Towers 1 and 2.Compact Poma return station.Lower station arrival side.Maintenance rail.The gully halfway up.Arriving up top.Top station side view.Lift line overview.Upper lift line from below.Middle part of the line.Drive station.
44 thoughts on “High Lonesome Express – Winter Park, CO”
Donald M. ReifFebruary 22, 2019 / 9:30 am
This lift was converted from a fixed grip quad built in 1985. This is the reason for the portal tower at the bottom, and the reason the chairs have three-T-bar footrests that you see on lifts like Gent’s Ridge.
I remember when this lift was installed in 1985 and then converted to a detachable (1991). Not completely sure about the portal tower in relation to a fixed grip at the bottom but the old Summit Express (Now the Super Gauge) had a portal tower at the top just before the unloading station. Also, the old Summit had the exact same footrests (three T-Bar) and it was never a fixed grip. The two details you mention could be because of the generation of the lift. The old Summit and High-Lonesome fixed grip were installed the same year (1985).
The portal tower is a standard feature of many Poma fixed grip return stations, especially on older lifts. Like Sublette at Jackson Hole:
[img]https://skiliftblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_1078.jpg[/img]
And even some newer lifts like Powder at Big White:
The defunct Falcon SuperChair on Peak 10 was a fixed grip quad that was converted into a high speed quad after a single year of operation, and thus had a portal tower:
As for the three-footrests design, well, I think that Poma was experimenting as the normal two t-bars footrest option was also available and the majority of their lifts from that timeframe used those instead.
The three-footrest comfort bars were manufactured until 1985, and the two-footrest design dates from 1986. The portal towers were used on heavily-loaded towers, both in support and compression and on both fixed and detachable lifts.
This lift is always so miserable and windy. This is probably not going to happen, but they should put bubble chairs on this lift. It would make it so much better.
True the lift is windy and the bars on the chairs are terrible designs. Plus the loading to this lift is just terrible because there is two ways that ppl can get in and it causes more crowding on the left slope.
What W.P can do is make this a new HSQ with 90° loading on the right side because there isn’t enough room on the left side.
This lift really does need 90 degree loading. That would make more sense than the two tight 90 degree turns into the loading area. Not to mention those coming from the Eskimo Express and Zephyr Gondola basically have to do a complete 360 while entering the line.
Winter park has many lifts that need to be 90 degrees like eskimo for example. There is no need to do a 180 to get on and they even do 90 degree loading in the summer. Prospector could even do 90 degree loading. But what the resort really needs to do is get new towers for olympia and flip all the chairs so it goes counter-clockwise because loading on olympia sucks.
There were two variants of the Challenger terminal. This is the compact version (seven or eight windows per side), used on all of the Winter Park TB-41s except the Pioneer Express, as well as others like Needles Eye (Killington). It maxes out at 900 fpm.
The longer variant of the Challenger terminal, the one designed for 1,000 fpm lifts, has ten windows.
The terminals on this are slightly smaller than on the Gemini Express, Prospector Express and Olympia Express. There’s seven windows on this, vs. eight on the others.
That has happened recently to many old Poma/Yan-Poma detachables, such as Superstar Express at Killington. During May 2023, the last Poma combination assembly on that machine was replaced by a shiny new one from LPA. I’m sure that Superstar isn’t the only one.
My sister talked to a person who worked there and she said the gearbox was broken and they could not for some reason order a new one, so they have to hand craft a new one.
If I take this third-hand account at face value (which, I hate to say, I wonder about), then here’s how that would work. The ‘person who worked there’ is correct- you can’t just ‘order a new one’ when you’re dealing with gearboxes. No two are alike; the gear ratios are specifically matched to the lift’s speed and input speed/horsepower rating. If, say, they broke a tooth on a gear or gear set, they would absolutely have to machine an identical replacement.
Though Hi-Lo is considered a high speed quad, it really doesn’t run all that fast. I wonder if the new gear box could make the lift be able to run faster.
In a word, no. I was describing component replacement anyway, not a wholesale gearbox swap. If you read the rest of the comment thread, it’s explained by several folks why this lift runs at the speed it does.
The gearbox is not broken. Aiden is correct, it’s related to the service brake. The part they need has to be machined to order, so it’s taking a bit. They don’t need a whole new brake though.
Any word yet on a possible reopen date? I’m coming on 2/3 for a week and will not be able to access most of the terrain I like (I am not co didn’t enough for more difficult blues or blue blacks) without that lift.
