Top terminal during the first season of operation.View down the line.Mid-station unload.Bottom loading area with carpet.Riding up.Approaching the mid-station.Tower 16.Arriving up top.Bottom terminal side view.Another view of the base.
9 thoughts on “Summit Express – Pleasant Mountain, ME”
Max HartDecember 1, 2017 / 4:03 pm
I love how Shawnee replaced a 1984 triple with another 1984 triple, which being from Loon, has likely seen more use. Not to mention the down-grade in tensioning systems (old Riblet triple had hydraulic tensioning, and the “new” / just as old CTEC has a counterweight).
This lift was originally the North Peak Triple at Loon. It hadn’t operated since 2004 so not many hours I would think. Maybe Peter can comment on why he thinks they did this replacement.
These arguments came up when Camden Snowbowl was considering buying the Riblet to replace a Hall double and T-Bar after its removal from Shawnee. A concerned taxpayer (CSB is town-owned) got a letter from Doppelmayr which stated the following: “[In 1984,] Doppelmayr equipment was more expensive and geared to passenger comfort and long life of the product with galvanized components. The equipment was designed to a European standard that exceeded the ANSI B-77 standard at the time. Doppelmayr equipment was installed by Doppelmayr crews. Riblet equipment was mass-produced, less expensive and field fit with many welded connections. Riblet components that I have observed were not galvanized. Riblet equipment was sold without installation support. At the time, there was high demand for an economical lift to satisfy skiing’s rapid expansion. Most of those Riblet lifts are no longer in service.”
Tom Sanford of Doppelmayr went on to note, “My largest worry is the life cycle of the Riblet chairs and grips…A destructive cycle test on the carriers is now required by ANSI B-77. This test has never been done on the Riblet chair design…If any of them begin to show signs of fatigue, then they are all suspect for failure. There is no good alternative for replacement chairs and grips. I know of no manufacturer that would want to accept the product liability of the entire Riblet lift by installing and certifying a modified chair and grip design to work on Riblet sheave assemblies and bullwheels.”
Answering your exact question Max, Mr. Sanford wrote, “Shawnee bought the used lift from Loon because of customer complaints. The ride to the top was too slow; there were too many stops and slows from the configuration and narrowness of the Riblet chair and the ride was uncomfortable. The lift from Loon has chairs that are like Shawnee’s Doppelmayr CTEC quad and Sunnyside lift. They are wider at the shoulder and easier to load with fewer resulting stops and slows. Sharnee’s Doppelmayr replacement lift runs at 500 feet per minute rather than the 400 to 425 of the Riblet with fully loaded carriers, minimal stops and slows because of the wider (71″ vs. 62″ at the shoulder, 60″ vs. 55″ at the seat) more comfortable chair and a loading conveyor.”
The Town of Camden went against the taxpayer and Doppelmayr’s advice and bought the Riblet. The chairs evidently passed NDT but the project became a boondoggle anyways. The town was fined by the State of Maine for environmental violations and the lift opened two months late and hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget. https://liftblog.com/triple-camden-snowbowl-me/
Interesting. I never considered the width of the chair and loading problems that could result from it, resulting in more stops, resulting in an overall reduction in hourly capacity and increase in ride time. Now all the complaints about the old Riblet being installed at Camden make so much sense.
Another benefit of installing the used CTEC could also be the fact that Doppelmayr could still supply spare parts, whereas there is no Riblet parts supplier that I know of.
I have some questions regarding info in Peter’s post.
Why did some resident of the town get a letter from Doppelmayr, and what was Doppelmayr’s intent in writing it? Were they trying to push them to buy a new Doppelmayr lift that while more expensive would’ve been of higher quality and lasted longer, or trying to sell off a used Doppelmayr they removed from somewhere.
Doppelmayr was asked to write it by the taxpayer. Obviously Mr. Sanford had an opportunity to sell a new lift to the town but I thought the letter was well-written and accurately weighed the pros and cons of the Riblet lift vs. a new one.
I was hoping that the rumors of a high-speed quad replacement (from Jordan at Sunday River) would be true for this summer. I now hear that it will be done next summer, and the delay was due to so many new lift orders at Doppelmayr.
The rumor is that the current summit triple will be shortened to its mid-station and that the high-speed lift will go up the old t-bar line in between the main and pine. Can anyone confirm this?
Lift Blog 
I love how Shawnee replaced a 1984 triple with another 1984 triple, which being from Loon, has likely seen more use. Not to mention the down-grade in tensioning systems (old Riblet triple had hydraulic tensioning, and the “new” / just as old CTEC has a counterweight).
