This is one of the most unique lifts in North America, with a mid-station and a 70-degree turn accomplished through two bullwheels and horizontal sheaves.Mid-load just before the turn.View down the lower line.Approaching the turn, where the downhill side crosses overt the uphill side twice.Bullwheel one.Horizontal sheaves, uphill side.Bullwheel two.Poma engineers had some fun with this one.Upper lift line.Arriving at the top.Fixed return bullwheel.Lift line near the top.Turn overview.There are four bullwheels total.The principle is: two sweeping right turns make a left turn.Poma Alpha drive down below.Loading area.There is no ski-under clearance until the turn.Mid-load.
I believe the lift was built with two intentions in mind: the very bottom drive station is for those coming out of their condos on Four O’Clock Road. The midstation is to give people an alternate route to Peak 8 if the Peak 8 SuperConnect goes down (as originally built, Snowflake also gave beginners a way to transit by lift from Peak 9 to Peak 8 since the Peak 8 SuperConnect’s predecessor Lift 4 only could be reached from the upper Peak 9 lifts).
I get the impression that this is a bottom drive lift because the downhill line has a longer path than the uphill one thanks to the turn.
I also get the impression the midstation receives more traffic than the bottom station because the midstation has more use as an alternative for those who would like to bypass the VIsta Haus on their way north to Peaks 7 and 6.
Thanks for your post, I just rode this lift last weekend and was intrigued! I still can’t figure out why the downhill side doesn’t just make the same turn as the uphill side but instead goes through the two additional bullwheels. Is there a simple explanation?
At least conventional fixed grips can’t. There have been some interesting fixed grip designs to allow turns in both directions, but as far as I know they’ve only been used on T-Bars and probably aren’t suitable for chairs.
I think you mean inside corner but I got it: the way the chair supports come off the lateral side of the cable would interfere with the necessary sheaves for an inside corner. Thanks!
No, I did mean outside. In lift maintenance we refer to anything towards centreline of the lift as inside, and anything towards the edge of the liftline as outside. For example, the inside seat is the closest one to the towers. Sorry if I confused anyone.
This lift sems like a nice alternative to getting to Peak 8 rather than taking the crowded Breck Connect. You can take the shuttle to this lift’s bottom terminal, and it seldom sees crowds due to it being a fixed-grip double.
Lift Blog 
I need to ride this before I die!
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I believe the lift was built with two intentions in mind: the very bottom drive station is for those coming out of their condos on Four O’Clock Road. The midstation is to give people an alternate route to Peak 8 if the Peak 8 SuperConnect goes down (as originally built, Snowflake also gave beginners a way to transit by lift from Peak 9 to Peak 8 since the Peak 8 SuperConnect’s predecessor Lift 4 only could be reached from the upper Peak 9 lifts).
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I rode this lift today. And the turn really rattles you. Really cool lift though!
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It’s definitely a rattle-y turn.
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The turn setup is pretty standard for t-bars and there are dozens that use the same setup. But I’ve never seen it used for a chairlift before.
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Dozens?
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Yes. Just search for the German word “Zwirbelkurve” and you’ll find plenty, including tons of videos.
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Someone created this turn in a model gondola!
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This reminds me so much of this turn:
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https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsf2-grasjoch-doppelmayr-4031.html
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When lift engineers frequent the bar you get the snowflake chair lol.
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That one’s a bit more compact than Snowflake’s.
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I get the impression that this is a bottom drive lift because the downhill line has a longer path than the uphill one thanks to the turn.
I also get the impression the midstation receives more traffic than the bottom station because the midstation has more use as an alternative for those who would like to bypass the VIsta Haus on their way north to Peaks 7 and 6.
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Hello! Are skiiers able to get off at the mid point of this lift as well or is it only a loading zone?
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The midstation is only for loading guests using Snowflake as an alternative route to the Peak 8 SuperConnect.
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It is only a loading zone.
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Imagine downloading this lift… that would be a trip!
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has allegedly happened to a few kids while the lifty wasn’t paying attention
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Sheesh. That must have been quite a ride!
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must have been painful to go through two bullwheels!
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Thanks for your post, I just rode this lift last weekend and was intrigued! I still can’t figure out why the downhill side doesn’t just make the same turn as the uphill side but instead goes through the two additional bullwheels. Is there a simple explanation?
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Yes. Fixed grips can’t turn an outside corner. Thus, they route the downhill rope through those two bullwheels in order to make the necessary turn.
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At least conventional fixed grips can’t. There have been some interesting fixed grip designs to allow turns in both directions, but as far as I know they’ve only been used on T-Bars and probably aren’t suitable for chairs.
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I think you mean inside corner but I got it: the way the chair supports come off the lateral side of the cable would interfere with the necessary sheaves for an inside corner. Thanks!
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No, I did mean outside. In lift maintenance we refer to anything towards centreline of the lift as inside, and anything towards the edge of the liftline as outside. For example, the inside seat is the closest one to the towers. Sorry if I confused anyone.
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A few have been built to turn an inside corner, like this Poma double:
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Here’s another link if that video didn’t work:
https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/pontresina/ski-lifts/l92674/
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Here are some videos of that same lift
Hey wait a minute… Snowflake is a Poma double… the Pontresina double was also a Poma double too!!
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Here’s that lift from the link (the lift was built at the Pontresina ski resort)
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worked for me. Thanks for the video!
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The turn station haul rope overlaps the lift three times
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This lift sems like a nice alternative to getting to Peak 8 rather than taking the crowded Breck Connect. You can take the shuttle to this lift’s bottom terminal, and it seldom sees crowds due to it being a fixed-grip double.
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I don’t know if this is helpful, but on this video game lift, it is easier to see the whole turn with no visual restrictions.
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That looks fun to ride!
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Why don’t they just make lifts that have an O shaped grip that surrounds the rope. This way a regular bull wheel could do the job.
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Can you sketch that out for us?
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