Lifts 1992

The West, with a three-year high of 20 new lifts, accounted for 56 percent of all new lifts in North America and was the only bright spot. Their new VTFH of 47,954.8, also a three-year high, is in the ballpark with its five-year average of 49,915.

The Midwest, with three new lifts, was actually about even with its five-year average of new VTFH, even though it was down from six lifts in 1991.

It was in the East, however, that the bottom fell out: the six-lift total, all chairs, was by far the lowest on record, as was the total new VTFH of 9,129, which was 40 percent below its five-year average. Much the same could be said for Canada, with its new VTFH down 45 percent from its five-year average.

Obviously, the economy is the biggest villain, although the ever-more frustrating permitting process has kept quite a few planned installations from seeing the light of day.

Looking at the lifts that went built, there was nothing shabby about them. An impressive 41 percent of all chairlifts are detachable, and an even more impressive 79 percent are quads or larger. Yes, the U.S. got its first six-passenger chair—a Doppelmayr at Boyne Mt., Mich.

There was only one gondola recorded and that was one section of what will be a three-section gondola by CTEC at Telluride, Colo. We have listed Von Roll’s tram at Alyeska, though it is not included in this year’s totals because it will not be used for skier passengers until next season. For this season it is being used as a freight and work tram, but for next season it will be used—and listed here—as a 60-passenger double reversible.

Table I: New Ski Areas and Lifts by Region

Region	New Areas	New VTFH	Surface	Chair	Gondola	Total
East	—	9,192.0	—	6	—	6
Midwest	—	3,083.7	—	3	—	3
West	1	47,954.8	1	18	1	20
Canada	—	16,419.8	—	7	—	7
Totals	1	76,587.3	1	34	1	36

Table II: Lift Comparison with Preceding Years

Region	’92	’91	’90	’89	’88	’87	’86	’85	’84	’83	’82	’81	’80	’79
East	6	10	8	19	31	39	33	23	36	29	20	18	11	14
Midwest	3	6	4	4	9	10	8	7	11	5	10	9	6	18
West	20	14	18	28	26	22	25	45	31	36	39	43	40	39
Canada	7	18	25	27	37	31	26	32	11	9	8	14	27	25
Totals	36	48	55	78	103	102	92	107	89	79	77	84	84	96

Table III: VTFH Comparison with Preceding Years

Region	1992	1991	1990	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985	1984
East	9,129.0	19,775.5	14,823.1	21,702.3	46,667.3	57,249.5	43,370.3	27,724.0	42,223.5
Midwest	3,083.7	3,622.8	2,779.8	2,570.0	3,796.3	5,283.8	4,307.6	2,876.1	3,260.6
West	47,954.8	31,423.0	45,453.8	72,107.2	52,635.3	34,651.3	73,797.2	82,757.2	50,308.7
Canada	16,419.8	33,821.1	30,760.5	50,238.2	53,136.1	52,481.8	27,050.1	37,045.1	13,616.3
Totals	76,587.3	88,642.4	93,817.2	146,617.7	158,235.0	149,066.4	148,588.2	150,402.4	112,409.1

Table IV: New Lifts by Manufacturer

Manufacturer	Surface	Chair	Gondola	Total Lifts	Total VTFH
B.M. Lifts	—	3	—	3	1,566.6
CTEC	—	11	1	12	15,836.6
Doppelmayr	—	9	—	9	29,370.0
Lift Engineering	1	2	—	3	5,106.2
Poma	—	6	—	6	20,263.1
Riblet	—	3	—	3	4,444.8
Totals	1	34	1	36	76,587.3

Another singular installation is the Yan tow (see page 51). Is it a tow or is it a lift? That’s just what the Utah tramway authorities wanted to know as they looked for appropriate regulations to inspect it under.

We counted 20 installations in the wire rope tow (handle tow) and disc-seat poles category, evenly divided between the U.S. and Canada. They were sold by five companies: B.M. Lifts, CTEC, Mueller, O’Connor and Schippers. That total is up from 15 last year. A trend?

As usual, a lot of the exciting stuff that’s done to give the skiing public ever-better facilities involves relocations and re-engineerings of old lifts or components of them. (See sidebar.)

What about the future? There are several big new lifts already on the books; there are clear signs of an economic recovery; there were good early snows in much of the country; some November attendance records were broken, including Colorado’s. With this sort of thing happening, can lift orders be far behind?

