I'm Not Happy (version 2.0)

Yes, I was talking to Snoloco but I am glad you chimed in and glad to hear about the program you are in!

What do you guys think of riblets? I spent most of my one season as a lift-op running a riblet double. I have my own opinions but now I'm curious what both Snos think.

Well first of all, although this may not mean much to you, my first impression of Riboets are that they look sketchy. Especially the older ones. Although I love the one at Gores summit. They are often taken for granted as they are considered the "cost effective" option. I think they are the only chairlift company still in business that is just making fixes and not massive expensive HS6s and gondolas and tramways. I don't see many of them, and I've never talked to someone who owns one, so I dont  know if they are good quality, but I know they are inexpensive. In fact, Riblet may be a good option for Woodstream someday. But the one thing that leaves me skeptical, is the lack of Riblets in NY. It seems at though everyone goes for a Leitner-Poma or a Doppelmayr when they are replacing a lift. Even for fixes. I have never seen a Riblet purchased as a replacement.

Jiminy Peak has a couple. That's almost NY. My memory was that it was rock solid reliable, never broke down, but they use a unique grip that causes them to be very susceptible to wind. The grip is somehow woven into the cable rather then clamped on. If one chair rocks, it twists the cable and transmits some torque to the chairs in front and behind so if it's windy and a couple get going, the whole line starts rocking back and forth. I remember when I first learned to ski at Jiminy they had signs posted warning that Mass law prohibited bouncing of swinging the chairs. It struck me odd at the time but later I figured they were just trying to keep the crazy riblet swing to a minimum.

Riblet has been out of business since 2002.  They only made fixed grips, so they did not succeed competing against Doppelmayr and Poma who both made detachables.  As far as I know, there are 4 Riblet lifts in NY.  High Peaks and Sunway at Gore, Bunny Hutch @ Whiteface, and Lift 7 at Belleayre.  Holiday Valley might have a couple as well, but I have never skied there.

Partek rose when Borvig went out of business.  They are now owned by Doppelmayr and are essentially its "bargain brand".  Their lifts have had some reliability issues, even when relatively new.  Mountain Creek's Sojourn Double was down all day yesterday just like Tuesday.  Thats the 4th day it has had to close for unscheduled maintenance this season.  Gore has 2 and may end up with a 3rd if they relpace High Peaks anytime soon.  Mount Peter has one that is a refurbished Borvig lift which came from somewhere in PA.  

Skytrac was a lift maintenance contractor that now makes their own fixed grip lifts, and makes various parts that can be fitted on other lifts.  Berkshire East has one and The Hermitage Club has 2 of their lifts.  

I'm hoping that for the Dark Side lift replacement that if they decide to use Partek that their reliability improves.  Since they already have two of their lifts, that would be likely.  They could also get a used Hall or CTEC to replace it.

There are plenty of Hall lifts that are on the chopping block at some larger ski areas that could be up for grabs once more high speed lifts go in.  Windham is one example that comes to mind.  They have a 1983 triple (it's actually branded VonRoll, but looks like a Hall) that I'm guessing will be replaced with a 6-pack bubble soon enough.  They had a teaser on their Instagram about it.  Attitash has one that doesn't run often and could also be replaced soon with a HSQ.

Poma and Leitner were two separate companies.  Leitner bought out Poma in the early 2000's and they used Poma's designs for a while.  Then they started to develop their own designs using a combination of Poma and Leitner designs.  The Hunter HSQ is a Poma as all other lifts on that mountain, with the exception of E (Hall) are.  Kaatskill Flyer is the only lift installed post-merger.

I've heard some good things about Yan fixed grips as well.  Some western mountains are slowly replacing all of them and are selling them off as they still run well.  Their HSQ's are another story though.  Mount Snow, Killington, and Sunday River have a bunch that still run frequently.

Good info. I don't know if it has broad appeal but I really enjoy ski lift discussions. Maybe im a nerd. Working as a liftie was one of the most fun things I've done in my whole life.

I love talking about Ski lifts. I'm going to be dropping a DIY lift video on YT soon. Regarding the Hall lifts, if it has a different name on it, then it's probably not a Hall lift. It pribably just has Hall chairs. Hall manufactured replacement chairs back in the day as well. Greek Peak where I learned to ski has a lift which is literally a mish mosh of different parts from Partek, Hall and I think Borvg towers that look setchy as hell.  The best way to tell if its a Hall is by Looking at the towers or the actual drive terminal. Even that's hard because they left it up to the owner to create their own protection for the drive terminal. As a result, every Hall in the world looks a little different. I'm keeping my eye on Greek peak's lifts. At this point, all the ones left are Halls, and I hear They are going to Upgrade all of them at some point. I think lift three is currently on the chopping block which would be perfect for Woodstream because it's relatively low to the ground, and the bottom drive terminal is very small.

I take that back. Greek still has the old, Borvig combo. I don't want that. Btw, does anyone have any pictures of lift 2 at Greek Peak? Its been a while since I've been there, and I can't seem to find any photos online. Thanks.

I look forward to the video. I'd like to post something about the riblet I used to work on at Alpine Meadows, called the Weasel lift. Between having two loading stations, two unloads, all the riblet chair swing problems and being the first "step up" from the beginners lift, it used to get pretty entertaining around one in the afternoon on weekends. I've had a hard time finding pictures though.

Ethan Snow wrote

Regarding the Hall lifts, if it has a different name on it, then it's probably not a Hall lift. It pribably just has Hall chairs. Hall manufactured replacement chairs back in the day as well.

The lift I was referring to is branded VonRoll, but has Hall towers, sheaves, and chairs.  It's a top drive lift and I think uses a VonRoll drive terminal.  It was built just after they bought out Hall.

