The Red chair is one of two base-to-summit lifts at Magic and opened in 1971.The drive-tension station is inside a historic-looking building.Vault drive unit.Lower station overview.View up from the base area.Towers 1 and 2.The upper part of the line.Middle of the line.View up from tower 3.Middle section of the line.Lower lift line.View down the lift line near the summit.Hold down tower.Top bullwheel.View from the summit.The final tower and return.Upper part of the line.
Red is an iconic lift at Magic, but I cannot help but wonder how many years it really has left. Magic will likely run it until it literally cannot spin anymore like they did with Black 1.0, but will that be another 5 years? 10 maybe? Hopefully, Stratton has either Solstice or South American for Magic at that point.
Well, maybe it will spin for longer than that, like Upper Snowdon/Swirl Poma at Killington, as that one is STILL spinning in its original condition (and new location), and Pomalift, Inc installed that in 1958!
I think they’ll run Red until it becomes too much of a hassle due to frequent breakdowns (like the last 5-10 years of black) or is declared a safety hazard in some other way (like the original castlerock chair). I’d say it has 10-15 years.
While the Poma is a different type of lift and receives plenty of love from Killington, Red will stick around. The mountain won’t need more capacity once Black Line is done, and I doubt they would remove it without a good reason, given that virtually everything Magic Corporate says or does concerning that lift is focused on giving it a long and prosperous life. As for its reliability, the recent breakdown is the only one I can think of in recent history. It’s generally a pretty reliable lift, and there’s plenty of spare parts out there (Unlike Black 1.0).
great point, the black triple at magic was a minor case of a frankenlift, and its main components were the only of its kind in the entire US, it wasn’t even designed to have triple chairs hung on it. Atleast with red there are plenty of Heron/Poma parts to be had on the market. What will be interesting to see is which lift they use as their main lift. Will they still rely on red, and only run black on busy days? Or will black run constantly and red only once and awhile when its needed?
I don’t think they had any Pohlig parts support for that lift whatsoever after they installed it. In addition to the Yan triple chairs, the lift had a Hall tower and a number of Mueller sheaves. Red still has pretty good parts support for it’s age as a lot are still operating out west and it’s possible to get parts in a timely manner. With the recent upgrades completed and the kinks worked out I don’t see Red going anywhere soon, Magic themselves said that these upgrades could extend its life “a few more decades”.
I’m not entirely sure what their plan is in terms of which lift will take priority, but if I had to guess it’ll be either just Red or both running most days. Magic has already stated that Red will take priority on weekdays and early/late season weekends, where Black’s quad capacity certainly won’t be needed. Magic has hinted that Black will take priority on peak weekends, but with the lift lines they saw at Red this past peak season I imagine that they’ll both be running anyways.
Apart from the admiration the lift gets from much of Magic’s clientele, it’s central location makes it a more useful lift if only one is running. Magic’s base area is not flat but is rather shaped into somewhat of a bowl, sloping down to the Red Chair. Since Black starts towards the west side on Hocus Pocus, it may require a little catwalking to get to from the East Side trails that merge into Lower Magic Carpet and empty out by the Green Chair.
They want Red to last as long as possible, so I assume it will take a backup role and be used on peak weekends/holidays. Black, even with its current problems, is in much better shape and has a lot more life left. Plus, it has essentially the same operational cost to run as Red but provides twice the capacity. I know they like Red for the nostalgia and vibe, but unless they want it to have to be removed sooner, it would be smart to prioritize Black’s operation.
Swirl Poma at Killington was rebuilt with some parts from the SMS Poma at Stratton when they installed it so it is not really in its original condition and they have plenty of extra parts to work with.
Utah Lost Ski Area ProjectMarch 25, 2022 / 8:17 am
At this point, I don’t know how much of Swirl is actually from 1958. The bottom terminal has to be a retrofit, the H model of Poma terminal wasn’t in production until the late 60s. With the amount of parts from SMS, I would say only a few towers and the top terminal are original from 1958.
