The Skye Peak Express was the first lift Powdr built upon buying Killington and replaced a Yan fixed-grip quad.Omega model bottom station.Side view of the return station.View up from the base. Some tower tubes were reused from the previous lift.Covered parking area.Leaving the base station.Combo assemblies on tower 4.Leitner-Poma Omega T grip.Riding up the line.Arriving at the drive. Note it is taller than the return terminal.Drive station.Side view of the top terminal.Breakover towers.Upper section of the lift line.View down the line.Another part of the long lift line.Bottom station seen from Bear quad.Lift overview.
I never noticed that Omega drive terminals are taller than return terminals until this page was posted last April. I think this is the case on all lifts built after the double stack drive was discontinued for the 2003 construction season. For 2003, only the metal part of the skin was extended like on Coleman Brook at Okemo so the windows remained the same as the return. For 2004, the new, taller window design made it’s debut. The double stack was only used on bigger lifts from 1998-2002 but on all 2003-2011 lifts the drive is taller than the return.
I have found this lift to have the longest lines anywhere at Killington in the past couple of years, which I think it due to it being the only high speed lift out of Bear Mountain’s base.
I’d say it’s because it is the main egress from Bear Mountain to the rest of the resort. If you want to go anywhere from Bear Mountain, the quickest way almost always involves riding this lift. The Snowshed crossover isn’t very useful because it doesn’t bring you to the main base, and it’s not exactly obvious that you can go from this lift to south ridge (and even then, South ridge is 8 minutes and there’s no promise that it won’t have a line).
There’s a few ways to fix the crowds here:
1. The obvious option: Upgrade it to a six pack. This would just shorten liftlines but it would in turn but some pressure on the trails which isn’t great.
2. The less obvious option: Make Bear Mountain chair more useful. This could be done by either upgrading it (or South ridge) to a detachable or by making the snowshed crossover continue the whole way to the main base like it used to.
3. The complete roundabout solution: Add more parking elsewhere to discourage people parking at Bear Mountain. This would likely be done via the Pico interconnect. Multi stage NEP gondola would also fix this but we don’t need to get into that because it’s a pipe dream.
IMO the best option is to replace this and Superstar with six packs and call it a day. The existing skye peak quad could then be moved to replace snowdon triple or be used in the interconnect. Superstar’s parts could go to Snowshed or one of the pico HSQs.
I think this lift is too new to be replaced at only 12 years old. I am a fan of option 2, where Bear would go detachable and the Snowshed crossover would be rerouted to the main base. The trail is still there, just roped off, so it would not be too hard to do. As much as I wish South Ridge was to then also be also upgraded to a detachable lift, I know that it is unrealistic given that it was just installed. I do not believe adding parking elsewhere would move them around, as Bear Mountain is just the best option for those coming from the south or east wishing to park farther up than Skyeship. A NEP gondola would really only appeal to those who like parking at Skyeship and a Pico interconnect would only appeal to those coming from the west.
12 years isn’t too short IMO if the lift needs an upgrade. It could be moved elsewhere and last at least 30 more years before needing to be replaced. The problem with snowshed cross is that it’d have to split the needle’s eye pod unless they installed tunnels. And the problem with forcing them to go to the base of Needle’s Eye is that most people would just rather wait in the skye line at that point.
I disagree about parking. The Pico interconnect would encourage people coming from Rutland to park there, which would in turn cause the parking in the main base to become more manageable, which would in turn cause people to drive the extra few minutes to the main base instead of going to Bear and waiting in a liftline.
The center of the current ski area is the ridgeline from Skye Peak to Killington Peak. It divides the ski area cleanly in two. From the top of the ridge you can ski to any lift on the mountain. Quick access to that ridge is absolutely essential in order to navigate around the ski area quickly and that’s why I think Superstar and Skye should become six packs.
The NEP gondola is a pipe dream that I could only ever see coming to fruition if skier visits begin to increase again and reach near what they were in the early 90s, or if real estate demand increased. In the current world it doesn’t make any sense. But, if parking or real estate ever became an issue, it would provide quick access to the aforementioned ridge in only about 15 minutes from route 100.
New England Chairlifts & SkiingMay 19, 2020 / 10:24 am
What Id love to see them do is restore the old lower Juggernaut down to Skyeship. It would take some work (including a new bridge over BMR) but it would be cool to see that reopen. They still own the land according to trail maps.
This one doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Snowshed crossover will be a lot faster than lower Jugg 100% of the time if bear quad is running. Even waiting in the skye peak line at that point will be faster unless the line at Skye peak is like 30 minutes.
Skye Peak already has 3 HSQs and an 8 Passenger Gondola ending at or near its summit, it really cannot handle any more traffic. Rebuilding South Ridge and building the tunnels have now provided alternate egress routes from Bear base. Reopening Snowshed crossover completely would require a few more tunnels to be built. Instead of going through that expense, people can just ride Northbrook to get back to Snowshed.
The lifts at/near the top of Skye Peak are spread out well enough that congestion isn’t a huge issue. They all end in their own little isolated areas of the peak. Half of Superstar’s trail pod can’t even be accessed from the other 3 lifts.
People also aren’t going to go through the trouble of riding Bear Mountain and cutting to Northbrook (which will take 15 minutes without lines) and instead will just suffer through a 10 minute line at Skye Peak. Snowshed crossover in its current form is only really useful when the Skye Peak line gets over 20 minutes or the lift breaks down.
