Gilman’s “postless posts”
Gilman Corporation’s risk management line now offers posts to attach netting, fencing and signs that need no padding, since they themselves are made of the same sort of padding that would be used to pad the wood posts or metal pipes usually used. The “postless posts” come in a variety of colors, and in heights ranging from 6′ to 12′.
For more information, contact Richard Gilman or Charlotte Geer at (203) 887-7080, or toll-free outside of Connecticut at (800) 622-3626.
Seven-pocket vest
Available from Ski Area Suppliers is a seven-pocket vest (one in hiding on the backside) for use by ski area maintenance personnel and patrollers. The slanted pocket is extra deep to hold a radio. The vest is made of waterproof materials with a full mesh lining for ventilation.
For more information, contact Ski Area Supplies, P.O. Box 18084, Boulder, Colo. or call (800) 727-1980.
Lightweight fencing
From Tenax comes Saf-T-Sno, the latest in lightweight, economical fence in their “Sno & Ski” line. It can be used to collect snow and control drifting, as well as for skier traffic control.
Available in safety orange or black, the product comes in four-foot height and in lengths of 50 and 100 feet. The plastic material is light, strong and U.V. resistant, and may be installed using the new fiberglass posts also offered by Tenax.
Tenax also supplies a plastic ski surface for high-use areas. It is called “Skirun.”
For more information, contact Amy Trypus, Tenax Corp., 8291 Patuxent Range Rd., Jessup, Md. 20794.
Control manifold
Yellowstone Track Systems provides a minifold designed to provide remote pressure and directional control from within the cab of any vehicle using a hydraulic pump, independently of the vehicle’s existing circuits. Down pressure is infinitely variable from 100 to 1,000 psi. Some of the present uses include XC tracksetting and compactor wing circuits.
For more information, contact Yellowstone Track Systems, P.O. Box 29, West Yellowstone, Mont. 59758, or call (406) 646—7603.
Tyromont rescue products
Reliable Racing Supply offers a full line of Tyromont rescue products including the Canadier sled show, which has a built-in breaking device. A chain is also standard. The all-aluminum construction, according to Reliable, “practically eliminates the costly repairs associated with plastic sleds.”
Also available from Reliable are 2-person Akja sleds, Vario mountain stretchers and other rescue products.
For more information and a free brochure, contact Reliable Racing Supply, 620 Glen Street, Queensbury, N.Y. 12804, or call (800) 223-4448.
New from FallLine
Among the many new entries in the extensive FallLine products (lots of loading and unloading and other area signage), is one called Snopack Combo Bar — a tiller/compactor combination. The unit allows a groomer to change his tiller into a compactor bar by just clipping the Combo Bar onto the existing tiller. Taking only five minutes to do makes it a time-saver and productivity enhancer.
Also from FallLine is boundary marking webbing tape in both two- and four-inch widths, customized with your own message repeated every ten feet. Typically this might be “Danger,” “Closed,” “Caution” or the like on the high-visibility, bright orange tape. It comes in 200-ft. rolls.
To its extensive line of groomer tires, FallLine has added three new tires with 10-ply rib design. These are the 6.10/145 X 13, the 630 X 14 and the 630 X 15. These respectively fit the older Prinoth T-4’s, the Pisten Bully 240 and Pisten Bully 270. The existing 630 X 14 and the 450/530 X 12 sizes fit a number of Prinoth, LMC, Pisten Bully and Bombardier models.
Bungee
Tom Woodward and Stan Checketts formed Air Boingo inJuly 1991 to establish bungee-jumping amusement centers, both franchised and company owned. The Park City based organization now offers a package that includes a 75-ft. muti-pllatform tower; air cushion, safety foam and color-coded bungee cords.
Air Boingo currently offers two towers: T-Tower, a 2-platform unit that accommodates up to 55 bungee jumpers per hour. Cost is $189,700. Also the Quad, which accommodates 110 jumps per hour from four platforms. Its cost is $232,500. Air Boingo typically charges $20 per jump.
Below each platform is a 10-ft. air fan-inflated safety cushion which, according to Air Boingo, “can safely land a person jumping from a 20-story building.” The bungee cords themselves are built to handle 8,000 lbs. of force — more than 10 times that exerted by a 200-lb. man jumping from a 75-ft. tower.
For more information on investment opportunities, including franchises, contact Cathy Slusher at (801) 649-1234.
Tucker transportation
Tucker Sno-Cat offers its model 1643RE as a snow country personnel/cargo carrier seating up to eight passengers. The rear compartment has two quick-release bench seats which, when removed, provide 113 cu. ft. of covered cargo space. The vehicle is available with gas or diesel engines, blades and many other options.
For more information, write Tucker Sno-Cat Corp., Medford, Ore. 97501.
Artificial ski surface
Ski Mat is a new artificial ski surface, originally developed over an 18-year period in eastern Europe, and now available from H-Ski Corporation in Oregon.
