Mt. Snow's Ego Alley n Seasons lifts Shuttered

Beast Patroller

Well I’m not sure the "average: skier prefers standing in 30 min + lift lines but I know I don’t! True Ego doesn’t get you up to the summit but at least you spend more time on the snow rather than standing around. Actually the same could be said about the Canyon lift too! Canyon goes up about the same height as Ego.

Oh and by the way, one again this morning the 3 summit lifts (Sundance, Grand Summit, & the Bluebird Express) are down because of wind. Sure you can take the long scenic route up Canyon down River Run and then up the Challenger lift to access the summit but that will get tiresome after a few runs. At least you could access the lower half of the main face if Ego was running!

rickbolger

we are not the average skier. If you saw the extreme disparity in the lines when both ego alley & bluebird were running on a holiday – 10 chair wait vs. overflow corral – it would make sense.

Beast Patroller

That may be but I still think having the Ego lift maintained and available is a benefit to the skiers & riders who paid their money to go there!

DrJeff

Beast Patroller A new fixed grip quad to replace Ego would be great. The top terminal likely needs to come down, the ½ where the old starting gate for racing (which I pushed out of myself back in the 80’s) was condemned a few years ago as you could literally step through some of the floor boards on that side. Its where they stored the water barrels for lift ops certification and also where B-net was stored in the off season for competition teams

Beast Patroller

DrJeff As much as I’d hate to see the Ego lift taken down, a new fixed grip chair would be a great addition. I realize that comparing the Ego lift to the MRG single wasn’t the best comparison but my point was if they could “restore” their lift (with limited funds) then Vail could and keep some of the mountain’s history intact. Being that Ego doesn’t go to the summit, it would never be a primary chair BUT it’s value would be during overly crowded days, high wind days, and even during icy days when the detachable lifts are down. Let’s face it, with the exception of the Bluebird, Sundance,& Sunbrook chairs the remaining chairs are 30-57 yrs. old!

Interestingly enough, Yan was the manufacturer of the Ego lift along with 6 other current lifts running there. So, if they can get parts & keep those lifts running why not Ego?

Also, your point of the Grand Summit Express and reliability, with what Vail charges for everything they could afford to replace all the aging lift at Mount Snow!

joshua_segal

The Ego Alley lift is over 40-years old; and the towers and the top area date to 1969. How hard is it to get parts for it and to maintain it? I agree that a new FG would be good, especially for the freezing rain days when detachables have problems.

DrJeff

joshua_segal Must be some problems with sourcing parts as this season will make it 2 out of the last 3 that it didn’t operate.

Plus with the Grand Summit Express nearing the 40yr mark as well, getting reliability for main base area lifts is likely an important thing

ciscokid

Such a beauty!
Those lattice towers are gorgeous

DrJeff

ciscokid where you took that pic from isn’t too far away from where I got evac’d from Ego close to 15yrs ago on MLK day when the haul rope de roped from on of the sheave trains just below Yardsale in big winds when detachables in the base area were on wind hold. It was maybe 5 degrees out with winds over 30mph.. It was about 90 minutes from when the de-rope happened until I was roped down

ski_it

Brrrr DrJeff. Nice pic Cisco
@rickbolger - Ego Alley chair has been my personal fave, no question. The lattice towers, the occasional racing/training, the relatively low ride, the final roll into the old “gondola” shed, I always loved it. Wonderful ride. <

 Plus one with you on that. Wonderful ride both ways.  I'd always try to ride it when it was running even if the base lines weren't too bad. Fun to hit after they finished training. Although a lot of times they kept that connecting trail on lookers left roped off for some (no?) reason. One time when all the base lifts were down I even used it to get across to the North Face. That was a bit of a slog but it worked.  Sorry to see it go.

newpylong

With 3 (kinda 4 now with Sundance) detaches side by side there is no chance in hell they will replace Ego sadly. If they truly cared about fixed grip redundancy it would be ready to run.

ciscokid

Not my pic I stole it from Peter🤣

Beast Patroller

Well if “restoring” the Ego lift isn’t financially smart then I think the argument can be made to replace it with another fix grip chair. They’ve had quite a few days or partial days this season where a fix grip would have made skier happier.

conrad

Definitely feel lucky to have been able to catch a ride last season, under nice sunny skies for photography no less!
Remontees-Mecaniques report
Hope it will be back in 26-27.

marcski

Fixed grip redundancy is a good thing to have. K is replacing the Snowdon triple this summer with a fixed grip quad. Their plan is to have a fixed grip way up to each peak.

Beast Patroller

High speed detachable lifts are nice and an efficient way of getting skier up and out on the mountain but they have their drawbacks. Yesterday at Berkshire East they had some high winds that blew across the mountain downing the summit lifts. They were able to run the lower fixed grip chairs until late morning when they fired up the summit quad (fixed grip). When we left @ 3pm they still didn’t have their detachable quad running!

Beast Patroller

Well here we go again! Today is another example of the importance of the Ego Alley lift. All lifts except Nitro & Discovery lift are on wind hold. With no access from the main base to Carinthia you are being told to park at Carinthia.

nepatsfan1

I used to love going to MS. Now I do not even think about it. As I get older all I want is some high speed cruising and not have to deal with the parks to ski. I used to day trip it from Central MA all the time. I would rather just got to the Chu (yeah I know it is not much and expensive) and get some weekday laps in and call it a day at lunch. Such a shame that it has been going downhill like all the other older Peak places. Just my rant as these Vail run areas just plain are not what they used to be.

Beast Patroller

nepatsfan1 I fully understand how you feel. I went to Mount Snow in 2010 and really enjoyed the the terrain (especially the North Face). For the most part everyone was friendly and respected each other. You felt safe on the trails and management did a good job giving you a good product. Kelly Pawlak was a great GM and no other GM has worked as hard as she did! It was never below her to get involved and do whatever was necessary whether it was just greeting the skiers or busing tables to even cleaning the restrooms! You always saw her out there and not hiding in her office. She was also approachable when you had a compliment or concern. Sadly since Vail took over the corporation & mountain management aren’t interested in what the skiers think or feel. All they’re concerned with is how much money they can make for the shareholders. Being retired now my wife & I bought a 2 day Epic pass this season so we could try midweek but with all the complaints and lack of customer service (again) we’ve decided to use the passes but won’t be buying full Epic passes next year. We just can’t support this regime as long as they place profits over customer service.

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