The Kachina Peak lift was constructed in 2014 and only opens occasionally as conditions permit.The bottom terminal is a Skytrac Monarch model.Loading area.Lift line seen from the bottom terminal.Skytrac towers and chairs.Tower 1.Upper terminal seen from below.There are a dozen towers total.Upper half of the lift.The lower station seen from Highline Ridge.Top station and breakover towers.Most of the lift line.The entire lift.Breakover towers.Top unload ramp at 12,400 feet.Top station overview.View from the summit.Looking down Main Street.Riding toward the summit.Skytrac tower head.View down the middle part of the line.Looking up the line in winter.
The vertical rise of the lift divided by its line length makes for an admittedly imperfect measure of steepness, but is useful nonetheless.The higher the number the “steeper” the lift. The Kachina is a .46, among the highest I’ve seen. Crystal Mountain’s #6 checks in at .36-substantially less steep. Telluride’s Gold Hill lift is a.40, and is slightly bested by Telluride’s Revelation at .43. I guess it’s stating the obvious that any flat spots along a lift’s rise is a killer for the steepness rating!
The shorter the line length and the greater the vertical rise, the steeper the lift is on average. (e.g. the Beaver Run SuperChair is a .17 on that scale, and the Kensho SuperChair is a .25; the latter is 3,100 feet shorter than the former in distance traveled)
Downhill spots might also factor into the steepness rating.
I’m not sure if the Nakiska platter is a data issue, but per Peter’s stats, Kachina would be the 11th steepest lift of any kind with at least 500′ of slope length:
Steepest I could find in the east is Killington’s Bear Mt, at .41. Cannon’s Zoomer and Mt. Snow’s Bear Trap are at .38, Sugarbush’s Heaven’s Gate is .37. White Heat at Sunday River is only .35. Not familiar with the NY areas – anything steeper over there?
I keep hearing how occasionally this runs. It really frustrates me when resort operators don’t even try. I’ve also heard one of the officially given reasons is to preserve hike-to terrain. If so… Why build a lift here. Why not look at other nearby terrain for a new lift, I know Taos has expansion plans filed with USFS.
It’s like they built a lift they didn’t actually want. Could of had a profitable $100/lap cat service, and a new lift in one of the many places Taos could use a modern FGT.
It doesn’t run regularly because snow coverage of Kachina Peak can be very thin at times and when you have a bunch of skiers on thin cover, core shots and injuries increase. Typically what Taos does is during/after a storm they’ll open Highline over to Tresckow, then the day after they’ll open the peak for hiking after bombing the slide paths. The day after that they’ll run the lift. They run the lift when the conditions allow. They’re also cautious about running the lift because they had a fatal avalanche in 2019 on a day they were running the lift. Nobody wants a repeat of that.
TSV has wanted the lift for over a decade prior to it being built; they just never had the money. The founder even cut the lower lift line back in the 80s. One of the reasons the lift was built was that it shortened ski patrol response times to injured/stuck skiers on Highline Ridge, specifically from Tresckow to the peak.
As for expanding into other terrain, TSV is surrounded by the Wheeler Peak wilderness area and can’t expand beyond where they’ve currently expanded in the Wild West Glades. Their expansion plans are mainly cutting glades inside the current ski area boundary, adding summer attractions like mountain bike trails and via ferrata, and lift replacements. TSV can’t run a snowcat service on the peak because there isn’t a road up to the ridge, and the Forest Service would never allow a snowcat service up there due to public opposition. It also doesn’t fit in with the culture of TSV.
Lift Blog 
Steeper than Chair 6 at Crystal?
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I think Gold Hill at Telluride would be a better lift to be making comparisons to.
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Why? Chair 6 is plenty steep, and also a Skytrac.
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Only the upper half of C-6 is steep (very steep). The bottom half is pretty average. Consequently, the overall is less than you’d think.
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The vertical rise of the lift divided by its line length makes for an admittedly imperfect measure of steepness, but is useful nonetheless.The higher the number the “steeper” the lift. The Kachina is a .46, among the highest I’ve seen. Crystal Mountain’s #6 checks in at .36-substantially less steep. Telluride’s Gold Hill lift is a.40, and is slightly bested by Telluride’s Revelation at .43. I guess it’s stating the obvious that any flat spots along a lift’s rise is a killer for the steepness rating!
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The shorter the line length and the greater the vertical rise, the steeper the lift is on average. (e.g. the Beaver Run SuperChair is a .17 on that scale, and the Kensho SuperChair is a .25; the latter is 3,100 feet shorter than the former in distance traveled)
Downhill spots might also factor into the steepness rating.
