New Lift names are sorta out but hard to find. here are the former IH’s new names
Deer Track
Little paw (maybe the poma)
Running Bear
Snowshoe
Voyager’s Highway (quad)
Totem Pole Learning Area (magic Carpet)
Here Are Black River Basin’s New lift names
Crosscut
Gig Trail
Handletow Beginner Area
Horseshoe
Just Cuz
Sale is Closed, looks like most everything will get renamed/rebranded. A connection lift has already been mentioned in the press release. Will be interested to see what they prioritize in upgrades.
The stats on their new website show that they now only have 11 lifts between both areas, down from 15. The new trail map isn’t out yet. I’m curious to see if they are counting lifts for next year already once the six goes in or actually phasing out 4 lifts out of operations this season such as the quad and some of the surface lifts? Even with one lift replacing 3 next year that’s still only down 2 lifts.
After thinking about what the new management has done at Lutsen and Granite Peak, I am thinking we shouldn’t be clinging too much to the Cloudfront chair and West t-bar. I foresee a high-speed lift going in from the base of these lifts (not clairvoyant on exact alignment) and terminating where the triple currently ends. It could be another six-pack or a HSQ. Because the removal of the triple will make it more difficult to access this area, I think we’ll see this new lift sooner rather than later to round out the core of the new Snowriver Resort skier circulation.
There are some old Riblets still left at the sister mountains. I personally like the Bear Creek lift as-is, but it is 35 years old at its present location and I believe it was a relocation. Not sure if the new management moves it to replace the east t-bar, or if they abandon that terrain, or there are new lifts coming for that eastern trail pod as well as Bear Creek.
I still think a couple of fixed-grip quads would be fine at Black River. How busy does it ever get there?
Cloudfront and the West T-Bar would be difficult to replace with just one lift. The bottom area is completely flat and the bottom of the runs these lifts service is very steep and is also the best part of the runs. They would either need to dig out the area to funnel skiers into a new single lift or regrade the bottom of the runs in order to funnel skiers to the new lift. Neither option is great and that area is lower and not much higher than the river so digging that area out is probably not a great idea.
The new 6 pack will start in a newly dug out area but the elevation there is a little higher than where Cloudfront is. I do not recall that Cloudfront/T-bar area being that popular so maybe a fixed grip triple to replace Cloudfront but with the lift located closer to where the T-bar is running all the way to the top of the soon to be removed Triple. I think Bear Creek should have the lift realigned or replaced to start in the same location but to end where the Triple currently does. It would better tie the Bear Creek area in and I do not see if being too difficult to alter the Bear Creek runs to make that work.
I think the 4 doubles at Black River will be gone within this decade. Both could be replaced with triples or quads one for each side of the hill.
I don’t see another High Speed lift at this resort unless the popularity really takes off. It just isn’t that busy. The 6 pack only makes sense for marketing, because it is replacing 2 lifts in the main part of the hill and that area does get busy on weekends and holidays. I am not counting the quad as being replaced as it really only serviced a small area and never ran.
I think the components from the 4 identical riblet doubles at Black River could be used to make the connection lift to the 2 resorts. I would love a gondola but that is a lot of money for a resort that has struggled to make money for the better part of 3 decades. I know Skinner did this at Lutsen so maybe there is a chance. I just don’t see how this ski area could support a gondola and multiple high speed lifts.
I like what Skinner is doing and as a Michigander and a UP lover this gives the resort a real shot at survival. I want to see this area and Big Powderhorn survive. Both areas are different and attract different types of people but these areas are incredibly remote, have little population nearby, has 5 ski areas within a short distance of each other and are not that easy to get to from where the midwest population is.
Per this https://www.stormskiing.com/p/granite-peak-lutsen-owner-closes Skinner says that the connector will likely not be a high-speed chair, or, to quote “It doesn’t have to be a high-speed, high-capacity lift, and also it doesn’t have to have a ton of people on it,” he said. “It won’t be one of those lifts where it’s gonna be packed all the time.”
