Nitro Express – Mt. Snow, VT

Nitro Express is the only detachable lift on the Carinthia side of Mt. Snow.
Poma bottom station.
Riding up the line.
View back down line.
Unloading area up top.
Drive station side view.
Top terminal overview.
Another look at the line.
The entire line is a terrain park.
First few towers out of the Carinthia base lodge.
Return terminal seen from above.
Another angle of the bottom terminal.

15 thoughts on “Nitro Express – Mt. Snow, VT

  1. sethgoldman's avatar sethgoldman January 30, 2020 / 9:36 am

    So Mt Snow has a couple high speed lifts that load as the chairs make the turn to head back uphill. After sitting down, the chair swings 90° before heading up. They also have one chair that unloads this way. Does anyone else do this? It seems unusual and confuses many first-timers. It’s also a little uncomfortable (dangerous?) if your skis drag as the chair turns.
    I’ve heard people suggest the rationale that this is the slowest point for the chair and it loading takes place at the slowest point, it allows them to run the lift at higher speeds. I don’t really but this. The chairs seem to travel just as slowly up until the point where they accelerate to meet the high speed cable.

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    • Somebody's avatar Somebody January 30, 2020 / 10:04 am

      Many other resorts use this, it’s known as 90 degree loading. Usually it is implemented to help with skier flow or space constraints. At some mountains it’s even present at unloads, such as Little cloud at snowbird:

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    • Donald Reif's avatar Donald Reif January 30, 2020 / 10:49 am

      Bluebird has 90 degree unloading because of the summit lodge, I think.

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        • sublimetechnicallye5a5e34970's avatar sublimetechnicallye5a5e34970 March 16, 2026 / 7:04 pm

          Sunburst six at Okemo has 90 degree loading too.

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  2. Chris's avatar Chris January 30, 2020 / 11:44 am

    What is so unusual and confusing about 90 degree loading or unloading? Lots of lifts have it. Here in Austria we even have a high speed tripple from the early 80s with 90 degree loading that is still running.

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    • pbropetech's avatar pbropetech January 30, 2020 / 12:26 pm

      I personally don’t have an issue with the contour load, but beginners definitely seem to. We had to convert the brand-new American Flyer from 90-degree to straight-ahead loading this past summer. Runs much better now.

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      • BarkeeStone's avatar BarkeeStone January 30, 2020 / 1:21 pm

        The American Flyer 90° loading didn’t even have enough time to load when the bubble starts to rotate to the uphill line.

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      • Joe Blake's avatar Joe Blake May 20, 2020 / 9:10 pm

        Why was it 90 degree? Space? Easier maze? The old Flyer was inline, wasn’t it? Why is the sky blue? Is there a God? What is the meaning of life? Does 42 really explain everything?

        Liked by 2 people

        • Meir K.'s avatar Meir K. May 21, 2020 / 6:50 am

          42 Degree loading? Sounds interesting.

          Liked by 1 person

  3. Rowdy's avatar Rowdy April 26, 2022 / 4:38 pm

    This should be an 6-pack. Because it has so many parks under it so people from across the country to ride the parks it serves

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    • Tijsen's avatar Tijsen April 27, 2022 / 12:00 pm

      It doesn’t get very crowded though and I’ve heard that vail wants to remove much of Carinthia Parks soon

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      • Rowdy's avatar Rowdy April 28, 2022 / 6:07 pm

        That’s odd because this summer they are planning to get and repaint all the features with the carinthia colors

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  4. Anthony Zastrow's avatar Anthony Zastrow January 20, 2025 / 5:42 am

    Definitely another quiet section. Accesses the biggest terrain parks in all of Mt. Snow. Very unique profile of this lift. Love footrests!

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