SAM Coverage
Lifts & Ropeways
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The Clothesline Lift
The Squaw Peak Tram at Squaw Valley, Calif., was born of necessity, constructed under duress, operated in peril and retired a legend. Built under…
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Save Yourself!
Early in my ski industry career, I was working at a small western ski area when I learned a lesson in the importance of…
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Putting Sheaves in Their Place
In the spring of 1996, the lift maintenance crew at Tremblant, Que., faced a huge challenge: overhauling the sheave assemblies on all 32 towers…
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Bob Heron, Lift Pioneer
The first ski lifts Bob Heron ever rode were the trains of the Combres and Toltec Railroad in New Mexico. As teenagers, Heron and…
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The Case of the Missing Code
Oddly, there is no ANSI code for roller chain used on ski lifts or people-carriers of any type. I discovered this surprising piece of…
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Technology in the Works
I—Detachable Double for Ruthie’s at Aspen Ruthie’s is very special to generations of Aspen skiers—Ruthie’s Run, that is, and so it has been for…
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Lift-Loading Made Easy
Six seconds seemed to be the right amount of time for skiers to load onto the new high-speed, six-passenger lift that was installed at…
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DC Drives: Inspection, Cleaning, Lubrication and Overhauls
This is the third of three articles on maintaining ski lift DC drive motors. The earlier articles (in the 1996 May and September issues…
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Angling for the Solution
A fixed-grip lift, originally known as I-Lift, was conceived in 1983 and had remained on the planning boards of Breckenridge Ski Resort, Colo., ever…
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Wire Rope: Past, Present and Future
To understand where technology is going—and wire rope technology continues to advance—it is well to understand whence it has come. This article is adapted…