New Lifts by Location

Location	Type	Manufacturer	Installed HP	Lgth.	Vert.	Cap.	Spd.
EAST
MAINE
Sunday River	4C-Det.	Poma	300	3074	505	2750	800
N. CAROLINA
Appalachian Ski Mtn.	2C	Doppelmayr	75	1196	263	1200	340
NEW YORK
Holiday Valley	4C	CTEC	200	2040	463	2400	400
Holimont Ski Club	4C	CTEC	200	2465	565	2100	425
VERMONT
Okemo	4C-Det.	Poma	800	6430	1673	2900	1100
W. VIRGINIA
Winterplace	3C	CTEC	50	1090	172	1600	450
MIDWEST
MICHIGAN
Boyne Mountain	6C-Det.	Doppelmayr	400	1941	438	3600	1000
Caberfae	4C	CTEC	125	1720	419	2130	400
MINNESOTA
Powder Ridge	4C	Riblet	100	1414	256	2400	375
WEST
ALASKA
Alyeska	4C	Poma	400	4498	1364	2100	500
Alyeska**	Tram (60)	Von Roll	700	4699	2028	800	2000
CALIFORNIA
Boreal	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr	300	2525	532	2800	886
Heavenly Valley	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr	700	4585	1418	2400	1000
Sierra Ski Ranch	4C-Det.	Lift Engineering	650	5065	1415	2400	900
Snow Summit	4C	CTEC	500	5465	1185	2400	500
Sugar Bowl	4C	CTEC	150	1260	242	2400	500
COLORADO
Crested Butte	4C-Det.	Poma	800	7800	2058	2400	1100
Steamboat	4C-Det.*	Doppelmayr	900	6885	2159	2400	1000
Steamboat	4C-Det.*	Doppelmayr	900	5418	1936	2800	1000
Telluride	Gondola (8)	CTEC	300	4115	1010	1200	1000
IDAHO
Sun Valley	4C-Det.	Lift Engineering	400	2976	619	2400	900
MONTANA
The Big Mountain	4C	CTEC	75	1535	240	1800	450
NEW MEXICO
Taos	4C	Poma	400	4436	1230	2400	500
OREGON
Timberline	4C-Det.	Poma	600	5472	1089	3000	1100
Willamette Pass	3C	Riblet	250	3282	870	1800	450
UTAH
Alta	Yan tow	Lift Engineering	75	2482	108	2080	833
Brighton	4C-Det.	CTEC	700	6620	1730	2400	1000
Brighton	3C	CTEC	30	851	138	1200	400
Winter Sports Park***	2C	CTEC	30	1003	380	300	450
WASHINGTON
Mt. Baker	4C	Riblet	400	4409	1258	1800	450
CANADA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Blackcomb Mtn.	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr	840	6175	1964	2500	1000
Mt. Washington	4C	CTEC	500	4280	1292	2222	500
ONTARIO
Mount St. Louis	3C	B.M. Lifts	60	1240	165	1800	370
Oshawa Ski Club	4C	B.M. Lifts	100	1525	264	2400	450
Sir Sam’s	4C	B.M. Lifts	100	1248	265	2400	450
QUEBEC
Le Massif	2C	Doppelmayr	150	2762	856	1200	500
Le Massif	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr	1000	8390	2159	2800	1000

On “newness” in lifts

A number of “new” lifts going in each winter—more than usual this year—are not listed here because to us they are not new.

A case in point: Killington’s Canyon quad. Poma used a new return bullwheel, new sheave trains and crossarms, new chairs/grips/hangers, new cable. No lift was in this location before. It is certainly perceived by the public as a “new” lift. But, the return drive, the return frame and the towers were from a Colorado installation. In SAM’s increasingly lonely, purist position, it is not a new lift—not if our industry statistics are to be consistent with how we have recorded them for the past 30 years.

It is understandable that Killington calls this a “new” lift in its promotion (though the ads referring to it as “brand new” may push matters a bit); it is understandable that Sunday River promotes its Aurora Peak triple as “new” (it’s an intra-area relocated double, re-engineered as a triple with carriers from Sun Valley—same VTFH); or that Lift Engineering’s Groove and Powder Bowl lifts at Heavenly are “new” (old alignment and relocated chairs, but with all four terminals and line machinery new). Then there is Borvig’s “new” lift at Camelback, Penna.—most everything new, but installed in two stages, four years apart.

Our industry does an excellent job of modernizing its uphill plant, and the skiing public is wonderfully served by these “new” installations. But for now, SAM is stuck with its editorial inheritance. Conversions will probably play an increasingly important role, especially with the coming technology of converting old fixed grip lifts to detachables. Perhaps SAM will give up counting and recording the truly new lifts because of irrelevance. We’ll look for signs of consensus, however, before doing so.

—D.R.