This lift provides an easier egress option from McCoy Park than the cat track from the top of McCoy Park Express.As of 2022, this is the only new build fixed grip lift at Beaver Creek.View back down the lift line.Tower 9.Upper part of the line.This lift unloads just above the Upper Beaver Creek Mountain and Strawberry Park Express lift summits.Unloading area.Drive terminal and upper lift line.This is a relatively rare Alpenstar terminal without tensioning.View from the top.Looking down the skiable part of the line.Most of the lift line is over a ravine and not skiable.View leaving the lower station.Looking back down into McCoy Park.Loading area.View riding up.Middle part of the line.Drive bullwheel and motor room.
I’m not sure fixed-grip was the right call here. I rode this lift on a sunny Saturday and spent more time stopped than moving. This might have been due to an overly-ambitious operating line speed. But the nature of skier using it is obviously also a big factor.
Reasons it should be fixed-grip:
– it’s shorter than 3000′ … IMHO most lifts above 4000′ should be detachable and most under 3000′ should not
– it’s an egress lift
– it’s nearly devoid of lappable terrain (the cat track in from Strawberry Park is exceptionally flat)
– you can avoid it (it’s easy to exit this area from the top of McCoy Park Express
– everyone should learn how to load a fixed-grip lift … even at Beaver Creek
Reasons it should be detachable:
– The skiers using this area (and for whom it is targeted) are …
– more likely to be rather inexperienced
– more likely to be young kids
– It’s beaver creek. the same resort that put a detachable gondola on a 1700′ bunny slope
– it’s a premier Vail destination
– Sourdough Express at Vail is 300′ shorter than this lift
– High Meadow Express at Park City is ~800′ shorter
I’d be very curious if there was a healthy amount of debate when planning this area.
There’s no doubt this lift should have gone detachable. Same thing happened to me last weekend, it took me over 10 minutes to get up the lift with all the stops and starts. It would probably help with the mis-loads if there was a carpet and gates at the base and it would allow them to run it faster. Arguably, this long, slow fixed-grip doesn’t look too good at a luxury resort like Beaver.
It would also have been a good idea to start the lift between towers 2-3 and have some sort of a trail pod off this lift. If they had done that, the lift would have warranted a detachable and would have allowed families with different skill abilities to ski somewhat in the same area. I also would have had the lift terminate higher up on the ridge, allowing improved access to the rest of McCoy and Larkspur too.
That would be a lot of money for 1 more run. A lift terminal has to have a large amount of flat land so the bottom of a ravine isn’t a good spot. Also the lifts reason is to allow people skiing in McCoy park to get back to Straberry and to the future restaurant instead of being a lift that is circuited. I don’t think that the costs of a detachable would be worth it. And a chair is better then a pulsed movement gondola in this application as the McCoy park lift is a chair so it should be assumed anyone taking this lift should be able to ride a chair. If someone can’t ride a chair they should be on Highlands trying to figure it out.
I disagree. All the lift does is help you avoid a long catwalk, and for super new beginners, provide them with an easier path to download the Strawberry Park lift. Making this detachable would be very overkill, even for Vail standards. As for terminating higher up on the ridge, they already did that, with the McCoy Park Express lift.
More like the lift was on and off the master plan. There were a few points right up until they gave the greenlight for construction where Reunion wasn’t part of the plans. It was probably a good idea to greenlight it because it ensures that if the McCoy Park Express goes down, you won’t be stuck here.
Its an egress lift….its intent is really only to exit the area. HSQ would be total overkill in terms of capacity / cost.
Yes, they easily could’ve opened this area without the lift in the first place.
I highly doubt anyone is completely turned-off from BC because of one measly fixed-grip egress lift.
I mean, McCoy Park is kinda like Keystone’s Outback, although in the case of leaving the Outback, riding Wayback is mandatory. And the inverse of Peak 6 at Breck, where although it’s possible to reach the Kensho SuperChair directly from Pioneer Crossing without riding the Zendo Chair, Zendo is the primary access route.
Rode this today and it absolutely does not need to be a detach. I admit it was Monday, but most people were trying to figure out how to get over to chair 11 rather than ride a fixed-grip. No-one was riding this.
