Integrated drive and tension terminal.Doppelmayr CTEC terminal.Looking down the line.Another view of the top.Bottom terminal from below.Loading area and operator house.Fixed return station.Steep lift line.
This lift has had lots of issues with it in the past. Once got stuck on here for an hour, until they got it running again. Two weeks later, the lift again broke down again and you had to continue all the way down to Eagle Express!
Not really. This lift is so short that unless the line is long, you can be at the bottom of Powderhorn about the time you would’ve been getting on Eagle, or at least well before you’d have exited Eagle. Eagle doesn’t put you much higher on the ridge or in a spot where you can hit Summit without some major and slow joey traversing, so you’d still need to use Powderhorn or Apex and then it’d be this whole thing. Speaking of Apex, that’s where most of Solitude’s lodging is, which was probably at least a consideration. Lastly, this lift does cut a handful of folks off from adding to the crowd at Eagle, which serves a good portion of Solitude’s cruising terrain, such as it is. Really lastly, Solitude is fun cos it is funky and a little hard to get around. As it is in many places like this, knowing the terrain and flow benefits folks who ski here a lot, more than it does those tourists. As long as you can find a parking spot.
It’s a lot faster to take Honeycomb than to go all the way to Eagle. There is no run below the chair, it’s a cat track all the way to Challenger, which itself has already flattened out. It takes longer than the chair ride just to get to the bottom, even if you are a fast skater with a good wax. This chair is maybe 3 mins long. There are a couple runs available off the Eagle gate and not the Navarone gate, but they are SW facing and get absolutely cooked if the weather isn’t spot on. 10/10 times you should take this chair instead of going all the way to Eagle.
The fastest way up to the top of Honeycomb by far is to take Return to Apex to Summit. If you are feeling adventurous, the most fun way is to take Return to Powderhorn, drop into that shenanigans, and then take Summit.
Lift Blog 
This lift has had lots of issues with it in the past. Once got stuck on here for an hour, until they got it running again. Two weeks later, the lift again broke down again and you had to continue all the way down to Eagle Express!
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Before this lift you always went all the way down to Eagle Express…..
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Why does this lift even exist? Wouldn’t it be less time consuming to go down honeycomb return trail back to the Eagle Express?
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Not really. This lift is so short that unless the line is long, you can be at the bottom of Powderhorn about the time you would’ve been getting on Eagle, or at least well before you’d have exited Eagle. Eagle doesn’t put you much higher on the ridge or in a spot where you can hit Summit without some major and slow joey traversing, so you’d still need to use Powderhorn or Apex and then it’d be this whole thing. Speaking of Apex, that’s where most of Solitude’s lodging is, which was probably at least a consideration. Lastly, this lift does cut a handful of folks off from adding to the crowd at Eagle, which serves a good portion of Solitude’s cruising terrain, such as it is. Really lastly, Solitude is fun cos it is funky and a little hard to get around. As it is in many places like this, knowing the terrain and flow benefits folks who ski here a lot, more than it does those tourists. As long as you can find a parking spot.
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It’s a lot faster to take Honeycomb than to go all the way to Eagle. There is no run below the chair, it’s a cat track all the way to Challenger, which itself has already flattened out. It takes longer than the chair ride just to get to the bottom, even if you are a fast skater with a good wax. This chair is maybe 3 mins long. There are a couple runs available off the Eagle gate and not the Navarone gate, but they are SW facing and get absolutely cooked if the weather isn’t spot on. 10/10 times you should take this chair instead of going all the way to Eagle.
The fastest way up to the top of Honeycomb by far is to take Return to Apex to Summit. If you are feeling adventurous, the most fun way is to take Return to Powderhorn, drop into that shenanigans, and then take Summit.
LikeLiked by 1 person