Skyeship Refurbishment Is Badly Needed

[newpylong1]

This ski area is getting close to some big time spend needed on lifts. Many lifts at the age or past of age of replacement. Hope they invest before an accident happens. 1-2 a year is needed for a few years to catch up

There is absolutely nothing in service that is at risk of catastrophic failure at this point. Accidents happen on new lifts as well.

[KingsFourMan]

... he says that Pres went way over the top on the Skyship with it's heated cabins and music, neither of which worked for very long, and the artwork and said that Killington didn't see much if any bump from it.

Innovation has many bumps along the way. It's real hard to be perfect. I'll take several misses over not trying at all any day.

That one seemed fairly obvious but when Pres built the original gondola and Killington east trails, I’m sure there was a massive bump. That gondola and expansion put Killington on the map with the longest ski lift in North American and a 4-mile and 5 mile trail. Pure speculation on my part, but that huge bump back then probably influenced Pres when he built the Skyship but the return on investment just didn't pan out according to Chris Diamond.

[Downdraft]

This ski area is getting close to some big time spend needed on lifts. Many lifts at the age or past of age of replacement. Hope they invest before an accident happens. 1-2 a year is needed for a few years to catch up

There is absolutely nothing in service that is at risk of catastrophic failure at this point. Accidents happen on new lifts as well.

Yeah but new sh*t doesn’t go bad to the extent as the old crap that is duct taped and zip tied together

[heiusa]

I don't understand the thought process that thinks the lifts at Killington are "too old" or "ready to fail". Any equipment, including chair lifts and gondolas can run indefinitely as long as they are maintained properly and there are spare parts available. Does anybody at MRG think the single chair is ready to fail? Pico has a much older fleet than K and nobody is complaining about the lifts at Pico. I think capacity is more of an issue than age, as long as it is a fundamentally sound lift. I think that Ramshead and Snowshed have capacity problems and should be a priority.

[daytripper]

The single at MRG is a lot newer than most of the chairs and gondola's at K.

[newpylong1]

So?

[daytripper]

He was inferring that the single chair was old.

[brownman]

MRG single had a malfunction many years ago .. prior to the Coop agreement .. when George was their main lifty. Counter weight shifted and people were ejected from open chairs. MRG learned a lesson.

That chair is very fast .. plus it handles 1/4 the load of any K lift (excluding the pona) thereby reducing wear and tear. Only runs a few days a year. Well maintained and low usage are key factors to their reliability record.

Man, we sure do miss that poma

[Big Bob]

It sounds like the biggest problem with the Skyship is worn out door mechanisms. Why not just replace these, I am sure they have lots of moving parts that are just worn out. I think the manufacture of the cabins is still in business, so parts could be made if not on the shelf.

[eagle628]

I don't understand the thought process that thinks the lifts at Killington are "too old" or "ready to fail". Any equipment, including chair lifts and gondolas can run indefinitely as long as they are maintained properly and there are spare parts available. Does anybody at MRG think the single chair is ready to fail? Pico has a much older fleet than K and nobody is complaining about the lifts at Pico. I think capacity is more of an issue than age, as long as it is a fundamentally sound lift. I think that Ramshead and Snowshed have capacity problems and should be a priority.

I largely agree with your points, but it's important to note that the important measure is hours, not so much years. Yeah Pico's fixed grip lifts might be truly ancient, but if they don't have nearly the operating days that Killington's lifts they aren't getting the same wear.

[Mister Moose]

I don't understand the thought process that thinks the lifts at Killington are "too old" or "ready to fail". Any equipment, including chair lifts and gondolas can run indefinitely as long as they are maintained properly and there are spare parts available.

And it is cost effective to do so.

I think capacity is more of an issue than age, as long as it is a fundamentally sound lift. I think that Ramshead and Snowshed have capacity problems and should be a priority.

I think we should start to consider trail pod capacity, not just lift capacity.

[Mistergiff]

Skyeship is in bad shape. Plus the old Northbrook K Gondola station they use for cabin storage looks like its ready to fall over. They really need to do an overhaul of the entire lift. It doesn't have to be as extensive as the K1 either. A few years back Stowe did a rehab of its even older 1991 Poma manufactured Gondola. New seats and plexiglass in the cabins, new paint, new door mechanisms. That's what Skyeship needs. Past time to retire the 90s artwork too. Still amazed that its older than the original lift. What a ride that old one was.

[Seacoaster]

Random responses to above comments-
-Safety, all lifts are inspected by the state to insure safe operational function.
-Age, I just got back from Copper, I rode 2 lifts that make anything we have or the single at MRG look young.
-Next replacement, Superstar is the next chair to be replaced.

[Big Bob]

The single at MRG is a lot newer than most of the chairs and gondola's at K.

Chair was refurbished, rebuilt, what ever you want to call it, but it was not replaced with a new lift, just parts. Boyne has been installing refurbished lifts at Loon last summer and this summer one at Pleasant Mt in Maine that came from Sunday River along with one at Sugarloaf that came from Big Sky.

[skiadikt]

Random responses to above comments-
-Safety, all lifts are inspected by the state to insure safe operational function.
-Age, I just got back from Copper, I rode 2 lifts that make anything we have or the single at MRG look young.
-Next replacement, Superstar is the next chair to be replaced.

superstar seems fine. rarely has mechanical issues. the pressing need in terms of upgrading skier experience is ramshead. in addition to being one of the colder lifts on the mtn, on weekends often has the longest lines next to the K1. they need a bubble 6 there.