This is a great lift. Last year when we were there this was one of the lifts that had problems. They were stuck for like 30 minutes and they had to open up the Bear Mountain Quad. Maybe it’s time for a replacement? Lots and lots and lots of trails to access from here
Lift Blog 
I never noticed that Omega drive terminals are taller than return terminals until this page was posted last April. I think this is the case on all lifts built after the double stack drive was discontinued for the 2003 construction season. For 2003, only the metal part of the skin was extended like on Coleman Brook at Okemo so the windows remained the same as the return. For 2004, the new, taller window design made it’s debut. The double stack was only used on bigger lifts from 1998-2002 but on all 2003-2011 lifts the drive is taller than the return.
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I have found this lift to have the longest lines anywhere at Killington in the past couple of years, which I think it due to it being the only high speed lift out of Bear Mountain’s base.
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I’d say it’s because it is the main egress from Bear Mountain to the rest of the resort. If you want to go anywhere from Bear Mountain, the quickest way almost always involves riding this lift. The Snowshed crossover isn’t very useful because it doesn’t bring you to the main base, and it’s not exactly obvious that you can go from this lift to south ridge (and even then, South ridge is 8 minutes and there’s no promise that it won’t have a line).
There’s a few ways to fix the crowds here:
1. The obvious option: Upgrade it to a six pack. This would just shorten liftlines but it would in turn but some pressure on the trails which isn’t great.
2. The less obvious option: Make Bear Mountain chair more useful. This could be done by either upgrading it (or South ridge) to a detachable or by making the snowshed crossover continue the whole way to the main base like it used to.
3. The complete roundabout solution: Add more parking elsewhere to discourage people parking at Bear Mountain. This would likely be done via the Pico interconnect. Multi stage NEP gondola would also fix this but we don’t need to get into that because it’s a pipe dream.
IMO the best option is to replace this and Superstar with six packs and call it a day. The existing skye peak quad could then be moved to replace snowdon triple or be used in the interconnect. Superstar’s parts could go to Snowshed or one of the pico HSQs.
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I think this lift is too new to be replaced at only 12 years old. I am a fan of option 2, where Bear would go detachable and the Snowshed crossover would be rerouted to the main base. The trail is still there, just roped off, so it would not be too hard to do. As much as I wish South Ridge was to then also be also upgraded to a detachable lift, I know that it is unrealistic given that it was just installed. I do not believe adding parking elsewhere would move them around, as Bear Mountain is just the best option for those coming from the south or east wishing to park farther up than Skyeship. A NEP gondola would really only appeal to those who like parking at Skyeship and a Pico interconnect would only appeal to those coming from the west.
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12 years isn’t too short IMO if the lift needs an upgrade. It could be moved elsewhere and last at least 30 more years before needing to be replaced. The problem with snowshed cross is that it’d have to split the needle’s eye pod unless they installed tunnels. And the problem with forcing them to go to the base of Needle’s Eye is that most people would just rather wait in the skye line at that point.
I disagree about parking. The Pico interconnect would encourage people coming from Rutland to park there, which would in turn cause the parking in the main base to become more manageable, which would in turn cause people to drive the extra few minutes to the main base instead of going to Bear and waiting in a liftline.
The center of the current ski area is the ridgeline from Skye Peak to Killington Peak. It divides the ski area cleanly in two. From the top of the ridge you can ski to any lift on the mountain. Quick access to that ridge is absolutely essential in order to navigate around the ski area quickly and that’s why I think Superstar and Skye should become six packs.
The NEP gondola is a pipe dream that I could only ever see coming to fruition if skier visits begin to increase again and reach near what they were in the early 90s, or if real estate demand increased. In the current world it doesn’t make any sense. But, if parking or real estate ever became an issue, it would provide quick access to the aforementioned ridge in only about 15 minutes from route 100.
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What Id love to see them do is restore the old lower Juggernaut down to Skyeship. It would take some work (including a new bridge over BMR) but it would be cool to see that reopen. They still own the land according to trail maps.
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This one doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Snowshed crossover will be a lot faster than lower Jugg 100% of the time if bear quad is running. Even waiting in the skye peak line at that point will be faster unless the line at Skye peak is like 30 minutes.
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Skye Peak already has 3 HSQs and an 8 Passenger Gondola ending at or near its summit, it really cannot handle any more traffic. Rebuilding South Ridge and building the tunnels have now provided alternate egress routes from Bear base. Reopening Snowshed crossover completely would require a few more tunnels to be built. Instead of going through that expense, people can just ride Northbrook to get back to Snowshed.
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The lifts at/near the top of Skye Peak are spread out well enough that congestion isn’t a huge issue. They all end in their own little isolated areas of the peak. Half of Superstar’s trail pod can’t even be accessed from the other 3 lifts.
People also aren’t going to go through the trouble of riding Bear Mountain and cutting to Northbrook (which will take 15 minutes without lines) and instead will just suffer through a 10 minute line at Skye Peak. Snowshed crossover in its current form is only really useful when the Skye Peak line gets over 20 minutes or the lift breaks down.
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I think this is the old yan skye peak quad
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This is a great lift. Last year when we were there this was one of the lifts that had problems. They were stuck for like 30 minutes and they had to open up the Bear Mountain Quad. Maybe it’s time for a replacement? Lots and lots and lots of trails to access from here
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