Just got home from my first Whistler visit since 2021. New Fitz chair seems like a real gimmick for winter. Will be a huge benefit for the summer bikers.
One question I had about cosmetics, Fitz 8’s original destination is made obvious by that PCMR Red. Will JC6 also have its PCMR roots made as obvious in its installation or will it be the (in my humble opinion) drab and generic WB white/grey with a red gutter?
many of the lift parts are whistler now, and it looks like the terminals will be park city red. Fitzsimmons looks good in red but I don’t think JC will, especially with Glacier next to it in blue and BG and Catskinner just down the hill in the usual colours. Just my opinion. Hope they paint it before it goes up
Drab white/grey, orange, purple, USFS green- it makes no never mind as long as it runs and gets one up the hill, no? (Although certain paint schemes are better than others, yes).
My wish list would include a resurrection of the Orange Chair (top of Creekside up Dave Murray Downhill to Garbo/Chic Pea). It would relieve some of the pressure on Red in the Winter (especially when the Alpine is closed) with the added bonus of direct Bike Park access to the Garbo zone from Creekside in the Summer.
rob is there any news on next lifts that might be replaced at whistler. I can’t believe for a second that vail is only building one new lift in 2025 seems outrages.
It would be kinda cool if the proposed Olympic replacement had an angle midstation so that beginners could get off at the midstation and expirenced skiers could use it as a second route to Harmony or Symphony express.
Probably, but a more ambitious iteration could have it end where the harmony ridge run splits in two with the glades run, so you could access Symphony and Harmony from it.
That’ll happen soon. Lots of rock work to be done at both ends to make it work first though, as Rob has mentioned every time it gets brought up. Thats a big project
-Upgrade Peak Express to a HS6
Eventually, but likely not a priority. A 6 person chair would be good for wind resistance- but I’d be careful with its capacity. 100% DL capacity would be nice for summer time though.
-Upgrade WVG to a Detach 10 Gondola
It’ll happen- that requires a hell of a lot of planning first though. Makes it challenging with the current lift being inside buildings and how heavily the VG is relied upon year round
-Replace Magic and Olympic with HSQ’s
Olympic HSQ sure- would be a good candidate for a relocated HSQ like garbo. Magic (in its current alignment) is good as a fixed grip, just too small of a terrain pod for a HSQ.
-Upgrade Garbanzo to a HS6
That’ll happen too, possibly before the WVG replacement. Moving current garbo to replace Franz or Orange would be neat too.
-Put new cabins on the Excalibur Gondola
Sure, but it’ll likely just be the entire lift that gets replaced.
Had the pleasure to work there for a few years, but have since moved on. 7th tram would be cool for summer especially, but I don’t think its high on the “list” right now.
I’m not sure how realistic this is but a replacing WVG with a chondola similar to to American Eagle at copper worth bubble would be pretty cool as a replacement since lapping Wizard terrain pod when upper mountain is closed would help crowds
I think your geography is off? The Wizard terrain is off lower Blackcomb Gondola, not the WVG. Fitz 8 fills that purpose for the lower WVG terrain – not that many lap it as it’s primarily used for ski-out at for returning to the village.
I do miss having chair access on the old Wizard/Solar Coaster pods on Blackcomb – it would be nice to have at least have a chair again in the Solar area.
I don’t think they would replace a 7 year-old gondola for a chondola, unless you can add chairs to a gondola to make it into a chondola, but I’m pretty sure a chondola has different technology than a gondola.
A chondola was discussed during planning, but was going to be extremely complicated at the mid-station, affecting reliability, so the gondola was chosen.
Whats the reason behind the random removal of the Abracadabra Platter?, Considering this was a near clone of Sun Peaks Village Platter, did it get scrapped?
Glacier Express is not getting replaced any time soon in my opinion. Fortunately fatal gearbox issues are few and far between, but when they occur, downtime is significant. I’d love to replace the VG ASAP, but the cost is very significant. I think we’ll have it a few years yet.
I really don’t know. Most of it has been out in the weather for 20 years and we did steal some control panel parts. I would expect the controls would need to be replaced anyway.
does anyone know if vail is gonna replace glacier this summer. Seems to be having multiple issues as of late? Does Aussie rob know anything? Also the whistler village gondola is a joke that machine needs to go.
Question for AussieRob (thanks for reading these btw), I’ve heard that since newer lifts have a wider line gauge, replacing the WVG would require redoing the station buildings entirely. Would this require tearing down the entire WVG/GLC complex? Would it be possible to do something like a 2S?
I think a 2S would still require a wider gauge than can be accommodated in the existing foot print. The village station is particularly constrained. There are some options at the mid station and alpine station. The big question is capacity. If that is to be significantly increased then other solutions may be required. eg add another gondola. The other issue is business interruption. Replacing the lift in the existing footprint would require it out of service for a significant period of time. I’m sure the relevant people are scratching their heads.
