New Lift for Blue?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

3 minutes ago, saltyant said:

Transitioning to getting up at 6 am every weekend is hard. Hopefully Blue starts opening at 11 am instead on Saturdays so I can sleep in.

Well just go to bed earlier if you wanna wake up earlier shit I was a paper boy for four years.  I was already halfway done with my Root by 6am now 6am is when I get up to piss then go back to sleep or see if I got any likes on face space.  

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

2 minutes ago, antman12 said:

What changed?

I have to say that every year and then toast responds I hope it’s vista lift only and then of course I’m there opening day regardless. It’s like a PASR tradition.  

[pcklein31]

8 hours ago, JFskiDan said:

i would agree with the "if shit was onsite laying around", then its a concrete curing issue, or manpower issue.  

From a contractors point of view, im still going with they know what they are doing, and understand the timeline, etc.  Basically, im trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, i know first hand that everybody behind a keyboard knows how to handle, and complete the project better than any contractor. 

Im not sure how much "supply chain" this can be blamed on.  This project has most likely been going on behind the scenes for a year.  Im getting used to things taking longer than normal, right now i have orders for trucks and trailers that are 6-8 months out.  So, at the minimum, we knew this lift was going in 8-ish months ago, so i guess my point is, if they tore main/burma down without knowing if all their stuff was going to show up on time, then that might be a mistake on their part.  

I will say, 3 of my four facilities across the country have or are completing construction projects this year. Overall, all timelines have severely missed due dates due to supply and labor challenges.

Im still hopeful Blue's lift works out in time, but I would not put money on it.... FINGERS CROSSED.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I follow ABasin Al’s blog and Abasib is getting a new lift for this season and they finally received their wire rope.  The guy said something along the lines of it comes from Europe and took 8 trips around the Atlantic before it arrived here and the wire rope for Jackson holes new lift was said to be in New Mexico.  
 

http://arapahoebasin.blogspot.com/2022/10/wire-rope-has-arrived.html?m=1

[toast21602]

13 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

I have to say that every year and then toast responds I hope it’s vista lift only and then of course I’m there opening day regardless. It’s like a PASR tradition.  

lol this is so true.

[Larchmont]

Horseshoe is the section from the quad over past the old six pack and to the old first aid buildings - now, it's probably the loading areas for all three main lifts.

I'm disappointed we aren't seeing more new snowguns - replacing nine fan guns is fine (and it looks like a lot of the old ones went to Tubing), but Blue's basically still on the Air Hog plan unlike Camelback. If Blue didn't have like 3x the air compressor power that Camelback does they'd never get anywhere. And seriously, putting the same guns on Shuttle as on Razors Edge Headwall? I figured we would see new guns to connect to the new lift this year.

If Blue didn't lock in their lift order early they may be last in line to receive parts - and that might be pushed even later by supply chain trouble. AKA why pick one side to blame when it could be both? Anyone want a betting thread for which side of the hill opens first this year?

[mute1080]

I was told this week they are expecting the lift to be done by 12/19. Whether or not it actually happens, is a great question.

[JFskiDan]

Just now, mute1080 said:

I was told this week they are expecting the lift to be done by 12/19. Whether or not it actually happens, is a great question.

Thanks for that insider info.  

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

14 minutes ago, mute1080 said:

I was told this week they are expecting the lift to be done by 12/19. Whether or not it actually happens, is a great question.

Nice I guess Liftee Bob stoped into your store.  If that’s the case and we have a cold start I guess run the old six pack for the first few weeks. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[Benm]

1 hour ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Nice I guess Liftee Bob stoped into your store.  If that’s the case and we have a cold start I guess run the old six pack for the first few weeks. 

You know exactly what'll happen.

The lift won't be done anytime soon (let's take mutes inside info)

It'll be exceptionally cold mid nov-early Dec but for some reason, 'not cold enough' for blue to blow snow. 

Oh wow, the lift will be done next week, suddenly we can blow snow now that its legit winter anyway and have had snowmaking temps for the last four wks

"We couldn't help the weather"

Edited October 13, 2022 by Benm

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

17 minutes ago, Benm said:

You know exactly what'll happen.

The lift won't be done anytime soon (let's take mutes inside info)

It'll be exceptionally cold mid nov-early Dec but for some reason, 'not cold enough' for blue to blow snow. 

Oh wow, the lift will be done next week, suddenly we can blow snow now that its legit winter anyway and have had snowmaking temps for the last four wks

"We couldn't help the weather"

No way Blue always blows when it’s cold enough to blow.  The inversions can be a real humdinger. 

[Larchmont]

Seconded - if they don't have the lift done in time they might stay away from Main Street/Burma, which would be different, but they'll still go for it if they get temps any time from November on.

[mute1080]

A new employee confirms that 12/19 date and also says they won’t open the top lodge until the lift is done. Paradise is the goal for opening but anything to the bottom if it’s cold enough. 

Edited October 14, 2022 by mute1080

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Paradise for opening would be progressive. Operating out of the valley for opening would be radical. I’m so used to starting my season out in the summit and central gully area that skiing paradise and perhaps free fall early season would be rad.  Free fall has these really high tech snowmaking cannons that really lay out a lot of base and you know what they say, it’s all about the base. 

