"Old School" Lifts that You've Ridden

NewEnglandSkier13

I must add the Platter Pull at Black, NH (Meuller, Poma)!

NewEnglandSkier13

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“IBRAKEFORTBARS”>I ought to add in all the t-bars I rode in Switzerland at Sörenberg and my beloved Flumserberg (family of mine owns a chalet there) but I have no idea if they’re Meuller or Städeli or Roebling. They’re all lattice tower; here’s one of them!!! </blockquote>My guess would be Mueller based on the design. Compare it to this abandoned Mueller t-bar at Mount Watatic: http://newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=259

joshua_segal

I’m not a “lift purist” like many of the posters on this list.  So I have a five that are particularly memorable to me:1. The yellow Killington Double with its loading mid-station for late and early season skiing.  One of the chairs and towers can be seen at the jct. of Rte. 4 and route 100 (on the south side of Rte. 4).2. The 3 stage 3.5 mile Killington Gondola.  Not the greatest skiing, but a great place to eat lunch on a day that was too good to go in for lunch.3. The Red Poma at Okemo.  It was the longest Poma in New England and it was the fastest way to get 1500′ or so of vertical in a pre-HS-detachable world.4. Either of the 2-passenger gondolas at Mt. Snow.  It was a theoretically unique way to protect the skier from the cold - but when you needed it worst on windy days, they couldn’t run them!5. The Skimobile at Cranmore.  Not real fast; not a lot of skiers per hour, but definitely a unique part of New England skiing history.

catamount82

My top three:Mt. Mansfield SingleMad River Single*Montreal Jet T-Bar (Jay Peak)

newpylong

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“joshua_segal”>I’m not a “lift purist” like many of the posters on this list.  So I have a five that are particularly memorable to me:1. The yellow Killington Double with its loading mid-station for late and early season skiing.  One of the chairs and towers can be seen at the jct. of Rte. 4 and route 100 (on the south side of Rte. 4).2. The 3 stage 3.5 mile Killington Gondola.  Not the greatest skiing, but a great place to eat lunch on a day that was too good to go in for lunch.3. The Red Poma at Okemo.  It was the longest Poma in New England and it was the fastest way to get 1500′ or so of vertical in a pre-HS-detachable world.4. Either of the 2-passenger gondolas at Mt. Snow.  It was a theoretically unique way to protect the skier from the cold - but when you needed it worst on windy days, they couldn’t run them!5. The Skimobile at Cranmore.  Not real fast; not a lot of skiers per hour, but definitely a unique part of New England skiing history.</blockquote>

The old yellow peak double had its second lease on life as the Needle’s Eye chair. For some reason I haven’t seen that someone moved a tower and chair to Bridgewater Corners. I will have to be on the look-out. 

sugarloaf

Mt Washington Cog skiing in March of 2005

IBRAKEFORTBARS

I remember reading an article in a 1984 issue of Skiing magazine about the Red Poma and the changes at Okemo under the new ownership. The Poma was replaced with a triple chair that year, changing Okemo from a “what’s that?” into a “how do I get there?” place. I believe the old Poma liftline became the Nor’Easter trail. In the next few seasons one Poma after another was displaced by a triple or quad chair.

IBRAKE

Kayaker

I’ll add all the Pomas at Atlantic Forest (NELSAPped) and the now defunct single chair at Gunstock.  Not to mention various rope tows now long gone and the Cranmore SkiMobile.

phil

Old School lifts I have ridden would include  t-bars #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, the gondola, and the now named Bucksaw chair at SugarloafRangeley Chair, Sandy Chair, Cupsuptic T-bar, Kennebago T-Bar at Saddleback as well as the older lower t-bar thereboth t-bars at TitcombThe original 3 t-bars at Sunday RiverThe Constam chair at Pleasant (now Shawnee) and I think there was a T-bar then tooThe t-bar and pomas at HickoryThe Maine T-bar and WayBack machine at AbramSnowdon Poma at KillingtonAll lifts at EnchantedLookout Double, Tollhouse & Mountain tripple at StoweHigh Peaks Double at GoreThe two doubles at Blue Knob

orangegondola

Too many to list, most are on my site, but there may have been a 3.5 mile gondola in the mix and a certain red heron chair.

