This short lift connects the main section of Crested Butte to the Prospect expansion.Loading area.Leaving the return terminal.Riding up an empty line.Arriving at the drive.Side view of the drive.View down the lift line.Another section of the line.What a view!Some of the towers have new lifting frames.The entire lift seen from Paradise.
It would be cool if they replaced Painter Boy with a detachable lift from the base to Umbrella Bar. It would reduce the number of lifts to get out to Prospector/Gold Link and help with out-of-base capacity. Plus, it would have some mellow, lappable terrain for beginners and low-intermediates.
But how would people get to the Prospect and Gold Link areas? I understand those lifts are there mostly for real estate access, but they both service some nice intermediate runs. I feel like that lift could be a nice addition, but I don’t think Painter Boy would need to be removed for that to go in.
One option for replacing Gold Link and Painter Boy would be with an Up & Over Lift, which Peter has documented with examples across the U.S.
The new lift would be a detachable quad that would have a mid-unloading / angle station where both lifts end now. If it runs counter clockwise, both sides would not interfere with each other while unloading.
The new lift would roughly be around 4,277 feet long, which is longer than the Teocalli lift (which is 3,791 feet) and East River Express (3,458 feet).
This idea kills two birds with one stone, if done correctly. Both triple lifts as they exist now would probably be too short as they stand now to justify 2 separate detachable lifts – but that’s not to say that they would be the shortest detaches ever if they were built today. Painter Boy is only around 1,800 feet, while Gold Link is 2,477 feet.
There are also a couple of lifts exist out there that have a similar middle loading/angle station like I described. Some examples of what I’m talking about would be the Riva Bahn lift at Vail (which is a great example), and Silver Lake Express at Deer Valley.
It’s not too far fetched of an idea if you ask me.
Lift Blog 
The lifting frames look like they’re from around the mid- to late 90s, maybe around the same time Red Lady Express was built.
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Looks similar to Franz’s up at Whistler.
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It would be cool if they replaced Painter Boy with a detachable lift from the base to Umbrella Bar. It would reduce the number of lifts to get out to Prospector/Gold Link and help with out-of-base capacity. Plus, it would have some mellow, lappable terrain for beginners and low-intermediates.
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There are some condos that would be in the way. But it could be doable.
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But how would people get to the Prospect and Gold Link areas? I understand those lifts are there mostly for real estate access, but they both service some nice intermediate runs. I feel like that lift could be a nice addition, but I don’t think Painter Boy would need to be removed for that to go in.
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Oldest chair on the mountain
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Any chance of this chair being upgraded in the near future?
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Not sure. I think that Crested Butte’s top priorities right now are upgrading Paradise and Silver Queen.
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This lift services a really nice beginner area!
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One option for replacing Gold Link and Painter Boy would be with an Up & Over Lift, which Peter has documented with examples across the U.S.
The new lift would be a detachable quad that would have a mid-unloading / angle station where both lifts end now. If it runs counter clockwise, both sides would not interfere with each other while unloading.
The new lift would roughly be around 4,277 feet long, which is longer than the Teocalli lift (which is 3,791 feet) and East River Express (3,458 feet).
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=15-wXNDDFL_FEUGF0WyAXU5V0y7UMMmM&ll=38.90821481320784%2C-106.95439045&z=16
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An up and over detachable lift with a turn makes very little sense to me – this only seems like added complexity over two individual detachables.
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This idea kills two birds with one stone, if done correctly. Both triple lifts as they exist now would probably be too short as they stand now to justify 2 separate detachable lifts – but that’s not to say that they would be the shortest detaches ever if they were built today. Painter Boy is only around 1,800 feet, while Gold Link is 2,477 feet.
There are also a couple of lifts exist out there that have a similar middle loading/angle station like I described. Some examples of what I’m talking about would be the Riva Bahn lift at Vail (which is a great example), and Silver Lake Express at Deer Valley.
It’s not too far fetched of an idea if you ask me.
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