Mad River Glen Ski Area in Fayston, Vt., is New England’s iconic symbol of pure skiing. And the Mad River Glen single chairlift, the last operating single chairlift in the continental U.S. (Mt. Eyak Ski Area, Alaska, at times operates a modified single of the same vintage), is one of its signature features. So it’s no big surprise that this area decided to rejuvenate and rebuild its existing single chairlift rather than replace it with a new fixed grip quad or, Heaven forbid, a detachable chairlift.


Mad River Glen History
This is certainly an historic lift. Mad River became a ski area in March 1946 when founder Roland Palmedo discovered General Stark Mountain, the third highest mountain in Vermont, located south of Mt. Mansfield (and Stowe). Palmedo, a Wall Street investment banker, had been involved with the development of Mt. Mansfield, but felt it had become too crowded.

In late 1946, Palmedo negotiated with American Steel and Wire, a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, to build a 6,000-foot-long single chairlift with a vertical drop of almost 2,000 feet, and with an ultimate capacity of 400 pph (huge for the day)—double chairs were yet to be invented. American Steel and Wire had built 14 other singles starting in the late 1930s and was the premier lift manufacturer in North America, and indeed the world—Europe was still building surface lifts.

Mad River Glen’s lift was specified to be a bottom drive, top tension lift powered by utility electrical power. In early 1947, though, a large diesel became available from one of the single chairlifts at Mt. Mansfield, and it became the power source. However, this diesel could only drive an initial capacity of 200 pph.

Mechanical torque was provided through a small right angle gear reducer, in conjunction with a large ring and pinion system (requiring much greasing and concern of fire through the years) located in the below-ground concrete drive vault. The 10-foot drive bullwheel was cast iron, and its long vertical drive shaft was mounted top and bottom on large bronze bushings—no spherical bearings. The top tension terminal was a huge 35-foot vertical structure incorporating the counterweight tension system and a 30-foot-long runway supporting the tension carriage.

The lift had 22 support towers and a midstation approximately two thirds the distance up the mountain. Tower sheave trains consisted of multiples of two-sheave units, each with its own fixed main pivot shaft; articulated multiple sheave trains were unheard of. A few towers had up to 12 sheaves, requiring six two-sheave units and pivot shafts on both uphill and downhill sides.

Each of the lift’s 69 single chairs sported a swing-away restraining bar and footrest. The haul rope grips consisted of rubber sleeve-type grips attached to the haul rope with a special electrically-heated vulcanizer tool.

The original contract did not provide for American Steel and Wire to install the lift, only the possibility of providing a tramway erecting engineer for an exorbitant fee of $25 per day. On March 10, 1947, the contract was signed. The price of the equipment for the new single chairlift was around $75,000, a big number in 1947, and this figure did not include the Mt. Mansfield diesel nor the installation work (eventually contracted separately from American Steel). The lift was to be operable for the 1947/48 season.

But in 1947, just two years after the conclusion of World War II, steel mills, foundries, machining companies, etc., were just getting production back into gear. A national coal strike was also in progress. Numerous letters between Roland Palmedo and engineers at American Steel detailed delays in fabrication, shipping, etc. (some things never change).

There were other obstacles. A construction tramway was built to install the towers, but progress remained slow. The ironworkers of the day did not like working on the mountain with access by the tramway (many of them were afraid of heights), and they threatened several times to strike. Construction slowly crawled through the fall, toward the promised completion date of December 20, 1947.

But late in November, two feet of snow fell and all work stopped. It wasn’t until mid-December 1948 that the lift officially opened. The ceremony took place even though there was no snow. Finally, in January, the lift began to carry skiers. The total price for equipment and installation came to $125,000 to $150,000, approximately $1.2 million to $1.5 million in today’s dollars.


The Operating Years
From 1949 to 2007, the lift operated with relative success. It was updated several times due mainly to code issues. Among the upgrades: a tower derail safety circuit (the original lift had no electrical circuit whatsoever); and service and bullwheel rollback brakes (the original lift had only a bullwheel emergency band brake), along with other safety devices.

However, for its entire life, the lift did not have haul rope catchers on the tower sheave trains (the depress sheaves did have extended flanges to theoretically retain the rope). Adequate bullwheel retention did not exist at either terminal. Tower ski clearances were not per any code. But with its successful operating history, the lift was placed under the grandfathering statues of Vermont and ANSI codes.

There were, however, some scary incidents through the years. In severe winds, the single chairs often became entangled in the open lattice towers. This would derope the lift and, at times, cause a lot of damage by twisting the crossarm and tower structures. The top tension terminal once was literally pulled over when, during an unexpected cold snap, the haul rope severely contracted. The top bullwheel main shaft fatigued three times over the lift’s life, including once just three days before Christmas in 2003.

