I believe Downdraft holds snow better than Double Dip.snoloco wrote: ↑May 6th, '24, 07:14 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?
Better exposure [NE] as well as narrower so less wind.