[JFskiDan]

8 hours ago, mute1080 said:

A new employee confirms that 12/19 date and also says they won’t open the top lodge until the lift is done. Paradise is the goal for opening but anything to the bottom if it’s cold enough. 

I was sort of wondering if this is where they may end up in this situation.  The only thing i was thinking about this scenario was they would need to have whatever trails they have snow on be accessible from both lifts, since we all know the reliability of the quad and 6 arent quite 100%.  

And @GrilledSteezeSandwich has a valid point with the snowmaking on sunny delight or whatever that trail will be called this year.  

[toast21602]

A valley only opening seems concerning to me if we are really looking for an early start to the season. I'm not in the ski mindset yet so this doesn't bother me at the moment. Check back in a few weeks. 

[antman12]

41 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

A valley only opening seems concerning to me if we are really looking for an early start to the season. I'm not in the ski mindset yet so this doesn't bother me at the moment. Check back in a few weeks. 

Agreed about both parts. My mind isnt quite in the winter mindset yet.

But to your first point, I cant imagine an "early" opening if they're going T2B.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

All y’all underestimate Blues snowmaking capacity. Upper Main Street and vista were their weak links before.  With a paradise opening they can really blast blast blast.  Let’s hope we have a start like 2019

[Benm]

20 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

All y’all underestimate Blues snowmaking capacity.

i'm not underestimating their snowmaking capacity, just their willingness to use it.

 

[indiggio]

54 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

All y’all underestimate Blues snowmaking capacity. Upper Main Street and vista were their weak links before.  With a paradise opening they can really blast blast blast.  Let’s hope we have a start like 2019

They can have all the snowmaking they want, but with the dreaded inversions they're likely to still have trouble opening the valley early.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

7 minutes ago, indiggio said:

They can have all the snowmaking they want, but with the dreaded inversions they're likely to still have trouble opening the valley early.

We’ll see I’ve heard talk of a polar vortex already forming up near Santa’s workshop so it could be one of those November’s where the cold cums in hard…fast and persistent…where killington only opens a few days before Hunter and I’m once again on the news being interviewed saying about how this is bonus skiing.  Remember anything before Cinco de Mayo is bonus. 

[JFskiDan]

1 hour ago, Benm said:

i'm not underestimating their snowmaking capacity, just their willingness to use it.

 

I think they deserve a little more credit for their early season stuff than we give them credit for.  Not sure what year it was, not too long ago, we had opening day, and then after that all melted, they had opening day 2.0 like a month + later.  I will be critical of Blue like everybody else, but i have never felt they lacked in the early season snow department.  

 

[indiggio]

2 hours ago, JFskiDan said:

I think they deserve a little more credit for their early season stuff than we give them credit for.  Not sure what year it was, not too long ago, we had opening day, and then after that all melted, they had opening day 2.0 like a month + later.  I will be critical of Blue like everybody else, but i have never felt they lacked in the early season snow department. 

They're in it to make money (hopefully) and they won't if they're not open/no snow, so it behooves (are we in the cavalry?) them to put as much snow down as early as possible just to get open.
Now, once they've opened, trail expansion in a timely fashion may be a different story...

[Larchmont]

Blue has an absurd amount of firepower if it gets cold. Vista is weak because it's like 150' wide, not because they aren't willing to run guns. Upper Main Street is weak because Blue runs Lower Main first.

Paradise takes about half their capacity, Home Stretch will use up around a fourth, and Coming Soon can run off basically an asthmatic hamster blowing into a straw with the leftovers going to Tubing, the Horseshoe, ski school, and the top part of Tut's Lane to link both lifts. Seriously, the whole of Half Off Fall takes less air than three guns on Paradise. I'd easily believe Blue could open with Paradise first.

However. They have a lot fewer guns per hundred feet on Paradise than, say, Main Street. They may need more than 32 hours of cold weather to open that side of the hill (yes, they've gotten Lower Main open that fast) or they may open it but have to keep building depth there. They also might not get Went Recently open on day one - the guns there, like Burma, just aren't as productive in typical early season conditions as compared to the Paradise or Main Street models. Burma's opened really, really thin recently, and Burma doesn't have a steep section and it's narrower.

Dreamweaver probably can't make opening day either, not if they also run Home Stretch, but they likely can run a few guns at thin spots to get a head start. If it breaks seriously cold - mid teens, say - or once Home Stretch is in decent shape, I expect we'll see Dreamweaver then Nightmare very soon after. That's the Upper Main Street equivalent. Everything else off that peak takes too much air to connect back to the lifts.

Dark horse option - if it's really cold and the wind is favorable, Challenge -> Falls -> Home Stretch can run. If they go for it, that could be open after two days of around-the-clock temps below 22 degrees, plus grooming time.

Blue does not mess around with making snow. Within the limits of their system, they run pretty much 100% until they hit "full depth" on every trail.  The Comet peak has more automation than the opening day trails on the Main Street peak, and once they can get off Paradise they should be able to expand quickly, weather permitting.

[Benm]

12 minutes ago, Larchmont said:

Coming Soon can run off basically an asthmatic hamster blowing into a straw

Fuckin lost it here lmao