This Doppelmayr Alpen Star quad provides ski in, ski out access for the upper village.The bottom terminal has both the drive and tensioning systems.View up the lift line.The top of tower number five.View back down the lift line with the opposing Morrisey Express visible.Arriving at the drive terminal.Top bullwheel.Side view of the return station.View down from the summit.Tower 14.Looking down the middle part of the line.Many of the towers are tall and in multiple sections.This tower has a combo assembly and a depression one.Towers near the bottom.Chair spacing is relatively wide with a capacity of 1,800 per hour.The chairs have kid-friendly restraint bars.The lower station and tower 1.Loading area and motor room.Tower 3.Another view of the Alpen Star station.Side view with Tod Mountain in the background.Lift overview.The line seen from Mt. Morrisey.Upper part of the lift.
A master plan had proposed for this to be a high speed six pack.
I’m not sure if this lift is designed so it could be converted to a high speed quad at a later date, but that seems unlikely.
At any rate, Orient isn’t just for ski-in/ski-out access for the upper village area, it also serves as a means of lapping that pod of blue runs from Ca M’a Fait Plaisir to Ausfahrt, along with adding a new trail with the lift line (Hasta La Vista).
And perhaps more importantly, it provides a route for you to get from Mount Morrisey to Mount Tod and Sundance Mountain without having to take your equipment off to cross the access road at one of the pedestrian crossings (either Home Run back to the main village, or Back In Time to go directly from the Morrisey Express to the Burfield lift). As the maps show, a new green run known as the Main Village Connector was cut from the top of Orient over to Rambler, from which you then continue down to the Village base.
It’s still a slog to get to Morrisey from the Sundance side and vice versa. A cheap two-way handle tow between the underpass and the morrisey lift would be nice.
Lift Blog 
Is anyone surprised that they did not install a detachable for this lift?
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A master plan had proposed for this to be a high speed six pack.
I’m not sure if this lift is designed so it could be converted to a high speed quad at a later date, but that seems unlikely.
At any rate, Orient isn’t just for ski-in/ski-out access for the upper village area, it also serves as a means of lapping that pod of blue runs from Ca M’a Fait Plaisir to Ausfahrt, along with adding a new trail with the lift line (Hasta La Vista).
And perhaps more importantly, it provides a route for you to get from Mount Morrisey to Mount Tod and Sundance Mountain without having to take your equipment off to cross the access road at one of the pedestrian crossings (either Home Run back to the main village, or Back In Time to go directly from the Morrisey Express to the Burfield lift). As the maps show, a new green run known as the Main Village Connector was cut from the top of Orient over to Rambler, from which you then continue down to the Village base.
Before Orient was added:
After:
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It’s still a slog to get to Morrisey from the Sundance side and vice versa. A cheap two-way handle tow between the underpass and the morrisey lift would be nice.
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The “2020 Master Plan Update” still has in Phase 4 under upgrade-and-extend: “Lift 16R – Orient Express – D4C – 2400 pph”
So there is a plan (if it happens) to make it go up higher and get faster.
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More than likely, this lift will have low ridership and detachables are not cheap lifts to operate and maintain.
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Did they add any trails after the installation of this lift?
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The only new trail added in the pod was Hasta La Vista, the run under the lift.
They also built a new connector trail running from the top of the lift back to Rambler to provide direct access to the main village base area.
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