Little Whiteface Double malfunction

ausable skier wrote

in the spring it really sucks to have to ski to the bottom to be able to ski Cloudsplitter Glades.  Missed that lift big time yesterday.

It sucks in the winter too.

ausable skier wrote

I am wondering if anyone has heard any rumors as to what WF is going to do about the LWF

I interviewed Whiteface GM Bruce McCulley two weeks ago (to be posted in the near future) and here's what he said about the LWF lift:

"We're going to do extensive work on it during the off-season: shiv work, towers, gear box, chairs. The lift has a huge amount of hours on it, more than any of our lifts. It ran every winter beginning in 1978, and for 25 years it was run during summer operations: from June all the way through October. It's a Hall lift, and some of the towers were modified in 1987. Doppelmayr CTEC is the company that supports Hall lifts now. Right now, we're pulling together all the different components. At first, we considered trying to get it running again for the end of this season, but there were just too many aspects to address in that time frame."

thanks for the update Harv

this is the most important issue for WF moving forward into next season in my mind.  given the orda money issues i'm very concerned about this

ausable skier wrote

thanks for the update Harv

this is the most important issue for WF moving forward into next season in my mind.  given the orda money issues i'm very concerned about this

This was James' interview. Look for it on the blog after the end of the season.

I don't have any info beyond what is in the interview, but it sure sounds like this is going to be addressed this summer.

I suspect ORDA has more financial cookies in the jar than they let on. They'll pull a rabbit outta their hat.

Then again, they may try and use this lift issue to leverage money from the State. It's the politico way.

SIDENOTE: The local news has been grilling the State legislators about financial waste during this budget crunch. Things like legislator cars, side pay, extravagent judge's treatment, etc keep coming up along with the " Should the State be in the Ski business " inquiry.

The way I understand it new towers are going up from the mid-station (where Mt. Run chairs end) up to the summit. Work has already begun.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

 The way I understand it new towers are going up from the mid-station (where Mt. Run chairs end) up to the summit. Work has already begun.

Snowballs wrote

 I suspect ORDA has more financial cookies in the jar than they let on. They'll pull a rabbit outta their hat.

***Lift Towers to Fly Over Whiteface Tomorrow***
 
WILMINGTON, N.Y (Nov. 8, 2011) ---- The start of the 2011-12 skiing and riding season at Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, N.Y., is slated for Friday, Nov. 25, conditions permitting.  The crew at Whiteface is getting ready for opening day and tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 9, the new towers for the Little Whiteface lift will be flown in, beginning at NOON.   This will complete the process of refurbishing the lift.



EDIT: Jon Lundin sent a follow up - time is now scheduled for NOON.

I'm always puzzeled why orda waits until the last minute to do this kind of stuff.  This is cutting it close to get this lift installed and load tested before the season starts

Because they know no other way!

Better late than never.  That lift is vital to those of us who want to do laps on the top section of Little Whiteface ... without having to endure the runs beneath the midway lodge.  

ausable skier wrote

I'm always puzzeled why orda waits until the last minute to do this kind of stuff.  This is cutting it close to get this lift installed and load tested before the season starts

My guess:  There was no budget set aside for fixing the LWF Double this year and it wasn't cheap. Bruce was hoping that more of the lift could be salvaged to keep the cost down.  By mid summer when it was determined that the only option was to replace the upper, older half of the run, the parts had to be sourced.  Normally when you replace a lift, the work is done in a summer, but it's KNOWN well in advance that the replacement is happening. From what I've heard it's been an all out sprint to get this done.  

All of that is somewhat educated speculation. I give kudos to the effort. I'm very psyched that this looks to be done by opening or soon after. Fire away.

Harvey44 wrote

All of that is somewhat educated speculation. I give kudos to the effort. I'm very psyched that this looks to be done by opening or soon after. Fire away.

The last I heard the weight test is scheduled for Nov. 28, if all goes well the lift should be open soon after. It will be great having it running again.

Besides the LWF lift, management had to deal with all the damage from the 2 major storm events plus take care of the usual summer maintenance and the upgrades that where planned for. I think they did a great job.

The unfortunate timing of the breakdown really jams up what is really needed: remove both these lifts and replace them with a quad of some sort. This happened at Gore in the early 1990s. The Straightbrook double broke and was overhauled. It was replaced with a quad a year of two later.  

From the mountain:

"The new towers for the Little Whiteface lift, were not flown in and put into place today, Wednesday, Nov. 9, as originally planned.  The towers are scheduled to be flown into place tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 10.
 
The time has yet to be determined.  Photos and a press release will be issued tomorrow."

the weather couldn't have been more perfect today for this - supposed to rain thursday

i heard that the heli crews that fly around the US doing large construction projects get backed up due to weather somewhere else they were working and it bumps the whole schedule back

Many summers the helicopters are called into fire fighting service and this puts projects behind schdule.

ausable skier wrote

the weather couldn't have been more perfect today for this - supposed to rain thursday

i heard that the heli crews that fly around the US doing large construction projects get backed up due to weather somewhere else they were working and it bumps the whole schedule back

Heli company got held up with work they where doing at Burke Mt. They didn't get to WF until the afternoon so they'll start tomorrow.

that can not be an easy job - we should all tilt our adult beverages tonight and toast the heli guys that fly lift towers into place

prost