This was the first modern lift built at Greek Peak under new ownership.Loading area with carpet and gates.View down from tower 4.Breakover towers.Arriving up top.The top bullwheel on a concrete support.Upper terminal side view.View down the long lift line.Upper part of the line.Tower 9.The base area.View up the line.Tower 1 is right next to the bottom station.Lift overview.
Including “Express” in the lift name is misleading because it is a fixed-grip. In theory, it could go faster because of the carpet. However, its max speed is 450, which is no better than non-carpet fixed-grips.
Peter, it was my understanding when this lift went it they got a waiver from NYS for 465 ft/min operation as it has the loading carpet and longer than normal chair spacing. Is that no longer the case (you list 450)?
They don’t technically need a loading carpet to run 450 fpm, but any faster (Calvin’s comment above about running 465fpm) would require a loading carpet.
This lift is the main one at the mountain and there are plenty of beginner skiers who take it. Prior to this lift’s installation, I remember there were talks of it being a detachable six-pack to simply reduce misloads, as Greek Peak has its fair share of visitors who struggle to load due to them either being new or being under the influence of something. A fixed-grip with carpet was seen as a cheaper alternative, which has also been done elsewhere at places like Beech Mountain. However, as others have mentioned, the carpet has had some issues in the past, and I specifically remember the gates opening too early a couple of years ago and people struggling to not fall off the end.
It’s still struggling with misloads, but does operate above 450fpm in the winter. It still is the main out of base lift, and gets swamped constantly. A detatch quad would probably have been able to be acquired used, and would reduce misloads while keeping costs low with a shorter ride time. The carpet is really fast, the gates probably need to open even more delayed to reduce stopping (which is nigh constant).
This lift has had innumerable problems with the carpet, loading gate operations and vibration issues (in the drive shaft) nearly since it was built. I know htey have spent a lot more on maintenance and trying to fix it over the years than such a new lift should have ever required. Locals have grumbled a lot more about it that you would expect given that it’s the only new lift since 1978!
They really should have put this lift in the Lift 1 alignment and left the old Lift 1a as the backup option from the main base. Given the topography of the peak, skiers have to hike over a little to access trails on the righthand side after unloading this lift whereas skiers can glide without needing to walk or use poles heading left after unloading from Lift 1.
1 had plenty of life left when Visions went in. 1A was well past its prime and was frequently the butt of everyone’s joke for how slow it was (~325 fpm for a 3700’ main lift is a joke). 1A absolutely *needed* to be replaced.
1A/Visions provides easy access to the greens off the main peak. It’s a significant trek from 1 to the greens which is another reason why Visions replaced 1A vs. 1.
For those wondering why this lift has a name while the others do not: Visions is a local credit union, and I presume they provided financing in exchange for naming rights to the lift. If it begets a new lift at a little hill like Greek Peak, no complaints…!
Hello everyone. I have lived in Lansing, New York for 8 years and I skied this mountain for as long as I can remember. This is where I learned to ski. This being said I know this mountain like the back of my hand. I know that the old owners wanted to add the new Hope Lake Lodge but then the great recession hit and they lost the mountain. Then the new owner’s bought the mountain dirt cheap at auction and had the opportunity to put a new lift here. My thoughts on this lift are that it is a cheap alternative to what really could have been a much better decision to replace the old double with a new high speed quad. They wanted to put a high speed quad in but that would have been double the price. I think that if they had put a high speed quad in then they could raise ticket prices and draw skiers/snowboarders away from the nearby Song and Labrador mountains over to Greek Peak. This could potentially put either Song or Labrador out of business considering that the owner of those two mountains has been struggling for a while now. I think a high speed 6 pack would have been a bit excessive but again, I don’t know their numbers on how much the lifts would have costed or how much they were making each year. I do know that a new fixed grip quad costs ~ $3,000,000 and a new high speed quad costs ~6,000,000. That being said the high speed lifts load slower so it’s much easier for beginners to load. They also move about twice as fast so instead of a long 10 minute ride it would be a short 4-5 minute ride which sounds like nothing compared to 10 minutes. One interesting fact about installing a high speed lift instead is that a high speed quad actually doesn’t have a higher uphill capacity than a fixed grip lift. This is because they have to space the chairs out more on a high speed lift due to the fact of the chairs coming off the cable when they enter the terminal and the fixed grip chairs can be spaced much closed together. Therefore they would have about 60-70 chairs on the highspeed lift rather than the 115 that they have on the visions express quad right now. I think at the end of the day it was the new