Riding up.Looking back down the line.View down from near the top.Arriving up top.Top motor room.Bottom tension terminal.Loading area.Top drive terminal.
upgraded carriers? Or was 1984 about the time CTEC went to an updated design? Also interesting placement of that vent/exhaust fan there on the top station.
Part of me’s of the mindset that a high speed quad should replace Pioneer, to make it the primary way out of the McConkey’s pod and discourage people from taking the runout to Bonanza.
I agree but would add that the runs serviced by Pioneer (especially Blueslip Bowl) are good enough where they can be lapped and a high-speed lift would encourage this.
Pioneer seems like it is the perfect length to be relocated as a lift running from the bottom of Jupiter to the top of Scott’s Bowl to add easier access to Pinecone Ridge, possibly Rhino, and the entire Scott’s Bowl/West Scott’s Bowl area.
After seeing the mess at Park City this holiday week, I think Pioneer has to be the next upgrade after Silverlode and Eagle. The biggest congestion points by far have been the base area, Bonanza, and Silverlode. Upgrading Silverlode directly will help there, Eagle will help the base area, but nothing is being done for Bonanza. The solution really needs to be to move people elsewhere, as they claim to have 7300 acres yet everyone seems to be clustered in the same few spots. Pioneer is right above Bonanza and has a similar pod, yet it is empty in comparison. Making it detachable should really help get people up the mountain and spread people out.
I think that the reasons that Bonanza is so busy is the because it has lots of beginner terrain, and because it is one of the only viable ways to get above the lower mountain. Pioneer only really has one beginner trail, Mid Mountain, and it is usually (in my experience) very crowded by people transiting from the mid-mountain zone to McConkey’s or the upper mountain. This leaves Park City with, in my opinion, three options for luring skiers away from that area. 1. Build a new lift that allows skiers to bypass Bonanza. The old gondola alignment would perfectly with this. 2. Encourage beginner skiers/riders to move elsewhere. I personally cannot see this happening, because most of Bonanza’s pod is beginner and lower end intermediate terrain. 3. Encourage anyone in the Bonanza area who is not a beginner or low end intermediate to go elsewhere. This is the proposition I see most people suggesting. The best way to make that happen in to make better terrain more easily accessible. Again, this points to a gondola, although I can’t see that happening, so I think Park City just need to focus on getting more people up to Thaynes and Pioneer. Giving those lifts Detachable upgrades and making them easier to get to should help this. One idea of mine to encourage more people to skip Bonanza and go up to pioneer is to regrade the Shortline trail. Currently, riders of Crescent have to basically skate across a flat catwalk to get up to McConkey’s and Pioneer. I have talked to lots of people who just ski down to Bonanza rather than traverse all the way over from Crescent. If Park City is willing to spend some money over the summer evening the grade of and widening the Shortline trail I think it will take a little crowding off of Bonanza.
Just to clarify, a gondola would very much help access to Thaynes and Pioneer. I meant to say that they would have to find other ways to encourage skiers to move to that zone if a gondola didn’t happen (which it probably wouldn’t).
I don’t believe this lift has operated yet in the 24/25 season. At this point, PC has been able to get nearly every lift open now that the ski patrol strike is behind them. Does anyone know what’s going on?
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upgraded carriers? Or was 1984 about the time CTEC went to an updated design? Also interesting placement of that vent/exhaust fan there on the top station.
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Part of me’s of the mindset that a high speed quad should replace Pioneer, to make it the primary way out of the McConkey’s pod and discourage people from taking the runout to Bonanza.
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I agree but would add that the runs serviced by Pioneer (especially Blueslip Bowl) are good enough where they can be lapped and a high-speed lift would encourage this.
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Such a move would certainly shift some of the intermediate and expert traffic over to Pioneer and away from Silverlode.
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The triple could then be reused to upgrade Thaynes or Jupiter, or provide a relief lift for Silverlode.
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Pioneer seems like it is the perfect length to be relocated as a lift running from the bottom of Jupiter to the top of Scott’s Bowl to add easier access to Pinecone Ridge, possibly Rhino, and the entire Scott’s Bowl/West Scott’s Bowl area.
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If my plan were to happen, Thaynes could just get a new fixed grip triple or quad and could still act as a parts donor to Jupiter.
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After seeing the mess at Park City this holiday week, I think Pioneer has to be the next upgrade after Silverlode and Eagle. The biggest congestion points by far have been the base area, Bonanza, and Silverlode. Upgrading Silverlode directly will help there, Eagle will help the base area, but nothing is being done for Bonanza. The solution really needs to be to move people elsewhere, as they claim to have 7300 acres yet everyone seems to be clustered in the same few spots. Pioneer is right above Bonanza and has a similar pod, yet it is empty in comparison. Making it detachable should really help get people up the mountain and spread people out.
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I have to agree, though can’t decide whether a high speed six pack or a high speed quad would be the more appropriate lift on this line.
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Well, in that case, perhaps a high speed Cinco would be in order… not too little, not too much
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Ha! Yes! But they might should open it for Cinco de Quattro.
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I think that the reasons that Bonanza is so busy is the because it has lots of beginner terrain, and because it is one of the only viable ways to get above the lower mountain. Pioneer only really has one beginner trail, Mid Mountain, and it is usually (in my experience) very crowded by people transiting from the mid-mountain zone to McConkey’s or the upper mountain. This leaves Park City with, in my opinion, three options for luring skiers away from that area. 1. Build a new lift that allows skiers to bypass Bonanza. The old gondola alignment would perfectly with this. 2. Encourage beginner skiers/riders to move elsewhere. I personally cannot see this happening, because most of Bonanza’s pod is beginner and lower end intermediate terrain. 3. Encourage anyone in the Bonanza area who is not a beginner or low end intermediate to go elsewhere. This is the proposition I see most people suggesting. The best way to make that happen in to make better terrain more easily accessible. Again, this points to a gondola, although I can’t see that happening, so I think Park City just need to focus on getting more people up to Thaynes and Pioneer. Giving those lifts Detachable upgrades and making them easier to get to should help this. One idea of mine to encourage more people to skip Bonanza and go up to pioneer is to regrade the Shortline trail. Currently, riders of Crescent have to basically skate across a flat catwalk to get up to McConkey’s and Pioneer. I have talked to lots of people who just ski down to Bonanza rather than traverse all the way over from Crescent. If Park City is willing to spend some money over the summer evening the grade of and widening the Shortline trail I think it will take a little crowding off of Bonanza.
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Just to clarify, a gondola would very much help access to Thaynes and Pioneer. I meant to say that they would have to find other ways to encourage skiers to move to that zone if a gondola didn’t happen (which it probably wouldn’t).
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I don’t believe this lift has operated yet in the 24/25 season. At this point, PC has been able to get nearly every lift open now that the ski patrol strike is behind them. Does anyone know what’s going on?
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Pre-season “tower fault” snafu apparently.
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Finally running again
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