Riverwalk Resort & Pulse Gondola at Loon

NewEnglandSkier13

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/04/prweb13350549.htm

powderstud

Thanks for posting this, NewEnglandSkier13.  I wasn’t aware of this development.As I was reading the press release, honestly it brought to mind the scene at the drive-inn theater from John Waters’ subversive send-up of suburban life, “Polyester.”

joshua_segal

What is a “pulse gondola” and if it’s something odd-ball, what areas have one?

TomWhite

My only experience with a pulse gondi is Snowmass several years ago. Cabins are grouped with 3-4 6/8 passenger cabins fixed grip to the single haul cable together. It’s called Sky Cab and parallels their Village Express HSS. They give the vertical (160’) but not the length. I’d say about 600’. The haul rope never stops but slows when each group of cabins reaches a station, bottom, top and 1 or 2 mid-stations. I never rode it down so I’m not sure if there are corresponding downhill mid-stations. There are 4-6 groups of cabins. One carries their equipment in/out of the cabin. At full speed the haul rope seems to go faster than a regular fixed grip lift. This lift serves the village and novice slope. These lifts exist elsewhere (I know Europe) as regular mountain lifts. But unless they have detachable grips they would have low uphill capacity.

Below is from Dopplemayr’s site:

Doppelmayr/Garaventa also offers its customers ropeway systems that are out of the ordinary. Pulsed movement aerial ropeways are special systems which are built to address particular needs. The typical feature of these installations is the arrangement of groups of carriers on the haul rope. The gondolas themselves provide transport for either seated or standing passengers. The number and size of the gondolas depends on the transport capacity required in any one case. Simple, transparent ropeway technology is the hallmark of the pulsed movement installation which can be designed as either a detachable or fixed-grip lift. This ropeway type is particularly well suited to short transportation lengths – for both summer and winter tourism. Travel speeds of up to 7 m/s can be achieved with this system.

To give passengers an even greater appreciation of their surroundings and an unhindered view of the scenery, it is also possible to use open gondolas. This is a popular demand for summer tourism in particular and provides a special attraction for tourists and visitors.

The pulsed movement aerial ropeway at a glance

<p style=“background: rgb(246, 246, 246); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;”>Ideal for very short distances

<p style=‘background: rgb(246, 246, 246); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 12pt; font-family: “Calibri”,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;’>Reversible or continuous movement system possible

jaytrem

There’s a good number of pulsed lifts around.  Mostly out west.  A number are used where you only require low capacity but higher speeds are desired.  Much cheaper and simpler than detachable lifts.  I know the Yellowstone Club has a number of bubble quad pulse lifts.  

One unique one is at Norquay in Banff.  They took their standard double chair that serves the expert terrain and converted into a pulse lift.  I’ve been there 3 times before the conversion, the chair was basically empty each time, so the capacity wasn’t needed.  Now they can run the lift at 800 feet per minute whenever the group of chairs isn’t loading or unloading. It will be interesting to see if any place else does the same thing.  Sundance at Mount Snow would be my choice.

Chuckstah

The Riverwalk Hotel is quite impressive looking.  It’s the first thing you notice looking right when driving North on 93 by exit 32.

Good article on pulse lifts.

https://liftblog.com/2015/06/17/pulse-lifts/ </div>

joshua_segal

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“jaytrem”>There’s a good number of pulsed lifts around.  Mostly out west.  A number are used where you only require low capacity but higher speeds are desired.  Much cheaper and simpler than detachable lifts.  I know the Yellowstone Club has a number of bubble quad pulse lifts.

</blockquote>

Thanks all for your answers to my question, but dealing with jaytrem’s Norquay comment.  (Maybe a rhetorical question:) How does Norquay (and perhaps other areas) afford to replace an underutilized lift with a more expensive (but still underutilized) lift?

jaytrem

Norquay didn’t replace the lift.  They just removed a good percentage of the chairs so that there are just a few groups of them.  I assume their existing motor was powerful enough for the faster speed.  But I don’t know that for sure.  So in theory the only expense would be some new controls/programming that would make the lift automatically slow down whenever the group of chairs is nearing the top/bottom.