owners’ fear of losing the mountain like the prior owners had that was the reason that they didn’t put a high speed lift in. They wanted to play it safe and play for the long term. I still think this was the wrong decision for the reasons I mentioned earlier. I have a few words to say about the name. This is NOT an “express”. the term express is only used for high speed lifts. they are trying to get away with the fact that they installed a fixed grip lift which is half the price of a high speed lift and make everyone believe that they installed a high speed lift. I also have a theory about the boarding carpet. The carpet is also just a marketing scheme. they just want to play this crappy lift off as a high speed lift which it is not. It I were the owners right now what I would do is I would wait until my debt is paid off and I would put a new high speed quad going from the base of the lodge to the top of chair 4. They can make that part of the mountain the core part of the mountain. then 3-5 years later if that works, I would install another high speed quad where the old lift 2 is. After I do this I would wait a few years and see if either Song or Labrador collapse on themselves and go out of business. After this maybe I would expand the mountain. FUN FACT: They used to have another terrain zone near the lift 5. they had a double going from about 1/3 of the way below the summit of lift 5 and they had some more trails there. Then it closed. the new owners were going to reopen it but they soon lost the mountain. If you want to check this out for yourself go to skimaps.org linked below. Let me know what your guys’ opinions are. I would love to hear from you guys!
Personally I think this is the worst chairlift and here’s why. If you don’t get on the conveyor on the right time you will fall off. I’ve had a few close calls. Unfortunately they keep the gates at all times. Someone’s got fix that. Why the name?
Just happened to notice last night that the bottom terminal motor room has been repainted all blue. Perhaps it was done at the same time that 1 and 4 also had their towers and chairs repainted blue, which was about 3 years ago. Newer color scheme incoming?
Lift Blog 
This lift replaced Lift 1a, a relocated Borvig double. I’m not sure where it came from. That lift replaced two T-bars, the original lifts.
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Old 1A came used from Mountain Creek. Mountain Creek had many Borvig doubles removed during the 90s when all the modern lifts went in.
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Including “Express” in the lift name is misleading because it is a fixed-grip. In theory, it could go faster because of the carpet. However, its max speed is 450, which is no better than non-carpet fixed-grips.
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Old 1A ran about 325 ft/min, so this is very much an express.
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Peter, it was my understanding when this lift went it they got a waiver from NYS for 465 ft/min operation as it has the loading carpet and longer than normal chair spacing. Is that no longer the case (you list 450)?
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Why do they need a loading carpet to run 450 fpm? This lift doesn’t look to be a beginner lift.
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They don’t technically need a loading carpet to run 450 fpm, but any faster (Calvin’s comment above about running 465fpm) would require a loading carpet.
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This lift is the main one at the mountain and there are plenty of beginner skiers who take it. Prior to this lift’s installation, I remember there were talks of it being a detachable six-pack to simply reduce misloads, as Greek Peak has its fair share of visitors who struggle to load due to them either being new or being under the influence of something. A fixed-grip with carpet was seen as a cheaper alternative, which has also been done elsewhere at places like Beech Mountain. However, as others have mentioned, the carpet has had some issues in the past, and I specifically remember the gates opening too early a couple of years ago and people struggling to not fall off the end.
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It’s still struggling with misloads, but does operate above 450fpm in the winter. It still is the main out of base lift, and gets swamped constantly. A detatch quad would probably have been able to be acquired used, and would reduce misloads while keeping costs low with a shorter ride time. The carpet is really fast, the gates probably need to open even more delayed to reduce stopping (which is nigh constant).
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Because 4 novices at a time load (or don’t) and it stops constantly! It’s maddening!!!
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This lift has had innumerable problems with the carpet, loading gate operations and vibration issues (in the drive shaft) nearly since it was built. I know htey have spent a lot more on maintenance and trying to fix it over the years than such a new lift should have ever required. Locals have grumbled a lot more about it that you would expect given that it’s the only new lift since 1978!
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DO LIFTIES HAND OUT FREE PEYOTE FOR VISIONS
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Only on Wednesdays
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Well, then, I know what day I need to be there!!!