New England Chairlifts & SkiingApril 16, 2022 / 8:58 am
Does Doppelmayr still offer traditional footrests or have they completely switched over to these ugly “puck” footrests? All the new Doppelmayr lifts in 2021 seem to have the pucks. They do not look comfortable at all to me.
I heard from a ski patrol person that they have realized that the fixed grip was a mistake and plan to upgrade it in the next 2 years to a detachable high speed quad
A single ski patrol member is not always the most reliable source, but even so, a Reunion detachable would not even crack a top 10 wish list for me at Beaver Creek, let alone Vail’s Colorado properties.
the Ski Patrol member told me that since a lot of beginners ride that lift it often has to stop, that being said while reunion detachable wouldn’t be 1, I can’t even think of a ten lifts in need of upgrades/areas a lift could be placed at BC. I’d put Bachelor Gulch, Strawberry and Arrowhead upgrades on the list, perhaps even Elkhorn but not sure what else is in need of an upgrade
List of lift projects I would rather see Beaver Creek do than make Reunion a detachable (in no particular order):
-Bachelor Gulch 2-stage gondola from Beaver Creek Landing to the Ritz to Mamie’s Mountain Grill
-Arrow Bahn replacement
-Strawberry chondola
-Eagle-Vail access/portal lift
-Detachable Elkhorn
-Lift to expand access further down Stone Creek
-Grouse Mountain upgrade
-Minturn access/portal lift
-Highlands replacement
-Vail-Beaver Creek connection gondola
Not saying I would list all of these as priority projects, but I think they are all more worthwhile than a detachable Reunion.
– highlands HSQ … every bougie resort seems to have a tiny detach quad these days, and BC has really doubled down on its role as a ski school destination.
– Bachelor Gulch six-pack … lines are rare at Beaver Creek, but of all the lifts, this could use a capacity upgrade. They could reuse the old towers and carriers on the highlands lift, similar to Red Buffalo.
– Arrow Bahn upgrade because it’s getting up there in years
– Strawberry Chondola, just seems like an obvious need.
More Blue Sky ideas:
– Convert lower/upper BC express into a two-stage gondola. Build a multi-story parking structure beneath the lift and a portion of the current golf course (add surface-level retail and upper-level condos above it, plus a bus depot, in the style of the new Snowmass village). Convert Bear and Elk Lots into housing (mixed employee/market rate) to offset the cost.
– Reopen Meadow Mountain, with a 2-mile signature D-line lift from the old base area to the “line shack” cabin. Vail purchased Meadow Mountain in the 60s and shut it down in a deal with the forest service to expand their footprint on the main mountain. But given the massive growth in the front-range population, it makes sense to reintroduce lift-served skiing here (and a new portal). The terrain is similar aspect/elevation to Strawberry Park, but a much gentler, rolling intermediate pitch. It’d be an instant hit IMO. A 1.5-mile transfer lift from the line shack to the top of red buffalo could connect the two areas rather seamlessly.
“– Convert lower/upper BC express into a two-stage gondola. ” The Upper Beaver Creek Mountain Express is fine as is, especially since it’s a transit lift to also move traffic from the Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead areas over to McCoy Park, Birds of Prey, Grouse Mountain and Larkspur Bowl without sending these people through a trip to the BC base area and a ride on Strawberry Park.
I’m not sure how they’d make a 2 stage gondola from BC Landing to the Ritz, then to Mamie’s. There is a giant hotel in the way. Plus there is a ton of lappable terrain there, and gondolas suck to be lapped.
Carpets can do wonders in speeding up the lift. Look at Sun Peaks’ Crystal quad, which manages to maintain a pretty decent 400 fpm+ speed with very tight chair spacing thanks to its carpet.
This lift is properly miserable. I can’t imagine how much it sucks for beginners. That chair fucking slaps you as it rolls around since it’s much harder for a liftie to control a 4 pack. Also seconded that the footrests on this an mccoy are awful.
Fortunately, this is an egress lift, so you’ll probably only ride it once during the day. And there are ways out of McCoy Park that don’t involve riding the lift at all.
You know some people may like the lift even MORE because of that. Seriously though, it’s a 2700 foot fixed grip quad egress lift with a loading carpet. It does not need to be a detach.
