Ski Lift Fails

Borvig is basically the same as Partek.  Wouldn't surprise me as those lifts have been having many failures lately that caused injuries. 2 at Sugarloaf, one at Granite Gorge, and possibly this one.  They're like the new Yan.

Just talked to another guy on Snowmakers of the World Unite, and he says it's also a Borvig. So the consensus is that It is a Borvig! Only proves how terrible, they really are.

Speaking of old chairlifts, does anyone have any idea what kind of lift this is? It has Partek chairs, but they were a replacement from my knowledge. The grips are sketchy as hell. The thing on top of the grip that runs over the sheaves are bent, but they run through just fine. The sheave wheels are super wide to accomodate the ultra-bulky grips. From my understanding, this was the first chairlift in NY south of ADK.



By the way this post marks a milestone in my NYSB experience.  This is post # 100.

The chairlift is a Carlevaro & Savio originally installed in 1963. I don't know when it was modified but it is one of the oldest lifts in the east. Here's the listing on skilifts.org.
skilifts.org 1963 list

Ethan Snow wrote

Speaking of old chairlifts, does anyone have any idea what kind of lift this is? It has Partek chairs, but they were a replacement from my knowledge. The grips are sketchy as hell. The thing on top of the grip that runs over the sheaves are bent, but they run through just fine. The sheave wheels are super wide to accomodate the ultra-bulky grips. From my understanding, this was the first chairlift in NY south of ADK.



By the way this post marks a milestone in my NYSB experience.  This is post # 100.

That's the really dark lift at greek? I have fond memories, but it was sketch.

I was under the impression that NY's first chairlift was at Belleayre.

Yan fixed grips are some of the best lifts out there.  Almost as long lasting as Hall lifts.  Their HSQ's were really unreliable and sucked.  That's because the rushed the design process to try and outdo Doppelmayr.  Still, it was only the grips that were bad (they didn't clamp onto the haulrope with as much force as was needed).  The rest of the equipment worked fine.  

Killington, Mount Snow, and Sunday River have a bunch of Yan lifts and appear to want to run them till they die.  When they get replaced they are often relocated as well.  Not sure what happened to Mount Snow's Summit Local (replaced by Bluebird Express in 2011).  Originally it was to be broken up into 3 short lifts to be installed at other Peak Resorts.  Hidden Valley, MO was supposed to get a piece of it, but they got the Riblet fixed grip Summit Quad from Crotched, NH (which was replaced by the CTEC HSQ from Ascutney).  Big Boulder was also supposed to get a piece of it, but they got a Borvig double from somewhere in Maine.  One of Peak's Ohio mountains was supposed to get the last piece of it.  Not sure if they did.

Ethan Snow wrote

Speaking of old chairlifts, does anyone have any idea what kind of lift this is? It has Partek chairs, but they were a replacement from my knowledge. The grips are sketchy as hell. The thing on top of the grip that runs over the sheaves are bent, but they run through just fine. The sheave wheels are super wide to accomodate the ultra-bulky grips. From my understanding, this was the first chairlift in NY south of ADK.



By the way this post marks a milestone in my NYSB experience.  This is post # 100.

It's a damn good thing that chair can't talk, my parents would be pissed if they knew how much SoCo we drank on that thing in HS

Always hit that lift to get to Ronnies, one of my fav on the hill.

Chalk it up to poor inspections in my view.    

While at Kmart in December, a local advised me that a particular lift there (cant recall which one) was inspected a few months before the season began, the heads on two towers were also ready to fall off from rust.    From what I understood, they installed three new towers to replace the two.    


Also heard a rumor that Timberline might have been being looked at to sell.......would not want to locate expensive lift tower issues that you might have to disclose to the buyer.    Yeah, we inspected the lift....all good..Wink.    

I:)skiing wrote

Also heard a rumor that Timberline might have been being looked at to sell.......would not want to locate expensive lift tower issues that you might have to disclose to the buyer.    Yeah, we inspected the lift....all good..Wink.

Also wouldn't want to spend money on a lift if you are trying to sell....

I think you might be right. This was the first "double" chairlift in NY. It's awesome. Runs almost as smooth as a Hall. You have to ski Greek one of these days.

I heard a rumor that This lift at Greek actually dropped a chair once which is why they eventually ended up replacing them. I still think the grips look really sketchy. I've got to get a picture when it's light out somaday. Greek peak is more of a night place for me.

I:)skiing wrote

Chalk it up to poor inspections in my view.    

While at Kmart in December, a local advised me that a particular lift there (cant recall which one) was inspected a few months before the season began, the heads on two towers were also ready to fall off from rust.    From what I understood, they installed three new towers to replace the two.    

You can blame that on Powdr and ASC who ran it into the ground and continue to do so as a cash cow for Western investment.  I think it was the Bear Mountain Quad.  It's a 1979 Yan triple that was converted to a quad in 1984.

SAM Magazine confirms that it is a 1986 Borvig.  I believe that was in their later years.  Partek formed in the mid 90's.  That's still a weird chair design that I didn't think Borvig lifts had.  But, it's a late model, so maybe they used the Partek style chairs.

Wouldn't surprise me that it was a Borvig.  Those things have been real death traps lately.

Uh oh....http://unofficialnetworks.com/2016/02/suicide-six-ski-lift-closed-after-inspectors-find-cracks-in-lift-towers

I have been thinking lately about how a lot of the smaller, older ski areas are struggling in this economy and how their infrastructures are failing not to mention the uncertainty of future climate issues are going to continue to survive. I don't think the future is looking so good for these places.

I also think this is just the tip of the iceberg and there are going to be many more ski areas seeing safety problems with their chairlifts.

Bring back the surface lifts!

Man
I had in the back of my mind an idea to go there next time I'm at Killington. Looks like its getting fixed at least. They were the first place to install a rope tow; maybe that's the answer

Another Borvig lift.  Not a surprise.  I'm sure we'll see many other issues with their lifts in years to come.

Not to be ghoulish but I came across this list of lift accidents while trying to figure what kind of lift the '95 Whistler accident was. I remember it because the place I was working had to shut down one of their most important lifts for a big part of the season. Thought it was a YAN and that turned out to be correct.
http://www.illicitsnowboarding.com/2010/07/visual-compendium-of-ski-lift-accidents.html