My expectation is
Two fixed-grip quad, one for each face of Black River Basin
The six-pack on Jackson Summit
A fixed or high speed quad on the west side of the main face (They’ll probably dig down to make the bottom station or regrade the whole run to make it a sustained steeper pitch rather than just the steepest at the bottom)
A fixed-grip quad for the connector from the Black River Base to Jackson Summit
Maybe replacing Bear creek with a triple and moving the double to the t-bar, but these are less likely imo.
I cannot see any of the current lifts getting reused, the days of reinstalling Riblets are pretty much over, Skinner will stick to Detachable wherever he can even if its somewhat overkill, he has not installed a fixed grip since 2010 at the other areas, but that could change for areas like the East T, Bear Creek and Black River Basin. Keep in mind Granite and Lutsen still operate some pretty old lifts in their fleet as well so some of the secondary lifts at Snowriver will probably be sticking around for awhile yet.
Yes there are some that are going to stick around for a while. Some of these Riblets are older than most. I’d say they should leave some towers up and maybe the drive terminal of the lift called “original”
drive terminal is completely gone, and every tower is in a place that is in the open, so i suspect every last bit of the double will go, but they might keep the terminals of the quad maybe.
The six pack going in is only happening because a replacement lift is needed and for marketing. The “Original” double is very old and the most critical lift. The 6 pack eliminates the need for up to 3 total lifts. Replacing 3 with 1 almost always makes sense. The 6 pack puts Snowriver on the map and allows it to enter into conversations about being one of the best Midwest ski destinations. The lift legitimizes the place and will likely pay for itself over time as a result with the additional skiers that may now consider traveling to the place. I do not expect any other big changes unless skier numbers really go up. The Riblets will remain for as long as they can which is decades. They can still be serviced and Skinner has lots of them that can be removed incrementally and salvaged for parts. He just removed 3 that have components that can go to service the other riblets.
Replacement lifts are only going to enter into the picture where it is required to up capacity or to realign things. I don’t think he will move lifts unless it is for very specific non critical use like a connector lift between the 2 hills. The T-bars may go but I can just as easily see that terrain abandoned as I can see a lift being installed. Just call it “backcountry” and people will hike it and think it is great.
Snowriver is not Granite or Lutsen. Snowriver wishes it had the terrain and skier numbers as either one of those two. Granite and Lutsen are both top 5 Midwest ski areas in the eyes of those that have skied them. A lot of people might say they are 1 and 2 or 2 and 1. I didn’t forget Bohemia but that is just a different animal altogether and does not appeal to as many skiers. If the numbers at Snowriver increase I would expect good things. If they do not, I don’t expect anything except for a slightly better run resort and some new things only as necessary.
I hope I am wrong and in 5 years there is a gondola and 5 high speed lifts at Snowriver.
The dismantling process is already well underway, Quad chairs are now all offline, Sounds like the Triple chair has also carried its final passengers as Snowriver’s blog states they will immediately move over to that lift to begin chair removal this week, just leaving the workhorse original double in the main area till its final day on April 2.
Was there any regrading done at the bottom of what used to be the Winnebago area to allow skiers to go down the trails formerly serviced by the West t-bar and end up back at the Cloudfront chair? Or is there just a lot of schlepping at the bottom to get to the chair?
Black River Basins lifts will have new names for this season- Ascender, Brigantine, Capstan, and Draw stroke. (still keeping the ABCD theme). Jackson Creek Summit will have a paddle tow in place of the Poma Lift called Sugar Maple Tow
Lift Blog 
Hopefully they don’t need to rename the ski area and half the lifts.
