Big Boulder Lifts

[toast21602]

30 minutes ago, JFskiDan said:

The news that they are putting in a new (probably used) lift does surprise me a lot. Most surprising thing i have read here in a while. I dont want to see BB go to the wayside, specifically since its a prime location for another DG. 

A DG on the access road would be clutch. Right @RidgeRacer

[RidgeRacer]

51 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

A DG on the access road would be clutch. Right @RidgeRacer

Nothing says Apres Ski like a DG (rhyme intended).

[toast21602]

5 minutes ago, RidgeRacer said:

Nothing says Apres Ski like a DG (rhyme intended).

Agreed! People are talking about drinking in parking lots at Camel, Blue, and Red Roof Inns... but showing no love for a DG! This one was just built to the left of the quad peak (as you can tell by the Coming Soon trail sign)

[EdBacon]

B and C are both late 80s Borvig triples that share towers. I can't remember off the top of my head if they both run that often, but I feel like they do on weekends at least. Going to a quad would be a reduction in max uphill capacity unless the new lift is slightly faster. 

Although to be fair, equating two trips with a six-pack is sort of cocktail napkin estimation. I mean you have to factor in that every chair in each triple line doesn't get three people. Lots of chairs loading with two people, etc. So maybe managing one lift line ends up being more efficient for the lifties than two. 

[Benm]

12 hours ago, RidgeRacer said:

Nothing says Apres Ski like a DG (rhyme intended).

if you think i wouldn't tailgate in a DG lot, you dont know me.

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

Seems these new chairs are for 22/23. And bummed to realize the E & F chairs are not the ones I thought they were (East Mountain) but are actually the 2 beginner area chairs. 

 

I would have thought the A chair most needed replacing. Wasn't it out of service pretty much all last year?

Edited September 25, 2021 by Ski2Live Live2Ski

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Fixed grip chairs run at around 450-500 feet per minute so I don’t expect the new chairs to be significantly faster than the ones they are replacing.  All Vail resorts are requiring vaccine proof to eat at any of their indoor establishments.  I can foresee some drama from this. 

[JFskiDan]

15 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Fixed grip chairs run at around 450-500 feet per minute so I don’t expect the new chairs to be significantly faster than the ones they are replacing.  All Vail resorts are requiring vaccine proof to eat at any of their indoor establishments.  I can foresee some drama from this. 

sort of.  I guess the non-cafeteria style stuff is different?  Drama?  doesnt matter what they say or do, there will always be drama.  

Guests ages 12 and over will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations to dine at our
indoor, on-mountain quick-service (cafeteria-style) restaurants.

 

[JFskiDan]

vail announced they are replacing the east mountain doubles with a quad next, year with the other lift upgrades.  i think another one at Boulder as well, which still completely blows my mind.  

[saltyant]

This is grate (?) But trading 2 slow doubles for 1 slow quad doesnt seem like an improvement. I guess itll be less likely to break down since it's new? (Idk if the old lifts break down often or not)

[abe]

2 doubles have greater capacity than 1 quad due to faster line speed, closer chair spacing, reduced misloads, easier loading chairs to capacity, and maintenance redundancy.  Newer lifts would have less problems but looks like the doubles are Partek from 1999 which isn't that old?  Not sure why Vail would want to throw money at replacing those, especially with crowding issues at JFBB, out of all things they could be spending money on but I guess they get a shiny new lift show off.

Edited December 10, 2021 by abe

[antman12]

15 minutes ago, abe said:

2 doubles have greater capacity than 1 quad due to faster line speed, closer chair spacing, reduced misloads, easier loading chairs to capacity, and maintenance redundancy.  Newer lifts would have less problems but looks like the doubles are Partek from 1999 which isn't that old?  Not sure why Vail would want to throw money at replacing those, especially with crowding issues at JFBB, out of all things they could be spending money on but I guess they get a shiny new lift show off.

The new lifts will also probably be a touch faster than the current lifts. The Edelweiss triple is comically slow. 

[JFskiDan]

50 minutes ago, abe said:

2 doubles have greater capacity than 1 quad due to faster line speed, closer chair spacing, reduced misloads, easier loading chairs to capacity, and maintenance redundancy.  Newer lifts would have less problems but looks like the doubles are Partek from 1999 which isn't that old?  Not sure why Vail would want to throw money at replacing those, especially with crowding issues at JFBB, out of all things they could be spending money on but I guess they get a shiny new lift show off.

The East Mountain lifts have been problematic for years.  A few of us were actually told to jump off of that lift one time when it stopped.  

I would also wager that none of these lifts are in fact "brand new".  

