Presenting North America’s only fixed grip six pack.This lift was started by BM Lifts and completed by Leitner.Unloading area and top bullwheel.The lift is tensioned at this station.View down the short lift line.Lower part of the line.There is a loading carpet at the bottom.Uphill end of the lower station.Tower 4.Leitner-Blue Mountain chair.View up the line.
To be honest, with the added difficulty of a full-speed loading, I doubt that you can load a fixed-grip six pack at any capacity greater than that of a fixed quad.
Fun fact, per ANSI standards, a fixed grip six pack can only run at a maximum of 450fpm (while loading and unloading). The same as a quad. A triple or double can go 500 or 550 respectively.
The only real market for fixed grip six packs are small midwestern or Ontario ski hills that can afford a brand new lift but can’t afford a detachable. To narrow down the demand even further, the terrain and demand must warrant 3600 pph. Most areas don’t need 3600 pph all the time. It doesn’t look like this lift necessarily needs it seeing that there’s no one riding the lift in Peter’s photos.
Wow, never knew that a fixed grip 6 existed.
I can think of a few other reasons these chairs never caught-on.
– Heavy chair for a liftie to bump
– A big increase in chance of unloading issues, whereas you have 6 people trying to unload but at line speed leaves a much shorter “unload” interval versus a detach that give more time for everyone to get up and egress away.
In fact no modern chair needs to be bumped. Bumping it might make the load a little more comfortable, but unlike old Riblets they don’t fall from the rope if not bumped. These days bumping chairs is a very north american thing, I’ve never seen it in in Japan or South America, and it’s probably been 25 years that I saw lifties bump chairs in Europe regularly.
Which is, not surprisingly, in North America, much to Chris’ point. I will say from personal experience that bumping the chair makes more sense than not bumping it. Quads, especially. Them things hurt if they hit you at speed. Just cos that’s how it’s done in Europe does not make it better.
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This is a very unique lift, a shame there aren’t more fixed grip six lifts around.
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These probably never caught on because at that chair size, you might be better off just going for a detachable.
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To be honest, with the added difficulty of a full-speed loading, I doubt that you can load a fixed-grip six pack at any capacity greater than that of a fixed quad.
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Fun fact, per ANSI standards, a fixed grip six pack can only run at a maximum of 450fpm (while loading and unloading). The same as a quad. A triple or double can go 500 or 550 respectively.
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The only real market for fixed grip six packs are small midwestern or Ontario ski hills that can afford a brand new lift but can’t afford a detachable. To narrow down the demand even further, the terrain and demand must warrant 3600 pph. Most areas don’t need 3600 pph all the time. It doesn’t look like this lift necessarily needs it seeing that there’s no one riding the lift in Peter’s photos.
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Wow, never knew that a fixed grip 6 existed.
I can think of a few other reasons these chairs never caught-on.
– Heavy chair for a liftie to bump
– A big increase in chance of unloading issues, whereas you have 6 people trying to unload but at line speed leaves a much shorter “unload” interval versus a detach that give more time for everyone to get up and egress away.
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Lifties don’t need to bump chairs with a loading carpet like this.
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In fact no modern chair needs to be bumped. Bumping it might make the load a little more comfortable, but unlike old Riblets they don’t fall from the rope if not bumped. These days bumping chairs is a very north american thing, I’ve never seen it in in Japan or South America, and it’s probably been 25 years that I saw lifties bump chairs in Europe regularly.
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They still do at Bridger Bowl…
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Which is, not surprisingly, in North America, much to Chris’ point. I will say from personal experience that bumping the chair makes more sense than not bumping it. Quads, especially. Them things hurt if they hit you at speed. Just cos that’s how it’s done in Europe does not make it better.
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I was bumping the chairs on Chickadee just last winter and summer. They have us bumping all the fixed grip lifts at Snowbird
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I found another fixed grip six. https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsf6-des-quillis-poma-1037.html
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RM.net has 11 fixed grip six chairlifts on their database. Uncommon, but not unheard of.
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/liste-5-type-35.html
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Liftworld says there’s 13 includling this lift
6 In France
5 in Austria
1 In the Netherlands
1 In Canada (This Lift)
7 Doppelmayr
5 Poma
1 Leitner
Oldest Built in 1995
Newest Built in 2016
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What happened to Blue Mountain Lifts? Buyout by Leitner? Bankruptcy? Something else?
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seethis link and read comments for answer:
https://liftblog.com/2017/10/19/news-roundup-54/
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Wonder how they got this out of Area 51.
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