Superstar chair

[Guy in Shorts]

This is a Superstar chair thread, right?

Can we make the new Ramshead 6 pack a 2 stage so we can upload all those skiers crossing over on the current Pico Interconnect trail.

[snoloco]

Today, as well as last weekend, there were frequent break downs where the lift would stop, and it would take like 3 attempts to restart it. Why this wasn't fixed, I don't know, but it is disappointing. What's even more disappointing is Powdr/Killington's reluctance to replace it. They are on borrowed time with a 37 year old Frankenstein lift that has very high hours. If it is down for as long as Needle's was, then the entire spring season could be lost. I don't know why they insist on waiting until that happens, rather than doing a planned replacement now. It's already having serious issues now, and it's only going to get worse.

[Fluffhead]

Yeah, the idiots that run Killington should have replaced it over the winter. Zero lift stoppages at almost all other Northern Hemisphere ski resorts today.

[newpylong1]

We don't even know what the issue is other than possible service brake. We had a service brake issue and it took a month to replace and the lift was down the whole time. It's quite possible if they started to tear into it there would be no spring skiing so they are bandaiding it for now. Up until recently that lift has been one of the most reliable on the hill. If the lift has been reliable until now and is slated for a '25 replacement then that is their "planned replacement", not reasonable to expect otherwise.

[skiadikt]

We don't even know what the issue is other than possible service brake. We had a service brake issue and it took a month to replace and the lift was down the whole time. It's quite possible if they started to tear into it there would be no spring skiing so they are bandaiding it for now. Up until recently that lift has been one of the most reliable on the hill. If the lift has been reliable until now and is slated for a '25 replacement then that is their "planned replacement", not reasonable to expect otherwise.

agree. really haven't the opportunity to do anything major w the lift running daily. not sure what they can do during the 4 off days this week. suspect they'll limp through to the close then band-aid it over the summer until they begin the replacement process next spring.

as far as "frequent break downs", was out bell-to-bell friday and yesterday afternoon and over the course of my 36 lift rides had exactly one 4 min. stoppage. maybe they were happening but must have been when i was skiing, hiking to the canyon or tailgating but had zero impact on my ski days. last sunday was different when they closed early.

[snoloco]

Who knows if they'll even do the replacement in 2025. It's not like their track record is any good. At the earliest, the lift will be 38 years old when it is retired. This is uncharted territory for detachables, and they are seriously playing with fire attempting to push it as far as they already have. Losing an entire spring season is what's at stake, and they just don't seem to care.

[GSKI]

The SS chair was very much completely replaced in 1997 and converted froma a Yan to a Poma design. The towers might be from 1987 but most of the rest was replced by Poma and upgraded thoughout the intervening years. That is how it earned the "frankenlift" designation.

SUPERSTAR (YAN/POMA) - The superstar quad was built by Yan in 1987. It was later modified by Poma in 1997 with
new grips, sheaves and line equiptment. It was modified by Poma again in 2004 with new chairs.

http://www.chairlift.org/killington.html

There was a good reason it was retrofitted! We rode that dangerous lift design that killed people for 10 years. Bad grip design.

https://liftblog.com/2016/03/15/yan-hig ... ars-later/

"The coroner’s investigation revealed Yan’s design failed to maintain the required 15-degree lateral swing clearance over towers, causing damage to grips over time."
"Yan type-7 grips used at Schweitzer/Sierra and type-11 grips on Quicksilver utilized rubber “marshmallow” springs manufactured by Firestone rather than the helical, metal springs that are industry standard. Rubber proved susceptible to changing temperatures in mountain environments. Both grips relied on gravity such that grip force would be reduced when the line would bounce. Les Okreglak, a former Yan engineer, formed a company called Pol-X-West to develop a replacement grip using four coil springs compatible with Yan terminal equipment. Pol-X-West replaced grips on four lifts at Lake Louise and Silver Star in time for the 1996-1997 ski season."

Deep dive: There is 1 Yan high speed detachable still in operation...IN IRAN! lol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yan_Lift

[spanky]

You’re Airborne Now!

[Grmmtnhkr34]

Yeah, the idiots that run Killington should have replaced it over the winter. Zero lift stoppages at almost all other Northern Hemisphere ski resorts today.

Almost all Northern hemisphere ski areas have lifts that are permanently stopped...

Also the stoppages are due to moisture in the e brake line. It is an airbrake. I was also told it was scheduled to be replaced this summer but then xmas week was weak. Hopefully next year...

[Grmmtnhkr34]

Who knows if they'll even do the replacement in 2025. It's not like their track record is any good. At the earliest, the lift will be 38 years old when it is retired. This is uncharted territory for detachables, and they are seriously playing with fire attempting to push it as far as they already have. Losing an entire spring season is what's at stake, and they just don't seem to care.

To put things in perspective, snowshed 3, and golden were also put in in 1987, I don't here anybody screaming about them... just know, now that I talked to someone that knows. Yes the stoppages are annoying but they are not catastrophic!

Let's hope when they do replace they don't put bubbles on it. Bubbles just make them super susceptible to wind!

Also remember when they put the new lift in: Bye bye spring season.

[newpylong1]

Not necessarily. They could do the other alignment that's been discussed, do a two year install, or run the spring operation somewhere else even if it doesn't mean June.

[Grmmtnhkr34]

Not necessarily. They could do the other alignment that's been discussed, do a two year install, or run the spring operation somewhere else even if it doesn't mean June.

I thought about running it elsewhere and unless you did the walkway to Northridge there aren't many good options as far as ensuring nothing you need to open doesn't have a non northerly aspect and thus maximum snow preserving potential. Even certain northern facing trails require multiple trails to get to them that would lose snow quickly. Maybe I'm missing a trail that would be perfect but I don't relish the thought of lapping NRQ in the spring.

[snoloco]

As for the alignment, I see no need to change it, other than moving the top terminal higher, and moving it back a little to make the unload bigger. They shouldn't be cutting more trees if they are required to give back acreage to do it. They had no choice with South Ridge, but it isn't necessary for Superstar.

I think Dipper is the best choice for an alternate spring trail. It seems to hold snow the best of the Canyon trails, and is easy to make a lot of snow on. Probably wouldn't make June, but could make it deep into May.

Doing a 2 year install should not be considered, because it means the lift will then be at least 39 years old by the time it is retired. Again, every year it's not replaced is taking a chance at losing the entire spring season due to a mechanical failure. I cannot stress enough that this is uncharted territory for detachable lifts. Especially ones that were built by a manufacturer that's out of business.

The Snowshed Express and Golden should also be replaced, but it isn't as pressing of a need because they don't have the hours that Superstar does, and they have redundancy. Snowshed has the double for backup, and Pico has two other lifts at the base that will get you to the upper mountain. Superstar has zero redundancy for the entire month of May. What other resort relies on one of their oldest and least reliable lifts for an entire month of the season, and repeatedly puts off replacement?

[jimmywilson69]

they run snowshed all summer for MTB. I bet it isn't that far behind SS.

[daytripper]

They have been running snowshed all summer for less than a decade. It has significantly less hours on it than supe.