The experiment to build a detachable quad with an eight degree turn and no angle station may be coming to an end. This week Alta Ski Area General Manager Mike Maughan revealed the Supreme lift is suffering from accelerated metal fatigue, requiring the ski area to look at major modifications. Specifically the lift’s chairs have become damaged over time as they pass through numerous canted sheave assemblies. “Every one of those [chair pans] is cracked significantly,” Maughan told the Alta Town Council Thursday. “An investigation by engineers said we’re accelerating fatigue on the chairs, the grips and the bend itself.”

Supreme was constructed in 2017 to replace two separate lifts – Cecret and Supreme – which ran consecutively in different alignments. A new high speed quad was envisioned to include an angle station near the top of the old Cecret chair where beginners could unload. Chairs would detach, turn and continue to the Supreme summit. That plan proved expensive so Alta pivoted to a unique bend design that kept chairs moving at full speed through a line turn. By following both old lift lines with a bend, Alta would cut fewer trees and avoid significant ground disturbance. Doppelmayr reportedly declined to bid on the bend design and would only supply the lift with an angle station (like they did on nearby Collins.) Alta went ahead with Leitner-Poma and the new Supreme opened for the 2017-18 season. From the beginning skiers noticed the ride through the bend was quite bumpy and jarring. Last winter, Alta experimented with a different Leitner chair design in an attempt to mitigate the rough ride through the bend.

A couple folks tipped me off to the two Leitner “comfort chairs” that appeared at the base of @AltaSkiArea’s Supreme detachable quad. I’m told they’re part of a test to possibly make the line turn less jarring. 📷: @ozskier pic.twitter.com/a9z7RNBI3z

— Lift Blog (@liftblog) February 21, 2024

Fast forward to today and Alta sees two possible paths forward. The first is to rebuild the lift in a straight path between the top and bottom terminals. This would require every tower and terminal foundation to be replaced. “All the equipment would be re-used with maybe a few new towers added to the mix,” said Maughan. A second, less likely option is to keep both terminals in place and build a full angle station where the bend stands today. Analysis is underway to determine the best solution. “We approached the Forest Service and they are open to the realignment approach which would end up with a simpler lift with fewer moving parts and less wear and tear,” noted Maughan. Either way, the project will be a major undertaking targeted for summer 2025. “We’re waiting for numbers back from Poma to understand the cost of both options.”

For the upcoming 2024-25 season, the lift is expected to continue operating with chairs either repaired or replaced as necessary. It’s important to remember Supreme has operated safely for seven years and thorough inspections caught the issue before any incident. Now that the problem is known, Alta will work closely with the Forest Service, Leitner-Poma and the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee on safe interim and long term solutions.