This Leitner-Poma six pack replaced a first generation detachable quad for the 2024-25 season.The top terminal sits adjacent to another bubble chair, Tee Pee Town LX.There is full parking for all chairs at the top terminal.View from the summit.The top station.Tower 21.A large support tower.Tower 20.View down at tower 18.The lift line resembles a roller coaster with several flat sections.Tower 12.View down at T10.Looking up the steepest section of the line.A Leitner Premium bubble chair.Tower 4.Leitner EVO chairs.Towers 1 and 2 adjacent to the bottom terminal.This is the first lift skiers encounter when getting off the gondola in the village.Loading area.Chair with heated seats and bubbles.View riding up the line at tower 5.Middle section of the line.Tower 9.As of construction, this is the only yellow bubble lift in North America.Comfort seats.Nearing the summit with Tee Pee Town LX and Continental Divide Express in the background.Arriving at the summit.Unloading area.Chairs near the summit.Front and back view of chairs.View down at T17.Closeup of a grip and chair back.Another chair front view.The first three towers.A large generator provides the primary backup to grid power.Lift overview.Loading area.The entire lift seen from WaWa.Drive train in the bottom station.Leitner DirectDrive.Tire bank with charging rails for heated seats.Outside operator controls at the drive.Side view of the bottom station.
It’s been discussed in many other threads, but tower 9 in pictures 10 & 23 is another example of how engineers have to design the line equipment for a bottom drive vs. top drive. Haul rope dynamic, tension & slack forces can be very different depending on profile & drive location.
Parking is better for a large number of reasons. Weather protection, easier to do maintenance and inspections, cable tension relief, storm safety, easier grooming and snow removal around the lift, and easier start-up operations for detachable lifts, with the lift spacing them out equally.
@Mishers, there is simply not enough room in the village, at least, the rail is somewhat sheltered, it’s slightly dug in and the top station of TP Town blocks off some of the wind. It’s the best they can do in this situation.
There are a couple of reasons to pull carriers. The most immediately noticeable is during a heavy storm; some areas will pull the whole line while others might only remove the top third to get them out of the wind. Bubble chairs are heavier than ordinary carriers, so they’re initially more wind-resistant, but once they get swinging they have more mass and can cause more problems.
The other reason is to keep the bubbles out of the sun during the off-season.
I rode this lift this past weekend and was very impressed. I originally was not a big fan of the LPA terminal, but now that mountains are giving it better color schemes (in my option) its growing on me.
Seems odd that some empty chairs have the bubbles down and some have bubbles up? It’s especially noticeable on the downbound chairs, as I’d think they would all have the bubble down and there’s not a lot of empty upbound chairs in the photos. Maybe still getting bugs worked out on the new lift?
Likely. Took us a bit to get the bubble closing rails perfectly aligned, and some of the closing levers and assistance springs on the carriers themselves need adjustment before they would all close and lock. Most of what you are seeing is bubbles that are closed, but not locked, and the wind will lift them back up.
The commemorative plaque for this lift (similar to what is shown for Sublette) is in the Java Lift cafe in the hotel.
This has really taken the load off of TP Town, with more people lapping Angel than before from what I’ve seen. I wonder if Sunshine will delay adding the extra chairs to TP Town.
Hypothetically, if an all-LPA mountain wanted and 8-pack, could Leitner-Poma make one? It says so on their website. If not, I’d assume they’d give in to Doppelmayr or get one imported from Europe by Leitner or Poma, if that’s possible.
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what a beauty of a lift. Love the Direct Driver in an LPA terminal!
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This will make a huge difference on colder days at Banff Sunshine. Can’t wait to visit again!
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It’s been discussed in many other threads, but tower 9 in pictures 10 & 23 is another example of how engineers have to design the line equipment for a bottom drive vs. top drive. Haul rope dynamic, tension & slack forces can be very different depending on profile & drive location.
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Same is the case with tower 14 higher up.
Depression towers like this can also be found on other bottom drive lifts like the Lenawee Express and Kensho SuperChair.
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Controversial opinion but I think yellow bubbles look the best out of any color.
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The bubbles look so sick, way better than if they had gone orange, but the seat colour is a miss.
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It seems they never use the parking rail, they just leave the chairs out. I see them park TP chairs every night, but not those, seems weird?
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I asked about this, apparently the parking system is not quite ready.
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Thanks for clarifying. Hopefully soon.
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Moron here; what is the point or benefit of parking the chairs vice leaving them on the line all the time? Is it to prevent ice buildup or something?
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Parking is better for a large number of reasons. Weather protection, easier to do maintenance and inspections, cable tension relief, storm safety, easier grooming and snow removal around the lift, and easier start-up operations for detachable lifts, with the lift spacing them out equally.
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I think that having an outside parking rail and having it at the top kinda defeats the purpose.
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@Mishers, there is simply not enough room in the village, at least, the rail is somewhat sheltered, it’s slightly dug in and the top station of TP Town blocks off some of the wind. It’s the best they can do in this situation.
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Spacing has little to do with lift startup, unless carriers stall in the terminal.
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There are a couple of reasons to pull carriers. The most immediately noticeable is during a heavy storm; some areas will pull the whole line while others might only remove the top third to get them out of the wind. Bubble chairs are heavier than ordinary carriers, so they’re initially more wind-resistant, but once they get swinging they have more mass and can cause more problems.
The other reason is to keep the bubbles out of the sun during the off-season.
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A bit off topic but does LPA offer locking bars/bubbles like Doppelmayr does or is it an Doppelmayr exclusive thing?
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If you are ready to pay…
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I rode this lift this past weekend and was very impressed. I originally was not a big fan of the LPA terminal, but now that mountains are giving it better color schemes (in my option) its growing on me.
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Seems odd that some empty chairs have the bubbles down and some have bubbles up? It’s especially noticeable on the downbound chairs, as I’d think they would all have the bubble down and there’s not a lot of empty upbound chairs in the photos. Maybe still getting bugs worked out on the new lift?
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Likely. Took us a bit to get the bubble closing rails perfectly aligned, and some of the closing levers and assistance springs on the carriers themselves need adjustment before they would all close and lock. Most of what you are seeing is bubbles that are closed, but not locked, and the wind will lift them back up.
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As of January 2025, there are no more open bubbles on the way down.
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The commemorative plaque for this lift (similar to what is shown for Sublette) is in the Java Lift cafe in the hotel.
This has really taken the load off of TP Town, with more people lapping Angel than before from what I’ve seen. I wonder if Sunshine will delay adding the extra chairs to TP Town.
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Since they never added chairs to TP before Angel, there is very little chance they will go for it now.
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I just rode the lift for the first time last week, and I’m pretty impressed by this machine. I still think TP has better heating tho.
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Hypothetically, if an all-LPA mountain wanted and 8-pack, could Leitner-Poma make one? It says so on their website. If not, I’d assume they’d give in to Doppelmayr or get one imported from Europe by Leitner or Poma, if that’s possible.
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Yes they absolutely can.
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According to the trail map, this lift is called the Super Angel LUXURY Express.
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Yes, it is, Sunshine refers to all their bubble chairs as LUXURY chairs, similar to Breck’s Superchairs.
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Not gonna lie the super chairs at Breck are not that super anymore, but in the 1980s HSQs were a luxury.
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It seems like SSV is doing a resplice on this lift. Normal for a one-year-old chair.
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