Single Chair – Mad River Glen, VT

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View up from the base.
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Modern Doppelmayr CTEC controls.
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Lower station and tower 1.
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Lattice tower.
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View up the line.
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Back down towards the base.
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CTEC sheaves.
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View up from the mid-station.
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Mid-station.
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Top tension carriage.
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Summit terminal.
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Looking down from the summit.
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Bottom drive building.
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Another view up the line.
View down at tower 4.
Riding up the long lift line.
Middle section of the line.
Arriving at the mid.
Mid-station seen from above.
Breakover towers.
View from the summit in winter.
Tower 22 at the unload point.
A single chair with bar.
View down the upper part of the line.

26 thoughts on “Single Chair – Mad River Glen, VT

  1. Ryan December 13, 2017 / 12:45 pm

    What is the carrier mark button used for on that control panel?

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    • Lucas Tokarski March 7, 2018 / 10:29 am

      don’t quote me on this, but i believe that this is used if a chair has damage, and they need to let the top or bottom operator know, or if a chair is carrying ski patrol equipment, or also when the lift is closing for the day it can be used to mark the last chair so the operators up top know they can close the lift down

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    • A random lift mechanic March 2, 2020 / 3:27 pm

      Carrier mark is so the top operator is alerted to a specific carrier if it needs special attention. The PLC knows how long the lift is, so when this button is pressed, after a present amount of distance, an alarm will sound at the top. For example, someone loses a ski while loading, so the top operator needs to slow the lift when that person arrives.

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  2. Benjamin Edwards January 31, 2020 / 7:46 pm

    How fast does this lift run?

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  3. Rich February 17, 2021 / 8:02 pm

    Go go go

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  4. Anonymous February 21, 2021 / 6:27 pm

    The only single chair running

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    • Myles Svec February 21, 2021 / 6:28 pm

      Nope. There is one running at Mt Eyak in Alaska.

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      • ne_skier February 21, 2021 / 8:02 pm

        Not to mention plenty more in Europe and Asia. Single chair construction died out in the US by about 1950 when the double chair was becoming more prevalent, but it seemed to keep going overseas.

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        • Chris February 22, 2021 / 12:07 am

          Speaking of Austria, there 8 singe chairs left. 1 of these is a historic project run by volunteers, and two serve ski jumps. Larger number where built until the early 60s, the later ones tend to be special cases like replacements of existing single chairs, or the ski jump lifts

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    • Utah Powder Skier February 21, 2021 / 7:28 pm

      If you count the ones that aren’t operating, there’s one near Sun Valley (Ruud Mountain lift) and one at Canada Olympic Park, AB.

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  5. Utah Powder Skier April 19, 2021 / 7:45 pm

    Why did most American Steel & Wire lifts have Heron grips?

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    • ne_skier April 19, 2021 / 7:51 pm

      Perhaps these were later modifications? Heron was in many ways the successor to American Steel and Wire, but I know the two companies built some lifts together, so perhaps that could be why as well.

      Liked by 1 person

      • pbropetech March 3, 2022 / 7:50 pm

        I’d go the other way- Bob may have cribbed from AS&W to hang his carriers from. Hard tellin’, not knowin’, as they say.

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  6. ALEXANDER February 5, 2022 / 11:19 am

    Looks kinda scary No bar

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    • Lars March 3, 2022 / 11:22 am

      The bars -and footrests- swing forward. Visible in photos.

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      • Anders December 20, 2023 / 8:41 pm

        I honestly love this bar design. They could easily implement them on double chairs as well (unless there’s some sort of loading constraint I don’t know about).

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        • carletongebhardt December 21, 2023 / 2:37 pm

          Center pole Mueller doubles had safety bars and footrests that swung around to the side.

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  7. icefaceny March 18, 2023 / 9:54 am

    This lift received an investment of 1.8 million dollars to keep it running, as voted by the co-op shareholders. I am happy to say that this lift is here to stay! This is also one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever ridden, it’s difficult to see in these photos, but the wood seat base is curved to fit your butt (think comfortable park bench style), and the padding is quality and plentiful. The unload process is a little awkward though, you have to push the chair out of the way and step off to the right very quickly so you don’t get your knees taken out from the back, but I think that just adds to this machine’s charm. The mid unload could use a wider ramp though, gets a little crowded at the end of the day when people are trying to lap the upper portion of the lift while there are skiers also dismounting at the mid, they both use the same ramp probably meant for single direction travel. Make sure your ski TIPS are on the green Load Here line at the midstation, otherwise you get stabbed by the bar/footrest. Learned my lesson VERY quickly, shout out to the lifty that prevented an injury while loading me on the chair, I appreciate you.

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  8. Tommy Boy March 18, 2023 / 11:28 am

    Rest in Powder Betsy Pratt. The Les Otten story is the stuff legends are made of.

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  9. Ryan February 1, 2024 / 3:33 pm

    Does this lift run in the summer?

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    • Teddy's Lift World February 1, 2024 / 6:44 pm

      No, but they do offer scenic rides in the fall.

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      • WH2Oshredder February 5, 2024 / 2:19 pm

        This lift must have super high hours

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  10. p May 12, 2024 / 9:02 am

    there are a total of 112 single chairlifts operating still around the world according to doppelmayr. (the chairlifts are built by other companies too.)

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