The iconic Madonna double climbs more than 2,000 vertical feet and has 37 towers.Loading at tower 1.There is a vault drive on the floor below.View up from the base area.In 2002, Doppelmayr CTEC replaced the large counterweight tensioning carriage and bullwheel with a compact hydraulic model.View down from the summit.Breakover towers.Top station overview.Steep upper part of the lift line.Mid-station unload for intermediate skiers.Lower part of the line.Middle section of the lift.The entire line seen from the base lodge.
I noted that the midstation is actually pretty much useless, because it only serves blue trails, but there is also at least one blue trail off the top. I never got off at the mid unload once. The only reason I would see it being useful is to have a short run.
I rode up the lift with a guy who said that when he was a kid, the one time him and his friends would use the mid-station was to time the last chair as best as possible, getting off around 3:55 and getting back on around 3:59 to ride to the top!
190 something if I remember correctly. The spacing is quite distant due to the high speed they run the lift at (in order to max out capacity of an entire mountain relying on an ancient double chair) and due to the severe winds at the top (to cut down on lateral forces).
It’s more of a leftover from the days before they had Madonna II, where they would open to midstation only when snow was bad or winds were high. There isn’t really any reason to use it now but it is still staffed.
Update – it does get used sometimes by ski school classes who need to fit in a quick run before the deadline, or by those who really like that part of the liftline.
If you watch Northeast Chairlifts’ recording, you’ll notice all the lettered towers. I do not believe these were part of the original build of the lift. They were most likely added later to lower the line height and allow operation in higher winds. When the return was replaced, it looks like the breakover was also lowered for the same reason.
Good point. (33A inserted after 33, etc.) The rebuild did greatly reduce the heights as this lift has long struggled with cross winds and very likely did include such changes.
This was done in 2002 if memory serves. They had to blast out the summit as part of the work to lower the lift to reduce the line height to reduce wind exposure. Replaced the old counter weight return that was similar to Sterling and Morse and added some towers. If I remember it got a new drive system and electronics at the same time. I think mechanically it has been rebuilt subsequently since. If you look where the ski patrol hut is you can see how they had to blast. The hut is at the high point so they preserved the summit’s official height.
This looks to be one awesome lift. I’m amazed that they were able to get such a compact tension terminal to work for such a long lift with such a varied profile (granted, the original tension terminal was much larger than the current one).
Anyone have any pics before the line was lowered and the old counter weight. Hopefully some of these old doubles start getting recognized like the MRG single
Rode this lift a few times last year and again today. This lift is big. Its classic New England ski culture, bringing people back to how the industry started. Personally to me, its in the top 3 category with the MRG Single and Stowe Lookout. It rips at 550 FPM, Climbs up incredible steep, rocky terrain, and goes up 2100 vertical in 12 minutes. From my experiences riding, it appears to see little to no Operational hiccups (Slows/Mediums/Stops, or downtime). (not including wind/weather)
Today was probably a great day for it! You’re right to consider this (and Sterling) in with those classic Vermont lifts. Smugglers Notch in general is so underrated… they did so well to market themselves as a family mountain that the wider public doesn’t even seem to realize that the ski-school terrain is completely separate, and the upper two mountains are some of the best, gnarliest, snowiest, classic-New-England terrain that’s out there nowadays. I’ve skied most of Northern New England’s big resorts and Smuggs is still top-3 or close to it.
I believe this lift held a length record at one point and that is why the bottom drive terminal was built downhill from everything else like it was to help them beat whatever record it was when it was built.
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I noted that the midstation is actually pretty much useless, because it only serves blue trails, but there is also at least one blue trail off the top. I never got off at the mid unload once. The only reason I would see it being useful is to have a short run.
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I rode up the lift with a guy who said that when he was a kid, the one time him and his friends would use the mid-station was to time the last chair as best as possible, getting off around 3:55 and getting back on around 3:59 to ride to the top!
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How many chairs does this lift have? I’m guessing over 200.
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190 something if I remember correctly. The spacing is quite distant due to the high speed they run the lift at (in order to max out capacity of an entire mountain relying on an ancient double chair) and due to the severe winds at the top (to cut down on lateral forces).
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174
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It’s more of a leftover from the days before they had Madonna II, where they would open to midstation only when snow was bad or winds were high. There isn’t really any reason to use it now but it is still staffed.
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Update – it does get used sometimes by ski school classes who need to fit in a quick run before the deadline, or by those who really like that part of the liftline.
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also:
operating speed (the day i filmed it): 530 fpm
ride time: 12:45
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If you watch Northeast Chairlifts’ recording, you’ll notice all the lettered towers. I do not believe these were part of the original build of the lift. They were most likely added later to lower the line height and allow operation in higher winds. When the return was replaced, it looks like the breakover was also lowered for the same reason.
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Good point. (33A inserted after 33, etc.) The rebuild did greatly reduce the heights as this lift has long struggled with cross winds and very likely did include such changes.
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This was done in 2002 if memory serves. They had to blast out the summit as part of the work to lower the lift to reduce the line height to reduce wind exposure. Replaced the old counter weight return that was similar to Sterling and Morse and added some towers. If I remember it got a new drive system and electronics at the same time. I think mechanically it has been rebuilt subsequently since. If you look where the ski patrol hut is you can see how they had to blast. The hut is at the high point so they preserved the summit’s official height.
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what a beautiful old lift. I’d love to ride this one.
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This looks to be one awesome lift. I’m amazed that they were able to get such a compact tension terminal to work for such a long lift with such a varied profile (granted, the original tension terminal was much larger than the current one).
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They had to blast a big chunk of the summit out to make it all work.
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Anyone have any pics before the line was lowered and the old counter weight. Hopefully some of these old doubles start getting recognized like the MRG single
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12:45 as a ride time, seems pretty reasonable considering all the factors here.
It looks like a very cool mountain!
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Rode this lift a few times last year and again today. This lift is big. Its classic New England ski culture, bringing people back to how the industry started. Personally to me, its in the top 3 category with the MRG Single and Stowe Lookout. It rips at 550 FPM, Climbs up incredible steep, rocky terrain, and goes up 2100 vertical in 12 minutes. From my experiences riding, it appears to see little to no Operational hiccups (Slows/Mediums/Stops, or downtime). (not including wind/weather)
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Today was probably a great day for it! You’re right to consider this (and Sterling) in with those classic Vermont lifts. Smugglers Notch in general is so underrated… they did so well to market themselves as a family mountain that the wider public doesn’t even seem to realize that the ski-school terrain is completely separate, and the upper two mountains are some of the best, gnarliest, snowiest, classic-New-England terrain that’s out there nowadays. I’ve skied most of Northern New England’s big resorts and Smuggs is still top-3 or close to it.
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I believe this lift held a length record at one point and that is why the bottom drive terminal was built downhill from everything else like it was to help them beat whatever record it was when it was built.
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