Both terminals are located inside custom buildings.Dercum Mountain station.The gondola connects two mountains by going down and back up again with little overall change in elevation.Breakover towers 1-2.View down the line.The entire middle section is largely flat.Looking towards North Peak.Dercum Mountain.Spanning the two mountains.Tower 13.Return station on North Peak.North Peak Station.Splice tower on North Peak.Elevator to cabin parking.Drive Station, Dercum Mountain.
Both River Run and Outpost gondolas have the same capacity- 2400pph. Why would the addition of Bergman Bowl require more capacity for Outpost? I don’t think beginners are going to ride Summit to get there…
I’d think a route for beginners/intermediates would consist of River Run>Outpost>Bergman Bowl. I don’t think most beginners/intermediates would be skiing a run such as Mozart and riding up Santiago to get to Bergman Bowl.
I guess I don’t see 2400 beginners/intermediates flocking to Bergman Bowl on an hourly basis. I do agree on Mozart- my least favorite trail in Colorado.🥴
Not sure about a full replacement, but I could see a systems upgrade on this lift in the next several years. I bet it will see some increased traffic from Bergman Bowl, plus I bet has some high hours from running nights and in the summer for weddings. Maybe an upgrade similar to what Vail did at Northstar… refurbished cabins with new grips, terminal equipment, and controls. Food for thought.
On a side note, I’ve always really liked this lift. Cool profile through the Windows.
Took my ropeways class to Keystone yesterday. One of the lifts we studied was this this one. It seems in very good shape, much like its slightly younger cousin at Copper. The low-voltage system is still a classic 90s Doppelmayr Christmas tree but I’ve been told it’s working just fine. Terminal equipment appears in great shape. They have several spare tower assemblies on hand and can swap them out when they need a rebuild (unlike most of us who have to remove it, bring it to the shop, rebuild it, and put it back- which entails downtime if it happens in the winter).
Outpost Gondola isn’t due for an upgrade. First off, it’s in great shape. It almost never stops, and when it does, it’s only because of wind issues. Second, it rarely sees lines. The most crowded I’ve ever seen it was like, 20 people and that was over spring break. Even then, it chewed through the line relatively fast. Keystone does a good job maintaining their lifts, and this Gondola is no expectation. I just don’t see the point of an upgrade here.
I’d much rather see upgrades to Wayback and Outback Express first
Unless you’re a beginner traveling to the Bergman Bowl area, or you’re a foot passenger traveling to the Outpost to lunch, there’s not much reason to use the gondola. It’s probably more practical to just ski down to the base of North Peak and ride Ruby or Santiago while transiting through this area.
At some point in the recent past Keystone had a dinner experience at the Outpost called Alpenglow Stube. I imagine they still use the space for weddings and events. That obviously would of required running the Outpost Gondola at night.
How is it more practical to ski to the base of North Peak? The Outpost Gondola is faster than skiing Mozart or Mineshaft to Santiago, and is also much less crowded. Those runs also face south, meaning the snow is consistently bad. Few people really ride it, but it’s still nice to have.
This is my favorite gondola. Fun story, I was riding it on a windy day with my snowboard on the outside (the lifty told me to put it there instead of the inside of the cabin) and the ski rack on the outside was too short for my board, and the wind was blowing, so I had to hold my hand outside of the window to keep my board from falling off the rack. …
Needless to say the terminals and the cabins are astetically awesome and it remains my favorite gondola.
Lift Blog 
Although the overall gondola ride is generally flat, the runs provided under the lift are are delight to explore on skis from both ends.
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Oh Yes, the ride underestimates what is below it. The Upper/Lower Windows are great to ski. Also the ride can get scenic in the middle.
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This gondola seems to be getting long in the tooth. Does Keystone have any plans to replace it?
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Keystone doesn’t have any plans to replace it anytime soon but I wonder if it will need more capacity with the upcoming Bergman Bowl expansion.
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Both River Run and Outpost gondolas have the same capacity- 2400pph. Why would the addition of Bergman Bowl require more capacity for Outpost? I don’t think beginners are going to ride Summit to get there…
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I’d think a route for beginners/intermediates would consist of River Run>Outpost>Bergman Bowl. I don’t think most beginners/intermediates would be skiing a run such as Mozart and riding up Santiago to get to Bergman Bowl.
