J6 was the very first Yan detachable quad and only the fourth detachable lift overall for the company. Another was built simultaneously at June in 1986 but was removed in 1996.After problems with Yan grips at Whistler and elsewhere, Doppelmayr replaced all of the rope-touching equipment as well as chair hangers.The bottom drive terminal with 12 feet of height adjustment and integrated sheaves.Side view of the bottom terminal. Mammoth added its own skin to the Doppelmayr equipment the year after it was installed.The top terminal also has a Mammoth fabricated enclosure, height adjustable legs and integrated sheave assemblies.Unloading area and turnaround.Originally, this station had no roof at all.Terminal underskin.Top few towers.Initially, these entire catwalks were designed to move. They may have been welded down when Doppelmayr added its sheave assemblies.Looking up at the return terminal.The lift line is over 8,500′ long.Upper section of the line.This lift really only services one repeat ski run but provides access to the upper mountain.These towers are unique to this lift; the following year Lift Engineering switched to ‘Y’ shaped lifting frames.Middle lift line view.Like all Yan towers, these were set directly into concrete.Lower part of the line.Towers 1-3.Loading area and small operator shack.A chair on the line in winter.Tower 13.Unique tower head.Another unique tower head.Arriving at the summit.
Those lifting frames made appearances on a few later Yan lifts. The Grand Summit Express at Mt. Snow (1987) has at least three towers with this style of lifting frame. The rest are the “Y” style featured on the other Yan detachables. I believe they were also featured on Keystone’s original River Run Gondola, and possibly other installations that I’m forgetting (however that was installed before J6).
I believe Yan built a pair of gondolas before they started building detachable chairlifts (Keystone and Squaw Valley). Both gondolas were quickly replaced.
These chairs were also used on the 5 1987 Yan detachable in New England (Snowshed and Superstar at Killington, VT, Grand Summit at Mt. Snow, Golden at Pico, and Barker Mtn. at Sunday River). Golden and Snowshed still sport the original chairs. I’ve always called these the Yan “Pentagon” chairs (not to be confused with the fixed grip version of the pentagon carrier, seen on Sunday River’s Tempest, Moonstruck, White Heat, and Aurora Yan quads). The detachable model Pentagon chairs (seen on J6) were replaced with the first Teardrop chairs starting with Pico’s Summit Express in 1988. Those were also quickly changed with the addition of a better (i.e. more comfortable) seat back, but the bail was the same.
They were Von Roll knock offs. I remember seeing some detailed pictures of them as a child, well over 25 years ago…pretty sure there was a pile of cupped spring washers next to one sitting on a workbench? I could be totally wrong though.
There are certainly people still around who worked on the original gondola, I only remember hearing horror stories about it. It’s really too bad cause it was unlike anything of its time. I know many of us speak about it often on this forum, but if Yan creativity had been paired with solid R&D, they would certainly be a dominant force today.
this, quicksilver bubble at whistler, carpenter express pre 1996 at deer valley, maybe park citys old yan high speed and nazhvan park isfahan’s used high speed quad are the only Yan high speed quads not EJ by doppelmayr, nor Omega by poma, to have footrests on their quad chair
There is one tower on this lift which looks to have a Doppelmayr lifting frame. You can just barely make out the top of it in this picture. I don’t remember off the top of my head but it could be a combo tower. It must be like J7 where Doppelmayr swapped the the whole tower head for combo towers.
On nearly every Yoppelmayr, Doppelmayr replaced the entire crossarm on the combi towers. (The only exception I can think of for this rule would be Big Red)
Pretty sure this was like all the others pre-renovation. Mammoth/June had custom terminal enclosures built when Doppelmayr redid their lifts; what you see here isn’t original.
Lift Blog 
Those lifting frames made appearances on a few later Yan lifts. The Grand Summit Express at Mt. Snow (1987) has at least three towers with this style of lifting frame. The rest are the “Y” style featured on the other Yan detachables. I believe they were also featured on Keystone’s original River Run Gondola, and possibly other installations that I’m forgetting (however that was installed before J6).
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The first River Run Gondola did use these sorts of towers.
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Grand Summit’s:
River Run Gondola:
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What detachable lifts did Yan build before this lift? Were these chairs unique?
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I believe Yan built a pair of gondolas before they started building detachable chairlifts (Keystone and Squaw Valley). Both gondolas were quickly replaced.
These chairs were also used on the 5 1987 Yan detachable in New England (Snowshed and Superstar at Killington, VT, Grand Summit at Mt. Snow, Golden at Pico, and Barker Mtn. at Sunday River). Golden and Snowshed still sport the original chairs. I’ve always called these the Yan “Pentagon” chairs (not to be confused with the fixed grip version of the pentagon carrier, seen on Sunday River’s Tempest, Moonstruck, White Heat, and Aurora Yan quads). The detachable model Pentagon chairs (seen on J6) were replaced with the first Teardrop chairs starting with Pico’s Summit Express in 1988. Those were also quickly changed with the addition of a better (i.e. more comfortable) seat back, but the bail was the same.
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What was wrong with the gondolas? In the pictures above, the grips look different. Did they have rubber springs too?
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They were Von Roll knock offs. I remember seeing some detailed pictures of them as a child, well over 25 years ago…pretty sure there was a pile of cupped spring washers next to one sitting on a workbench? I could be totally wrong though.
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tcd6-river-run-1-yan-lift-engineering-5782.html
There are certainly people still around who worked on the original gondola, I only remember hearing horror stories about it. It’s really too bad cause it was unlike anything of its time. I know many of us speak about it often on this forum, but if Yan creativity had been paired with solid R&D, they would certainly be a dominant force today.
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this, quicksilver bubble at whistler, carpenter express pre 1996 at deer valley, maybe park citys old yan high speed and nazhvan park isfahan’s used high speed quad are the only Yan high speed quads not EJ by doppelmayr, nor Omega by poma, to have footrests on their quad chair
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There is one tower on this lift which looks to have a Doppelmayr lifting frame. You can just barely make out the top of it in this picture. I don’t remember off the top of my head but it could be a combo tower. It must be like J7 where Doppelmayr swapped the the whole tower head for combo towers.
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On nearly every Yoppelmayr, Doppelmayr replaced the entire crossarm on the combi towers. (The only exception I can think of for this rule would be Big Red)
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Fun fact there are actually two doppelmayr towers on here with Yan tower tubes
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Greyhawk at Sun Valley has a catwalk rocker assembly tower with this style lifting frame.
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this lift looks like the canyon express at mammoth
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How come this was the only yan detachable with a bottom terminal roof but all the other yan detachables had flat terminals
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Pretty sure this was like all the others pre-renovation. Mammoth/June had custom terminal enclosures built when Doppelmayr redid their lifts; what you see here isn’t original.
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Videos
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Before Doppelmayr Retrofitted this lift the bottom terminal had a roof.
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That is correct here is a picture
http://www.skilifts.org/old/chairlift_facts_liftid.htm
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Here is a video of this lift
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They painted all the towers on this lift green now! They did it in late summer of 2024.
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Does this lift have a Doppelmayr Worldbook entry?
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No, it’s a Yan.
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How come J7 has one and it’s a Yan.
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No idea, maybe Doppelmayr didn’t put out one for J6, or Peter didn’t include it.
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