Gotta love Surface Lifts!

[Turoa Kiwi]

Afaik- On those lifts the rope tow is so long it goes over wheels, or sometimes it makes a turn. So you can hold on to the metal handle while the rope goes through the wheels. But looking at videos, the rope is often above or free of the wheels anyway, so idk.

@Turoa Kiwi could comment.

Rope tows are generally short in length and go over an area that has a dip in the land. Where as a nut cracker rope tow can go huge distances and the shape of the land doesn’t matter as the wheels are placed at a height to keep the rope about a metre off the ground. So sometimes the rope goes under a roller and sometimes it goes over the roller.
The nutcracker rope tow at Rounfhill ski area is the worlds longest. 1473 mts long going up a 26- 32 degree slope.
It’s a real test of one’s stamina.

 

[David Chaus]

Thanks for the link to @Lift Blog's article. It mentions:

"They can be operated with only one attendant using a video camera at one end."

Has anyone seen only one attendant elsewhere? I've never seen it and wondering how common it is. That would be a substantial cost savings long term.

At Sun Peaks, there's a platter at the base that serves a beginner area, including night skiing, but it's real function is to ski back to the ski-in-ski-out village. There's another platter across the road that accesses the Morrissey lift and trails. Both of these lifts use the RFID gates and an attendant to help with the platter loading at the bottom, but nobody at the top.

 

[crgildart]

When I was in 8th grade some girl from our school got her scarf wrapped around the rope tow and choked out at the top when it lifted her up after she tried to let go. She didn't die but did get hauled away in an ambulance that night.

 

[tomahawkins]

At Sun Peaks, there's a platter at the base that serves a beginner area, including night skiing, but it's real function is to ski back to the ski-in-ski-out village. There's another platter across the road that accesses the Morrissey lift and trails. Both of these lifts use the RFID gates and an attendant to help with the platter loading at the bottom, but nobody at the top.

I was bummed to learn today that the Sun Peaks T-bar on West Bowl is no more.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Thanks for the link to @Lift Blog's article. It mentions:

"They can be operated with only one attendant using a video camera at one end."

Has anyone seen only one attendant elsewhere? I've never seen it and wondering how common it is. That would be a substantial cost savings long term.

I think it’s pretty common not to have an attendant. Lifts that come to mind: sun peaks platters, maybe their t-bar, Ski Cooper t-bar (Last Chance). In fact I’ve seen a couple instances when someone (I’m not saying who) didn’t let go to the bar in time and cut the emergency shutoff line. No one was there to reconnect and restart.

It seems like if a second attendant is needed you also need someone watching the whole track and to my knowledge no area does that. Correct me if I’m wrong.

None of the New Zealand t bars that I have used have an attendant at the top. And I don't think there any video cameras either. There is no real need as 99.9% of people successfully dismount. If a safety rope at the top gets triggered the lift attendant will call in a maintenance mechanic and they'll quickly turn up on a ski doo and reset it. There is always a separate safety kill switch that the public can use at the top if necessary too.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

This type of self loading, Poma lift can also provide a few laughs
We have a small ski area in NZ called Hanmer Springs that has one, and it is regularly unattended by staff

 

[slow-line-fast]

Surface lifts are a staple on glaciers, as they don’t require so much anchoring and can be moved more easily as the glacier moves.

 

[slow-line-fast]

This type of self loading, Poma lift can also provide a few laughs
We have a small ski area in NZ called Hanmer Springs that has one, and it is regularly unattended by staff

They make it look so easy

 

[David Chaus]

I was bummed to learn today that the Sun Peaks T-bar on West Bowl is no more.

Apparently it didn’t get much use.

 

[Jilly]

This type of self loading, Poma lift can also provide a few laughs
We have a small ski area in NZ called Hanmer Springs that has one, and it is regularly unattended by staff

That's what I remember from our trip to France many moons ago. Also a platter lift that made a 90 degree right hand turn.

 

[DanishRider]

This guys injured 4 people and flees the scene - He is now arrested by the Austrian police: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-lift-wipes-skiers-leaving-four-hospital.html

 

[slowrider]

Mt.Rose had a training area with a hot walker(merry-go-round) kids loved it. Ok I liked it too.

 

[tch]

I love most surface lifts for a variety of reasons. But they can screw things up if badly managed. My daughter and I were at Powder Mountain this past Friday and the carnage at the Poma which accesses a large swath of the mountain was horrendous. The attendant was a young high-schooler and he offered no assistance whatsoever, just laughed and laughed as people got pulled sideways, over onto their heads, or simply onto their asses. People would fail two, three, even four times while the line behind got longer and longer. It was a major sh*tshow, and the liftie did absolutely nothing to ameliorate it.
Funny for the first one or two…and then not funny at all.

 

[James]

The t bar at Breck makes a turn. If you don’t think about it, and don’t try to turn, you’ll be fine. But apparently people fail on it all the time at the turn.

Sign in window: IYCRGTFO
If You Can’t Ride…
This might apply to once you fall too. Get off, don’t drag.
@Doug Briggs photo

Colorado - 2021-2022 Colorado Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

Despite the endless, heinous, wind we’re holding on to an median type year for most of the state. Forecast is for wind all next week now as tails of storms to the north continue to drag across CO. Maybe we’ll get a couple of more direct hits in May.

www.skitalk.com

 

[Tony Storaro]

The incident happened at a small resort in Austria. The police managed to find him and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident and causing bodily injury through negligence. So far 13 skiers have been killed and over 100 seriously injured on Austria’s ski pistes this season.

I can’t imagine what will happen when it starts snowing…

 

[DanishRider]

I can’t imagine what will happen when it starts snowing…

I was actually at Hintertux when one was killed, and four was seriously injured over new years, those incidents had mainly two reasons for happening (same with two deaths in Kitz):
1. Icy conditions and lack of technique, meant that they had way too much speed on the same patch of ice, and ended up falling 25 meters down on some rocks
2. Due to lack of snow, people gathered in the same places, that was way too packed with people, and they didn’t respect the rules on the slopes.
Most of the casualties this year, have actually been on piste.

In Mayrhofen I saw people skiing at high speed between kids taking lessons - There were no patrolling or enforcement of rules. It was downright scary skiing in Zillertal this year - Mostly due to people, and not snow conditions!

 

[Doug Briggs]

These are at the entrance to the maze as well as near a merge point. Still singles refuse to ride double when asked politely. No worries. We all get here eventually.

I'll shoot the other signs that say to ask for help and that 'it is not a chair, it is a t-bar. Don't sit.'

 

[Bolder]

That's what I remember from our trip to France many moons ago. Also a platter lift that made a 90 degree right hand turn.

There’s a long poma at Megeve, Lanchettes, that makes a 90 degree turn to the right. It gets really steep toward the top, too, for added degree of difficulty… www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tkd-des-lanchettes-montagner-818.html.

 

[James]

There’s a long poma at Megeve, Lanchettes, that makes a 90 degree turn to the right. It gets really steep toward the top, too, for added degree of difficulty… www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tkd-des-lanchettes-montagner-818.html.

At least it’s poles and not rope/reel.

Heh-

You know you’re in for a good time when the lift looks like 19th century mining equipment. That’s the beauty of surface lifts- it breaks, you ski away, instead of who knows what.

 

[slowrider]

Make sure you grab the "right" disk at the holding area not the one behind it. Just say'n