Why is this lift closed a lot? It seems like everyday there is something mechanically that breaks! Based on previous comments, they said a gearbox failure and another said service break issue caused this lift to closed. Last winter around New Years, I saw they closed it all week and were welding something in the bottom terminal. (I think they were having a bad week when I went last year because they had Looking Glass running on diesel and smoking and had ski patrol block it off then 30-minutes later, I got stuck on Explorer for 10-20 minutes, bounced 2-3 times, before finally getting off via diesel engine with 5 mechanics in the control hut and ski patrol blocked off the line at the bottom)
This is a problem. Normally, I wouldn’t be too surprised that this lift is down because of how old it is, but this is the second time this year that I have heard of and there were probably a lot more times this lift broke down without me knowing. If I was Winter Park, I would replace this lift with a newer LPA high speed quad in the same alignment (and keep the name because of how iconic it is). The reason that I say HSQ and not HSS is because, I personally don’t think that the lines that this lift gets could justify a 6. An argument could be made that a HSS would be perfect for this lift because of the length and lines on peak days, but if Winter Park wants to make an easy and cheap investment that could potentially boost resort lift capacity, this would be the perfect solution.
No, definitely not a 6. The top is already crowded as is. Even a quad will be a boost in capacity cause it will be able to run 5m/s where the current can only run 4m/s.
Either a new HSQ with the same capacity as the existing lift, or maybe go for an HSS with wider chair spacing. The latter option might be more compelling if wanting to minimize misloads/misunloads.
I spoke with a WP lift operator and he says that replacing Hi-Lo is now their top priority. It wasn’t mentioned on the 2022 MDP, but they didn’t expect that it would break like that. A HSQ replacement would be perfect.
Not a lot of cross-pollination possible between those two lifts. Grip parts if they saved them. Maybe terminal tires and belts. The tower assemblies and carriers are different, as is the bulk of the conveyor system in the terminals.
Dec 3, 2024 and it is closed again. Mechanical Closure says Winter Park’s website. The need to desperately replace this lift. It has had to many Mechanical issues.
it was open yesterday, functioning well with no issues. It could definitely use a set of new chairs one of these seasons if the lift is sticking around but otherwise seemed to be running well.
Lift Blog 
This lift was converted from a fixed grip quad built in 1985. This is the reason for the portal tower at the bottom, and the reason the chairs have three-T-bar footrests that you see on lifts like Gent’s Ridge.
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I remember when this lift was installed in 1985 and then converted to a detachable (1991). Not completely sure about the portal tower in relation to a fixed grip at the bottom but the old Summit Express (Now the Super Gauge) had a portal tower at the top just before the unloading station. Also, the old Summit had the exact same footrests (three T-Bar) and it was never a fixed grip. The two details you mention could be because of the generation of the lift. The old Summit and High-Lonesome fixed grip were installed the same year (1985).
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The portal tower is a standard feature of many Poma fixed grip return stations, especially on older lifts. Like Sublette at Jackson Hole:
[img]https://skiliftblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_1078.jpg[/img]
And even some newer lifts like Powder at Big White:
[img]https://skiliftblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/img_9856.jpg[/img]
The defunct Falcon SuperChair on Peak 10 was a fixed grip quad that was converted into a high speed quad after a single year of operation, and thus had a portal tower:
[img]https://skiliftblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/img_3009.jpg[/img]
As for the three-footrests design, well, I think that Poma was experimenting as the normal two t-bars footrest option was also available and the majority of their lifts from that timeframe used those instead.
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The three-footrest comfort bars were manufactured until 1985, and the two-footrest design dates from 1986. The portal towers were used on heavily-loaded towers, both in support and compression and on both fixed and detachable lifts.
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This lift is always so miserable and windy. This is probably not going to happen, but they should put bubble chairs on this lift. It would make it so much better.
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I think that’d necessitate converting the lift to 90 degree loading and modifying the unload area.
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True the lift is windy and the bars on the chairs are terrible designs. Plus the loading to this lift is just terrible because there is two ways that ppl can get in and it causes more crowding on the left slope.
What W.P can do is make this a new HSQ with 90° loading on the right side because there isn’t enough room on the left side.
Btw this is a suggestion.
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This lift really does need 90 degree loading. That would make more sense than the two tight 90 degree turns into the loading area. Not to mention those coming from the Eskimo Express and Zephyr Gondola basically have to do a complete 360 while entering the line.
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Winter park has many lifts that need to be 90 degrees like eskimo for example. There is no need to do a 180 to get on and they even do 90 degree loading in the summer. Prospector could even do 90 degree loading. But what the resort really needs to do is get new towers for olympia and flip all the chairs so it goes counter-clockwise because loading on olympia sucks.
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Are you saying left side loading looking at the bottom terminal from behind looking at the line or looking down from the summit?
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Why is this lift so slow at only 800 fpm. Is it because it was converted from a fixed grip?
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There were two variants of the Challenger terminal. This is the compact version (seven or eight windows per side), used on all of the Winter Park TB-41s except the Pioneer Express, as well as others like Needles Eye (Killington). It maxes out at 900 fpm.
The longer variant of the Challenger terminal, the one designed for 1,000 fpm lifts, has ten windows.
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Short terminals.
