In 2018, this Leitner-Poma high speed quad replaced two fixed grip chairlifts out of the base village.The new lift was built by Leitner-Poma.Tower 1 adjacent to the bottom terminal.View up the very steep lift line.Riding up at tower 9.Breakover towers near the top terminal.Flat section at the top.Terminal under skin and tower 14.Upper station and the last tower with combo assemblies.Upper part of the lift line.Return terminal with a small maintenance rail.Arriving at the drive.Unloading ramp and Leitner-Poma operator house.Top terminal overview.Another view of the drive terminal.Looking up at the drive station.Side view of the return terminal.Lift line.View down the line on Al’s Run.
Capacity was not an issue the double only had around 900 pph and only ran occasionally, ride time, comfort and summer operations were big drivers for the upgrade.
This lift reminds me a lot of Chet’s Dream at Loveland. They’re both high speed quads from Leitner Poma, they are both light blue in color, they both have very steep lift lines despite providing access to beginner terrain from the base, and both have the easiest runs to the skiers right, while the hardest are under or to skier’s left of the lift.
I think they might actually be phasing the Omegas out in favor of the newer euro style poma chairs, plus these euro ones are much more comfortable in my opinion.
This is not the first lift 1 at Taos. There was Lift 1, a Stadeli that ran from 1961 (it was the first Stadeli chairlift) to 1989 and was rebuilt as 7a 1 year later. Lift 5 was added in the 70s although there is an old photo somewhere of it. In 1989, a Poma quad was added to the mountain to increase capacity. That and lift 5 were replaced with this version in 2018. The 1989 quad is now at Spider Mountain, Texas. Lift 5, however, was scrapped due to aging and lack of parts being available.
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Why not a six-pack to keep the same capacity?
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Capacity was not an issue the double only had around 900 pph and only ran occasionally, ride time, comfort and summer operations were big drivers for the upgrade.
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Does Taos have any more plans for detachables? I could see lift 4 or 8 being upgraded.
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I feel like I’d be upgrading lift 4, and replacing lift 2 with a high speed quad extended downhill to start near the bottom of Whitefeather Gully.
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Lift 4 IS getting replaced with an identical version of this this summer
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This lift reminds me a lot of Chet’s Dream at Loveland. They’re both high speed quads from Leitner Poma, they are both light blue in color, they both have very steep lift lines despite providing access to beginner terrain from the base, and both have the easiest runs to the skiers right, while the hardest are under or to skier’s left of the lift.
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They also are both super quick rides, under 4 min
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Since we love to quibble about minutiae here- the easier runs off chair 1 at Loveland are to skier’s *left*.
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Also skier’s left at Taos
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Are Omegas ever going to be used on detachables? I haven’t seen any since Hunter Mountain’s six pack from 2018.
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I think they might actually be phasing the Omegas out in favor of the newer euro style poma chairs, plus these euro ones are much more comfortable in my opinion.
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They’re still doing Omegas for fixed grips. After all, an LPA chair is too heavy without a loading carpet.
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Have you bumped an Omega carrier before? They’re not exactly lightweight. An LPA triple would weigh about as much.
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The Euro design is more stylish. Though they’ll only be on detachables. Fixed grip quads and below will still use Omega chairs for the time being.
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You say that like you have gotten confirmation from GJ- have you?
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This is not the first lift 1 at Taos. There was Lift 1, a Stadeli that ran from 1961 (it was the first Stadeli chairlift) to 1989 and was rebuilt as 7a 1 year later. Lift 5 was added in the 70s although there is an old photo somewhere of it. In 1989, a Poma quad was added to the mountain to increase capacity. That and lift 5 were replaced with this version in 2018. The 1989 quad is now at Spider Mountain, Texas. Lift 5, however, was scrapped due to aging and lack of parts being available.
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