Loading area with Chairkit loading gates.Uni-G-M terminal and bubble opening mechanism.Chair parking rail and future home of an indoor maintenance facility.Lift overview from near the old gondola station.Lower station from above.The middle portion of the line. Big Sky can add more chairs in the future.A 6-pack chair with blue bubble, heated seats and blue headrests.View up the line from tower 6.Lower terminal with towers 1 and 2.The bottom houses the drive as well.90-degree loading.Tower 3.The bottom terminal is actually longer than the top.Another view up the line.Combo assemblies on tower 5.Tower 7.Nearing the summit.Arriving up top.The breakover.This one is a Doppelmayr Uni-G-S.Return terminal underskin.Depress towers 9 and 10.Tower 5 from above.Side view of a bubble chair.Unloading ramp.Inside a chair.The return station and operator house.Side view of the top station.
Hi Peter, In photo 2 you mentioned this lift had a UNI-G-M terminal. Is there a difference between the UNI-G and the UNI-G-M terminal, and what is that difference? Is it a size difference?
3 common lengths of UNI-G terminals which are S, M, and L. You can tell them apart by counting the number of windows on the sides. 21=S, 25=M, and 29=L. Bottom is an M and top is an S on this lift.
From our European friends:
• UNI-G S (Short, used on TSD4 or TSD6) ( 21 windows )
• UNI-G M (Medium, normal, used on TSD4, TSD6) ( 25 windows )
• UNI G L (Long used on TSD8, gondola 5 m / s) ( 31 windows )
• UNI-G XL (Extra Long, used on the cable cars to 6m / s ( 33 windows )
• UNI-G XXL (Extra Extra Long , used at present only on the Cairn and Caron gondolas in Val Thorens)
• UNI-G 15-seater gondola (37 panes)
I believe the only options are DT-104 and DT-108 with 104 being certified for carriers of up to 4 and 108 being certified for carriers of up to 8. At one point there was a double grip called the DT-215 that was certified for up to 15 passenger gondolas, but I’m guessing it’s obsolete with the D-Line around.
And if you look at Big Sky/Yellowstone Club as one connected trail complex (which they are) it’s 10 bubble lifts out of 44 total. More bubbles than the entire rest of the United States!
Can’t really consider The Yellowstone Club part of it as only a very very VERY select few can ski there. Of course there are more bubbles planned for Big Sky which will probably have more than the rest of the public ski areas in the US by the time the 2025 plan is done.
I think when the gondola is built the capacity of this lift should be upgraded from 1800 to 2400. The gondola will end closer to this lift than Swift Current does, so it might result in an increase in traffic and Big Sky wants to have the shortest lift lines in the Rockies.
The only times I’ve ever seen lines here are when it’s the only real terrain open in the early season, and morning powder rushes where you can blast laps while waiting on the Tram, Challenger, and the south side. I still don’t think I’ve ever waited over 3 minutes, which is an eternity by Big Sky standards to be fair. Seeker should be fine as is.
Fair point, but I do think the gondola will significantly increase traffic to Powder Seeker enough to require an increase. They would also be wise to get the capacity increased before the 6E98 bubble chairs are totally out of production. The lift itself is designed for 3200, but I don’t think that will ever be needed unless Big Sky starts getting 1M+ skier visits.
Another pretty sweet lift at Big Sky. Super Fast, comfy chairs, no lines. I really enjoyed lapping it. It is pretty impressive. The heated seats were nice.
Since this lift has a fully manual parking system, it just doesn’t make sense to park the chairs every night. It takes a crew of 4-6 up to 30 minutes of labor, vs Swifty (with well over double the number of chairs) taking 1 guy pressing a button.
The chairs are still parked for storms and off season but it is not an ideal setup. We learned quickly the automatic system was well worth the extra cost and every bubble lift since has had that system.
Lift Blog 
Hi Peter, In photo 2 you mentioned this lift had a UNI-G-M terminal. Is there a difference between the UNI-G and the UNI-G-M terminal, and what is that difference? Is it a size difference?
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3 common lengths of UNI-G terminals which are S, M, and L. You can tell them apart by counting the number of windows on the sides. 21=S, 25=M, and 29=L. Bottom is an M and top is an S on this lift.
