There’s a lot of bad PR you have to factor in to the ROI calculations.
You could scrap it, but now you can’t get to the top. That doesn’t look good in the eyes of the public. I think the weekday closures of Ascutney’s HSQ is a good example of this.
You could add a cheap used chair along the line of the old double, but again, there’s a foul taste left in the mouths of skiers. It’d seen as a massive downgrade to now have to take 2 lifts to get to the top. Even if most skiers don’t ski from the tram, they see that line disappearing from the map.
Also, I don’t think there’s a suitable lift on the market. To protect from wind holds, it’d be best to have a quad chair. Maximum weight prevents swaying in a breeze. No quads are available. The last one was split up and moved to the midwest.
And don’t forget, it’s a signature lift. Every publication has that shot of the tram car 160 ft over the gap above the top of Bonnie. Every publication used to have the picture of the bottom of the old tram car which was painted “JAY” on the bottom (are the new ones painted like so?). It’s a lift that sets the ski area apart from the competition. It gives it that Alpine feel. There’s a reason Jackson Hole replaced their tram with a new one a couple years ago.
And that’s why I’ve felt it’s important for Sugarloaf to get a new T2B lift … in my mind a funifor to protect it from winds … especially with all the wind holds where most lifts are down and you need to use the #3 T.
It’s a vital refurbishment. I have a feeling if Jay had been diligently working on this issue, the State wouldn’t have tacked on the brake and evac additions.
