Top terminal unload area.Another view of the summit which has the drive and a parking rail.Side view of the top.View down the line.Lift line overview.Lower station loading area.Early CTEC detachable station.Leaving Beaver Creek Village.Tower tubes were re-used from the prior Doppelmayr triple chair, which was moved by CTEC to become Elkhorn.Breakover x2.Arriving up top.
There’s certainly more merit in going with a chondola here than a gondola or a six pack. A chondola would provide the best of both worlds. Gondola cabins for ski school and Nordic ski traffic (McCoy Park will provide a nice secondary beginner pod so that not everyone’s using Red Buffalo). Chairs for everyone else.
This lift has a pretty rare tower (to my knowledge). On tower two, there is a 2-sheave train on both sides of the lift, which you don’t see on many lifts, especially detachables like this.
Strawberry gets mentioned as the next lift due for a major upgrade, perhaps another Telemix like Centennial. I don’t know. HSQ is an appropriate capacity lift for this pod, in my opinion, with Centennial acting as the primary out of base workhorse next door. Does the new McCoy expansion truly require gondola downloading to support it?
Revising after spending some more time here. The lift manages capacity more than fine, but the frequent slowdowns to accommodate downloading become tedious, especially at the end of the day. Chondola seems like it would be an overbuild, but then again, this is Beaver Creek so….
A chondola seems necessary for the beginners at McCoy Park. Beginners frequently download this lift, and if it goes down, well, it just won’t end well. IMHO, a chondola is the way to go
I’ve heard the idea that once Eagle Bahn at Vail gets replaced it’ll get shuffled over here which I think is a good idea. Lapping would suck but I’m assuming that would be a tradeoff VR is willing to make to not have to pay for a completely new chondola.
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If I had a guess, this will be the next lift replaced at Beaver Creek. Perhaps a 6/10 Chondola like Centennial.
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There’s certainly more merit in going with a chondola here than a gondola or a six pack. A chondola would provide the best of both worlds. Gondola cabins for ski school and Nordic ski traffic (McCoy Park will provide a nice secondary beginner pod so that not everyone’s using Red Buffalo). Chairs for everyone else.
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This lift has a pretty rare tower (to my knowledge). On tower two, there is a 2-sheave train on both sides of the lift, which you don’t see on many lifts, especially detachables like this.
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Strawberry gets mentioned as the next lift due for a major upgrade, perhaps another Telemix like Centennial. I don’t know. HSQ is an appropriate capacity lift for this pod, in my opinion, with Centennial acting as the primary out of base workhorse next door. Does the new McCoy expansion truly require gondola downloading to support it?
I’d rather see Bachelor go 6.
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The reason for gondola transport is not just for beginner skiers going to and from McCoy Park, but also for easier nordic and snowshoe trail access.
Having a HSS instead of a HSQ makes sense to simply maintain capacity at existing levels, as wider chair spacing for 2800 pph reduces misloads.
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Sure, I’d just wait until it becomes mechanically necessary to replace. Lift lines here are rare.
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Revising after spending some more time here. The lift manages capacity more than fine, but the frequent slowdowns to accommodate downloading become tedious, especially at the end of the day. Chondola seems like it would be an overbuild, but then again, this is Beaver Creek so….
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The same resort that has a gondola for the bunny hill…
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A chondola seems necessary for the beginners at McCoy Park. Beginners frequently download this lift, and if it goes down, well, it just won’t end well. IMHO, a chondola is the way to go
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I’ve heard the idea that once Eagle Bahn at Vail gets replaced it’ll get shuffled over here which I think is a good idea. Lapping would suck but I’m assuming that would be a tradeoff VR is willing to make to not have to pay for a completely new chondola.
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Snapped this view of this lift and Grouse after last week’s brief snowstorm, from the Village-to-Village trail.
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Beautiful picture! Looks nice up there!
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