Meet the new Colorado SuperChair [video]
Improving uphill capacity by 30 percent, the new Colorado SuperChair at the base of Peak 8 will greet skiers and riders for the 2014-2015 season on Opening Day, November 7 at Breckenridge Ski Resort.
Crews have been working to install new towers, remove chairs, splice wires, install an engine, and build a new load ramp all summer. Gary Shimanowitz, VP of Mountain Operations at Breckenridge, couldn’t be more excited to show off the new chair this season.
“Our new Colorado SuperChair replaces the old Colorado Chair which was installed in 1985 as a first generation detachable quad,” Shimanowitz said. “It’ll be an excellent enhancement for skiers to spend less time here at the bottom and more time up on the hill skiing and riding.”
One of the newest features of the Colorado SuperChair is the loading conveyor belt, which helps skiers and riders of all abilities line up correctly, get to the load portion of the ramp, and get on the chair safely and efficiently.
“The loading conveyor helps us get 3,600 people per hour [on the mountain],” Shimanowitz said. “You’ll just get on the carpet and it’ll take you from the wait point to the load point where everybody will be lined up in unison as the chair comes around.”
The new six person chairlift replaces the old chairlift with minimal environmental impact as the same bases for towers were used and all the old chairs will be moved to the Beaver Run chair in an additional upgrade for Peak 9.
“By utilizing the same lift lines, alignment and terminal locations the environmental impact was very small,” Shimanowitz said.
To learn more about the building of the Colorado SuperChair, check out our video above that documented the entire process all summer long.
7 Responses
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Sheila Rooney
Check this new chair out, at Peak 8.
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yes great news and that Vail Assoc are spending money on uphill improvements at Breck rather than Vail. Its time Chair 5 Ricks Ride ( I think that whats its called) is also upgraded. OK its a beginners and terrain park access lift but and I don't use it but the wait times difficult loading and speed are an embarrassment to ensuring our beginners have "the experience of a life time"
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Looking good, let's try it out real soon!
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If you build it they will come! The new lift looks great. The rolling mat will minimize gaper-tastrophes. However – will the offload up at Vista Haus be able to handle the traffic? I've seen/narrowly avoided several gnarly pileups over the years, often due to lift ops sleeping it off. Just saying..
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Now it's time to replace Chair 6!
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Nice less time standing at the Colorado chair, so we can get to the T-bar and 6 chair and wait even longer.
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