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They just did
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New Lift names are sorta out but hard to find. here are the former IH’s new names
Deer Track
Little paw (maybe the poma)
Running Bear
Snowshoe
Voyager’s Highway (quad)
Totem Pole Learning Area (magic Carpet)
Here Are Black River Basin’s New lift names
Crosscut
Gig Trail
Handletow Beginner Area
Horseshoe
Just Cuz
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Leelinaw Triple and the former T Bar that was moved to Tomahawk
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Sale is Closed, looks like most everything will get renamed/rebranded. A connection lift has already been mentioned in the press release. Will be interested to see what they prioritize in upgrades.
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Now on the Granite Peak Blog: https://www.skigranitepeak.com/blog/a-new-era-in-the-up/
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It’s looking like Chippewa, Voyagers, and Leelinaw are going to be replaced by one Detach in a realignment of the current Leelinaw line.
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Dam getting rid of all the cool lifts
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The stats on their new website show that they now only have 11 lifts between both areas, down from 15. The new trail map isn’t out yet. I’m curious to see if they are counting lifts for next year already once the six goes in or actually phasing out 4 lifts out of operations this season such as the quad and some of the surface lifts? Even with one lift replacing 3 next year that’s still only down 2 lifts.
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I think they’re either pulling the two T-bars out of service at Jackson Creek or the two backup doubles at Black River.
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After thinking about what the new management has done at Lutsen and Granite Peak, I am thinking we shouldn’t be clinging too much to the Cloudfront chair and West t-bar. I foresee a high-speed lift going in from the base of these lifts (not clairvoyant on exact alignment) and terminating where the triple currently ends. It could be another six-pack or a HSQ. Because the removal of the triple will make it more difficult to access this area, I think we’ll see this new lift sooner rather than later to round out the core of the new Snowriver Resort skier circulation.
There are some old Riblets still left at the sister mountains. I personally like the Bear Creek lift as-is, but it is 35 years old at its present location and I believe it was a relocation. Not sure if the new management moves it to replace the east t-bar, or if they abandon that terrain, or there are new lifts coming for that eastern trail pod as well as Bear Creek.
I still think a couple of fixed-grip quads would be fine at Black River. How busy does it ever get there?
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Cloudfront and the West T-Bar would be difficult to replace with just one lift. The bottom area is completely flat and the bottom of the runs these lifts service is very steep and is also the best part of the runs. They would either need to dig out the area to funnel skiers into a new single lift or regrade the bottom of the runs in order to funnel skiers to the new lift. Neither option is great and that area is lower and not much higher than the river so digging that area out is probably not a great idea.
The new 6 pack will start in a newly dug out area but the elevation there is a little higher than where Cloudfront is. I do not recall that Cloudfront/T-bar area being that popular so maybe a fixed grip triple to replace Cloudfront but with the lift located closer to where the T-bar is running all the way to the top of the soon to be removed Triple. I think Bear Creek should have the lift realigned or replaced to start in the same location but to end where the Triple currently does. It would better tie the Bear Creek area in and I do not see if being too difficult to alter the Bear Creek runs to make that work.
I think the 4 doubles at Black River will be gone within this decade. Both could be replaced with triples or quads one for each side of the hill.
I don’t see another High Speed lift at this resort unless the popularity really takes off. It just isn’t that busy. The 6 pack only makes sense for marketing, because it is replacing 2 lifts in the main part of the hill and that area does get busy on weekends and holidays. I am not counting the quad as being replaced as it really only serviced a small area and never ran.
I think the components from the 4 identical riblet doubles at Black River could be used to make the connection lift to the 2 resorts. I would love a gondola but that is a lot of money for a resort that has struggled to make money for the better part of 3 decades. I know Skinner did this at Lutsen so maybe there is a chance. I just don’t see how this ski area could support a gondola and multiple high speed lifts.
I like what Skinner is doing and as a Michigander and a UP lover this gives the resort a real shot at survival. I want to see this area and Big Powderhorn survive. Both areas are different and attract different types of people but these areas are incredibly remote, have little population nearby, has 5 ski areas within a short distance of each other and are not that easy to get to from where the midwest population is.