33 minutes ago, antman12 said:

The new lifts will also probably be a touch faster than the current lifts. The Edelweiss triple is comically slow. 

Truth in that.  Honestly, every time i get on a lift there i wish i had brought a book.  

Edited December 10, 2021 by JFskiDan

[abe]

5 minutes ago, JFskiDan said:

The East Mountain lifts have been problematic for years.  A few of us were actually told to jump off of that lift one time when it stopped.  

I would also wager that none of these lifts are in fact "brand new".  

Truth in that.  Honestly, every time i get on a lift there i wish i had brought a book.  

 

39 minutes ago, antman12 said:

The new lifts will also probably be a touch faster than the current lifts. The Edelweiss triple is comically slow. 

Ah that makes sense then

[liplipliplip]

2 hours ago, saltyant said:

This is grate (?) But trading 2 slow doubles for 1 slow quad doesnt seem like an improvement. I guess itll be less likely to break down since it's new? (Idk if the old lifts break down often or not)

I think this improves things a lot though. In the last few years JF has typically only run 1 lift at a time for the sets of lifts that share towers. Having a quad running full time vs. a single double or triple will up capacity and help with lines for sure.

[enjoralas]

Surprised to see no new discussion of the 5 new lifts announced for JFBB for next year . . . 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Nobody cares about Jack Frost 

[RidgeRacer]

41 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Nobody cares about Jack Frost 

Stop. That's exciting news and good for skiing in our area. 

No mention of those lifts being high speed though.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

44 minutes ago, RidgeRacer said:

Stop. That's exciting news and good for skiing in our area. 

No mention of those lifts being high speed though.

I thought you were over Jack Frost.  Also it won’t affect skiing at all and the lifts are slow.  

[Schif]

1 hour ago, RidgeRacer said:

Stop. That's exciting news and good for skiing in our area. 

No mention of those lifts being high speed though.

I'm assuming they are replacing the double doubles? Nothing wrong with a fixed grip quad on a 600 and 400 vert hill. 

[RidgeRacer]

1 hour ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

I thought you were over Jack Frost.  Also it won’t affect skiing at all and the lifts are slow.  

I am but as someone who skied there and taught there for years I'm excited that it's finally becoming a reality for them. Much overdue

[saltyant]

3 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Nobody cares about Jack Frost 

Jack Frost is better than Blue during early season. They both run slow lifts, so that's a wash... but Jack Frost has more than one top-to-bottom trail open, unlike Blue where skiing a congested Midway a billion times gets monotonous.

Obviously Blue is better once they get the Valley open, but JF it is for me the first few weeks of the season.

[rgrwilco]

2 hours ago, saltyant said:

Jack Frost is better than Blue during early season. They both run slow lifts, so that's a wash... but Jack Frost has more than one top-to-bottom trail open, unlike Blue where skiing a congested Midway a billion times gets monotonous.

Obviously Blue is better once they get the Valley open, but JF it is for me the first few weeks of the season.

Is blue ever going to build a new valley lodge? I agree their early season stuff all spills onto midway. In the low light midway is often under its hard to see all the bumps that form from everyone sliding to a halt at the bottom. I would think their snowmaking should be powerful enough to open top to bottom right away.

These new lifts at JFBB are going to feel like a high speed compared to what they are replacing.

Edited March 25, 2022 by rgrwilco

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

1 minute ago, rgrwilco said:

Is blue ever going to build a new valley lodge? I agree their early season stuff all spills onto midway. In the low light midway is often under its hard to see all the bumps that form from everyone sliding to a halt at the bottom. I would think their snowmaking should be powerful enough to open top to bottom right away.

These new lifts at JFBB are going to feel like a high speed compared to what they are replacing.

I don’t see Blue ever building a new valley lodge.  It serves its purpose and is very utilitarian and there’s already a fancy lodge at the top.  It’s not about having enough snowmaking to open top to bottom, it’s that they’d need to open with two lodges instead of one which is much more labor intensive but it could be the case if the new lift from the valley to the top of Main Street actually goes in.  

[rgrwilco]

2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

I don’t see Blue ever building a new valley lodge.  It serves its purpose and is very utilitarian and there’s already a fancy lodge at the top.  It’s not about having enough snowmaking to open top to bottom, it’s that they’d need to open with two lodges instead of one which is much more labor intensive but it could be the case if the new lift from the valley to the top of Main Street actually goes in.  

The only thing i've heard about a new lift was from that guy who basically got laughed out of the thread. Has there been any talk about it?

Knowing blue and their history of opening new stuff, they will cut the lift line and clear it over the next 10 years then add the lift without announcing it. It will sit for a year then open on a powder day, then have a naming contest in the off season.