In the spring of 2004, the directors of Mad River Glen decided the 60-year-old girl was ready for retirement. Bids were solicited for a new fixed double and/or quad lift. But replacement prices were high, and then the old Mad River Glen philosophies entered the picture. Why not rebuild the lift as a single chair, the thinking was, to maintain the flavor and heritage of the ski area?


The Rebuild of the Single Chairlift
Jamey Wimble, president of Mad River Glen, was charged with investigating the feasibility of a rebuild. Various preservation societies were solicited for grants. Doppelmayr CTEC studied the costs of doing the rebuild work rather than installing a new lift. We were a bit skeptical, to say the least.

In August 2004, we looked at code issues, age of components, and the overall safety and condition of the lift. This analysis was a fun project in itself; plus, I had worked on the lift in the late 1960s with American Bridge, one of the successor companies of American Steel and Wire, and I developed a great bond and respect for the old lady.

As you might imagine, most parts were ready for replacement. Chairs contained many fatigue cracks, and other broken components. The original type sleeve grips were costly and time-consuming to maintain. The diesel drive, along with terminal structure and machinery, were worn out, especially the ring and pinion set. All brakes were shot. In addition, all these components had to meet current Vermont and ANSI codes. That also meant replacing the tower sheave trains since there were no rope catchers. Replacement parts, especially sheave liners, were almost nonexistent.

All tower foundations had developed cracks over the years due to freeze/thaw activity, and they all needed replacement. The top return bullwheel previously had shaft problems, and both bullwheels were questionable, since they were made of cast iron—although no problems had been seen over the many years.

But some components appeared salvageable. These included the steel lattice tower structures, which were constructed of angle iron riveted at the connections. The top tension terminal framework, also riveted together, appeared structurally sound. Some of this structure had been replaced when the entire terminal was pulled over. The concrete drive vault, though, appeared sound, and it was hoped to reuse it.

Unfortunately, all of the steel structure, even the inside of the vault, was painted years ago with lead paint. We would have to deal with that, and in a very environmentally-sensitive state.

But we concluded the lift could be rebuilt, using both old and new components, brought up to current codes, while maintaining the esthetics and character of the original lift, and made safely serviceable for another 50 years.

The directors of Mad River Glen reviewed the study, along with the estimated $1.5 million cost, and in winter 2005/2006 gave the go-ahead. The contract was signed, and the last day of operation of the original lift was April 15, 2007.

The new/old lift has new sheave trains, but still uses multiple two-sheave main pivot shafts. We found that our old CTEC spoke sheave would work for the required loads and sheave train spacing, and they matched the character of the original sheave. Obviously, the new sheave trains have rope catchers as well as a modern derail safety circuit system.

Exact replica single chairs were manufactured, but with new standard external grips and original-type swing-away footrests and restraining bars. This was the one detail that required a variance, since these are not exactly restrained from forward pressure as required by ANSI.

During the fall of 2006, and winter of 2007, Doppelmayr CTEC performed the new engineering adaptation and manufactured new components. We fabricated new steel bullwheels and a new complete lattice steel frame drive terminal, but built of structural angle iron to maintain the original character, and installed modern brake systems.

Demolition of the existing lift commenced in April of 2007, and the new construction was started thereafter. New foundations were poured over the summer, and in late fall, the new refurbished, sandblasted, and repainted towers with new sheave trains were flown back into place on the mountain. The new drive terminal includes a state-of-the-art computer control system and DC-SCR drive, housed in the vault room to keep it from view. The drive terminal and renovation of the top terminal were completed in October. We replaced the haul rope and counterweight rope (the original counterweight sheaves and reeving system were reused and refurbished, as they were in excellent condition). Thus the lift meets all Vermont and ANSI code requirements except for the restraining bar.

What a sight it was to see when the new chairs were hung, completing the installation! Mad River held the Grand Opening December 15, with appearances by Miss Vermont 2007 and Miss Vermont 1948—who also attended the original single chair’s Grand Opening.

And so the new single chairlift at Mad River has commenced its new life and, fortune willing, will operate as long as its predecessor.

Recognition for this undertaking goes to:

• the directors and officers of Mad River Glen Cooperative,

• Preservation Trust of Vermont,

• The Stark Mountain Foundation,

• Mad River’s Jamey Wimble and Eric Friedman,

• Vt. Tramway Inspector, Al Barber,

• Doppelmayr CTEC, Inc.,

• onsite construction manager Tim Niku,

• the hundreds of skiers and friends of Mad River Glen,

all of whom contributed time and money and made this project possible.