This is only the second double chair built by Skytrac.The lift features a mid-unload with towers re-used from the previous Hall-Doppelmayr lift.Mid unload ramp and Skytrac operator house.Above the mid-station, the lift passes through a scenic area with no skiing allowed.Another view of the mid-station.Steep lift line below the mid-station.Skytrac double chairs along the line.Middle segment of the line.View up.There used to be a second double chair on the lower half of this alignment.View up at T4.Tower 3.Monarch drive station and tower 2.Loading area and lift line.All towers below the mid-station are Skytrac.Tower 9.Half Doppelmayr tower.Skytrac lengthened this Doppelmayr tower.Upper lift line near the Cloudsplitter Gondola.Hold down tower 19.View down near the summit.Doppelmayr towers with old Hall foundations visible.Peak return station on Little Whiteface Mountain.Doppelmayr tower 14.Side view of the mid.Double chair with foot rest and kid stop.Chairs along the line.View down at T4.A tower head with combination assemblies on both sides.T10.Arriving at the mid-unload.View from the very top.Lift overview.
I agree! I think the Skytrac double chairs look the best and the triple chairs also look really good, but something about the quad chair just looks a bit off to me.
Stagecoach doesn’t count in my opinion. Only the terminals and I think one of the towers are Skytrac. Even though it says Skytrac on the spreadsheet, it probably shouldn’t. Plenty of lifts have Skytrac terminals and are not considered Skytrac, such as Garfield at Monarch and Eagle Peak at Lookout Pass. Also, Hurricane at Pats Peak and Hellroaring at Whitefish both have some Skytrac towers and are also not considered Skytrac. Even though a lot of that lift is Skytrac, It’s really just a heavily retrofitted Doppelmayr. Little Whiteface is the second FULLY Skytrac double chair. Both sides have a good argument though, so it really can go either way if Stagecoach is a Skytrac or not.
The old Little Whiteface lift was pretty old, so they decided to replace it with a new lift. They really didn’t need anything more than a double to replace for multiple reasons. For starters, Mountain Run ironically never did run, so a quad didn’t make sense to replace the two since the second double was pretty much irrelevant. Another huge reason is capacity. Never in my many days at Whiteface have I waited more than a minute or two for this lift. I just rode this like 6 times the other day and there wasn’t a line any of the times I rode it. So, they really didn’t need anything more than a double. Also, I think environmental concerns played a part, since the lift line above the mid-station is pretty narrow, and I bet they didn’t want to expand it. Hope this helps!
It’s very underutilized, as most people would rather ride Cloudsplitter than take Summit or Freeway to this lift. Also, as Skilucas said, the line above the midstation is very narrow, and Whiteface probably didn’t want to expand it.
The towers above the mid station were replaced in 2011, and they never used Mountain Run, so between mostly not needing the extra capacity, and allowing the lift to be built faster by reusing the towers above the mid station, it made sense. The closer chair spacing helps with capacity, and the lift is reliable now.
All the Doppelmayr towers were renumbered. In the old configuration, towers 12-23 were all Doppelmayr. Now, the first Doppelmayr tower is 11. This is because the bottom section has one less tower than before, as the new lift integrates one of the initial hold downs into the drive structure, while the old configuration had two freestanding portal towers. Every Doppelmayr tower is thus one number lower, being numbered 11-22. The towerheads of the towers now numbered 20 and 22 were swapped. Now 20 has 6 sheaves each side, while 22 has 4 sheaves each side. In the old configuration, these towers were numbered 21 and 23, with 4 sheaves each side and 6 sheaves each side respectively. The new configuration also includes an extra towerhead above 22, which is numbered 23, but is integrated into the return structure. Towers 16 and 22 received height extensions as well.
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I personally think that these skytrac double chairs are the best looking skytrac chairs around.
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I agree! I think the Skytrac double chairs look the best and the triple chairs also look really good, but something about the quad chair just looks a bit off to me.
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Isn’t the third because there is also Chair 6 at Crystal an Stagecoach at Big Sky (even if most of the lift is Doppelmayr, the chairs are Skytrac.)
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Stagecoach doesn’t count in my opinion. Only the terminals and I think one of the towers are Skytrac. Even though it says Skytrac on the spreadsheet, it probably shouldn’t. Plenty of lifts have Skytrac terminals and are not considered Skytrac, such as Garfield at Monarch and Eagle Peak at Lookout Pass. Also, Hurricane at Pats Peak and Hellroaring at Whitefish both have some Skytrac towers and are also not considered Skytrac. Even though a lot of that lift is Skytrac, It’s really just a heavily retrofitted Doppelmayr. Little Whiteface is the second FULLY Skytrac double chair. Both sides have a good argument though, so it really can go either way if Stagecoach is a Skytrac or not.
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Could anybody with a bit more insight than I explain the choice to replace a double chair with a double chair?
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The old Little Whiteface lift was pretty old, so they decided to replace it with a new lift. They really didn’t need anything more than a double to replace for multiple reasons. For starters, Mountain Run ironically never did run, so a quad didn’t make sense to replace the two since the second double was pretty much irrelevant. Another huge reason is capacity. Never in my many days at Whiteface have I waited more than a minute or two for this lift. I just rode this like 6 times the other day and there wasn’t a line any of the times I rode it. So, they really didn’t need anything more than a double. Also, I think environmental concerns played a part, since the lift line above the mid-station is pretty narrow, and I bet they didn’t want to expand it. Hope this helps!
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It’s very underutilized, as most people would rather ride Cloudsplitter than take Summit or Freeway to this lift. Also, as Skilucas said, the line above the midstation is very narrow, and Whiteface probably didn’t want to expand it.
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The towers above the mid station were replaced in 2011, and they never used Mountain Run, so between mostly not needing the extra capacity, and allowing the lift to be built faster by reusing the towers above the mid station, it made sense. The closer chair spacing helps with capacity, and the lift is reliable now.
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This area looks way more decluttered now that Mountain Run is gone.
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All the Doppelmayr towers were renumbered. In the old configuration, towers 12-23 were all Doppelmayr. Now, the first Doppelmayr tower is 11. This is because the bottom section has one less tower than before, as the new lift integrates one of the initial hold downs into the drive structure, while the old configuration had two freestanding portal towers. Every Doppelmayr tower is thus one number lower, being numbered 11-22. The towerheads of the towers now numbered 20 and 22 were swapped. Now 20 has 6 sheaves each side, while 22 has 4 sheaves each side. In the old configuration, these towers were numbered 21 and 23, with 4 sheaves each side and 6 sheaves each side respectively. The new configuration also includes an extra towerhead above 22, which is numbered 23, but is integrated into the return structure. Towers 16 and 22 received height extensions as well.
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I really like the double bail chairs
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