The real cool one is they are installing a Doppelmyer 8 person at Loon Mountain this summer, check out Loons advertising of the lift.
Rickh wrote:
It's being replaced with a fixed grip Quad from Doppelmyer. Hidden Valley getting the same. I heard this about two months ago from the Doppelmyer guys that installed both lifts at Timberline Mountain.
Interesting. I wonder if the Hidden Valley lift is for the expansion finally.
While I am happy to dream too, and hope that truly is the case, I could also see it being to replace the two triples. From a pure long term cost/ROI standpoint, two lifts take twice as much maintenance, twice as many employees to run, etc. Not to mention having two lifts right next to each other that go to the same place makes lines and crowd management cumbersome, at best.
But who knows, if they were thinking long term they would be serious about expanding there. For multiple reasons.
peter wrote:
Rickh wrote:
It's being replaced with a fixed grip Quad from Doppelmyer. Hidden Valley getting the same. I heard this about two months ago from the Doppelmyer guys that installed both lifts at Timberline Mountain.
Interesting. I wonder if the Hidden Valley lift is for the expansion finally.
Leo wrote:
While I am happy to dream too, and hope that truly is the case, I could also see it being to replace the two triples. From a pure long term cost/ROI standpoint, two lifts take twice as much maintenance, twice as many employees to run, etc. Not to mention having two lifts right next to each other that go to the same place makes lines and crowd management cumbersome, at best.
That was my thought as well until I looked at the webcam and saw both triples still have their chairs on with no sign of any deconstruction taking place.
It wouldn't make sense to replace either of the fixed quads with another fixed quad. Hence my brain turned to the long-planned expansion.
Wouldn't the sale of this property zillow.com earlier in the year mentioned by Laurel Highlands suggest that expansion of any form at Hidden Valley seems unlikely. If Buncher was to expand the resort's terrain why would he sale prime developable land that could be developed with the increasing demand and interest from skiers because of a terrain expansion?
Cole53 wrote:
Wouldn't the sale of this property zillow.com earlier in the year mentioned by Laurel Highlands suggest that expansion of any form at Hidden Valley seems unlikely. If Buncher was to expand the resort's terrain why would he sale prime developable land that could be developed with the increasing demand and interest from skiers because of a terrain expansion?
That property for sale is some distance away and does not boarder the snow tubing area where the lift had been proposed. It is the property Buncher still owns and had planned to build a golf course community. Buncher no longer owns HV or any property that would boarder current or proposed ski runs. However 7S/Nutting did acquire quite a bit of developable property which could benefit from an expansion. At some point you would think a good bean counter would somehow want to try to monetize all that property they have within the resort, and with the current boom in real estate, there has never been a better time in many years to do so.
With that said, I agree with Snowsmith and would be very surprised if that were the case, and if they do anything would be more of a plan to reduce maintenance and operation costs.
Here's an official press release from Seven Springs:
Seven Springs Mountain Resort to Install New Chairlift
New Quad Lift Coming November 2021
SEVEN SPRINGS, Pa. – Seven Springs proudly announces the installation of a new chairlift for the 21-22 season!
This state-of-the-art Doppelmayr Alpen Star fixed grip quad chairlift will replace the existing, venerable Avalanche lift.
"Our new Doppelmayr chairlift will greatly improve our guest experience on the front face of the mountain allowing for many more runs each day," said Joel Rerko, Seven Springs Director of Mountain Operations. "Travel time will now be only 4 Minutes, and 21 Seconds to the top; less time on the lift and shorter lift lines equal more time on the snow! We continue to be committed to our season passholders, homeowners and growing the sport as a whole. After coming off an incredible winter, we cannot wait to unveil it this coming ski season!”
The New Avalanche Lift will increase uphill capacity from 1800 to 2400 people per hour and will unload closer to the top of Tyrol Chairlift, allowing for better access to Stowe Slope and Trail. (No more plodding across the top to get back to the lodge!) It will feature 7 towers, 88 chairs and a 200 horsepower electric motor. The lift will be 1,956 feet in length from loading station to unloading station and will cover 492 vertical feet.
The new lift will greatly enhance the experience and capacity for the youth and Racing Programs that are based at Seven Springs, and also the many youth and racing programs that visit the mountain each season.
“WPRC is grateful to call Seven Springs home,” said Jim DiBiase, The Western Pennsylvania Race Club Program Director. “It is always comforting knowing that we are working together with an organization whose goals align with ours. We are very excited to see Seven Springs continue to support the next generation of skiers and their continued commitment to invest in the area we all call home.”
Bid farewell to our loyal friend Avalanche, Seven Springs and partner Doppelmayr began to dismantle the old lift this month. The NEW lift is scheduled to be completed prior to the 2021/2022 ski season!
This is yet another way Seven Springs is holding true to their commitment to its season passholders and to the sport we all love. After an incredible winter that included some turns in April, Seven Springs cannot wait to unveil it this coming season!
Season Passholders and Homeowners will not want to miss their new ride for next Winter, coming this November!
The top of the new lift is way higher than the old lift. You can see how close the unload is to Tyrol. This is going to allow for some serious laps, big improvement!
Here's a picture from the top of the old lift, to give some perspective. According to somebody, who knows how accurate any of this information is, the triples at Hidden Valley are next, then the North Face lift. Will this unfold over two years, ten years, never? Who knows, but this lift is a big improvement.
Maybe Peter the lift blog guy has some intelligence. By the way, Peter’s lift bog site is very interesting. Everybody has an obsession and for Peter it’s lifts and rope ways. And he was totally correct.
Peter- heard any other news about HV or LM improvements? I am somewhat of a cynic. Avalanche lift had to be replaced since spare parts were no longer available? What impact will this new lift have on other aging lifts? Maybe one lift replaces 2?
I have a lot more pictures (in .jpg format) but they just won't attach when I drag and drop. Anyhow, they are putting in more pipe to upgrade the snowmaking on Avalanche, as well. The project is looking good!
Nice to see investment in a new lift at 7S. Meanwhile at the ugly step children resorts;
HV - the paper towel dispensers in the Clocktower Restaurant bathrooms have been replaced. These bathrooms have not been renovated since the 1980’s. Apparently they can’t afford to fix the peeling paint and rotting wood. The paper towel dispensers exhausted the capital improvement budget.
LM - Beancounter Mauch is considering weather their billion dollar corporation can afford to change the lightbulbs in the slope lighting that does not work so that night skiing can return.
making up for lost time wrote:
I have a lot more pictures (in .jpg format) but they just won't attach when I drag and drop. Anyhow, they are putting in more pipe to upgrade the snowmaking on Avalanche, as well. The project is looking good!
Sorry about the trouble uploading photos. Did you try to drag and drop multiple ones together or one at a time? The former might cause issues if there are large photos. You might have better luck if you drag one at a time, waiting for the photo to upload/display before you try dragging in the next one.
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