z1000307470

A few highlights:Mt Tremblant single, Stowe single, MRG pre upgrade singleMt Snow chain chairs, Mt Snow 2 passenger enclosed chair/gondolaAll Okemo pomas, Hickory pomas, Killington poma, Burke poma Bobcat, Plattekill, Campgaw, Big Tupper  t-barsOriginal Gore, Killington, Stowe gondolasThe bubble chair at Vernon ValleySouth Ridge Triple at KillingtonMany rope tows and double chairs

marcski

Lots of “old school” lifts when you’ve been skiing for a long time.  Some that stand out…in addition to the K-mart double chair and original gondola and the Mt. Snow “gondola chairs” that Joshua mentioned.Berkshire East’s T-bar and J-bar.I don’t think anyone mentioned the Single Chair at MRG.Plattekill’s Hall double and triple chairs. (The double came from Belleayre, not sure about the triple).The original center pole Millicent chair at Brighton.  (That is still the scariest chair I’ve ever ridden).There are so many more…I will come back to this I need to get some work done. 

sugarloaf

Killington VT:Killington Double Chair - Later the Needles Eye DoubleRams Head DoubleSnowdon Double - Now Snowdon QuadKillington GondolaNortheast Passage Triple - Now shortened to Sunrise TripleDevils Fiddle QuadSouth Ridge TriplePico:Giant Killer PomaBirch Glades DoublePico T-bar II

IBRAKEFORTBARS

I should add:

Killington, VT The Rams Head double Killington Peak hall double Original Killington gondola Snowshed Poma double chair with the floating bullwheel Needles Eye double South Ridge Yan triple Northeast Passage triple (before it was shortened)

rickbolger

Like a lot of folks here, too many to list! The ones I feel fortunate to experience include these:

Cannon tram 1966, 1970 Wildcat gondy 1966 Sunapee gondy (not a ski lift) 1971(?) Killington summit double 1966 Mt Beacon trolley 1965, 1966

All of the above as a summer time tourist, wonderful memories

IBRAKEFORTBARS

There are a few I wish I’d experienced but, alas, cannot because they are no more:

Wildcat gondy Sugarloaf gondy Sugarbush gondy Mt Whittier gondy Mt Snow gondies Okemos red Poma The Dutch Hill and Hogback t-bars The Constam t-bars with the man-eating springs at Sugarloaf Jet t-bar at Jay Peak Lord’s Prayer j-bar at Bromley The Städeli double chair and T-bars at Intermont Etc Etc Etc

:'(

IBRAKE

newman

Im sure many have rode bousquets summit c-s. A classic. I loved the video jeremy posted last season of it.by

woodcore

Have rode on a bunch of the previously mentioned lifts so not to be repetitive here’s a couple not on the list. Cathedral Style Hall Chair @ Big TupperSummit Poma @ Pico Big Spruce Double (w/ original chairs) @ Stowe

Skizix

Rope Tow- Darrow’s, NY ’66J-bar- Gore? 60’sT-bar- Alpine Meadows, NY ’60’sGondola- Gore, NY ’70Rope Tow- West Mountain, NY ’72Poma- Killington ’68Grand Slam Center Pole Double- Jiminy Peak 2000Red Chair- Magic 2002Dot’s Chair- Brodie, MA 2001Little T-bar / Big T-bar- Bobcat, NY 200?Poma- Okemo 20??Poma- Hickory, NY 2014, ’15A bunch that I rode between 1965 and 1978 that I just don’t remember. 8-|

bmwskier

Does it count as “old school” when it was actually in session? The first quad on Yodeler was more of a 3.5 instead. Would that count? 

« Previous Page Next Page »