Idea #1: Hand Dryers
SAM staffer Jonathan Gourlay found this great idea when he visited Brighton Ski Area, Utah. When the Brighton Center lodge was being built in 1995, management decided to install two rows of automatic hot-air hand dryers in the hallway on the middle level. The dryers, normally found in bathrooms, were installed in lieu of coin-operated hat, glove and hand dryers, adding a healthy dose of customer-service to the resort.
A source for hand dryers is the McMaster-Carr catalogue (www.mcmaster.com) or call (630) 833-0300. A wall mounted 1/10 HP 2,300-watt unit retails for about $350.
Idea #2: Measuring Chair Swing
Without sufficient clearance between ski lift chair and tower—or some other object—a swinging chair could easily contact a tower, which in turn could result in an accident. Ross Stevens, Stevens Engineering, N.H., needed a simple way to measure chair swing clearance and found it in this clever idea.
He uses a make shift jig consisting of a plumb bob, a wire hoop, bamboo sticks and duct tape as shown in the photo. First, the base position of the wire hoop needs to be established with the aid of a hand-held inclinometer. Second, the hoop diameter is adjusted so that a 15-degree swing of the chair (the B-77 standard) in any direction will cause the plumb bob to contact the hoop. Finally, two ropes are tied to the bottom of the chair seat to pull the chair from side to side creating a swing.
Positioning the chair beside a lift tower and pulling the ropes until the chair swings into the tower is how the measurements are made. It is important to observe whether the plumb bob contacts the wire hoop before any part of the chair contacts the tower. This simple pass-fail test is a quick and easy way to check clearance.
Idea #3: Detecting Lightning
Lightning can be a big hazard for ski areas that offer summer activities such as scenic chairlift rides, alpine slides, water slides and picnics. It is especially bad when electrical storms move into an area without warning and catch people on a lift. In order to get as much advance warning as possible, while minimizing false alarms, Camelback Ski Area, Pa., has installed a detection system.
Called a Thor-Guard (www.thorguard.com)—a two-part unit—it reads and records electrostatic charges in the atmosphere, continually monitors and evaluates changes within a 15-mile radius, and issues warning of an upcoming electrical storm when warranted. The dome antenna shown here is mounted on top of Camelback’s main lodge and is part of the unit.
To make the Thor-Guard warning system as user-friendly as possible, Camelback has tied it in with their DTN (www.dtn.com/weather/) weather service. It is a complete computer monitoring system that provides Camelback with storm warning categories from “All Clear” to “Red Alert.”
