This lift replaced a Thiokol triple on a slightly new alignment in 2021.The lift line is varied with steep and flatter sections throughout.This is the first Leitner-Poma lift at Snowbasin after numerous Doppelmayr installations.Middle part of the lift line.The namesake Middle Bowl.Upper part of the lift line.Tower 11 has some large hold down assemblies.View up at T11.This lift could also be described as a roller coaster with its ups and downs.View down the line.One of multiple combo assembly towers.View up at tower 7.Lower part of the lift line.The bottom terminal near the same spot as the prior triple.View up from the base terminal.Lengthy maintenance rail at the bottom.Six place chair manufactured in Austria.Bottom station with 90 degree loading.View back down the first pitch.Riding up the line.The final three towers.Arriving at the drive terminal.Unloading area.Side view of the drive.The new lift unloads above the Needles Lodge unlike the prior version.Lower station and tower 1.Lift overview.
I think LP did an awesome job with this lift at SB. They knew they were on shaky ground coming into mostly Doppie territory, but between this lift and the other one they installed recently in Utah I think they are doing a great job. And it is showing. Congrats, LP and welcome to Utah. Your presence here will increase competition and good products to come. With the way LP has done this Middle Bowl replacement, I’ve developed a deep respect for LP. I’m a very true blue Snowbasin loyal fan, it is where I learned to ski (we all have a favorite) And the old Middle Bowl CTEC meant a lot to me, as it was where I learned to take on some advanced/black trails for the first time, and I think she was retired before it was needed, but that’s ok. Bring on Strawberry Bowl expansion and additional lifts. Just leave Becker and Porky alone for another 10 years or so!!
He’s probably referring to Leitner-Poma technically being a newcomer to the Utah lift industry since after building Red Pine Gondola and the first Tombstone, they didn’t build any new lifts in Utah until Supreme in 2017.
Love this new lift. I have had the chance to ride it several times now. Seats are super comfortable, and love how fast it gets you to the top. I love the wooden plank look underneath the terminals. Overall it seems well built, and very sharp looking. I was wondering though why they left “Express” off the name of the lift (on the terminal sides)?
The lift starts in a slightly different location from the triple, too. The triple started nearer to ending of Dan’s Run.
The six pack starts closer to the bottom of Sunnyside and Bullwinkle, and runs up the skier’s right side of Bullwinkle on the lower part. The new lift line intersects the old lift line between towers 10 and 11.
Apologies, love the site. I actually took a few photos of the lift over the past few days when I realized that you didn’t have any photos yet…and I procrastinated :(
On the first picture, the old middle bowl lift was a early model CTEC and not a Thiokol, although a bit confusing because the early model ctec lifts were nearly identical to Thiokol.
Its at low capacity to save money on construction. Snowbasin seems to like six packs for wind stability more than capacity. They can add more chairs and tighten up spacing if they need to.
Considering how protected Middle Bowl is on its current alignment, I don’t think wind was the main reason why Middle Bowl was built as a six pack. It certainly has the trail capacity for at least 2400, if not more. This lift has really helped with clearing out Bear Hollow and I could see a capacity upgrade happening in the next few years.
I definitely think the lift was probably future-proofed to have additional chairs added. It probably should get them if the Strawberry infill lift ever gets built.
Fair enough. However wildcat being a sixpack was more of a wind stability thing than capacity. The top of wildcat saddles a ridge and blows the chairs around, even with the new lift. Both old and new middle bowl also had there fair share of wind issues at the top.
I think that’s a bit of a letdown with Middle Bowl that they didn’t add more chairs to the lift, especially with DeMoisy being built for 2,800 pph+ capacity. With DeMoisy open, I imagine Middle Bowl will get more traffic as a result of it being easier to get back into the bowl after you’re done in the Strawberry Basin. Looks like they cut a new trail that you reach by turning right immediately upon unloading DeMoisy that drops directly into Middle Bowl, which will be a much easier egress than the old way of traveling down from the Strawberry Gondola summit to Main Street, then taking a traverse over to the top of Philpot Ridge.)
On the other hand, maybe they didn’t feel the need to up Middle Bowl’s capacity concurrent with DeMoisy’s construction because of DeMoisy shifting skier traffic over to the Strawberry Basin that had previously not been willing to go over there because having to take gear off after each run to ride the gondola (and the long lines the gondola often had) was a deterrent.
At any rate, the lower capacity of Middle Bowl compared to DeMoisy is really apparent when looking at how many chairs are in the terminals at any point in time in these two pictures:
I believe the lift would need at least 17 more chairs added to it to get it up to 2,400 pph, or 22 chairs to match DeMoisy’s 2,800 pph capacity. Maybe that will be a side project that’s carried out alongside upgrading Becker.
Probably not. They converted the lift to in-line loading after the first season. And 2,400 pph creates 10 second intervals between chairs, which reduces misloads (resorts that go with six packs with this capacity are likely doing so for either wind resistance thanks to heavy chairs, and/or to cut down on misloads).
Lift Blog 
Stunning lift with Snowbasin colors.
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This green-white paint scheme honestly looks better on LPA terminals than on the UNI-G terminals.
