I received the following statement from Sandia Peak on Chair 1:
“Thank you for the inquiry. At this time, we do not have a finalized plan but please continue to check in as progress continues. Once we complete the restaurant and know more about the Mountain Coaster, we hope to answer this question.”
Mountain capital partners has partnered with Ben Abruzzo and will be hopefully operational this season and I hope to look forward to new lifts we shall see
The above photo of the rope tow is not from La Madera/Sandia Peak. It is a rope tow at Cedar Creek ski hill near Ruidoso, NM that opened in 1938 as a walk-up ski hill. The rope tow was installed around 1946.
Ah I see. There’s a book on the ski area’s history, but for some reason, it said that the La Madera (original name of Sandia Peak’s ski area) installed a rope tow in 1937. The t-bar was 1947, Chair 1 in 1963, etc
Chair 1 had around 168 chairs? (Exact number is unknown, but I saw it go 168, then 1 from a blurry photo)
Chair 1 also had a mid load (I don’t know what years it was there from, but from the 60s to the 80s?)
The reason I know exactly where the mid load was, is actually because Chair 1 didn’t have a tower 8 (which can be noticeable in some videos of the lift operating, where it goes tower 7, then the next tower saying tower 9)
Chair 2 does still have it’s 107 chairs
Chair 3 used to have 262 chairs (it used to operate like the F chair at Hunter Mountain, where the chairs are super close to each other) and a much faster pace. The speed and capacity was lowered in 2017, after the removal of Chair 1
There was actually a beginner Pomalift on the right from around 1972 to 2011? All I know is that it existed. It appears to have been removed around 2011 and as late as 2013
Apparently, if you look closely at rather the Aspen trail or Diablo trail (or in between both trails) on the map, the upper half is straight, similar to a lift line. It looks to have been the lift line of the original Constam t-bar that ran from 1948-1969
Oh. The lift line wasn’t the 1947 Constam t-bar. It was the 60s Aspen platter that self destructed a few years later (sorta). How it destroyed itself is that a carrier got lodged in the guidage and yanked the carrier clean off. It was said to be in the late 60s-ish
Also, there were 2 beginner platters. The first was replaced by Chair 4 in 1986, and the second was eventually decommissioned in the 2000s, later removed in 2011
Chair 3 was actually built in 1979, as pictures of the ski area show it being built in summer 1979 (you can also see the other beginner platter as well)
Also, I was lucky to find a 1970s video of the tram and Chair 1 (after the 1971 rollback). For some reason, Chair 1’s return terminal and bullwheel were blue. Usually, the bullwheel would be red by the mid 80s when Chair 4 was added
Maybe they closed chair 1 and may rerun it after the new summit lodge is done
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That may make more sense because if they were to decomission it, the towers would have had to have been removed by now.
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It was never able to get new parts although I thought of relocating it with some Leitner-Poma parts.
It would be on a backside expansion area for Ski Santa Fe
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I received the following statement from Sandia Peak on Chair 1:
“Thank you for the inquiry. At this time, we do not have a finalized plan but please continue to check in as progress continues. Once we complete the restaurant and know more about the Mountain Coaster, we hope to answer this question.”
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I like it when they are kind enough to respond like that.
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Now a lost resort :( RIP
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Mountain capital partners has partnered with Ben Abruzzo and will be hopefully operational this season and I hope to look forward to new lifts we shall see
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Looking at the webcams it seems that there is more snow than ever. It’s full of powder, baby!
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At least for THAT day though
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Footage in 2013 with Chair 1 going.
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More from the 97-98 season
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There are some things you might need to change:
Chair 2 was actually built in 1972 (although it has a 1969 vault drive)
Chair 3 was built 1 year later than listed (1981)
To add:
There was also a Constam T-Bar called La Madera that ran from 1948 to 1969 and was left partially standing until 1972 when Chair 2 went in.
There was another T-Bar (possibly Hall or Constam, maybe a 60s or 70s Doppy or Poma) called Beginner which was replaced by Chair 4 in 1987
A beginner Pomalift ran near it as well
Extra:
The mighty mite handle tow was built in 1993 and I did use it in 2016
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There was also a Pomalift called Upper Mountain which was replaced by Chair 3 in 1981
That Pomalift I was talking about that ran near Chair 4 was called Beginner 2/ Lower Mountain
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My mistake!
Corrections:
Lower Poma’s actual name was Poma #2
The lower t-bar was a Poma lift (other name for platter) called Poma #1 hence the 1985 ski map:
Chair 1 had a mid-loading station on that map as well.
The Constam t-bar (La Madera) was built in 1946. It ran in a current section of Chair 3.
Vs now:
Sandia’s first lift was a rope tow installed in 1937.
Upper mountain was not actually called that. Although the location of it existed.
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The above photo of the rope tow is not from La Madera/Sandia Peak. It is a rope tow at Cedar Creek ski hill near Ruidoso, NM that opened in 1938 as a walk-up ski hill. The rope tow was installed around 1946.
