Lower part of the lift line.View up the line.Bottom station with tensioning.Another view of the lift line.Looking up.View back down from near the summit.Arriving up top.Unloading ramp.Side view of the Poma top terminal.Top station overview.Upper lift line.Drive station.
28 thoughts on “Olympia Express – Winter Park, CO”
Donald M. ReifMarch 5, 2019 / 12:41 pm
I’ve always been one to wonder why they didn’t give this lift an Alice in Wonderland based name, given that’s the overall theme for the pod of trails it laps (and that theme even extends to the Looking Glass lift). I mean, even calling it the White Queen Express or the Red Queen Express would suffice.
The original lift was completed in August of 1971 just before the 1972 Olympics were to be held in Japan. Chairs were sold for $25 a piece to raise funds for the US Olympic team. The names of the donors were on a sign with engraved nameplates for all of the donors. I believe the sign is still there or was until 5-10 years ago. So the lift was named in honor of the US Olympic team from the era.
The high speed quads on the backside of the Winter Park section and Vasquez Ridge are the only three to have footrests. Those in the main section of the Winter Park area are without footrests.
Not sure why they didn’t get the full length terminals for this to allow for a speed of 1100 vs 900 feet per minute. The top and bottom don’t seem space constrained at all.
Yes, the name for them are the Arceaux chairs but I have always called them falcon carriers. This is because of the skilifts.org ID sheets. They call them falcon carriers so I am just used to calling them that. For informational purposes, I will begin to call them Arceaux carriers in my Youtube videos, but it will take me a while to get used to calling them that.
I believe Poma of France came up with that name when they were first released. It actually makes sense, as it translates into ‘cradle’, which is what the chair is shaped like.
Olympia is also used in the summer. They really slow the lift down and it takes longer to get up. It would be nice if they could speed up but it is kind of hard putting the bikes on the lift.
In the summer this lift really could use a capacity boost. On weekends when I ride there, I’m always waiting 10+ minutes to get on. A capacity boost would be challenging on this lift because you’d loose efficiency if your loading 3 bikes per chair.
Another idea would be to upgrade Looking Glass to a fixed quad and then using it in the summer to relieve traffic off Olympia. Send some of the traffic over to Eskimo.
They really do slow the lift down in the summer during normal operations but when the lift closes for lightning, they boost it to full speed, and boy does it fly. It just sucks to get out of there when closed, a very long walk up a steep dirt road, but you do past the Kendrick Saddle Storage where they store the old Sunnyside lift.
I was told last summer that it runs around 625-650FPM. Explorer runs at 700FPM in the summer. They’re adding the new Deason built center pole quad carriers this year to Olympia, which will probably mean an even slower line speed to accommodate loading 4 bikes at once.
They upgraded this lift with the Deasonbuilt center-pole quad carriers. Last I heard they were running it at 560FPM. It’s about a 15 minute ride including slows and stops.
Why is the capacity of this lift only 1,800 people per hour. Could it be increased with some chairs from Pioneer? Sounds like an easy way to increase the capacity by 33%. It could use new/longer/faster terminals but the chairs pretty good, and towers can last a while especially if they avoid upgrading to a 6 pack.
I’m pretty sure that the lift has a full complement of chairs, but it has a lower capacity just because of the short, slow terminals. I would have to believe that to do such a thing, the terminal and line equipment would need to be entirely upgraded, and at that point, they might as well just put in a 6-pack.
This needs to be the next priority for wp, the lines are more atrocious and way less efficient than every other lift besides maybe pano and it’s slow as balls
This lift needs to be updated before any other lift in the park. They don’t even have it in the master plan! Once they take Looking Glass out (or when it gives up the ghost) its going to be a real pain. I’m already imagining the line extending past Looking Glass if Wild Spur is closed!!!
My theory is they view the lift as overused so they are proposing more alternatives. Wild Spur was a first step to get that pod to take on more of the crowds which seems to have worked. In the summer of 2025 they want to install Copper Creak as a 6 pack to replace Looking Glass serving different trails. They are probably hoping removes some crowds especially since they are going for a 6 pack. The Vasquez North lift looks like it will serve a lot of long blue cruisers similar to Olympia and Pano. And the town Gondola will further encourage people to use Copper Creak to get out of Olympia. Olympia doesn’t serve a ton of terrain, which is probably why they are being stingy on the capacity.
Lift Blog 
I’ve always been one to wonder why they didn’t give this lift an Alice in Wonderland based name, given that’s the overall theme for the pod of trails it laps (and that theme even extends to the Looking Glass lift). I mean, even calling it the White Queen Express or the Red Queen Express would suffice.
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Silver Queen Express?
