New England What's up with Saddleback - 2019 ?

[Tony S]

If they open I'll come up and ski at least one weekend. Promise.

Thanks. Not sure I'm gonna do it if all they open is the t-bar, as threatened. But the next year, for sure.

 

[mdf]

Thanks. Not sure I'm gonna do it if all they open is the t-bar, as threatened. But the next year, for sure.

Well, as we math majors used to say in college, "for some values of 'open'".

 

[Crank]

Certainly hope it happens. Skied a few days at Saddleback about a decade ago and really enjoyed it.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Are the chairlifts inoperable? I never understood the urgency of replacing the lift.

 

[EricG]

Are the chairlifts inoperable? I never understood the urgency of replacing the lift.

I wonder if it’s just the time to get them running and all the required maintained inspections of an aerial lift versus surface lift? Surface lift being quicker/easier?

 

[KevinF]

Are the chairlifts inoperable? I never understood the urgency of replacing the lift.

A little WD-40 and I bet the lifts would be spinning like new!

 

[Tony S]

Are the chairlifts inoperable? I never understood the urgency of replacing the lift.

Lot of fog around that. The waters were so muddied by the Berrys' maneuvering back in 2015 that we may never know. The lift is very old and very slow. After years of disuse now, putting it back into commission would be a project, I'm sure.

I'm guessing / hoping the new owners will not bother with the old lift for next year and just put in something decent. They will want to start out making a good impression on customers, and that lift was not making the grade in that department.

For this year I'm sure the obstacle would be getting all the human and mechanical gears turning on time, like EricG said.

 

[sparty]

A little WD-40 and I bet the lifts would be spinning like new!

Remind me never to ride a lift you're in charge of.

Everyone knows that WD-40 is a solvent, and after sitting this long, PB Blaster will clearly be required.

More seriously, if that double is a Mueller lift as Wikipedia says (I haven't been there recently enough to recall), the manufacturer having been out of business for over a quarter-century has got to have an effect on the ability to get parts and engineering support for the lift. I'm sure there are other Mueller lifts still in operation, but after two years of zero maintenance, I wouldn't be surprised if replacing something that old made more economic sense than trying to rehab it. That would be even more true if it wasn't in great shape prior to the shutdown, and seeing as replacing it has been a goal for a while, I wouldn't be surprised if the maintenance directive had been "make it work" rather than "make it right" for some time.

 

[Lift Blog]

More seriously, if that double is a Mueller lift as Wikipedia says (I haven't been there recently enough to recall), the manufacturer having been out of business for over a quarter-century has got to have an effect on the ability to get parts and engineering support for the lift. I'm sure there are other Mueller lifts still in operation, but after two years of zero maintenance, I wouldn't be surprised if replacing something that old made more economic sense than trying to rehab it. That would be even more true if it wasn't in great shape prior to the shutdown, and seeing as replacing it has been a goal for a while, I wouldn't be surprised if the maintenance directive had been "make it work" rather than "make it right" for some time.

The towers and chairs are Mueller but both terminals are Doppelmayr CTEC. Both companies are still in business and supporting previous product families.
https://mueller-lifts.com/
http://service.doppelmayr.com/

 

[James]

The towers and chairs are Mueller but both terminals are Doppelmayr CTEC. Both companies are still in business and supporting previous product families.
https://mueller-lifts.com/
http://service.doppelmayr.com/

I noticed one of tbe fixed triples at Okemo is having tbe cable replaced this year. All the chairs are off and there's a spool there. What's the general time for that msintenance, 20yrs?

 

[Lift Blog]

I noticed one of tbe fixed triples at Okemo is having tbe cable replaced this year. All the chairs are off and there's a spool there. What's the general time for that msintenance, 20yrs?

Around that but it depends on a lot of factors. The Jackson Hole tram is getting a new haul rope this fall after 11 years. The Bridger Gondola is twice as old but still on its original one.

 

[sparty]

The towers and chairs are Mueller but both terminals are Doppelmayr CTEC. Both companies are still in business and supporting previous product families.
https://mueller-lifts.com/
http://service.doppelmayr.com/

Thanks for the correction. The wiki article says that "The company was bought out by the management in 1985 after Müller's death and went out of business in 1992.", but I figured there had to be some sort of support available.

I still suspect that it would be one hell of an effort to get that lift ready to carry customers this winter.

 

[ksampson3]

The Bridger Gondola is twice as old but still on its original one.

Bridger has a gondola? That must be news to the locals.

 

[dbostedo]

Bridger has a gondola? That must be news to the locals.

Not sure if you're joking or not.... but the Bridger Gondola is at Jackson Hole.

 

[ksampson3]

Nope. Not joking. I thought that they were talking about Bridger Bowl in Montana. Ooops.
That place definitely doesn't have a gondy.

 

[James]

So if they actually are going to open...
We'll have to have the New England gathering there. Cause who knows, next year they may close again.
Maybe we should camp out in the Navy survival training area down the road.
@KevinF ?

 

[KevinF]

So if they actually are going to open...
We'll have to have the New England gathering there. Cause who knows, next year they may close again.
Maybe we should camp out in the Navy survival training area down the road.
@KevinF ?

If Saddleback truly gets back-in-business I would love to have the NEG there again. This coming season seems like their situation will be a little tenuous though.

 

[LiquidFeet]

There was a meeting Thursday Aug 22 between the prospective buyers and the community. Anyone here go? Facebook reports 89 people attending. On facebook the meeting was described this way:


"You may be aware that Arctaris Impact Fund has been negotiating to purchase Saddleback Ski Area. You are invited to attend a meeting with two of Arctaris' principals, Jonathan Tower and Uche Osuji, and its local representatives, Andy Shepard and Tom Federle.

"The purpose of this session is for them to give a summary of their plans for the mountain, to listen to the community's input, and to address any questions or concerns we may have.

"Please keep your comments and thoughts postive."

 

[James]

If Saddleback truly gets back-in-business I would love to have the NEG there again. This coming season seems like their situation will be a little tenuous though.

By Sunday, "tenuous" is the NEG's middle name.

 

[x10003q]

I remember reading that the Cupsuptic T-bar had a frost heave problem at the drive terminal during the 2015 season and the way they jury rigged it to get to the end of the year meant it probably needs to be replaced. The Berry's claimed the lack of a Rangeley double replacement was the reason they shut down the mountain. SB needs at least the Cupsuptic t-bar or the Rangeley double operating in order to get to the upper mountain.