Made of a durable plastic that is specially formulated to resist U.V. breakdown, Ski Mat is designed for use in high traffic areas, such as mazes and lift loading areas, and has successfully been used as a teaching ski surface for summer use.
Ski Mat comes in white or green squares, 1 1/2” X 6 1/2” X 13, that are manually self-attaching.
For more information, write H Ski Products, 1313 W. Burnside, Suite 102, Portland, Ore. 97209, or call (503) 658-4385.
Ticketing/control system
Ski-Key is a new ticketing and access control system based on a wrist-worn electronic identification tag. Each skier has a unique tag that interfaces with a network computer data base through touch pad readers. Complete systems include computerized point of sale, equipment and access control gates for lifts.
According to First Tracks, the system allows for any number and type of ticketing options to be sold, and the network allows for additional skier services to be included as options, such as messaging, ski check, records of days, runs and vertical skied, and the possibility of open charge accounts. Managers may include rental shop, ski patrol, payroll, timeclock and other system monitors within the network.
For more information, contact First Tracks, P.O. Box 5509, Eugene, Ore. 97405.
Lenko 2000
The new Lenko 2000, an advancement over the 880 model, features an on-board computer (inset) which processes information on water and air temperatures and water pressure and automatically makes adjustments for the desired snow quality.
Other features include automatic one-button starting, and also an automatic stop, drain and alarm which are triggered if weather or some other factor prevents functional snowmaking.
For more information, contact Peter Geise, Lenko, P.O. Box 443, Winchester, Mass. 01890, or call (617) 933-7777.
Portable safety gate stand
EGVA Lift Safety has developed a new collapsible support stand for its line of safety gates. The unit can be anchored in 15 inches of snow. Being portable, it can easily be removed for grooming and then re-installed.
The new, patented “SGLS” folds to the ground on impact, thereby limiting the risk of skier injury. After the skier passes, the stand will automatically pop up to its original position. The stop gate must then be reset manually — as required by code.
For more information, contact Mark Schattner, EGVA Lift Safety, P.O. Box 24181, Jersey City, N.J. 07304, or call (908) 251-3111.
Slope protection fabric
An all-natural, woven coconut fabric from Belton Industries, sold under the trade name Geocoir/Dekowe, is a long-lasting slope stabilization fabric. Available in three weights — 400, 700 and 900 grams/sq. meter — allows grass to grow through in the summer months. It is totally biodegradable after five to six years.
For more information, contact Belton Industries, Inc., 8613 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, Ga. 30350, or call (800) 225-4099.
Maintenance engineering
MTAP, a long-time provider of computerized maintenance engineering for the ski industry, announces the ability of the “Ski-Miser” Computerized Maintenance Management System to accept inputs such as detachable carrier cycle numbers, which Ski-Miser uses to generate cycle-based carrier work orders. The portable data collectors can also input spare parts bar code information into the Ski-Miser inventory program.
Unbiased design maintenance review of new lifts and snowmaking installations are also available, as well as stand-alone manual maintenance programs that can be developed for specific high-cost components such as DC or AC motors.
For more information, contact Norm Harper, MTAP Corp., 14403 Marine Dr., Suite 100, Silver Spring, Md. 20905-5923.
Maintenance-free bearing
The Riblet Tramway Company, with help from Timken, has developed a new, factory lifetime lubricated and sealed, pre-spaced, 2-row tapered roller bearing cartridge for Riblet tower sheaves. Extensive field and shop testing has shown virtually no grease leakage. No periodic re-lubrication is required, and no clearance adjustment is required during installation, according to Riblet.
This bearing is being used on all new Riblet chairlifts, and can be factory retrofitted to earlier model Riblet tower sheaves. Contact Riblet Tramway Company, P.O. Box 3523, Spokane, Wash. 99220-3523.
Ski Key storage
Widely used in Canada, the ski and snowboard locking system features an aluminum rack (freestanding or wall mount) and also a lock, made of durable plastic, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. The lock is sold or rented to an area’s valued season pass holders or destination skiers.
Contact Ski Key USA, Ltd., 8206 Forest Grove Dr., Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 4G9, or call (604) 421-0128.
Kassbohrer’s Power Winch
Kassbohrer of North America has developed the Power Winch 2000, a two-vehicle winching system offered as an affordable grooming option for ski areas with steep terrain.
The new 15,000-lb. winch, mounted on the front of a PB 270DS, offers more pulling power than any winch the firm has previously offered. The winch has a swing arc of up to 30 degrees each side of center, making it possible to keep the load square to the winch.
The winching vehicle, stationary at the top of the slope, works in combination with a standard grooming vehicle which is modified to couple with the winch cable by either a frame yoke or the U-blade.
For more information, contact Ken Barnaby at (207) 657-3326.