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Per this https://www.stormskiing.com/p/granite-peak-lutsen-owner-closes Skinner says that the connector will likely not be a high-speed chair, or, to quote “It doesn’t have to be a high-speed, high-capacity lift, and also it doesn’t have to have a ton of people on it,” he said. “It won’t be one of those lifts where it’s gonna be packed all the time.”
My expectation is
Two fixed-grip quad, one for each face of Black River Basin
The six-pack on Jackson Summit
A fixed or high speed quad on the west side of the main face (They’ll probably dig down to make the bottom station or regrade the whole run to make it a sustained steeper pitch rather than just the steepest at the bottom)
A fixed-grip quad for the connector from the Black River Base to Jackson Summit
Maybe replacing Bear creek with a triple and moving the double to the t-bar, but these are less likely imo.
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I cannot see any of the current lifts getting reused, the days of reinstalling Riblets are pretty much over, Skinner will stick to Detachable wherever he can even if its somewhat overkill, he has not installed a fixed grip since 2010 at the other areas, but that could change for areas like the East T, Bear Creek and Black River Basin. Keep in mind Granite and Lutsen still operate some pretty old lifts in their fleet as well so some of the secondary lifts at Snowriver will probably be sticking around for awhile yet.
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Yes there are some that are going to stick around for a while. Some of these Riblets are older than most. I’d say they should leave some towers up and maybe the drive terminal of the lift called “original”
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drive terminal is completely gone, and every tower is in a place that is in the open, so i suspect every last bit of the double will go, but they might keep the terminals of the quad maybe.
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The six pack going in is only happening because a replacement lift is needed and for marketing. The “Original” double is very old and the most critical lift. The 6 pack eliminates the need for up to 3 total lifts. Replacing 3 with 1 almost always makes sense. The 6 pack puts Snowriver on the map and allows it to enter into conversations about being one of the best Midwest ski destinations. The lift legitimizes the place and will likely pay for itself over time as a result with the additional skiers that may now consider traveling to the place. I do not expect any other big changes unless skier numbers really go up. The Riblets will remain for as long as they can which is decades. They can still be serviced and Skinner has lots of them that can be removed incrementally and salvaged for parts. He just removed 3 that have components that can go to service the other riblets.
Replacement lifts are only going to enter into the picture where it is required to up capacity or to realign things. I don’t think he will move lifts unless it is for very specific non critical use like a connector lift between the 2 hills. The T-bars may go but I can just as easily see that terrain abandoned as I can see a lift being installed. Just call it “backcountry” and people will hike it and think it is great.
Snowriver is not Granite or Lutsen. Snowriver wishes it had the terrain and skier numbers as either one of those two. Granite and Lutsen are both top 5 Midwest ski areas in the eyes of those that have skied them. A lot of people might say they are 1 and 2 or 2 and 1. I didn’t forget Bohemia but that is just a different animal altogether and does not appeal to as many skiers. If the numbers at Snowriver increase I would expect good things. If they do not, I don’t expect anything except for a slightly better run resort and some new things only as necessary.
I hope I am wrong and in 5 years there is a gondola and 5 high speed lifts at Snowriver.
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The dismantling process is already well underway, Quad chairs are now all offline, Sounds like the Triple chair has also carried its final passengers as Snowriver’s blog states they will immediately move over to that lift to begin chair removal this week, just leaving the workhorse original double in the main area till its final day on April 2.
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the voyagers quad ran off of 200 horsepower peter
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Was there any regrading done at the bottom of what used to be the Winnebago area to allow skiers to go down the trails formerly serviced by the West t-bar and end up back at the Cloudfront chair? Or is there just a lot of schlepping at the bottom to get to the chair?
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Black River Basins lifts will have new names for this season- Ascender, Brigantine, Capstan, and Draw stroke. (still keeping the ABCD theme). Jackson Creek Summit will have a paddle tow in place of the Poma Lift called Sugar Maple Tow
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