Lift line view.This Yan lift has Heron-Poma chairs.View up the line from the base terminal.The top station has a vault drive.Looking down from the summit.This lift is only used on weekends and holidays as relief for Sundown Express.Lower part of the lift line.Bottom station from above.
Only one Yan tower. The rest are a different model of Heron, the last before they went bankrupt as far as I know. Steamboat had a few different lifts of different manufacturers that they had replaced the original bottom terminals with Yan for some reason.
Christie II was the same story, I think. It was entirely Heron-Poma except for its bottom terminal, which was a Yan. In that case, I think Yan replaced the Christie II loading area when they built Christie III, as the Christie II and III loading terminals shared a center mast.
The Snowdon Triple at Killington (1973) has similar Heron-Poma towers and crossarms. Not the style seen on the old North Ridge Triple, but a reinforced variant of the crossarm seen on this lift.
That’s correct, Lift Engineering (YAN) relocated the base terminals of both the Priest Creek and Four Points lifts in 1983 to reduce congestion. Priest Creek was installed in 1972, the first on the mountain to be planted by helicopter as opposed to having a construction road cut to each tower footing site. It would be supplemented in 1983 by the Sundown triple chair (YAN) and would assume standby duties in 1992 when the present Sundown high-speed detachable quad chair (Doppelmayr) is installed. It would be run in the mornings for Ski Patrol to keep it loosened up and certified as well on busy days. It was removed last summer (2021).
Correction (my mistake). The Priest Creek Lift is still in place however the chairs had been removed to be sold at auction. This was my first day skiing on “the mountain,” this season, which allowed me to look over coming changes. With other upgrades going on I guess it was felt that removing a lift could be postponed. (The lift could have been used today, 4 January, as the maze for the Sundown Express was packed.)
Bill Fetcher
This sort of abandoned state reminds me of the abandoned state Winter Park kept Outrigger in for a few years before they reinstalled it in Vasquez Cirque as Eagle Wind.
It’s run during Christmas holiday season last couple times I visited. I even took it a few times b/c it was ski-on while the line for Sundown Express spilled out of the corral.
I remember when the loading area for Priest Creek was lower near the original Elkhead lift. Both with Heron-Poma equipment. Priest Creek got the Yan bottom terminal when Yan put in the F/G Sundown triple lift.
And Elkhead’s fixed grip quad went in just a year after the Sundown triple went in.
That at least explains why the lift has a Yan return station while everything else is Heron-Poma. I wonder how many towers had to be removed during the modification.
When I went to Steamboat for Christmas 2015, this lift ran all the days I was there. It was very crowded with Sundown having a 15-20 minute line at times.
haha try going to wachussett mountain on a bluebird. 30 minute lift line, minimum. They could really use some more terrain, but the treehuggers won’t let em.
Depends on the number of passengers. Max speed is also dependent on the difference in speed between the carrier and the passengers during loading and unloading. As of ANSI B77.1-2017, with a loading carpet you can load a double at 550fpm (2.8m/s), unload at 600fpm (3m/s), load a triple at 500fpm (2.5m/s), unload at 575fpm (2.9m/s). A quad or more can only load at 450fpm (2.3m/s) and unload at 525fpm (2.7m/s). Again, all relative to the speed of the conveyor. The conveyor itself can only go up to 200fpm (1m/s).
Any idea what the minimum winning bid was? Saw 600+ bids over three days for 125 chairs, but haven’t heard any intel on what it took to actually get one.
Haven’t been to Steamboat since Feb 2015, and I feel really fortunate that this lift was running then so being the f/g—loving kid I was, I naturally took a ride on it. Sad to see it go
Lift Blog 
A Yan return station and Yan towers, but Heron Poma chairs and a Heron Poma vault drive.
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Only one Yan tower. The rest are a different model of Heron, the last before they went bankrupt as far as I know. Steamboat had a few different lifts of different manufacturers that they had replaced the original bottom terminals with Yan for some reason.
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Christie II was the same story, I think. It was entirely Heron-Poma except for its bottom terminal, which was a Yan. In that case, I think Yan replaced the Christie II loading area when they built Christie III, as the Christie II and III loading terminals shared a center mast.
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The Snowdon Triple at Killington (1973) has similar Heron-Poma towers and crossarms. Not the style seen on the old North Ridge Triple, but a reinforced variant of the crossarm seen on this lift.
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Now I see the similarity.
