lifting frames that were installed with the relocation to Lake Louise don’t look all that different from the lifting frame design Leitner-Poma has used on their chairlifts and gondolas since 2012. They look like high speed six pack lifting frames but without the extra cross bracing:
What an unusual mode of operation, with the cabins/chairs completely coming to a stop and the bell announcing when it’s going to start moving again. Never seen that before.
I think this lift was the Super Gondola that operated from 1985 to 1998 which would mean this is a Performant model gondola. Wonder how it is holding up… 1985 is old for a detach.
Lift Blog 
It looks like the towers are Leitner rather than the original Poma ones from Squaw Valley. Why would they have not reused them? Line gear appears to still be Poma.
LikeLike
These seem to be the original Poma towers, with a modified tower head to match the other Leitner detachables on the mountain. If such a great effort was made to match the Leitner terminals, why not the towers too?
LikeLike
These are Poma towers consistent with the late 80s/early 90s designs. It appears that they had permanent lifting hooks welded on the ends of the original gantry frames- when we wanted to lift the rope on those kind of towers we had an insert we’d slide into the box tube to attach our rigging to. Modifying the towers in this fashion means one less thing to bring with you (or forget) while doing tower service. It’s probably coincidental that the modifications match the Leitners- they may have copied them because it was an easy model to use.
LikeLike
Every lift profile is different and when towers can be reused, they are. Otherwise, new towers need to be fabricated. In addition, some of the old towers may have been Yan/LE due to the POMA gondola replacing a two year old installation at Squaw.
LikeLike
Poma definitely reused the Yan towers at Squaw Valley. Poma towers were always bolted onto the footings, so there would’ve been no reason to cut it off like that when they could’ve just unbolted it. In that case, the Yan towers would’ve been scrapped, and new towers used at Lake Louise which are pre-merger Leitner.
I also wonder if it still has the original chain driven contours from Squaw, or if they were replaced with tires when the lift was reinstalled.
LikeLike
Not necessarily. All Pomas at Copper through 1989 had embedded towers because the install crew was more familiar with Yans. It’s possible that happened at Squaw.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The chains were converted to tires
LikeLike
Honestly, the lifting frames that were installed with the relocation to Lake Louise don’t look all that different from the lifting frame design Leitner-Poma has used on their chairlifts and gondolas since 2012. They look like high speed six pack lifting frames but without the extra cross bracing:
LikeLike
In the summer this lift is a Chondola
LikeLike
No Glacier runs as a Chondola with cabins borrowed from this lift.
LikeLike
Somewhat confusing… it seems like they rename Glacier to Grizzly during the summer?
LikeLike
What an unusual mode of operation, with the cabins/chairs completely coming to a stop and the bell announcing when it’s going to start moving again. Never seen that before.
LikeLike
Big Mountain Express at Whitefish operates the same way in the summer time minus the bells signaling when the chairs/cabins will start moving again.
LikeLike
Most detaches I have seen have a start bell at the terminals that sounds before the lift starts.
LikeLike
how do they even swap the grips, or can they just fit the cabins and hanagar arms onto the letiner grips?
LikeLike
I think they have extra hangar arms and grips for the cabins, or they just borrow the grips from the chairs that are being unused during the summer.
LikeLike
I love those custom terminal skins.
LikeLike
Same, They definitely look better than the trashy looking Challenger terminals Poma was building at the time
LikeLike
Was this lift an Alpha performance?
LikeLike
I think this lift was the Super Gondola that operated from 1985 to 1998 which would mean this is a Performant model gondola. Wonder how it is holding up… 1985 is old for a detach.
LikeLike