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When I saw the lift was called Visions Express, I had to remind myself it’s NOT named for a 6’3″ British accented synthezoid. 😂😂
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They really should have put this lift in the Lift 1 alignment and left the old Lift 1a as the backup option from the main base. Given the topography of the peak, skiers have to hike over a little to access trails on the righthand side after unloading this lift whereas skiers can glide without needing to walk or use poles heading left after unloading from Lift 1.
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1 had plenty of life left when Visions went in. 1A was well past its prime and was frequently the butt of everyone’s joke for how slow it was (~325 fpm for a 3700’ main lift is a joke). 1A absolutely *needed* to be replaced.
1A/Visions provides easy access to the greens off the main peak. It’s a significant trek from 1 to the greens which is another reason why Visions replaced 1A vs. 1.
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For those wondering why this lift has a name while the others do not: Visions is a local credit union, and I presume they provided financing in exchange for naming rights to the lift. If it begets a new lift at a little hill like Greek Peak, no complaints…!
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Hello everyone. I have lived in Lansing, New York for 8 years and I skied this mountain for as long as I can remember. This is where I learned to ski. This being said I know this mountain like the back of my hand. I know that the old owners wanted to add the new Hope Lake Lodge but then the great recession hit and they lost the mountain. Then the new owner’s bought the mountain dirt cheap at auction and had the opportunity to put a new lift here. My thoughts on this lift are that it is a cheap alternative to what really could have been a much better decision to replace the old double with a new high speed quad. They wanted to put a high speed quad in but that would have been double the price. I think that if they had put a high speed quad in then they could raise ticket prices and draw skiers/snowboarders away from the nearby Song and Labrador mountains over to Greek Peak. This could potentially put either Song or Labrador out of business considering that the owner of those two mountains has been struggling for a while now. I think a high speed 6 pack would have been a bit excessive but again, I don’t know their numbers on how much the lifts would have costed or how much they were making each year. I do know that a new fixed grip quad costs ~ $3,000,000 and a new high speed quad costs ~6,000,000. That being said the high speed lifts load slower so it’s much easier for beginners to load. They also move about twice as fast so instead of a long 10 minute ride it would be a short 4-5 minute ride which sounds like nothing compared to 10 minutes. One interesting fact about installing a high speed lift instead is that a high speed quad actually doesn’t have a higher uphill capacity than a fixed grip lift. This is because they have to space the chairs out more on a high speed lift due to the fact of the chairs coming off the cable when they enter the terminal and the fixed grip chairs can be spaced much closed together. Therefore they would have about 60-70 chairs on the highspeed lift rather than the 115 that they have on the visions express quad right now. I think at the end of the day it was the new owners’ fear of losing the mountain like the prior owners had that was the reason that they didn’t put a high speed lift in. They wanted to play it safe and play for the long term. I still think this was the wrong decision for the reasons I mentioned earlier. I have a few words to say about the name. This is NOT an “express”. the term express is only used for high speed lifts. they are trying to get away with the fact that they installed a fixed grip lift which is half the price of a high speed lift and make everyone believe that they installed a high speed lift. I also have a theory about the boarding carpet. The carpet is also just a marketing scheme. they just want to play this crappy lift off as a high speed lift which it is not. It I were the owners right now what I would do is I would wait until my debt is paid off and I would put a new high speed quad going from the base of the lodge to the top of chair 4. They can make that part of the mountain the core part of the mountain. then 3-5 years later if that works, I would install another high speed quad where the old lift 2 is. After I do this I would wait a few years and see if either Song or Labrador collapse on themselves and go out of business. After this maybe I would expand the mountain. FUN FACT: They used to have another terrain zone near the lift 5. they had a double going from about 1/3 of the way below the summit of lift 5 and they had some more trails there. Then it closed. the new owners were going to reopen it but they soon lost the mountain. If you want to check this out for yourself go to skimaps.org linked below. Let me know what your guys’ opinions are. I would love to hear from you guys!
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Personally I think this is the worst chairlift and here’s why. If you don’t get on the conveyor on the right time you will fall off. I’ve had a few close calls. Unfortunately they keep the gates at all times. Someone’s got fix that. Why the name?
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The local credit union that provided the financing is Visions FCU.
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Just happened to notice last night that the bottom terminal motor room has been repainted all blue. Perhaps it was done at the same time that 1 and 4 also had their towers and chairs repainted blue, which was about 3 years ago. Newer color scheme incoming?
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