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Here’s why the Olympia is named Olympia:
The original lift was completed in August of 1971 just before the 1972 Olympics were to be held in Japan. Chairs were sold for $25 a piece to raise funds for the US Olympic team. The names of the donors were on a sign with engraved nameplates for all of the donors. I believe the sign is still there or was until 5-10 years ago. So the lift was named in honor of the US Olympic team from the era.
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The high speed quads on the backside of the Winter Park section and Vasquez Ridge are the only three to have footrests. Those in the main section of the Winter Park area are without footrests.
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Not sure why they didn’t get the full length terminals for this to allow for a speed of 1100 vs 900 feet per minute. The top and bottom don’t seem space constrained at all.
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The same could be said with the Prospector Express, Gemini Express and High Lonesome Express, honestly.
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But those lifts are shorter, so a higher speed wouldn’t make much of a difference.
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High Lonesome is pretty long.
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There’s definitely a lot of room at the Olympia Express and High Lonesome Express unload areas for those lifts to be full length Challenger terminals.
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Does anyone know what the chairs on this lift are called?
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These are Poma’s thrid generation Arceaux quad chairs. I don’t know why everyone calls these “Falcon” chairs, but the official name is Arceaux.
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Yes, the name for them are the Arceaux chairs but I have always called them falcon carriers. This is because of the skilifts.org ID sheets. They call them falcon carriers so I am just used to calling them that. For informational purposes, I will begin to call them Arceaux carriers in my Youtube videos, but it will take me a while to get used to calling them that.
LikeLike
I believe Poma of France came up with that name when they were first released. It actually makes sense, as it translates into ‘cradle’, which is what the chair is shaped like.
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Olympia is also used in the summer. They really slow the lift down and it takes longer to get up. It would be nice if they could speed up but it is kind of hard putting the bikes on the lift.
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In the summer this lift really could use a capacity boost. On weekends when I ride there, I’m always waiting 10+ minutes to get on. A capacity boost would be challenging on this lift because you’d loose efficiency if your loading 3 bikes per chair.
Another idea would be to upgrade Looking Glass to a fixed quad and then using it in the summer to relieve traffic off Olympia. Send some of the traffic over to Eskimo.
LikeLike
They could upgrade looking glass to a triple then have it go up to zips where long trail, no quarter and green world is.
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They really do slow the lift down in the summer during normal operations but when the lift closes for lightning, they boost it to full speed, and boy does it fly. It just sucks to get out of there when closed, a very long walk up a steep dirt road, but you do past the Kendrick Saddle Storage where they store the old Sunnyside lift.
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I updated the Olympia Express lift on my Map. Click the link below…
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1JcCC-f3ZtSCIYd9NcbPmAoZ8OZ6cAfhu&usp=sharing
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This lift in the summer probably runs aroung 700-800fpm maybe slower. Surely, not 900. At least when no one is riding it.
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I was told last summer that it runs around 625-650FPM. Explorer runs at 700FPM in the summer. They’re adding the new Deason built center pole quad carriers this year to Olympia, which will probably mean an even slower line speed to accommodate loading 4 bikes at once.
LikeLike
They upgraded this lift with the Deasonbuilt center-pole quad carriers. Last I heard they were running it at 560FPM. It’s about a 15 minute ride including slows and stops.
LikeLike
Why is the capacity of this lift only 1,800 people per hour. Could it be increased with some chairs from Pioneer? Sounds like an easy way to increase the capacity by 33%. It could use new/longer/faster terminals but the chairs pretty good, and towers can last a while especially if they avoid upgrading to a 6 pack.
LikeLike
I’m pretty sure that the lift has a full complement of chairs, but it has a lower capacity just because of the short, slow terminals. I would have to believe that to do such a thing, the terminal and line equipment would need to be entirely upgraded, and at that point, they might as well just put in a 6-pack.
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I ride this lift every time I go to WP, and it is a madhouse they need to replace this with a 6-pack it is to busy!
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I agree. Maybe a supplementary lift would be nice too.
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This needs to be the next priority for wp, the lines are more atrocious and way less efficient than every other lift besides maybe pano and it’s slow as balls
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This lift needs to be updated before any other lift in the park. They don’t even have it in the master plan! Once they take Looking Glass out (or when it gives up the ghost) its going to be a real pain. I’m already imagining the line extending past Looking Glass if Wild Spur is closed!!!
LikeLike
My theory is they view the lift as overused so they are proposing more alternatives. Wild Spur was a first step to get that pod to take on more of the crowds which seems to have worked. In the summer of 2025 they want to install Copper Creak as a 6 pack to replace Looking Glass serving different trails. They are probably hoping removes some crowds especially since they are going for a 6 pack. The Vasquez North lift looks like it will serve a lot of long blue cruisers similar to Olympia and Pano. And the town Gondola will further encourage people to use Copper Creak to get out of Olympia. Olympia doesn’t serve a ton of terrain, which is probably why they are being stingy on the capacity.
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