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From our European friends:
• UNI-G S (Short, used on TSD4 or TSD6) ( 21 windows )
• UNI-G M (Medium, normal, used on TSD4, TSD6) ( 25 windows )
• UNI G L (Long used on TSD8, gondola 5 m / s) ( 31 windows )
• UNI-G XL (Extra Long, used on the cable cars to 6m / s ( 33 windows )
• UNI-G XXL (Extra Extra Long , used at present only on the Cairn and Caron gondolas in Val Thorens)
• UNI-G 15-seater gondola (37 panes)
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Is the UNI-G 15-seater used on the Village Gondola at Mammoth?
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“UNI-G S (Short, used on TSD4 or TSD6)” Or if you’re Crystal Mountain and put it on a gondola…
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Cairn and Caron goldolas for anyone curious
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tcd8-de-cairn-doppelmayr-2000.html
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tcd8-de-caron-doppelmayr-8589.html
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What are Doppelmayr’s DT grips sizes?
Which are on this lift.
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I believe the only options are DT-104 and DT-108 with 104 being certified for carriers of up to 4 and 108 being certified for carriers of up to 8. At one point there was a double grip called the DT-215 that was certified for up to 15 passenger gondolas, but I’m guessing it’s obsolete with the D-Line around.
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So is this a DT-108 then?
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Yes
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Did they end up building the enclosed parking barn?
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Yes, it is finished.
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Do you have any pictures of the new parking barn peter?
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Is the barn used for parking the chairs at night or is it just for chair maintenance
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Parking on most but not all nights if I remember correctly.
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I find it very interesting that Big Sky has 3 lifts with bubbles. Ramcharger 8, Powder Seeker 6, and Lewis and Clark 4.
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And if you look at Big Sky/Yellowstone Club as one connected trail complex (which they are) it’s 10 bubble lifts out of 44 total. More bubbles than the entire rest of the United States!
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Can’t really consider The Yellowstone Club part of it as only a very very VERY select few can ski there. Of course there are more bubbles planned for Big Sky which will probably have more than the rest of the public ski areas in the US by the time the 2025 plan is done.
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Now it’s 5!
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I think when the gondola is built the capacity of this lift should be upgraded from 1800 to 2400. The gondola will end closer to this lift than Swift Current does, so it might result in an increase in traffic and Big Sky wants to have the shortest lift lines in the Rockies.
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The only times I’ve ever seen lines here are when it’s the only real terrain open in the early season, and morning powder rushes where you can blast laps while waiting on the Tram, Challenger, and the south side. I still don’t think I’ve ever waited over 3 minutes, which is an eternity by Big Sky standards to be fair. Seeker should be fine as is.
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Fair point, but I do think the gondola will significantly increase traffic to Powder Seeker enough to require an increase. They would also be wise to get the capacity increased before the 6E98 bubble chairs are totally out of production. The lift itself is designed for 3200, but I don’t think that will ever be needed unless Big Sky starts getting 1M+ skier visits.
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Tram traffic won’t be on Powder Seeker by that point, since I think the tram will be starting much lower down.
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Why don’t they run this in the summer if they run the tram in the summer?
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Because in the summer they sell insanely overpriced rides up to the base of a tram in the back of a jeep, marketed as an “expedition.”
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Another pretty sweet lift at Big Sky. Super Fast, comfy chairs, no lines. I really enjoyed lapping it. It is pretty impressive. The heated seats were nice.
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What type of grip is that
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Looks like a normal DT-108/
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Does anybody know why the loading gates were removed from powder seeker?
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Probably because they were unnecessary. There is no loading carpet or midstation on this lift, so there is no point for loading gates.
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How does a ski resort decide on weather they want a DT grip or Agmatic grip?
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I think (I am not sure) that DT grips are not available anymore on new lifts. In 2023 and 2024 I haven’t seen any new lifts with the DT grip.
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its personal preference, but I think one costs more than the other and I think that they have different capacities but I don’t know this for sure
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Do the heated seats get charged in the terminal? Also, it seems rare that they park the chairs at night anymore.
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The seats are charged in the terminal.
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Since this lift has a fully manual parking system, it just doesn’t make sense to park the chairs every night. It takes a crew of 4-6 up to 30 minutes of labor, vs Swifty (with well over double the number of chairs) taking 1 guy pressing a button.
The chairs are still parked for storms and off season but it is not an ideal setup. We learned quickly the automatic system was well worth the extra cost and every bubble lift since has had that system.
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Is it possible to retrofit the lift to add an automated system after the fact?
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The heated seats and bubbles probably make lapping this area a lot more enjoyable
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