Could they ever build an expansion lift from the bottom of 7th heaven to the ridgeline to the right of Blackcomb peak or is that outside of their permit boundary?
The lift would land outside the ski area boundary, so nowhere to go except the backcountry. Avalanche danger would be a significant issue as well, not to mention an access road and blasting a landing area.
is 7th heaven going to be able to last another year without replacement, seems crazy that vail won’t replace it when it’s showing the need for replacement? Any ideas rob? Like I understand showcase but maybe vail should build 7th along side the new showcase?
The 7th replacement is a massive job that has a significant regrading component at the top to allow better access into Horstman Glacier and create the space needed to take the number of people a new higher capacity lift will bring. It involves removing and replacing all the buildings up there as well. The lift itself runs well generally. It has always been crowded on pow days so that is nothing new.
when it eventually does get replaced, do you think it will be a 4 person or 6 person? It would probably be tough to fit a 6 person lift on that ridge, but the thing always gets swamped as it is now
Lift Blog 
Apparently a number of ppl who work for the mountain says there going to replace it after jersey crème.
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Replace it – as in the wvg.
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Just got home from my first Whistler visit since 2021. New Fitz chair seems like a real gimmick for winter. Will be a huge benefit for the summer bikers.
One question I had about cosmetics, Fitz 8’s original destination is made obvious by that PCMR Red. Will JC6 also have its PCMR roots made as obvious in its installation or will it be the (in my humble opinion) drab and generic WB white/grey with a red gutter?
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I’m not 100% certain, but I think the lift will be whatever colour Park city ordered.
Rob :-)
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many of the lift parts are whistler now, and it looks like the terminals will be park city red. Fitzsimmons looks good in red but I don’t think JC will, especially with Glacier next to it in blue and BG and Catskinner just down the hill in the usual colours. Just my opinion. Hope they paint it before it goes up
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Drab white/grey, orange, purple, USFS green- it makes no never mind as long as it runs and gets one up the hill, no? (Although certain paint schemes are better than others, yes).
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I think after Jersey Cream, the next 3 upgrades will be the WVG, then Garbanzo/Franz, then 7th Heaven. All before 2030.
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I hope you are right.
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any more word on what’s next? and what year you think the next one might be done in?
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Peter, you forgot to put that the Solar Coaster Express had bubbles when the chairs got moved from wizard.
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The bubbles lived on Wizard in the winter time. We would put half a line of bubbles (every other chair) on solar Coaster for summer operations.
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Fun! :-(
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Few things i noticed when i went here last year:
There is what looks to be an old Yan counterweight underneath the magic lift:
On the skiers rightmost of the Olympic chair, there is an old yan motor room:
And for some reason, in the roundhouse lodge area, there is a Mueller lattice tower with a yan tower tube bolted on top of it?
Sorry for the blurry photo, but does anyone know what this is for?
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My wish list would include a resurrection of the Orange Chair (top of Creekside up Dave Murray Downhill to Garbo/Chic Pea). It would relieve some of the pressure on Red in the Winter (especially when the Alpine is closed) with the added bonus of direct Bike Park access to the Garbo zone from Creekside in the Summer.
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I agree, Orange needs to come back!
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is there any news on the next lifts? Will whistler blackcomb get more new lifts in 2025?
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Probably not. Nothing announced for 2025 or 2026. a few of the detatchables are getting up there in age but we’ll see.
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rob is there any news on next lifts that might be replaced at whistler. I can’t believe for a second that vail is only building one new lift in 2025 seems outrages.
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In the next 5-7 years, I think that Whistler BC should:
-Upgrade 7th Heaven to a HS6
-Upgrade Peak Express to a HS6
-Upgrade WVG to a Detach 10 Gondola
-Replace Magic and Olympic with HSQ’s
-Upgrade Garbanzo to a HS6
-Put new cabins on the Excalibur Gondola
Please let me know your thoughts on these
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1-YES
2-why Peak, it doesn’t seem too crowded (or old), much rather Franz-t-bar replacement first.
3-YES, priority
4-Olympic, yes, magic should still be the chondola that was proposed, extend to Catskinner bottom
5-probably, although not a priority
6-better just replace the whole thing
I could also see a Glacier/Excellerator upgrade as well as an Orange infill lift (chair or gondola)
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It would be kinda cool if the proposed Olympic replacement had an angle midstation so that beginners could get off at the midstation and expirenced skiers could use it as a second route to Harmony or Symphony express.
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Would this lift end at the Harmony bottom terminal?
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Probably, but a more ambitious iteration could have it end where the harmony ridge run splits in two with the glades run, so you could access Symphony and Harmony from it.
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It would probably take away some pressure off Emerald as a side effect.
