Snowbird built the new Wilbere chair in 2024 following an all-new alignment.The new lift loads near the Creekside Lodge and features a Chairkit loading conveyor.View riding up the line.The first few towers.Ascending over a cliff band.View back down the lower lift line.Upper lift line servicing a race training area.Nearing the summit, where the old lift also unloaded.Alpenstar fixed drive station.Upper station overview.Side view of the fixed drive.View down the line from the summit.Tower 11 and the top terminal.Upper lift line seen from below.The bottom station includes the tension system.View up the line at tower 1.Loading area.Lift overview.Conveyor load.Combination assemblies on tower 2.Arriving at the drive station.EJ chairs with slatted back rests.
Beautiful colored drive! I noticed some differences from this and other Alpen Stars. While riding up the line, looking at the right side of the drive, it appears that there is a window that has not been placed on other Alpen Stars. Also, the bull wheel design looks different, I think that the holes in it are larger than other new Alpen Stars.
When working at Snowbird, the lift speeds were usually up to the lift operators, at least for the fixed grips. The detaches I believe were dictated by whatever mechanics said. None of the other lifts at Snowbird have loading conveyors so my guess is that until they get it fine tuned it is being ran slow to avoid misloads. The new lift essentially differs in usage entirely from the old Wilbere in that it is a new egress from Gad Valley, previously it was either a shuttle or a long catwalk from Gadzoom. This lift being mostly used by beginners and ski racers makes me think its being ran at a pace more for them. Also I know some lift ops liked to run Midgad super fast which is useful for some people but not everyone, since on busy days it can cause more misloads.
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Beautiful colored drive! I noticed some differences from this and other Alpen Stars. While riding up the line, looking at the right side of the drive, it appears that there is a window that has not been placed on other Alpen Stars. Also, the bull wheel design looks different, I think that the holes in it are larger than other new Alpen Stars.
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Why is the line speed so low when they make use of a loading conveyor? Installed on the cheap?
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When working at Snowbird, the lift speeds were usually up to the lift operators, at least for the fixed grips. The detaches I believe were dictated by whatever mechanics said. None of the other lifts at Snowbird have loading conveyors so my guess is that until they get it fine tuned it is being ran slow to avoid misloads. The new lift essentially differs in usage entirely from the old Wilbere in that it is a new egress from Gad Valley, previously it was either a shuttle or a long catwalk from Gadzoom. This lift being mostly used by beginners and ski racers makes me think its being ran at a pace more for them. Also I know some lift ops liked to run Midgad super fast which is useful for some people but not everyone, since on busy days it can cause more misloads.
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