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I guess I don’t see 2400 beginners/intermediates flocking to Bergman Bowl on an hourly basis. I do agree on Mozart- my least favorite trail in Colorado.🥴
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Not sure about a full replacement, but I could see a systems upgrade on this lift in the next several years. I bet it will see some increased traffic from Bergman Bowl, plus I bet has some high hours from running nights and in the summer for weddings. Maybe an upgrade similar to what Vail did at Northstar… refurbished cabins with new grips, terminal equipment, and controls. Food for thought.
On a side note, I’ve always really liked this lift. Cool profile through the Windows.
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I think such a refurb could also entail adding more cabins.
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Same, it’s like the Peak 2 Peak in Whistler, but on a much smaller scale
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Took my ropeways class to Keystone yesterday. One of the lifts we studied was this this one. It seems in very good shape, much like its slightly younger cousin at Copper. The low-voltage system is still a classic 90s Doppelmayr Christmas tree but I’ve been told it’s working just fine. Terminal equipment appears in great shape. They have several spare tower assemblies on hand and can swap them out when they need a rebuild (unlike most of us who have to remove it, bring it to the shop, rebuild it, and put it back- which entails downtime if it happens in the winter).
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Ropeways class? Is this through a university?
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It’s part of Colorado Mountain College’s Ski Area Operations programme https://coloradomtn.edu/programs/ski-area-operations/, so more or less. Peter has highlighted a new part of that, which is the lift maintenance intensive level 1 course https://liftblog.com/2023/06/
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Are they still running the Pilz P8 PLC’s?
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Not sure- I forgot to ask and we didn’t open the cabinets.
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I remembered to ask this year. They did the upgrade. Still have the Christmas tree annunciation but new PLCs.
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Does anyone know what kind of cabins Outpost uses? I think some cabins are reused from the old River Run gondola, but I’m not too sure.
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Outpost Gondola isn’t due for an upgrade. First off, it’s in great shape. It almost never stops, and when it does, it’s only because of wind issues. Second, it rarely sees lines. The most crowded I’ve ever seen it was like, 20 people and that was over spring break. Even then, it chewed through the line relatively fast. Keystone does a good job maintaining their lifts, and this Gondola is no expectation. I just don’t see the point of an upgrade here.
I’d much rather see upgrades to Wayback and Outback Express first
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Unless you’re a beginner traveling to the Bergman Bowl area, or you’re a foot passenger traveling to the Outpost to lunch, there’s not much reason to use the gondola. It’s probably more practical to just ski down to the base of North Peak and ride Ruby or Santiago while transiting through this area.
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At some point in the recent past Keystone had a dinner experience at the Outpost called Alpenglow Stube. I imagine they still use the space for weddings and events. That obviously would of required running the Outpost Gondola at night.
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Yeah I remember going to outpost at night for a birthday celebration around 2015.
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How is it more practical to ski to the base of North Peak? The Outpost Gondola is faster than skiing Mozart or Mineshaft to Santiago, and is also much less crowded. Those runs also face south, meaning the snow is consistently bad. Few people really ride it, but it’s still nice to have.
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It’s also really important if the Ruby Lift goes down, so the people skiing North Peak aren’t stranded
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In my mind, it’s cheating to use the gondola rather than the chairlifts in this particular case. 😂😂
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What is the system? Is it uni?
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Yes.
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This is my favorite gondola. Fun story, I was riding it on a windy day with my snowboard on the outside (the lifty told me to put it there instead of the inside of the cabin) and the ski rack on the outside was too short for my board, and the wind was blowing, so I had to hold my hand outside of the window to keep my board from falling off the rack. …
Needless to say the terminals and the cabins are astetically awesome and it remains my favorite gondola.
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My worst fear on a gondola is that my skis are going to fall out of the ski rack. Good thing you didn’t lose it!
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Wait, I’m confused. Is this a bottom drive or a top drive?
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The Dercum Mountain terminal has a higher altitude than the Outpost terminal.
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