Lift Blog 
Thanks Peter for putting these up so quick
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I think this is the first brand-new fixed grip lift at Beaver Creek since the first Larkspur lift was built.
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I’m not sure fixed-grip was the right call here. I rode this lift on a sunny Saturday and spent more time stopped than moving. This might have been due to an overly-ambitious operating line speed. But the nature of skier using it is obviously also a big factor.
Reasons it should be fixed-grip:
– it’s shorter than 3000′ … IMHO most lifts above 4000′ should be detachable and most under 3000′ should not
– it’s an egress lift
– it’s nearly devoid of lappable terrain (the cat track in from Strawberry Park is exceptionally flat)
– you can avoid it (it’s easy to exit this area from the top of McCoy Park Express
– everyone should learn how to load a fixed-grip lift … even at Beaver Creek
Reasons it should be detachable:
– The skiers using this area (and for whom it is targeted) are …
– more likely to be rather inexperienced
– more likely to be young kids
– It’s beaver creek. the same resort that put a detachable gondola on a 1700′ bunny slope
– it’s a premier Vail destination
– Sourdough Express at Vail is 300′ shorter than this lift
– High Meadow Express at Park City is ~800′ shorter
I’d be very curious if there was a healthy amount of debate when planning this area.
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There’s no doubt this lift should have gone detachable. Same thing happened to me last weekend, it took me over 10 minutes to get up the lift with all the stops and starts. It would probably help with the mis-loads if there was a carpet and gates at the base and it would allow them to run it faster. Arguably, this long, slow fixed-grip doesn’t look too good at a luxury resort like Beaver.
It would also have been a good idea to start the lift between towers 2-3 and have some sort of a trail pod off this lift. If they had done that, the lift would have warranted a detachable and would have allowed families with different skill abilities to ski somewhat in the same area. I also would have had the lift terminate higher up on the ridge, allowing improved access to the rest of McCoy and Larkspur too.
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The carpet would probably be on brand for a resort like this.
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That would be a lot of money for 1 more run. A lift terminal has to have a large amount of flat land so the bottom of a ravine isn’t a good spot. Also the lifts reason is to allow people skiing in McCoy park to get back to Straberry and to the future restaurant instead of being a lift that is circuited. I don’t think that the costs of a detachable would be worth it. And a chair is better then a pulsed movement gondola in this application as the McCoy park lift is a chair so it should be assumed anyone taking this lift should be able to ride a chair. If someone can’t ride a chair they should be on Highlands trying to figure it out.
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I disagree. All the lift does is help you avoid a long catwalk, and for super new beginners, provide them with an easier path to download the Strawberry Park lift. Making this detachable would be very overkill, even for Vail standards. As for terminating higher up on the ridge, they already did that, with the McCoy Park Express lift.
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When they were first planning this area they actually didn’t have plans for this lift.
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More like the lift was on and off the master plan. There were a few points right up until they gave the greenlight for construction where Reunion wasn’t part of the plans. It was probably a good idea to greenlight it because it ensures that if the McCoy Park Express goes down, you won’t be stuck here.
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Its an egress lift….its intent is really only to exit the area. HSQ would be total overkill in terms of capacity / cost.
Yes, they easily could’ve opened this area without the lift in the first place.
I highly doubt anyone is completely turned-off from BC because of one measly fixed-grip egress lift.
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Most people are also only ever going to use it once during their day.
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I mean, McCoy Park is kinda like Keystone’s Outback, although in the case of leaving the Outback, riding Wayback is mandatory. And the inverse of Peak 6 at Breck, where although it’s possible to reach the Kensho SuperChair directly from Pioneer Crossing without riding the Zendo Chair, Zendo is the primary access route.
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Rode this today and it absolutely does not need to be a detach. I admit it was Monday, but most people were trying to figure out how to get over to chair 11 rather than ride a fixed-grip. No-one was riding this.
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I totally agree. This lift is really unnecessary unless McCoy Park goes down. No need for a detachable.
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Does Doppelmayr still offer traditional footrests or have they completely switched over to these ugly “puck” footrests? All the new Doppelmayr lifts in 2021 seem to have the pucks. They do not look comfortable at all to me.
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Probably buyer’s choice. They definitely still manufacture them as replacements.
