I take it all back

[skiadikt]

MRG and Sugarbush replaced old aging lifts with newer lifts that had the same capacity. This was done on purpose to keep capacity down and keep the trails natural and uncrowded.

many of us have been saying that for years about the replacement of the snowdon quad.

As for Devil's Fiddle, why should anyone even care about that old hunk of rusty metal and chipping paint disguised as a ski lift. It was the most pointless lift ever installed and it's like they just said "hey, let's put a lift here" and put one in. You could only ski the seldom open (or skiable) Devil's Fiddle from it and the Bear Cub runout. They never ran it and it was a drain on maintenance funds with no benefit.

granted it wasn't easily accessible from every trail but there actually was a time when it was quite useful. during the mid/late 80's the bear quad could have huge lines so it certainly was useful as an overflow lift. also it provided a way for those using northeast passage as an entry point or just skiing the area to access bear or the rest of the mtn. it was certainly one of pres' excesses but at the time to him k was all about superlatives.

[Big Bob]

Wasn't it also a lift to tie in to the Parkers Gore expansion which never happened?

[steamboat1]

K's starting to sound like Sanford & Son.

Maybe they could use the old Valley House double at Sugarbush in South Ridge when Sugarbush replaces it with a new quad.

[RENO]

So basically nothing changed?! Most of this is like regular summer maintenance at most ski areas...

Replacing old lifts with new lifts is regular summer maintenance at most areas? That's news to me. I'd imagine replacing old lifts with new lifts every summer could get quite expensive.

You're right though that basically nothing changed but this was done on purpose at both MRG & Castlerock. Still doesn't take away the fact that they are new lifts.

Stratton is replacing the old gondola cars with new gondola cars this summer. Does this change anything? Stowe is refurbishing their gondola cars this summer also. Does this change anything? Would you consider this normal summer maintenance?

At least MRG & Sugarbush replaced the old lifts they took out with new lifts. This is more than I can say for K (South Ridge, Devils Fiddle).

None of this is UPGRADING. It's all maintenance. Replacing chairs and gondola cars is maintenance. Replacing a single chair with something that has the same capacity and speed is technically just maintenance. If you take the single out and replace it with something faster or a double lift then that's an upgrade. I love Sugarbush, but they need some serious maintenance or upgrade on their lifts. A lot of problems this season with their lifts. Win even had to apologize and explain the mess to pissed off customers several times.

[Mister Moose]

I love Sugarbush, but they need some serious maintenance or upgrade on their lifts. A lot of problems this season with their lifts. Win even had to apologize and explain the mess to pissed off customers several times.

I think Sugarbush has too much infrastructure for their skier visits. The Slidebrook Express will never pay for itself. I counted 15 lifts at Sugarbush for about 300,000 skier visits. Killington has 18 lifts for 800,000 skier visits. Sugarbush 5 lifts per 100,000 vs Killington 2.25 lifts per 100,000 visits. That's a big difference. Les Otten's money from heaven mega upgrade was nice, but now they have to maintain it. (not counting magic carpets)

[rogman]

Replacing a single chair with something that has the same capacity and speed is technically just maintenance.

No. You may see replacing an old chair with an equivalent new chair as maintenance, but an accountant (and the IRS) wouldn't. Maintenance and capital equipment are depreciated differently.

[snoloco]

I love Sugarbush, but they need some serious maintenance or upgrade on their lifts. A lot of problems this season with their lifts. Win even had to apologize and explain the mess to pissed off customers several times.

I think Sugarbush has too much infrastructure for their skier visits. The Slidebrook Express will never pay for itself. I counted 15 lifts at Sugarbush for about 300,000 skier visits. Killington has 18 lifts for 800,000 skier visits. Sugarbush 5 lifts per 100,000 vs Killington 2.25 lifts per 100,000 visits. That's a big difference. Les Otten's money from heaven mega upgrade was nice, but now they have to maintain it. (not counting magic carpets)

Slidebrook looks like an expensive investment for little benefit. It only runs Fri-Sun and isn't heavily traveled. Both sides of the mountain have ample terrain for an entire ski day, so who is going to spend 30 minutes sitting on a lift transferring between mountains when one mountain is perfectly good for a day. This lift was installed when ASC was in control and they never thought any of their plans out well. They should have either expanded trails into the entire valley, or waited till they had the money to build them. They also removed the perfectly good Green Mountain Express and relocated it to become the North Ridge Express. It was replace with a fixed grip that only went 1/3rd of the way up. That made it take 3 lifts to reach the Mt. Ellen Summit. One of the first things that the group of investors that bought Sugarbush did when they took over was to get a new HSQ to replace the fixed grip and restore the original lift arrangement.