Red’s set to receive some pretty good upgrades, new primary motor, new haul rope and new summit bullwheel bearings all going in this summer. Also some stuff concerning a delay in the Black lift but I’m not shocked https://mailchi.mp/magicmtn/already-working-on-1718-ski-season-2691938
Lift Blog 
My personal favorite in terms of lifts at Southern VT. Love to see a mountain taking pride in it’s old lifts
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Is this is the lift from the Bernie Sanders meme?
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Red is an iconic lift at Magic, but I cannot help but wonder how many years it really has left. Magic will likely run it until it literally cannot spin anymore like they did with Black 1.0, but will that be another 5 years? 10 maybe? Hopefully, Stratton has either Solstice or South American for Magic at that point.
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Well, maybe it will spin for longer than that, like Upper Snowdon/Swirl Poma at Killington, as that one is STILL spinning in its original condition (and new location), and Pomalift, Inc installed that in 1958!
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I think they’ll run Red until it becomes too much of a hassle due to frequent breakdowns (like the last 5-10 years of black) or is declared a safety hazard in some other way (like the original castlerock chair). I’d say it has 10-15 years.
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While the Poma is a different type of lift and receives plenty of love from Killington, Red will stick around. The mountain won’t need more capacity once Black Line is done, and I doubt they would remove it without a good reason, given that virtually everything Magic Corporate says or does concerning that lift is focused on giving it a long and prosperous life. As for its reliability, the recent breakdown is the only one I can think of in recent history. It’s generally a pretty reliable lift, and there’s plenty of spare parts out there (Unlike Black 1.0).
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great point, the black triple at magic was a minor case of a frankenlift, and its main components were the only of its kind in the entire US, it wasn’t even designed to have triple chairs hung on it. Atleast with red there are plenty of Heron/Poma parts to be had on the market. What will be interesting to see is which lift they use as their main lift. Will they still rely on red, and only run black on busy days? Or will black run constantly and red only once and awhile when its needed?
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I don’t think they had any Pohlig parts support for that lift whatsoever after they installed it. In addition to the Yan triple chairs, the lift had a Hall tower and a number of Mueller sheaves. Red still has pretty good parts support for it’s age as a lot are still operating out west and it’s possible to get parts in a timely manner. With the recent upgrades completed and the kinks worked out I don’t see Red going anywhere soon, Magic themselves said that these upgrades could extend its life “a few more decades”.
I’m not entirely sure what their plan is in terms of which lift will take priority, but if I had to guess it’ll be either just Red or both running most days. Magic has already stated that Red will take priority on weekdays and early/late season weekends, where Black’s quad capacity certainly won’t be needed. Magic has hinted that Black will take priority on peak weekends, but with the lift lines they saw at Red this past peak season I imagine that they’ll both be running anyways.
Apart from the admiration the lift gets from much of Magic’s clientele, it’s central location makes it a more useful lift if only one is running. Magic’s base area is not flat but is rather shaped into somewhat of a bowl, sloping down to the Red Chair. Since Black starts towards the west side on Hocus Pocus, it may require a little catwalking to get to from the East Side trails that merge into Lower Magic Carpet and empty out by the Green Chair.
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They want Red to last as long as possible, so I assume it will take a backup role and be used on peak weekends/holidays. Black, even with its current problems, is in much better shape and has a lot more life left. Plus, it has essentially the same operational cost to run as Red but provides twice the capacity. I know they like Red for the nostalgia and vibe, but unless they want it to have to be removed sooner, it would be smart to prioritize Black’s operation.
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Swirl Poma at Killington was rebuilt with some parts from the SMS Poma at Stratton when they installed it so it is not really in its original condition and they have plenty of extra parts to work with.
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At this point, I don’t know how much of Swirl is actually from 1958. The bottom terminal has to be a retrofit, the H model of Poma terminal wasn’t in production until the late 60s. With the amount of parts from SMS, I would say only a few towers and the top terminal are original from 1958.
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Red’s set to receive some pretty good upgrades, new primary motor, new haul rope and new summit bullwheel bearings all going in this summer. Also some stuff concerning a delay in the Black lift but I’m not shocked
https://mailchi.mp/magicmtn/already-working-on-1718-ski-season-2691938
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