Grand Targhee

Grand Targhee Begins Construction of Blackfoot Quad

Peter Landsman2 Comments
IMG_1021
Blackfoot looks to be getting Doppelmayr’s Tristar drive station.

Last time I stopped by Grand Targhee, I could still ski down Chief Joseph Bowl as the Blackfoot double was being deconstructed to make way for a new Doppelmayr quad chair.   Three months later, workers have finished removing the last of the old Riblet and prepped both station locations for modern terminals.  The new Blackfoot will move up to 1,800 skiers per hour 1,200 vertical feet in seven minutes.  When completed, Grand Targhee will operate four Doppelmayr and CTEC quad lifts, all built after 1996, with a third high speed quad coming soon.

IMG_1026
Re-bar for towers staged near the bottom of Blackfoot.

The new Blackfoot will start a little higher up and further north, though it’s tough to tell where the old base stood with how much dirt has been moved.  The new top station is just about in the same spot as the previous one.  Lots of rock is getting pushed to make a large unload area in place of the steep wooden ramp at top of Blackfoot since 1974.  This week Doppelmayr is tying re-bar for towers and both terminals.  The project is still in its beginning stages but will ramp up over as concrete gets poured and steel arrives this fall.

IMG_1018
Tower 1 ready to be poured adjacent to the drive station.

Continue reading →

Out with the Old at Grand Targhee & Jackson Hole

Peter Landsman4 Comments
IMG_4102
Grand Targhee wasted no time removing Blackfoot, starting even before they closed for skiing.

New lifts are coming to both sides of the Tetons this summer and that means three old lifts are coming down.  At Grand Targhee, the Blackfoot double is being replaced with a Doppelmayr fixed-grip quad.  All 20 towers have been removed along with the top terminal.  Blackfoot had wooden ramps at both ends that will be burned down once all the steel is out of the way.

IMG_4114
From the tree cutting that’s been done, it looks like the new lift will start to the skier’s left of the old one.
IMG_4125
Still no word on where these chairs are headed.

Continue reading →

Grand Targhee Replacing Blackfoot Lift

Peter Landsman3 Comments

As rumored for weeks, Grand Targhee confirmed yesterday on Facebook it will replace the aging Blackfoot double chair with a fixed-grip quad over the summer.  The Doppelmayr-built lift will increase capacity by 40 percent and run in an improved alignment, although it will be slightly slower than the old lift.  Targhee’s Director of Marketing said in a release, “The entire resort team is excited to replace and upgrade the Blackfoot chairlift.  The resort ownership is committed to reinvesting in the resort with ongoing improvements that enhance the guest experience. This is the largest and most visible of many recent capital investments.”

IMG_2868
Some will miss Blackfoot’s double diamond loading and unloading ramps, others will not!

Blackfoot is a Riblet center-pole model that’s faithfully served skiers for 42 years.  The lift is 3,236 feet long with a vertical rise of 1,200′ and hourly capacity of 1,300.  A non-profit in Valdez, Alaska is hoping to buy the lift to create that region’s first lift-served ski area. With a new Blackfoot, Grand Targhee will have four modern quad chairs.  The resort also plans to add a third high speed quad in the near future on Peaked Mountain in the area currently used for cat skiing.  Removal of Blackfoot begins this week although Targhee will spin its other lifts through April 24th.  With this announcement, new lifts in North America are pacing above last year, with 30 projects already announced and hopefully many more to come.