• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO

dbostedo

Asst. Gathermeister
Moderator
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
Posts
18,096
Location
75% Virginia, 25% Colorado
Downloading? They won't be downloading on this lift as normal operation I don't think.

I don't see why it's any worse that the 6 packs that have gone in a lot of places.
 

Bad Bob

I golf worse than I ski.
Skier
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
5,843
Location
West of CDA South of Canada
Wonder if they will do the magic carpet rollup of the skiers to load. That still feels so awkward.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Ken_R

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO
Wonder if they will do the magic carpet rollup of the skiers to load. That still feels so awkward.

I think most if not all 6 packs do this already.

And I didnt mean downloading but meant offloading at the top.
 

BS Slarver

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
1,527
Location
Biggest skiing in America
Actually the 8 pack is quite successful in Europe and as part of bigsky2025 Boyne is wanting to be the first “American Alps “ resort.
I believe it is the first 8 pack with bubble and heat.... perhaps someone smarter can chime in. I got to spend some time last week at the project and I’m told they are on schedule for completion.

The upgrade is multi faceted -

• Moving people out of the base area quickly at opening and keep their no lift line philosophy especially at opening. The growth in the area is astounding and will be keeping ahead of that demand.

• The addition of night skiing and having what I’m told will be a 2:00 lift ride

• Everett’s 8800 restaurant will get a boost for dinner traffic with the novelty of the short heated ride with both uphill and downloading capabilities.

• lastly because they can !
Boyne is on a mission to make Big Sky a true year round destination resort.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RJS

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
Wonder if they will do the magic carpet rollup of the skiers to load. That still feels so awkward.

Based on what I've seen in Europe, in order to minimize mishaps, it's best to have individual starting gates in front of the magic carpet to make sure that everyone is lined up correctly (stripes on the carpet marking the separate lanes also help for when people try to shuffle over). If you don't have the aides ensuring that people are lined up properly, then you get more incidents when loading.
 

dbostedo

Asst. Gathermeister
Moderator
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
Posts
18,096
Location
75% Virginia, 25% Colorado
...with both uphill and downloading capabilities.

That's interesting... I take back my comment above about this not typically being used for downloading! I'm not used to on-mountain restaurants being open for dinner. Sounds cool.
 

BS Slarver

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
1,527
Location
Biggest skiing in America
^^^^ way cool :D @dbostedo after dark in BS.

Perhaps 8 / 16 / 24 of us should head up for dinner at the gathering.
Big sky also offers nightly mid mountain yurt dining including cat ride, music and toboggan runs. Highly recommended
A group of us did it last year, it was a riot racing down the hill back to the summit hotel under the starlight
0DCF420B-EF43-464A-A81D-6D0EFF352338.jpeg
 

tball

Unzipped
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,362
Location
Denver, CO
It's remarkable there is enough helicopter time available to fly all the parts up all the ski areas building new lifts across the country. It's a pretty short window between when the tower bases are ready for the parts and skiing starts in the winter. Sure seems like an extended period of weather grounding the few helicopters available could really muck things up.

Heated seats? Wow.
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
Heated seats? Wow.

That's slowly getting more and more common in Europe. To be fair, the chair is only heated up when it is on the slow cable. Once it moves back to the fast cable, it stops. So the chair only heats you up for a short time.
 

headybrew

surrender to the flow
Skier
Joined
Apr 26, 2017
Posts
156
Location
Tabernash Colorado
This is encouraging (the part about only being heated at the base) The only time I am ever cold getting on a lift is before my first run of the day; I still don't want a plexiglass bubble stopping the wind from cooling me down on the ride up though. Like Plake said "I wonder if these people are skiing or do they just happen to have a pair of skis on?"
 

jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
It's remarkable there is enough helicopter time available to fly all the parts up all the ski areas building new lifts across the country. It's a pretty short window between when the tower bases are ready for the parts and skiing starts in the winter. Sure seems like an extended period of weather grounding the few helicopters available could really muck things up.

Heated seats? Wow.

Heli time has been a big problem this summer for lift installers as many helis are also used in firefighting duties.

Copper still doesn't have its towers in....
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
This is encouraging (the part about only being heated at the base) The only time I am ever cold getting on a lift is before my first run of the day; I still don't want a plexiglass bubble stopping the wind from cooling me down on the ride up though. Like Plake said "I wonder if these people are skiing or do they just happen to have a pair of skis on?"

If it’s like European lifts, then you don’t have to pull the bubble down. You can leave it up if it’s nice out.
 

milkman

Getting on the lift
Skier
Joined
Sep 12, 2016
Posts
262
Location
Mid South and Big Sky
Heated seats do make a difference. Guests frequently comment favorably about the Powder Seeker chair with heated seats. Boyne thinks heated, covered, high speed chairs will be the standard for high traffic ski areas going forward. When it comes to chair lifts, it seems that "If we build it they will come" works.
 

BS Slarver

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
1,527
Location
Biggest skiing in America
The estimated time from loading to unloading is a 2 minute ride give or take a few seconds, anytime of day or night during normal operating hours. Not running at 2 am, definitely not 2 am. May however run slowly at 2pm and occasionally on Tuesdays
 

Kneale Brownson

Making fresh tracks forever on the other side
Instructor
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
1,863
Boyne pioneered triple and quad fixed grip chairs in Michigan and has the first USA application of a detachable six-pack there.
 

skidrew

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
May 1, 2017
Posts
643
That's slowly getting more and more common in Europe. To be fair, the chair is only heated up when it is on the slow cable. Once it moves back to the fast cable, it stops. So the chair only heats you up for a short time.

Maybe this is what you're saying, but the heater gets charged when it's on the slow cable as it enters the base, and then it stops adding heat after it goes back on the fast cable. But the heat is designed to linger at least somewhat. It's very nice on the PowderSeeker lift, at least when it's working.

Based on what I've seen in Europe, in order to minimize mishaps, it's best to have individual starting gates in front of the magic carpet to make sure that everyone is lined up correctly (stripes on the carpet marking the separate lanes also help for when people try to shuffle over). If you don't have the aides ensuring that people are lined up properly, then you get more incidents when loading.

I believe Big Sky has said it will be carpet loaded. I would assume that will mean gates as well. The previous lift had people approaching from two sides quite often, so if they do things sensibly they'll set up some sort of left side approach and right side approach and avoid people crossing over.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top