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My thoughts:
-Upgrade 7th Heaven to a HS6:
That’ll happen soon. Lots of rock work to be done at both ends to make it work first though, as Rob has mentioned every time it gets brought up. Thats a big project
-Upgrade Peak Express to a HS6
Eventually, but likely not a priority. A 6 person chair would be good for wind resistance- but I’d be careful with its capacity. 100% DL capacity would be nice for summer time though.
-Upgrade WVG to a Detach 10 Gondola
It’ll happen- that requires a hell of a lot of planning first though. Makes it challenging with the current lift being inside buildings and how heavily the VG is relied upon year round
-Replace Magic and Olympic with HSQ’s
Olympic HSQ sure- would be a good candidate for a relocated HSQ like garbo. Magic (in its current alignment) is good as a fixed grip, just too small of a terrain pod for a HSQ.
-Upgrade Garbanzo to a HS6
That’ll happen too, possibly before the WVG replacement. Moving current garbo to replace Franz or Orange would be neat too.
-Put new cabins on the Excalibur Gondola
Sure, but it’ll likely just be the entire lift that gets replaced.
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do u work for the mountain? Also I could see the tram from rondesvous to 7th coming soon too would be great for winter and summer!
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Had the pleasure to work there for a few years, but have since moved on. 7th tram would be cool for summer especially, but I don’t think its high on the “list” right now.
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Who are you talking to?
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He was talking to Max.
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I’m not sure how realistic this is but a replacing WVG with a chondola similar to to American Eagle at copper worth bubble would be pretty cool as a replacement since lapping Wizard terrain pod when upper mountain is closed would help crowds
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I think your geography is off? The Wizard terrain is off lower Blackcomb Gondola, not the WVG. Fitz 8 fills that purpose for the lower WVG terrain – not that many lap it as it’s primarily used for ski-out at for returning to the village.
I do miss having chair access on the old Wizard/Solar Coaster pods on Blackcomb – it would be nice to have at least have a chair again in the Solar area.
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I’m pretty sure that’s the roles of the Fitzsimmons and Garbanzo express lifts. WVG should stay a gondola.
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Sorry I meant the blackomb gondola
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I don’t think they would replace a 7 year-old gondola for a chondola, unless you can add chairs to a gondola to make it into a chondola, but I’m pretty sure a chondola has different technology than a gondola.
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A chondola was discussed during planning, but was going to be extremely complicated at the mid-station, affecting reliability, so the gondola was chosen.
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here’s a video of this lift on my channel
https://youtu.be/cdoV1OAnmlw?si=GMEkLFxV8uiCR681
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Whats the reason behind the random removal of the Abracadabra Platter?, Considering this was a near clone of Sun Peaks Village Platter, did it get scrapped?
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Glacier Express is not getting replaced any time soon in my opinion. Fortunately fatal gearbox issues are few and far between, but when they occur, downtime is significant. I’d love to replace the VG ASAP, but the cost is very significant. I think we’ll have it a few years yet.
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That’s weird. GE reply on wrong post? Abracadabra got removed to make way for the tube park. It is in our boneyard.
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Is it still is salvageable condition?
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I really don’t know. Most of it has been out in the weather for 20 years and we did steal some control panel parts. I would expect the controls would need to be replaced anyway.
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does anyone know if vail is gonna replace glacier this summer. Seems to be having multiple issues as of late? Does Aussie rob know anything? Also the whistler village gondola is a joke that machine needs to go.
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Question for AussieRob (thanks for reading these btw), I’ve heard that since newer lifts have a wider line gauge, replacing the WVG would require redoing the station buildings entirely. Would this require tearing down the entire WVG/GLC complex? Would it be possible to do something like a 2S?
Thanks!
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I think a 2S would still require a wider gauge than can be accommodated in the existing foot print. The village station is particularly constrained. There are some options at the mid station and alpine station. The big question is capacity. If that is to be significantly increased then other solutions may be required. eg add another gondola. The other issue is business interruption. Replacing the lift in the existing footprint would require it out of service for a significant period of time. I’m sure the relevant people are scratching their heads.
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Could they ever build an expansion lift from the bottom of 7th heaven to the ridgeline to the right of Blackcomb peak or is that outside of their permit boundary?
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The lift would land outside the ski area boundary, so nowhere to go except the backcountry. Avalanche danger would be a significant issue as well, not to mention an access road and blasting a landing area.
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is 7th heaven going to be able to last another year without replacement, seems crazy that vail won’t replace it when it’s showing the need for replacement? Any ideas rob? Like I understand showcase but maybe vail should build 7th along side the new showcase?
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The 7th replacement is a massive job that has a significant regrading component at the top to allow better access into Horstman Glacier and create the space needed to take the number of people a new higher capacity lift will bring. It involves removing and replacing all the buildings up there as well. The lift itself runs well generally. It has always been crowded on pow days so that is nothing new.
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when it eventually does get replaced, do you think it will be a 4 person or 6 person? It would probably be tough to fit a 6 person lift on that ridge, but the thing always gets swamped as it is now
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I have to think it will be a 6 pack.
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