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+Jay Blackwood
Ah I see. There’s a book on the ski area’s history, but for some reason, it said that the La Madera (original name of Sandia Peak’s ski area) installed a rope tow in 1937. The t-bar was 1947, Chair 1 in 1963, etc
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Chair 3 in 1998:
And Chair 1 in 1997:
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I have the full database of installation years (2 and 3) and chair counts (1 and 2):
Installation years:
Chair 2: 1972
Chair 3: 1981
Seen here on pages 31 and 32
Click to access fseprd588724.pdf
Chair counts (missing from the database):
Chair 1: 156
Chair 2: 107
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In the database, in the Notes section, Chair 3 should say “Accident in 2023” because a tree fell on it. Happenned while I was hiking a few weeks ago.
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Okay, I was definitely overreacting. Chair 1 had a true accident in 1972, when a disastrous rollback occured, injuring multiple people
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Edits and corrections:
Chair 1 actually had 166 chairs before it’s removal
The bottom lodge was built in 1983
The old upper restaurant was torn down in 2017
Chair 1 used to have a mid load from 1977 until 1993
Chair 2 was built in 1972 and has 107 chairs
Chair 1 was removed due to lack of parts
A tree fell on tower 31 of Chair 3 in summer 2023, causing the comm line to get tangled and a derailment
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I’m wrong again
Chair 1 had around 168 chairs? (Exact number is unknown, but I saw it go 168, then 1 from a blurry photo)
Chair 1 also had a mid load (I don’t know what years it was there from, but from the 60s to the 80s?)
The reason I know exactly where the mid load was, is actually because Chair 1 didn’t have a tower 8 (which can be noticeable in some videos of the lift operating, where it goes tower 7, then the next tower saying tower 9)
Chair 2 does still have it’s 107 chairs
Chair 3 used to have 262 chairs (it used to operate like the F chair at Hunter Mountain, where the chairs are super close to each other) and a much faster pace. The speed and capacity was lowered in 2017, after the removal of Chair 1
There was actually a beginner Pomalift on the right from around 1972 to 2011? All I know is that it existed. It appears to have been removed around 2011 and as late as 2013
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Here are as many photos as I could get of these lifts for the time I’ve loved chairlifts, which was 2018
Chair 1:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1833825913499135/permalink/3757134591168248/
Chair 2:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1833825913499135/permalink/3757120597836314/
Chair 3:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1833825913499135/permalink/3757112381170469/
I don’t have any for Chair 4, unless the photos were taken by other family members (which don’t count as photos I took myself)
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Apparently, if you look closely at rather the Aspen trail or Diablo trail (or in between both trails) on the map, the upper half is straight, similar to a lift line. It looks to have been the lift line of the original Constam t-bar that ran from 1948-1969
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Oh. The lift line wasn’t the 1947 Constam t-bar. It was the 60s Aspen platter that self destructed a few years later (sorta). How it destroyed itself is that a carrier got lodged in the guidage and yanked the carrier clean off. It was said to be in the late 60s-ish
Also, there were 2 beginner platters. The first was replaced by Chair 4 in 1986, and the second was eventually decommissioned in the 2000s, later removed in 2011
Chair 3 was actually built in 1979, as pictures of the ski area show it being built in summer 1979 (you can also see the other beginner platter as well)
Also, I was lucky to find a 1970s video of the tram and Chair 1 (after the 1971 rollback). For some reason, Chair 1’s return terminal and bullwheel were blue. Usually, the bullwheel would be red by the mid 80s when Chair 4 was added
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF8JPoBRrUw=171s
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Peter, how could you forget the infamous 1947 Constam t-bar they had until 1969? It ran where Chair 3 is today
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I know, I have a disastrous amout of comments, but here’s the current information I have
Chair 1:
•Was missing tower 8, because of the removal of the mid-load in the early 2000s
•Had in between 160-170 chairs
•Rollback in 1971 or 1972 (left several with injuries). After the incident, the return terminal was modified with guidage rails
Chair 2:
•Has 107 chairs
•Was idle for several seasons when Sandia was closed. Even after reopening in 2024, the lift remained closed for major refurbishment
Chair 3:
•Was actually installed in 1979 (photo proof)
•Had at least 255-260 chairs originally
•A few towers were built on limestone, and a ton of dynamite was used during construction 👀
Constam T-Bar
•Ran from 1946-1973
•Was bottom drive, top return
•Had around 9-10 towers
•Started at base of Chair 3, and ran northwest, ending to the right, not far from where the upper platter started
Aspen platter (Poma):
•Ran for only a few years in the late 1960s
•Supposedly had bottom drive and top tensioning
•Was removed after a carrier got violently ripped from the haul rope, after getting stuck in the guidage of the top terminal
•Ran in between the trails Aspen and Diablo
Platter number 2:
•Ran in the spot where Chair 4 currently sits
Platter number 3
•Sat on the far right of the ski area
•This platter was in the spot where Sandia is proposing their new beginner lift
•Bottom drive?
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It seems like there is some construction vehicle at the peak just on the very right edge of the webcams in between lift 1 and 2.
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