Speaking of liftblog, the Norquay chair can be seen here….

https://liftblog.com/norquay-mt-norquay-ab/ </div>

TomWhite

Here’s a caption from liftblog:<figcaption class=“wp-caption-text”>“This lift was converted from a traditional fixed grip lift to a pulse version with eight groups of four chairs each running at 800 fpm.”</figcaption><figcaption class=“wp-caption-text”></figcaption><figcaption class=“wp-caption-text”>This is an interesting way to use an ‘underused’ lift. Even with the slowing at the terminals I wonder if a fixed gift going 800 fpm would be approved by any American state.  If so I beat this would ‘a fit’ for the quad between The Hermitage and Haystack. While almost double speed is noteworthy it seems ripe for problems.</figcaption>

TomWhite

To make this fit 2.0 I deleted two paragraphs just before Phase 2 where the Gondi is discussed. In the build out sketch 5 wide snow covered trails on the South Peak are in the background.

ropeways.net | Home | 2016-04-22

Riverwalk Resort At Loon Mountain Announces Anticipated Opening In May, 2016 Phase 2 of the resort is slated to start construction in 2017 along with the Doppelmayr Gondola   Defying the skeptics, the old paper mill in Lincoln, NH is replaced with a grand new resort project by successful regional developer, bringing new jobs and a new era for a growing White Mountains town   Lincoln, NH - With the opening planned for May 2016 in Lincoln, New Hampshire, RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain’s phase 1 of development is nearing completion.   Construction of this architectural centerpiece of Lincoln, consisting of the first 79 of the total 170 proposed luxury suites is shaping up to be the newest grand resort in New Hampshire. This seven story structure is the tallest building north of Concord, NH reaching 188 feet high, and its presence in the White Mountains rivals that of famed resorts like the Omni Mount Washington and the Balsams Resort.      Phase 2 of the resort is slated to start construction in 2017 along with the Doppelmayr Gondola that will cross the Pemigewasset River and will land resort guests at the base of Loon Mountain. The gondola consists of six cabins with an eight passenger capacity (per cabin) and utilizes a pulsed movement ropeway allowing the cabins to never completely stop. The next phase will also include additional retail shopping and dining, open to the public. It has also been hinted that a vineyard will be planted along with the expansion of the winery on the sprawling grounds of RiverWalk Resort at Loon.    The grandeur of this new resort facility will undoubtedly raise the level of hospitality in the Western White Mountains. Reservations are being accepted now for June arrivals and a grand opening event is scheduled for later that month.    RiverWalk at Loon, LLC is the resort development project started by accomplished resort developer, Dennis Ducharme of Lincoln, NH and Hyannis, Cape Cod, MA. Mr. Ducharme is the President of InnSeason Resorts, a collection of vacation ownership resorts across New England known for their unique style of yankee hospitality and luxury accommodations. RiverWalk Resort at Loon is a full-service, resort and fractional ownership hotel at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire.   For more information, please visit http://www.riverwalkatloon.com

NewEnglandSkier13

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“TomWhite”>Here’s a caption from liftblog:<figcaption class=“wp-caption-text”>“This lift was converted from a traditional fixed grip lift to a pulse version with eight groups of four chairs each running at 800 fpm.”</figcaption><figcaption class=“wp-caption-text”></figcaption><figcaption class=“wp-caption-text”>This is an interesting way to use an ‘underused’ lift. Even with the slowing at the terminals I wonder if a fixed gift going 800 fpm would be approved by any American state.  If so I beat this would ‘a fit’ for the quad between The Hermitage and Haystack. While almost double speed is noteworthy it seems ripe for problems.</figcaption></blockquote>

It’s already been approved in multiple states. Here’s an example at the Yellowstone Club: https://liftblog.com/meadow-yellowstone-club-mt/

TomWhite

Yes their write up  is what I was thinking. They don’t need much capacity but they want speed. Four groups of three bubble FGQ. All stats are in metric, I’ll see if I can convert.            meters       feetVert.    267            823Len.    1883          5973Cap.                      182 p/hSp.      5.1 m/s      1004 fpm It seems like a lot of lift for such a low capacity.