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I heard from a ski patrol person that they have realized that the fixed grip was a mistake and plan to upgrade it in the next 2 years to a detachable high speed quad
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If this were to be true, where would they put the current lift?
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I stand by my comment from last year- this lift is just fine. Did the random patroller mention *why* BC thinks it’s a mistake?
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A single ski patrol member is not always the most reliable source, but even so, a Reunion detachable would not even crack a top 10 wish list for me at Beaver Creek, let alone Vail’s Colorado properties.
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the Ski Patrol member told me that since a lot of beginners ride that lift it often has to stop, that being said while reunion detachable wouldn’t be 1, I can’t even think of a ten lifts in need of upgrades/areas a lift could be placed at BC. I’d put Bachelor Gulch, Strawberry and Arrowhead upgrades on the list, perhaps even Elkhorn but not sure what else is in need of an upgrade
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List of lift projects I would rather see Beaver Creek do than make Reunion a detachable (in no particular order):
-Bachelor Gulch 2-stage gondola from Beaver Creek Landing to the Ritz to Mamie’s Mountain Grill
-Arrow Bahn replacement
-Strawberry chondola
-Eagle-Vail access/portal lift
-Detachable Elkhorn
-Lift to expand access further down Stone Creek
-Grouse Mountain upgrade
-Minturn access/portal lift
-Highlands replacement
-Vail-Beaver Creek connection gondola
Not saying I would list all of these as priority projects, but I think they are all more worthwhile than a detachable Reunion.
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Practical ideas for next upgrades:
– highlands HSQ … every bougie resort seems to have a tiny detach quad these days, and BC has really doubled down on its role as a ski school destination.
– Bachelor Gulch six-pack … lines are rare at Beaver Creek, but of all the lifts, this could use a capacity upgrade. They could reuse the old towers and carriers on the highlands lift, similar to Red Buffalo.
– Arrow Bahn upgrade because it’s getting up there in years
– Strawberry Chondola, just seems like an obvious need.
More Blue Sky ideas:
– Convert lower/upper BC express into a two-stage gondola. Build a multi-story parking structure beneath the lift and a portion of the current golf course (add surface-level retail and upper-level condos above it, plus a bus depot, in the style of the new Snowmass village). Convert Bear and Elk Lots into housing (mixed employee/market rate) to offset the cost.
– Reopen Meadow Mountain, with a 2-mile signature D-line lift from the old base area to the “line shack” cabin. Vail purchased Meadow Mountain in the 60s and shut it down in a deal with the forest service to expand their footprint on the main mountain. But given the massive growth in the front-range population, it makes sense to reintroduce lift-served skiing here (and a new portal). The terrain is similar aspect/elevation to Strawberry Park, but a much gentler, rolling intermediate pitch. It’d be an instant hit IMO. A 1.5-mile transfer lift from the line shack to the top of red buffalo could connect the two areas rather seamlessly.
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*bottom of Red Buffalo
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“– Convert lower/upper BC express into a two-stage gondola. ” The Upper Beaver Creek Mountain Express is fine as is, especially since it’s a transit lift to also move traffic from the Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead areas over to McCoy Park, Birds of Prey, Grouse Mountain and Larkspur Bowl without sending these people through a trip to the BC base area and a ride on Strawberry Park.
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I’m not sure how they’d make a 2 stage gondola from BC Landing to the Ritz, then to Mamie’s. There is a giant hotel in the way. Plus there is a ton of lappable terrain there, and gondolas suck to be lapped.
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why not just give it loading gates and a conveyor, there is no way a 2700 foot egress lift needs to be a detach
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Carpets can do wonders in speeding up the lift. Look at Sun Peaks’ Crystal quad, which manages to maintain a pretty decent 400 fpm+ speed with very tight chair spacing thanks to its carpet.
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This lift is properly miserable. I can’t imagine how much it sucks for beginners. That chair fucking slaps you as it rolls around since it’s much harder for a liftie to control a 4 pack. Also seconded that the footrests on this an mccoy are awful.
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Fortunately, this is an egress lift, so you’ll probably only ride it once during the day. And there are ways out of McCoy Park that don’t involve riding the lift at all.
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You know some people may like the lift even MORE because of that. Seriously though, it’s a 2700 foot fixed grip quad egress lift with a loading carpet. It does not need to be a detach.
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