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This lift was originally the North Peak Triple at Loon. It hadn’t operated since 2004 so not many hours I would think. Maybe Peter can comment on why he thinks they did this replacement.
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These arguments came up when Camden Snowbowl was considering buying the Riblet to replace a Hall double and T-Bar after its removal from Shawnee. A concerned taxpayer (CSB is town-owned) got a letter from Doppelmayr which stated the following: “[In 1984,] Doppelmayr equipment was more expensive and geared to passenger comfort and long life of the product with galvanized components. The equipment was designed to a European standard that exceeded the ANSI B-77 standard at the time. Doppelmayr equipment was installed by Doppelmayr crews. Riblet equipment was mass-produced, less expensive and field fit with many welded connections. Riblet components that I have observed were not galvanized. Riblet equipment was sold without installation support. At the time, there was high demand for an economical lift to satisfy skiing’s rapid expansion. Most of those Riblet lifts are no longer in service.”
Tom Sanford of Doppelmayr went on to note, “My largest worry is the life cycle of the Riblet chairs and grips…A destructive cycle test on the carriers is now required by ANSI B-77. This test has never been done on the Riblet chair design…If any of them begin to show signs of fatigue, then they are all suspect for failure. There is no good alternative for replacement chairs and grips. I know of no manufacturer that would want to accept the product liability of the entire Riblet lift by installing and certifying a modified chair and grip design to work on Riblet sheave assemblies and bullwheels.”
Answering your exact question Max, Mr. Sanford wrote, “Shawnee bought the used lift from Loon because of customer complaints. The ride to the top was too slow; there were too many stops and slows from the configuration and narrowness of the Riblet chair and the ride was uncomfortable. The lift from Loon has chairs that are like Shawnee’s Doppelmayr CTEC quad and Sunnyside lift. They are wider at the shoulder and easier to load with fewer resulting stops and slows. Sharnee’s Doppelmayr replacement lift runs at 500 feet per minute rather than the 400 to 425 of the Riblet with fully loaded carriers, minimal stops and slows because of the wider (71″ vs. 62″ at the shoulder, 60″ vs. 55″ at the seat) more comfortable chair and a loading conveyor.”
The Town of Camden went against the taxpayer and Doppelmayr’s advice and bought the Riblet. The chairs evidently passed NDT but the project became a boondoggle anyways. The town was fined by the State of Maine for environmental violations and the lift opened two months late and hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget.
https://liftblog.com/triple-camden-snowbowl-me/
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Interesting. I never considered the width of the chair and loading problems that could result from it, resulting in more stops, resulting in an overall reduction in hourly capacity and increase in ride time. Now all the complaints about the old Riblet being installed at Camden make so much sense.
Another benefit of installing the used CTEC could also be the fact that Doppelmayr could still supply spare parts, whereas there is no Riblet parts supplier that I know of.
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Mt. Baker also cited the chair width issue and speed when deciding to replace a Riblet fixed-grip quad with a Skytrac one this year.
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I have some questions regarding info in Peter’s post.
Why did some resident of the town get a letter from Doppelmayr, and what was Doppelmayr’s intent in writing it? Were they trying to push them to buy a new Doppelmayr lift that while more expensive would’ve been of higher quality and lasted longer, or trying to sell off a used Doppelmayr they removed from somewhere.
What was the environmental regulation they broke?
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Logged more than permitted and failed to control erosion which resulted in a landslide.
https://bangordailynews.com/2017/02/16/news/midcoast/dep-fine-adds-to-list-of-woes-for-camdens-snow-bowl/
Here is the initial engineering review for the relocation by Stevens Engineering.
Click to access chair-list-purchase-info-kuller.pdf
And copies of letters from the concerned citizen and Doppelmayr:
Click to access ragged-mtn-chairlift-smith.pdf
Doppelmayr was asked to write it by the taxpayer. Obviously Mr. Sanford had an opportunity to sell a new lift to the town but I thought the letter was well-written and accurately weighed the pros and cons of the Riblet lift vs. a new one.
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And yet a goodly portion of the oldest standing lifts are “unsupported” Riblets. Interesting.
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I was hoping that the rumors of a high-speed quad replacement (from Jordan at Sunday River) would be true for this summer. I now hear that it will be done next summer, and the delay was due to so many new lift orders at Doppelmayr.
The rumor is that the current summit triple will be shortened to its mid-station and that the high-speed lift will go up the old t-bar line in between the main and pine. Can anyone confirm this?
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