Hunter 12/30/10

This picture says it all:

This is the Z lift on Hunter West at about 11am. The trails were empty as it seemed everybody was waiting on lift lines.

I got to the mountain and waited about 10 minutes to get my lift ticket. The 6pack single line was only about 5 minutes at this point (9:30). The conditions were excellent with lots of snow over a very carvable 'styrofoam' man made base. The first couple of runs included Hellgate-Broadway-Ike, Cliff -Racers, and Hellgate-Broadway-Gun Hill. By now the single line was 15-20 minutes and they had extended the line dividers. The temp at the bottom was now a balmy 36. We then skied  Belt to Way Out on to the West. The first time down wait at the Z was about 5 minutes. The next run was down Claire's. There were a few bumps (skiers' right) on the middle section and a line under the Z lift lower down. The picture above was shot from just above the Way Out junction with Clairs. The trails were mostly empty. The line at Z was now 15 minutes and they finally started the Y lift. The Y lift never really filled up so we yoyoed that and Claires a few times. We went back over to the front and ran the trails off the F(K27, East Side Dr, Minya Konka, Crossover). Those in the sun were softening up quite nicely including the bump runs.  We then switched to the D lift for some high speed cruising on Racers, Ike, and Gun Hill Road. The lower mountain was bump and slider free with still excellent conditions. The single lines on the D and the F were about 5 minutes. The sun was blazing all day and there was zero wind. By staying away from the six pack after the 1st 3 runs and riding the single lines we had a great day.

I am a big fan of the singles lines.

X ... is this back up normal at Hunter?

When we were at Hunter earlier in the season Brian (Czarnecki) told us that the six pack did not increase uphill capacity.

What's up?

I have not seen a line like this on the West side for many years. Also, the 6 pack line was huge. I think the combo of snow in the flatlands + beautiful weather + holiday week made for the huge crowd. I skied the same day last year and the longest lift line on the West was about 5 minutes. According to a Hunter published mag, the 6 only increased capacity by about 200 people an hour. The three times I rode the lift i noticed 1 out of about 5 chairs were going up with 5. I do not know why. Sometimes it was just hard to organize 6 people. Riding the single line was the answer.

Harvey44 wrote

When we were at Hunter earlier in the season Brian (Czarnecki) told us that the six pack did not increase uphill capacity.
What's up?

A liftie told me that the uphill travel time improved from 7.5 min to 5.5 min when they installed the 6-pack.  That with the increase to 6 seats MUST have increased the capacity.

x10003q wrote

I have not seen a line like this on the West side for many years.

Last year, when they got the 6', it was longer!  And the Y lift had the same line.

x10003q wrote

Also, the 6 pack line was huge. I think the combo of snow in the flatlands + beautiful weather + holiday week made for the huge crowd. I skied the same day last year and the longest lift line on the West was about 5 minutes.

I was there on the 28th and there were no lines on Z, 1 min on F, and maybe 5 min on 6-pack.  Perhaps the high winds kept people away.

x10003q wrote

According to a Hunter published mag, the 6 only increased capacity by about 200 people an hour. The three times I rode the lift i noticed 1 out of about 5 chairs were going up with 5. I do not know why. Sometimes it was just hard to organize 6 people. Riding the single line was the answer.

I agree that it's harder to organize 6 people.  There's also the learning curve for the riders. It seemed that the "starting gate" entry to the loading zone had some people perplexed.  And I still don't understand why people don't organize their own "6" while on line.  I see countless groups of 2 and 3 stacked up behind each other in line.  

Yea, there's something funky there. Unless there's a piece of the puzzle we're missing. How can uphill capacity not be increased?

Social commentary:
Way too many times people are like lemmings. One person says something or merely speculates and then it is repeated as fact to ad nauseum without out anyone truly cross examining it.  Think " The Emperor's New Clothes ".

Most people won't step out and say " The Emperor is naked " out of fear of reprisal or ridicule. Lemmings!

Now Lemmings, according to encyclopedias, are said not to engage in the mass behavoir attributed to them but it remains a colloquialism, if you will, that's valid for illustrative purposes.

Rich wrote

I was there on the 28th and there were no lines on Z, 1 min on F, and maybe 5 min on 6-pack.  Perhaps the high winds kept people away.

That and also a lot of day trippers like myself couldn't get their cars out of the snow.

Personally, I think the lines have been more or less manageable all season long. The new lift has to have sped things up. It's bringing more people up faster. Even on a crowded day you're only waiting there for 5 minutes which isn't really that bad on a holiday weekend.

Harvey44 wrote

I am a big fan of the singles lines.

X ... is this back up normal at Hunter?

When we were at Hunter earlier in the season Brian (Czarnecki) told us that the six pack did not increase uphill capacity.

What's up?

I don't think it's normal to have a back up like that @ hunter west.

The lift may be faster but that alone does not increase capacity. The number of chairs on the line is another factor. I read the 200 people per hour increase to 2600/hour in the Hunter Mountain Life magazine (pg 31)they have in the lodge. It is really not much of an increase.

x10003q wrote

The lift may be faster but that alone does not increase capacity. The number of chairs on the line is another factor. I read the 200 people per hour increase to 2600/hour in the Hunter Mountain Life magazine (pg 31)they have in the lodge. It is really not much of an increase.

This is basically what Brian C told James and I.

Three things determine lift capacity.  Lift speed, riders per chair, and chair spacing.

All three were increased significantly - yielding a small increase in capacity.

only a fool rides the 6 pack..stick to D lift ( triple )..never a soul on it , you can lap Racers , Ike and Gun Hill...

JasonWx wrote

only a fool rides the 6 pack..stick to D lift ( triple )..never a soul on it , you can lap Racers , Ike and Gun Hill...

It's not foolish if there is no line on the 6 pack. D Lift doesn't give enough vert in my opinion. If I'm only going to ski that vert I think I'll stick with Bell.

Besides, the line for the 6 pack never really gets longer than 5 minutes, and when you consider how much faster it goes than D lift and how much more vert it accesses, I'm not sure that it isn't worth waiting a few extra minutes.

Personally I would rather do laps off F lift than D lift, but I think we're splitting hairs on this one.

Rob , you have a point..I really meant to say On a weekend day. ..Not crazy about the runs off "F" lift..

Top half of a press release from Jess: