This lift indirectly replaced two Hall doubles for the 2022-23 season.Bottom drive terminal.Side view of the bottom terminal.Loading area.View down at tower 6.View riding over namesake run Main Street.Looking back down the lift line.Tower 12.Breakover towers 15 and 16.Unloading area.LPA station.Top terminal side view.View down at tower 13.Upper part of the lift line.Tower 12.Middle part of the line.Angled tower with combination assemblies.View up the lift line.Line passing over a beginner area.Tower 1 adjacent to the bottom station.
10 thoughts on “Main Street Express – Blue Mountain, PA”
Collin ParsonsJanuary 20, 2023 / 5:14 pm
I cannot understand why they extended this lift to start at the base. While it allows for one to access the Summit Lodge directly from the Valley Lodge, it means that all 6 trails on that side now funnel down to a single runout. That’s going to be really bad for trail crowding, particularly with such a high capacity lift. I think it would’ve made more sense to put this lift on the same route as the doubles it replaced.
Blue Mountain is not big enough for any non-beginner lift to be anything except a top-to-bottom lift. Otherwise, you risk a situation like Greek Peak, where the western portion of the resort/the base area/Lift 1A is too crowded and the central portion of the resort/Lift 2 is underutilized because it loads just above the beginner area and uphill from the base area.
They could have installed a mid-station for loading only at Tower 6, but that would have been more expensive. Plus, the crowding has really not been too bad from being funneled anywhere except the top of Shuttle where it is flat and people are forced to walk.
They had to demolish the warming hut to build it, but I’m not sure if they had enough space where Main Street/Burma used to load anyways. Maybe they could’ve re-routed the burma trail below the terminal? Crowding especially in that runout is getting bad though. At least now Barb’s Way is the primary instead of everyone on Homestretch.
Don’t worry, the tourists from NY and NJ will destroy this lift and Blue’s lack of experience in managing their equipment will also cause it to fail early (and often!)
You should check out Montage (re: lift maintenance, general ops, snow quality). I’m sure your Blue criticisms are valid, but no one beats “The Action Park of Ski Resorts: Montage Mountain” in terms of mismanagement and neglect, IMHO.
LOL sounds like you should stop sliding at Blue since you hate it so much. FYI, the Comet Quad was installed in 1994, Blue Mountain personnel has maintained it its whole life, and most other HS quads of that age have long since met the scrap yard. Blue Mountain also, FWIW, hosts the annual PSAA lift maintenance conference. The tourist will always be tourists.
I’m not really sure about that 1994 comment . . . although I don’t know the exact numbers, I feel like a vast majority of 1994 detachables are still in operation.
They certainly have taking well in destroying it. It could be worse but there are a couple chairs with graffiti on seatbacks. Maybe it’s just because it’s not new anymore, but it doesn’t seem to run as smooth as it did last year, either.
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I cannot understand why they extended this lift to start at the base. While it allows for one to access the Summit Lodge directly from the Valley Lodge, it means that all 6 trails on that side now funnel down to a single runout. That’s going to be really bad for trail crowding, particularly with such a high capacity lift. I think it would’ve made more sense to put this lift on the same route as the doubles it replaced.
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I’ve skied this lift and it’s a great addition to the base area of blue and the mountain as a whole, great addition!
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Blue Mountain is not big enough for any non-beginner lift to be anything except a top-to-bottom lift. Otherwise, you risk a situation like Greek Peak, where the western portion of the resort/the base area/Lift 1A is too crowded and the central portion of the resort/Lift 2 is underutilized because it loads just above the beginner area and uphill from the base area.
They could have installed a mid-station for loading only at Tower 6, but that would have been more expensive. Plus, the crowding has really not been too bad from being funneled anywhere except the top of Shuttle where it is flat and people are forced to walk.
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They had to demolish the warming hut to build it, but I’m not sure if they had enough space where Main Street/Burma used to load anyways. Maybe they could’ve re-routed the burma trail below the terminal? Crowding especially in that runout is getting bad though. At least now Barb’s Way is the primary instead of everyone on Homestretch.
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I like how they landscaped after building this lift. I see lots of newly planted pines around the base and towers. Don’t see that much.
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Don’t worry, the tourists from NY and NJ will destroy this lift and Blue’s lack of experience in managing their equipment will also cause it to fail early (and often!)
LikeLike
You should check out Montage (re: lift maintenance, general ops, snow quality). I’m sure your Blue criticisms are valid, but no one beats “The Action Park of Ski Resorts: Montage Mountain” in terms of mismanagement and neglect, IMHO.
LikeLike
LOL sounds like you should stop sliding at Blue since you hate it so much. FYI, the Comet Quad was installed in 1994, Blue Mountain personnel has maintained it its whole life, and most other HS quads of that age have long since met the scrap yard. Blue Mountain also, FWIW, hosts the annual PSAA lift maintenance conference. The tourist will always be tourists.
LikeLike
I’m not really sure about that 1994 comment . . . although I don’t know the exact numbers, I feel like a vast majority of 1994 detachables are still in operation.
LikeLike
They certainly have taking well in destroying it. It could be worse but there are a couple chairs with graffiti on seatbacks. Maybe it’s just because it’s not new anymore, but it doesn’t seem to run as smooth as it did last year, either.
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