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I made this Video…
https://youtu.be/iZPiTjRB2wI
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I made a complete overhaul of the High Lonesome Express on the Map. Check it out at the link below…
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1JcCC-f3ZtSCIYd9NcbPmAoZ8OZ6cAfhu&usp=sharing
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This lift got a brand new tensioning system over the summer.
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This lift has the same size terminals as all the other high speed quads? Excluding Explorer and Pioneer. It only runs 800fpm rather than 900.
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The terminals on this are slightly smaller than on the Gemini Express, Prospector Express and Olympia Express. There’s seven windows on this, vs. eight on the others.
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I’m seeing some old sheaves from the fixed-grip quad, not to mention that in 2022, LPOA replaced the sheaves on the depression tower in the gully
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That has happened recently to many old Poma/Yan-Poma detachables, such as Superstar Express at Killington. During May 2023, the last Poma combination assembly on that machine was replaced by a shiny new one from LPA. I’m sure that Superstar isn’t the only one.
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This list is no longer working at the end of 2023. Hope they get it running again soon or replace it quickly.
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was it working earlier this season? Maybe it just hasn’t opened up yet for the area.
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It was open. Heard they’re having problems with the service brake. Have to get a new one shipped in. Should be open soon.
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My sister talked to a person who worked there and she said the gearbox was broken and they could not for some reason order a new one, so they have to hand craft a new one.
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If I take this third-hand account at face value (which, I hate to say, I wonder about), then here’s how that would work. The ‘person who worked there’ is correct- you can’t just ‘order a new one’ when you’re dealing with gearboxes. No two are alike; the gear ratios are specifically matched to the lift’s speed and input speed/horsepower rating. If, say, they broke a tooth on a gear or gear set, they would absolutely have to machine an identical replacement.
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Though Hi-Lo is considered a high speed quad, it really doesn’t run all that fast. I wonder if the new gear box could make the lift be able to run faster.
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In a word, no. I was describing component replacement anyway, not a wholesale gearbox swap. If you read the rest of the comment thread, it’s explained by several folks why this lift runs at the speed it does.
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The gearbox is not broken. Aiden is correct, it’s related to the service brake. The part they need has to be machined to order, so it’s taking a bit. They don’t need a whole new brake though.
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Any word yet on a possible reopen date? I’m coming on 2/3 for a week and will not be able to access most of the terrain I like (I am not co didn’t enough for more difficult blues or blue blacks) without that lift.
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This lift opened back up yesterday!
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Why is this lift closed a lot? It seems like everyday there is something mechanically that breaks! Based on previous comments, they said a gearbox failure and another said service break issue caused this lift to closed. Last winter around New Years, I saw they closed it all week and were welding something in the bottom terminal. (I think they were having a bad week when I went last year because they had Looking Glass running on diesel and smoking and had ski patrol block it off then 30-minutes later, I got stuck on Explorer for 10-20 minutes, bounced 2-3 times, before finally getting off via diesel engine with 5 mechanics in the control hut and ski patrol blocked off the line at the bottom)
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WP’s website says “Mechanical Closure”, anyone know what happend?
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it is back open
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This is a problem. Normally, I wouldn’t be too surprised that this lift is down because of how old it is, but this is the second time this year that I have heard of and there were probably a lot more times this lift broke down without me knowing. If I was Winter Park, I would replace this lift with a newer LPA high speed quad in the same alignment (and keep the name because of how iconic it is). The reason that I say HSQ and not HSS is because, I personally don’t think that the lines that this lift gets could justify a 6. An argument could be made that a HSS would be perfect for this lift because of the length and lines on peak days, but if Winter Park wants to make an easy and cheap investment that could potentially boost resort lift capacity, this would be the perfect solution.
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No, definitely not a 6. The top is already crowded as is. Even a quad will be a boost in capacity cause it will be able to run 5m/s where the current can only run 4m/s.
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Either a new HSQ with the same capacity as the existing lift, or maybe go for an HSS with wider chair spacing. The latter option might be more compelling if wanting to minimize misloads/misunloads.
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I spoke with a WP lift operator and he says that replacing Hi-Lo is now their top priority. It wasn’t mentioned on the 2022 MDP, but they didn’t expect that it would break like that. A HSQ replacement would be perfect.
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I think that the replacement of Pioneer has left this lift with enough parts to keep it alive a little longer.
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Not a lot of cross-pollination possible between those two lifts. Grip parts if they saved them. Maybe terminal tires and belts. The tower assemblies and carriers are different, as is the bulk of the conveyor system in the terminals.
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Dec 3, 2024 and it is closed again. Mechanical Closure says Winter Park’s website. The need to desperately replace this lift. It has had to many Mechanical issues.
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Bummer. Anyone know if this lift will reopen for the 2024-2025 season at all?
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it was open yesterday, functioning well with no issues. It could definitely use a set of new chairs one of these seasons if the lift is sticking around but otherwise seemed to be running well.
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it was still shut down as of yesterday, jan 29. Hopefully to replaced next year?
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I hope so. Those bars look like torture devices!
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