Back to the original topic:

I spent over half an hour writing up my Mount Snow trip report from Sunday.  Not a single response to it in over 5 hours.  I guess no one cares because it's in Vermont and south of Killington.  Oh it's in Southern Vermont, therefore it sucks, end of discussion.  And you're the same people who call me out for making generalizations (which I do make some of the time).  If I'm going to spend my time to create a report, I'd like for people to at least acknowledge that it exists.  

Sno

I get ya

The TR section Harv is hot for posts but the reality is they are seldom commented on unless you do an epic trip like James.  Last year I wanted this post  http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Snowbird-Cat-Skiing-for-Nature-Feb-17-2015-td4056010.html on the blog front page but because it was not in NY it went in a TR and only had 4 replies which for what I considered to be a really good if not epic post was very disappointing.

  The conditions page is much more active.  Personally I think this is an issue Harv needs to figure out a solution for.

Find a solution for what?

If you want to post a TR, post it.  If you'd rather post in a conditions thread do that. Whatever makes you happy.  Not positive Coach but I think you said you didn't like the way I organized the Conditions Forum either.

People comment (or don't) for a lot of different reasons.  If they were there that day, or they ski that hill alot, that inspires some to comment. If you have something interesting or crazy or funny that happens to you that can bring people out.   People comment on things they can relate to.

IMO people like to see pictures and will only read text if it's concise, interesting and broken up with photos.  Paragraph breaks help too. No one want to wade through 20 lines of solid text.

As far as Sno's TR I personally haven't read it yet.  Aside from one day at Stratton I've never skied south of Killington so I've got limited experience there and probably can't add too much to it.

Personally I think one thing that bonds many of us together is a willingness to make the best of what we've got.  There are a TON of ski blogs, hundreds of them, with guys skiing tits deep blower.  We've got a story on our homepage now about night skiing in Glens Falls.  That is one thing that drives me nuts about snoloco - nothing is ever good enough.  He went to Steamboat for chrissakes, skied beautiful snow, and then took a shit in Jeff's TR because... well not sure why.

As far as the front page, yeah I like to keep it to east coast. Never said anything about NY only, lots of VT on the front page, a little NH, a little PA, WV once, never had any Maine in winter, yet. To some extent it reflects where NY skiers ski.

Maybe I'm a control freak. But (like teaching for you) I got a full time job, NYSB doesn't pay shit, and if it isn't fun for me, I quit.

</rant>

snoloco wrote

Back to the original topic:I spent over half an hour writing up my Mount Snow trip report from Sunday.  Not a single response to it in over 5 hours.  I guess no one cares because it's in Vermont and south of Killington.  Oh it's in Southern Vermont, therefore it sucks, end of discussion.  And you're the same people who call me out for making generalizations (which I do make some of the time).  If I'm going to spend my time to create a report, I'd like for people to at least acknowledge that it exists.

Hard truth. Don't care.

snoloco wrote

Back to the original topic:

I spent over half an hour writing up my Mount Snow trip report from Sunday.  Not a single response to it in over 5 hours.  I guess no one cares because it's in Vermont and south of Killington.  Oh it's in Southern Vermont, therefore it sucks, end of discussion.  And you're the same people who call me out for making generalizations (which I do make some of the time).  If I'm going to spend my time to create a report, I'd like for people to at least acknowledge that it exists.

We need to institute a schedule for validating Sno's existence each hour. If we take turns it won't be so bad.

And will somebody please, for chrissake, get him an oompa loompa?

Coach Z wrote

Sno

I get ya

The TR section Harv is hot for posts but the reality is they are seldom commented on unless you do an epic trip like James.  Last year I wanted this post  http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Snowbird-Cat-Skiing-for-Nature-Feb-17-2015-td4056010.html on the blog front page but because it was not in NY it went in a TR and only had 4 replies which for what I considered to be a really good if not epic post was very disappointing.

  The conditions page is much more active.  Personally I think this is an issue Harv needs to figure out a solution for.

That was a great report.  In fact I looked back and read it last night.  I'd love to experience the same thing some time.

There is no Mount Snow conditions thread, and because few people ski there that are on this site, it would never be active if I created one.

Sorry Harv

It's just a fact the TR get less page views and discussion.  Why I have no idea?  Though with the view new post button I read them more often now.  

Maybe you just need a like button for them?

The Mt Sno tr was one of his better efforts IMO

snoloco wrote

Coach Z wrote

Sno

I get ya

The TR section Harv is hot for posts but the reality is they are seldom commented on unless you do an epic trip like James.  Last year I wanted this post  http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Snowbird-Cat-Skiing-for-Nature-Feb-17-2015-td4056010.html on the blog front page but because it was not in NY it went in a TR and only had 4 replies which for what I considered to be a really good if not epic post was very disappointing.

  The conditions page is much more active.  Personally I think this is an issue Harv needs to figure out a solution for.

That was a great report.  In fact I looked back and read it last night.  I'd love to experience the same thing some time.

There is no Mount Snow conditions thread, and because few people ski there that are on this site, it would never be active if I created one.

Create one and see what happens.  You seem to be a convert with your new pass.  It's certainly better than Hunter.  How long of a drive is that to day trip?

I'm not a complete convert, and I didn't get the Noreaster Pass this year.  My dad and I may get them next year.  I have skied there more this year than I have any years prior combined.  It's definitely better than Hunter, but is about twice as far away.  I'm not sure if I'll go again this year, but what might happen is that they'll close Hunter earlier and make Hunter passes valid at Mount Snow, in which case, I'd be there again.