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I think LP did an awesome job with this lift at SB. They knew they were on shaky ground coming into mostly Doppie territory, but between this lift and the other one they installed recently in Utah I think they are doing a great job. And it is showing. Congrats, LP and welcome to Utah. Your presence here will increase competition and good products to come. With the way LP has done this Middle Bowl replacement, I’ve developed a deep respect for LP. I’m a very true blue Snowbasin loyal fan, it is where I learned to ski (we all have a favorite) And the old Middle Bowl CTEC meant a lot to me, as it was where I learned to take on some advanced/black trails for the first time, and I think she was retired before it was needed, but that’s ok. Bring on Strawberry Bowl expansion and additional lifts. Just leave Becker and Porky alone for another 10 years or so!!
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I’m not sure what you mean by ‘they knew they were on shaky ground’.
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He’s probably referring to Leitner-Poma technically being a newcomer to the Utah lift industry since after building Red Pine Gondola and the first Tombstone, they didn’t build any new lifts in Utah until Supreme in 2017.
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I’m aware. Just seems an odd way to put it, especially when one is referring to one of two major players.
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Love this new lift. I have had the chance to ride it several times now. Seats are super comfortable, and love how fast it gets you to the top. I love the wooden plank look underneath the terminals. Overall it seems well built, and very sharp looking. I was wondering though why they left “Express” off the name of the lift (on the terminal sides)?
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The lift starts in a slightly different location from the triple, too. The triple started nearer to ending of Dan’s Run.
The six pack starts closer to the bottom of Sunnyside and Bullwinkle, and runs up the skier’s right side of Bullwinkle on the lower part. The new lift line intersects the old lift line between towers 10 and 11.
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It actually crosses over closer to towers 8 and 9. I have photos that show it better, but it sends it straight to spam if I post the link.
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This is that stretch where you were pretty high off the ground on the old lift.
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Apologies, love the site. I actually took a few photos of the lift over the past few days when I realized that you didn’t have any photos yet…and I procrastinated :(
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On the first picture, the old middle bowl lift was a early model CTEC and not a Thiokol, although a bit confusing because the early model ctec lifts were nearly identical to Thiokol.
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“This chairlift could be considered a rollercoaster with its up and downs”
Laughs in john paul.
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John Paul is honestly the more intense roller coaster.
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I don’t think even DeMoisy will be this much of a roller coaster from looking at its profile.
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It seems that 1800 per hour is low for a high speed six pack. Are they planning on adding more chairs ?
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Its at low capacity to save money on construction. Snowbasin seems to like six packs for wind stability more than capacity. They can add more chairs and tighten up spacing if they need to.
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Considering how protected Middle Bowl is on its current alignment, I don’t think wind was the main reason why Middle Bowl was built as a six pack. It certainly has the trail capacity for at least 2400, if not more. This lift has really helped with clearing out Bear Hollow and I could see a capacity upgrade happening in the next few years.
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I definitely think the lift was probably future-proofed to have additional chairs added. It probably should get them if the Strawberry infill lift ever gets built.
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Fair enough. However wildcat being a sixpack was more of a wind stability thing than capacity. The top of wildcat saddles a ridge and blows the chairs around, even with the new lift. Both old and new middle bowl also had there fair share of wind issues at the top.
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Oh I don’t know. I recall things getting very crazy at times with the wind when I rode the old lift back in the 80s and 90s. Scary at times.
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I feel like they should do that this summer when building DeMoisey, this lift can get lines on peak days.
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I think that’s a bit of a letdown with Middle Bowl that they didn’t add more chairs to the lift, especially with DeMoisy being built for 2,800 pph+ capacity. With DeMoisy open, I imagine Middle Bowl will get more traffic as a result of it being easier to get back into the bowl after you’re done in the Strawberry Basin. Looks like they cut a new trail that you reach by turning right immediately upon unloading DeMoisy that drops directly into Middle Bowl, which will be a much easier egress than the old way of traveling down from the Strawberry Gondola summit to Main Street, then taking a traverse over to the top of Philpot Ridge.)
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On the other hand, maybe they didn’t feel the need to up Middle Bowl’s capacity concurrent with DeMoisy’s construction because of DeMoisy shifting skier traffic over to the Strawberry Basin that had previously not been willing to go over there because having to take gear off after each run to ride the gondola (and the long lines the gondola often had) was a deterrent.
At any rate, the lower capacity of Middle Bowl compared to DeMoisy is really apparent when looking at how many chairs are in the terminals at any point in time in these two pictures:
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This lift now has in-line loading.
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This is definitely Leitner Poma’s best installation in Utah so far.
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I’d say that distinction now goes to DeMoisy.
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I believe the lift would need at least 17 more chairs added to it to get it up to 2,400 pph, or 22 chairs to match DeMoisy’s 2,800 pph capacity. Maybe that will be a side project that’s carried out alongside upgrading Becker.
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If Snowbasin were to add more chairs to this lift to make it the full 2,400 pph, would this lift have the same problems that the MHX is having?
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Probably not. They converted the lift to in-line loading after the first season. And 2,400 pph creates 10 second intervals between chairs, which reduces misloads (resorts that go with six packs with this capacity are likely doing so for either wind resistance thanks to heavy chairs, and/or to cut down on misloads).
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