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Of course now this is top of mind…
Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky is a .51. No towers certainly an indicator there!
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What about Pine Creek Express at Bogus Basin, ID? That is steep. Or the triple chair at Anthony Lakes, Oregon.
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Pine Creek is a .37 and Anthony Lakes is a .25. Not quite a .46 in vertical.
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Is this unofficially the highest operating triple chairlift in the world?
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I’m not sure if the Nakiska platter is a data issue, but per Peter’s stats, Kachina would be the 11th steepest lift of any kind with at least 500′ of slope length:
1. Goldbelt Tram, (Mt Roberts, AK, Tram 60) — 0.564
2. Platter, (Nakiska, AB , Platter) — 0.537
3. Blue Skyride, (Grouse Mtn, BC, Tram 44) — 0.53
4. Lone Peak Tram, (Big Sky, MT, Tram 15) — 0.513
5. Sulfur Mountain Gondola, (Banff, AB, Gondola 4) — 0.51
6. Honeycomb Return, (Solitude, UT, Quad) — 0.504
7. Red Skyride, (Grouse Mtn, BC, Tram 100) — 0.496
8. Jasper SkyTram, (Jasper, AB, Tram 30) — 0.484
9. Headwaters, (Big Sky, MT, Double) — 0.483
10. Scott, (Palisades, CA, Triple) — 0.475
11. Kachina Peak, (Taos, NM, Triple) — 0.47
If we limit to chairlifts:
1. Honeycomb Return, (Solitude, UT, Quad) — 0.504
2. Headwaters, (Big Sky, MT, Double) — 0.483
3. Scott, (Palisades Tahoe, CA. Triple) — 0.475
4. Kachina Peak, (Taos, NM, Triple) — 0.47
5. Tye Mill, (Stevens Pass, WA, Triple) — 0.467
6. Chair 5, (Mt. Baker, WA, Quad) — 0.465
7. Deep Termerity, (Aspen Highlands, CO, Triple) — 0.464
8. Eagle, (Park City, UT, Triple) — 0.459
9. Chair 1, (Mt. Waterman, CA, Double) — 0.442
10. Double Diamond/Southern Cross, (Stevens Pass, WA, Triple) — 0.435
(#10 i think is an average across the two sides)
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Double checking photos … I think Eagle at Park City is a data issue.
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Hey, this is a fun game!
Steepest I could find in the east is Killington’s Bear Mt, at .41. Cannon’s Zoomer and Mt. Snow’s Bear Trap are at .38, Sugarbush’s Heaven’s Gate is .37. White Heat at Sunday River is only .35. Not familiar with the NY areas – anything steeper over there?
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I keep hearing how occasionally this runs. It really frustrates me when resort operators don’t even try. I’ve also heard one of the officially given reasons is to preserve hike-to terrain. If so… Why build a lift here. Why not look at other nearby terrain for a new lift, I know Taos has expansion plans filed with USFS.
It’s like they built a lift they didn’t actually want. Could of had a profitable $100/lap cat service, and a new lift in one of the many places Taos could use a modern FGT.
LikeLike
It doesn’t run regularly because snow coverage of Kachina Peak can be very thin at times and when you have a bunch of skiers on thin cover, core shots and injuries increase. Typically what Taos does is during/after a storm they’ll open Highline over to Tresckow, then the day after they’ll open the peak for hiking after bombing the slide paths. The day after that they’ll run the lift. They run the lift when the conditions allow. They’re also cautious about running the lift because they had a fatal avalanche in 2019 on a day they were running the lift. Nobody wants a repeat of that.
TSV has wanted the lift for over a decade prior to it being built; they just never had the money. The founder even cut the lower lift line back in the 80s. One of the reasons the lift was built was that it shortened ski patrol response times to injured/stuck skiers on Highline Ridge, specifically from Tresckow to the peak.
As for expanding into other terrain, TSV is surrounded by the Wheeler Peak wilderness area and can’t expand beyond where they’ve currently expanded in the Wild West Glades. Their expansion plans are mainly cutting glades inside the current ski area boundary, adding summer attractions like mountain bike trails and via ferrata, and lift replacements. TSV can’t run a snowcat service on the peak because there isn’t a road up to the ridge, and the Forest Service would never allow a snowcat service up there due to public opposition. It also doesn’t fit in with the culture of TSV.
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Isn’t this the highest triple chairlift in the world?
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