This lift is the second Leitner-Poma Alpha for Cascade Mountain and opened in early 2023.Loading area and motor room.Top station between the Mountaintop and Cindy Pop Express lifts.Unloading area and top operator shack.Tower 7.View down the middle part of the line.Tower 9 adjacent to the top station.View near the summit.Lower lift line.View up at tower 2.Tower 1 in the base area.Side view of the bottom terminal.Upper part of the lift line.Side view of the top terminal.View from the summit.
Anyone know the advantages of the LPA Alpha over the Skytrac Monarch. From everything i’ve read here, the Skytrac is more affordable, and a newer design, and i’ve seen some in some decently long alignments. So why would a resort pay for an older, more expensive product from the same parent company?
My guess is familiarity. If an area already has Poma or LPOA products, it’s nicer to work with something you know. Don’t forget, too, that the Alpha terminal only resembles its predecessors on the outside. It is a modern lift in everything that counts.
Mtn Top Express uses a detachable grip system, it is susceptible to issues in certain weather conditions. Example (freezing rain). Frozen haul ropes often cause a slip in the Express terminal and prevent the grip from opening and detaching from the haul rope. The iced haul rope slips on the PTO system, preventing the conveyor system from functioning correctly, and rendering the lift inoperable. JL2 is a fixed grip system and mostly immune to said problems. When Mtn Top Express is unable to run do to weather, JL2 services the out of base area and summit lodge/parking along with other access to the East side.
JL2 quad replaced a triple chair. It operates at a higher capacity and speed than the previous lift.
i feel like if you run the mountain top earlier and warm up and melt the freezing rain than it will be fine because once everything is warmed up due to friction it will work just fine. and freezing rain doesn’t affect much once its running because I’ve been there during that and the only time they stopped it was for bot skiers not knowing how to get on a lift that goes super slow at the terminals but still manages to fall.
Anyone know the advantages of the LPA Alpha over the Skytrac Monarch. From everything i’ve read here, the Skytrac is more affordable, and a newer design, and i’ve seen some in some decently long alignments. So why would a resort pay for an older, more expensive product from the same parent company?
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My guess is familiarity. If an area already has Poma or LPOA products, it’s nicer to work with something you know. Don’t forget, too, that the Alpha terminal only resembles its predecessors on the outside. It is a modern lift in everything that counts.
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Why is JL2 not an express lift? It doesn’t seem to successfully alleviate traffic from Moutaintop express like it was intended.
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Mtn Top Express uses a detachable grip system, it is susceptible to issues in certain weather conditions. Example (freezing rain). Frozen haul ropes often cause a slip in the Express terminal and prevent the grip from opening and detaching from the haul rope. The iced haul rope slips on the PTO system, preventing the conveyor system from functioning correctly, and rendering the lift inoperable. JL2 is a fixed grip system and mostly immune to said problems. When Mtn Top Express is unable to run do to weather, JL2 services the out of base area and summit lodge/parking along with other access to the East side.
JL2 quad replaced a triple chair. It operates at a higher capacity and speed than the previous lift.
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i feel like if you run the mountain top earlier and warm up and melt the freezing rain than it will be fine because once everything is warmed up due to friction it will work just fine. and freezing rain doesn’t affect much once its running because I’ve been there during that and the only time they stopped it was for bot skiers not knowing how to get on a lift that goes super slow at the terminals but still manages to fall.
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