This is the original lift here, though it came from elsewhere and received new chairs at some point.Arriving at the top drive terminal.Upper terminal overview.View down the line.Breakover towers.Return terminal.Lift line.Unloading area.
16 thoughts on “Milky Way – Andes Tower Hills, MN”
Utah Powder SkierFebruary 26, 2021 / 7:51 pm
This lift appears to be a Telecar with some Riblet modifications. These towers show up on some Telecar installations, but I have seen them referred to as American Cableways. The tension terminal of these lifts has also shown up on some Thiokol lifts, like Timberline at Powder Mountain. Does anyone know the history here?
The chairs were most likely modified to fit on a lift designed as a double. It is not often that you find American Cableways, Hunzinger, Hjorth or Cosmos lifts that need a chair replacement.
Aspen Hills is not a Hunziker Lift, it’s a Hjorth. It came used from Frontier Land near Jackson, Wyoming. It first had bail-style chairs. Not sure where they got the centerpole chairs from, but they are not matching Hunziker’s design.
Mandan was running clockwise, Skiers it not. Not sure if they had the chairs changed or installed new ones, but at least the safety bars are now missing.
Lift Blog 
This lift appears to be a Telecar with some Riblet modifications. These towers show up on some Telecar installations, but I have seen them referred to as American Cableways. The tension terminal of these lifts has also shown up on some Thiokol lifts, like Timberline at Powder Mountain. Does anyone know the history here?
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Timberline’s tension terminal has a similar shape but is not the same design: https://skiliftblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_6352.jpg?w=994&h=746
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This looks like a telecar lift
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Highly doubtable. I do have an example of what a Telecar looked like
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Oddity lift for sure….the unload guide sheave don’t look real happy
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American Cableways?
Cosmos
I was wondering why that front steel beam on top protudes a little to one side on both (and the other AC related) lifts? Just a conincidence?
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Looks like one.
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I’m pretty sure those are fake Riblet chairs.
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The chairs were most likely modified to fit on a lift designed as a double. It is not often that you find American Cableways, Hunzinger, Hjorth or Cosmos lifts that need a chair replacement.
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I mean the majority of those lifts from those manufacturers do not have their original chairs.
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Can you name one that still has?
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The Hjorth lift at Kelly Canyon and the Hunzinger at Aspen Hills development near Fairview, UT are a few that still have their original chairs.
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Aspen Hills is not a Hunziker Lift, it’s a Hjorth. It came used from Frontier Land near Jackson, Wyoming. It first had bail-style chairs. Not sure where they got the centerpole chairs from, but they are not matching Hunziker’s design.
Mandan was running clockwise, Skiers it not. Not sure if they had the chairs changed or installed new ones, but at least the safety bars are now missing.
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Per Google Earth, the inclined length is ~860′ and the vertical is ~146′.
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Has anyone considered Murray-Latta? The towers look very similar to the old Dinosaur at Hyak, WA. These are definitely not M-L sheaves, though
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Similar, but definitely not the same.
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