Top station seen from Apex.View down the very long lift line.This lift has an interesting profile with lots of ups and downs.Lower lift line.Middle part of the line.Tension return station.CTEC Enterprise-model station.Loading area.Early CTEC tower.Riding up.Tower 25 at the final breakover.Drive station.Unloading ramp.
This is a long lift that serves nice, lap-able terrain and also allows skiers from Telluride to have easy access to the heart of the mountain. It should become a detachable quad.
In my opinion this chair is even a contender for the best chairlift in the country under the right conditions, the fact that it’s still a 13 minute long long triple chair holds back the entire resort.
A detatchable quad to replace the old tripple? May you burn in hell for all eternity! How about a high speed one way train from Telluride back to Texas instead!!
I agree. I went yesterday to ride Chair 9 one last time. Had some guy on the chair with me whining about how slow it was. The new HSQ just won’t be the same. After a long steep bump run, I enjoy the break the current chair gives you.
The beauty of having a slow lift is that the terrain is left un-tracked for a long time after a dump. Steep deep and north facing with lots of trees (so skiable even in a storm). This lift is one of the best kept secret of any US resorts.
A counterargument to that is that the need to move people around the mountain more efficiently takes priority over protecting powder stashes. (I remember some people saying that about Vail when they built the High Noon Express lift, and Beaver Creek when they built the Rose Bowl Express lift)
Plunge is only ever really ridden by people lapping it currently, it’s not a pass-through lift at all. It would be a good lift to ride from the town side, but Oak Street never runs, so you have to ride up Coonskin (which is already an unpopular lift) and take the traverse across. In order for Telluride to see an improvement in skier flow with a plunge HSQ, they’d have to also put bars on Coonskin and start running it more often.
I’m of the opinion that many people who comment here are obsessed with bars. In this particular case, what on earth do they have to with improving skier flow? If the lift spins and moves people from point A to point B, whether or not it has bars is irrelevant.
People avoid Oak Street right now and I’d be willing to bet the fact that it’s high off the ground with no bars plays a part to that. It’s a scary lift and if that creates longer lines at other lifts, bars will help fix that.
High Noon’s lines also move a lot quicker. Generally, long lines aren’t an issue unless conditions are such that traffic can’t disperse to the China Bowl and points east.
Why? Oak Street isn’t really that popular. Sure, it is great to get to the bottom of Chair 9, but that’s about it. I think most people start their day in Mountain Village anyway, and can simply ski over to the bottom of 9 from the top of 4
Telluride is having a community meeting today at 5:30 pm local time to discuss numerous resort improvements, including the replacement of this lift. It will presumably become a detachable quad in 2022 or 2023.
Lift Blog 
This is a long lift that serves nice, lap-able terrain and also allows skiers from Telluride to have easy access to the heart of the mountain. It should become a detachable quad.
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In my opinion this chair is even a contender for the best chairlift in the country under the right conditions, the fact that it’s still a 13 minute long long triple chair holds back the entire resort.
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Telluride’s Master Plan does include upgrading Plunge to a high speed quad with 1,800 to 2,400 pph capacity. https://www.tellurideskiresort.com/uploaded/documents/telluride%20ski%20resort_2017%20master%20development%20plan.pdf
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A detatchable quad to replace the old tripple? May you burn in hell for all eternity! How about a high speed one way train from Telluride back to Texas instead!!
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I agree. I went yesterday to ride Chair 9 one last time. Had some guy on the chair with me whining about how slow it was. The new HSQ just won’t be the same. After a long steep bump run, I enjoy the break the current chair gives you.
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The beauty of having a slow lift is that the terrain is left un-tracked for a long time after a dump. Steep deep and north facing with lots of trees (so skiable even in a storm). This lift is one of the best kept secret of any US resorts.
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A counterargument to that is that the need to move people around the mountain more efficiently takes priority over protecting powder stashes. (I remember some people saying that about Vail when they built the High Noon Express lift, and Beaver Creek when they built the Rose Bowl Express lift)
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Plunge is only ever really ridden by people lapping it currently, it’s not a pass-through lift at all. It would be a good lift to ride from the town side, but Oak Street never runs, so you have to ride up Coonskin (which is already an unpopular lift) and take the traverse across. In order for Telluride to see an improvement in skier flow with a plunge HSQ, they’d have to also put bars on Coonskin and start running it more often.
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I’m of the opinion that many people who comment here are obsessed with bars. In this particular case, what on earth do they have to with improving skier flow? If the lift spins and moves people from point A to point B, whether or not it has bars is irrelevant.
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People avoid Oak Street right now and I’d be willing to bet the fact that it’s high off the ground with no bars plays a part to that. It’s a scary lift and if that creates longer lines at other lifts, bars will help fix that.
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The lines for High Noon have gotten much longer since Vail turned it into a HSQ.
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High Noon’s lines also move a lot quicker. Generally, long lines aren’t an issue unless conditions are such that traffic can’t disperse to the China Bowl and points east.
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Well, when the quality of terrain goes way up (you have to spend less time on a lift), demand also tends to increase.
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The lines for *everything* have gotten longer since 2010.
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Well when will they upgrade this lift? They really need to make this and oak street a HSQ
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Why? Oak Street isn’t really that popular. Sure, it is great to get to the bottom of Chair 9, but that’s about it. I think most people start their day in Mountain Village anyway, and can simply ski over to the bottom of 9 from the top of 4
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What a bunch of cry babies dang! First skied Telluride in winter of 1972. The Plunge had just opened, better eat your Wheaties!
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The lift is just fine as is. Unless there are long lines.
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Telluride is having a community meeting today at 5:30 pm local time to discuss numerous resort improvements, including the replacement of this lift. It will presumably become a detachable quad in 2022 or 2023.
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Anyone have any accounts or records of this meeting?
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It’s still going but I’m working on a story right now.
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Yes, it is getting replaced this summer, with a Doppelmyer HSQ. :(
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R.I.P.
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The new Lift 9 finally opened for service on February 9, 2023.
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