The Snowdon Six Express was one of three new lifts built at Killington in 2018. The other two were relocated from other parts of the mountain while the six pack was brand new from Leitner-Poma.Bottom station and tower 1.This is the return station with tensioning.View down the line at tower 4 with bubble chairs removed.Middle part of the lift line.Tower 11.Near the summit.The drive terminal with weather doors lowered.Drive station up top.Unloading ramp.The last tower, number 13.Wood underskin at the top terminal.Another look a the Snowdon Mountain station.Two rails transfer carriers between the bottom station and parking facility.View up the line from the base.There are elevators that move chairs between the lift level and barn level.View up at tower 2.The bottom station with 90 degree loading.Lift line.Carrier with blue bubble.Chairs parked with bubbles open.
21 thoughts on “Snowdon Six Express – Killington, VT”
maxreznikFebruary 10, 2020 / 6:35 pm
Does this Six bubble have heated seats like the one at okemo? I did not feel anything and I rode it last weekend when temp was in 10s so i would assume not.
Quantum Six will not have bubbles. Okemo’s team really wanted them, as they are extremely popular at the mountain. However, everyone knows Vail’s corporate position on bubbles and they overruled the local team.
By the way, this is a perfect example of Alterra versus Vail, as even though they occupy the same industry they are run entirely differently. Alterra likes to make decisions locally, which has the benefit of allowing each mountain to retain its unique culture at the expense of higher costs without standardization. Conversely, Vail makes decisions at a corporate level, which gives immense cost and efficiency savings but each resort loses its individuality. Neither of these structures is better than the other, and I am personally glad that these contrasts exist to allow skiers to have some variety in a heavily conglomerated industry.
This lift’s bubble closure is interesting. The bubbles seem to slam shut in videos, unlike Sunburst Six and Bluebird. That can’t be good for the chairs at all
My guess is that the bubble closing rail is located too far into the high-speed section of the tire bank. We moved the one at the top of the Flyer so that the bubble would open earlier, but Poma cautioned us against moving it too far for that reason. There’s nothing wrong with the design, and those carriers and bubbles are seriously overbuilt (they weight 1600 lbs!) so despite it looking bad, it won’t kill the bubbles that quickly. It is hard on the closing mechanism though.
This is the only lift I have ever been on where the safety bars try to raise unless they are actively being held down. The bubbles do this job when they are lowered, but when riding with them up, the safety bar will naturally raise due to its weight distribution unless someone is using the footrests or leaning on the bar with their upper body.
That would make sense for the other LP bubbles, although I do not remember that being the case on American Flyer at Copper. However, my memory could be incorrect.
AF at Copper has spring loaded bars too. Pretty much all bubble lifts with automatic bubble closing have spring loaded bars – if the bars weren’t spring loaded they’d stay down when the bubble is opened and the liftie would have to raise the bar on every chair before people could sit down.
The footrests are indeed spring-loaded. There is a tensioner behind the seat (and hidden by the back panel) that allows us to loosen or tighten the springs as necessary. The Flyer’s were ‘lazy’ the first season and we had to tighten a lot of them, but at least the lift ride takes forever so we’d just do laps with the proper tools and fix them on the fly.
Me and my family went skiing in Killington February (2021) This lift sure was a game changer. the bubble was a pleasure to have for the windy day. it felt nice and cozy without a dought. To be honest it was probably better than the K-1 Gondola
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Does this Six bubble have heated seats like the one at okemo? I did not feel anything and I rode it last weekend when temp was in 10s so i would assume not.
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No, it does not. Sunburst is the only LPA bubble chair with heated seats. I’m surprised more haven’t been built.
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Quantum Six better feature them. As should Green Ridge’s chairs during the relocation from Quantum Four.
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I doubt it’s easy to add heated seats to existing lifts
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I don’t think Quantum Six has a bubble, but it may have heated seats, though I would think not.
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Quantum Six will not have bubbles. Okemo’s team really wanted them, as they are extremely popular at the mountain. However, everyone knows Vail’s corporate position on bubbles and they overruled the local team.
By the way, this is a perfect example of Alterra versus Vail, as even though they occupy the same industry they are run entirely differently. Alterra likes to make decisions locally, which has the benefit of allowing each mountain to retain its unique culture at the expense of higher costs without standardization. Conversely, Vail makes decisions at a corporate level, which gives immense cost and efficiency savings but each resort loses its individuality. Neither of these structures is better than the other, and I am personally glad that these contrasts exist to allow skiers to have some variety in a heavily conglomerated industry.
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Sunshine Village’s new Angel Express will feature them
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I thought Copper’s American Flyer had heated seats.
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Various lifts in Austria have after-market heated seats.
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This lift’s bubble closure is interesting. The bubbles seem to slam shut in videos, unlike Sunburst Six and Bluebird. That can’t be good for the chairs at all
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I noticed this too, with that technique, the bubbles won’t last long, really poor design.
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Its interesting though, because its only this lift. Bluebird and Sunburst Six both close gently
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My guess is that the bubble closing rail is located too far into the high-speed section of the tire bank. We moved the one at the top of the Flyer so that the bubble would open earlier, but Poma cautioned us against moving it too far for that reason. There’s nothing wrong with the design, and those carriers and bubbles are seriously overbuilt (they weight 1600 lbs!) so despite it looking bad, it won’t kill the bubbles that quickly. It is hard on the closing mechanism though.
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This is the only lift I have ever been on where the safety bars try to raise unless they are actively being held down. The bubbles do this job when they are lowered, but when riding with them up, the safety bar will naturally raise due to its weight distribution unless someone is using the footrests or leaning on the bar with their upper body.
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I think the other L-P bubbles and the Freezer at Jay also have spring-loaded bars.
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That would make sense for the other LP bubbles, although I do not remember that being the case on American Flyer at Copper. However, my memory could be incorrect.
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AF at Copper has spring loaded bars too. Pretty much all bubble lifts with automatic bubble closing have spring loaded bars – if the bars weren’t spring loaded they’d stay down when the bubble is opened and the liftie would have to raise the bar on every chair before people could sit down.
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The footrests are indeed spring-loaded. There is a tensioner behind the seat (and hidden by the back panel) that allows us to loosen or tighten the springs as necessary. The Flyer’s were ‘lazy’ the first season and we had to tighten a lot of them, but at least the lift ride takes forever so we’d just do laps with the proper tools and fix them on the fly.
LikeLike
Me and my family went skiing in Killington February (2021) This lift sure was a game changer. the bubble was a pleasure to have for the windy day. it felt nice and cozy without a dought. To be honest it was probably better than the K-1 Gondola
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Are you guys talking about the green mountain flyer at jay peak?
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The only clockwise lift at Killington.
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