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That’s correct, Lift Engineering (YAN) relocated the base terminals of both the Priest Creek and Four Points lifts in 1983 to reduce congestion. Priest Creek was installed in 1972, the first on the mountain to be planted by helicopter as opposed to having a construction road cut to each tower footing site. It would be supplemented in 1983 by the Sundown triple chair (YAN) and would assume standby duties in 1992 when the present Sundown high-speed detachable quad chair (Doppelmayr) is installed. It would be run in the mornings for Ski Patrol to keep it loosened up and certified as well on busy days. It was removed last summer (2021).
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Correction (my mistake). The Priest Creek Lift is still in place however the chairs had been removed to be sold at auction. This was my first day skiing on “the mountain,” this season, which allowed me to look over coming changes. With other upgrades going on I guess it was felt that removing a lift could be postponed. (The lift could have been used today, 4 January, as the maze for the Sundown Express was packed.)
Bill Fetcher
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I bet they were thinking the same thing today.. moved too quickly to get rid of her.
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This sort of abandoned state reminds me of the abandoned state Winter Park kept Outrigger in for a few years before they reinstalled it in Vasquez Cirque as Eagle Wind.
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I have been going to steamboat for 9 years and I have almost never seen this lift run.
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On what occasions did it run? Wind hold? Maintenance issues? Skier traffic?
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It’s run during Christmas holiday season last couple times I visited. I even took it a few times b/c it was ski-on while the line for Sundown Express spilled out of the corral.
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I remember when the loading area for Priest Creek was lower near the original Elkhead lift. Both with Heron-Poma equipment. Priest Creek got the Yan bottom terminal when Yan put in the F/G Sundown triple lift.
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And Elkhead’s fixed grip quad went in just a year after the Sundown triple went in.
That at least explains why the lift has a Yan return station while everything else is Heron-Poma. I wonder how many towers had to be removed during the modification.
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When I went to Steamboat for Christmas 2015, this lift ran all the days I was there. It was very crowded with Sundown having a 15-20 minute line at times.
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haha try going to wachussett mountain on a bluebird. 30 minute lift line, minimum. They could really use some more terrain, but the treehuggers won’t let em.
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Because privileged white people recreation is the most important consideration. Got it.
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This lift has been closed for over 5 years and it finally opened on 2-27-21!
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She’s turning today too.
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I really want this lift to start running again, it is the only lift i have not been on!
And I am only 9 years old!
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This lift will only run on busy days so I am guessing you will be able to ride it soon with Steamboat getting progressively more busy every year.
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It says on there app that it is the longest lift to get up on, it takes 9.8 minuets to get up priest creek. How slow does this lift run?
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It runs 500 feet a minute. Quite fast for a fixed grip if I am correct.
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500 fpm is the max a lift can run without a loading carpet.
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What is the max with a loading carpet?
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Depends on the number of passengers. Max speed is also dependent on the difference in speed between the carrier and the passengers during loading and unloading. As of ANSI B77.1-2017, with a loading carpet you can load a double at 550fpm (2.8m/s), unload at 600fpm (3m/s), load a triple at 500fpm (2.5m/s), unload at 575fpm (2.9m/s). A quad or more can only load at 450fpm (2.3m/s) and unload at 525fpm (2.7m/s). Again, all relative to the speed of the conveyor. The conveyor itself can only go up to 200fpm (1m/s).
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I wonder if this will open any time soon?
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Are they going to sell the chairs when they take it out for the new improvements going in?
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Not sure, I would buy a chair if they are selling though.
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They are selling the chairs on the 24th to the 27th
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R.I.P.
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Whelp.. I just placed a bid for one of the chairs. We’ll see…
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Any idea what the minimum winning bid was? Saw 600+ bids over three days for 125 chairs, but haven’t heard any intel on what it took to actually get one.
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I put a bid in for $1000 and have not been contacted yet.
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$1k! Dang!
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I heard you had to bid about $1,600 to get a chair
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I haven’t been to steamboat since the Priest Creek removal, are both the terminals, and all the towers gone?
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No, the chairs are the only thing that’s gone.
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Okay, so just to be clear the chairs are the only thing thats gone, the rest is still there?
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Yes. Think “Outrigger at Winter Park circa 2004-2005.”
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Do you know when they’re going to remove the stations or the towers?
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The Priest Creek lift will likely be removed this coming summer once the snow is gone.
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Haven’t been to Steamboat since Feb 2015, and I feel really fortunate that this lift was running then so being the f/g—loving kid I was, I naturally took a ride on it. Sad to see it go
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Is it standing in October 2022?
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As of March 2023, only the chairs have been taken off the haul rope. The base terminal is being used as a taco beast location right now.
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