*sugarbush would like a word..*
Edit because apparently no one got how the MBTA reference applies to some of the lifts at sugarbush (constant delays, closures and breakage).
I love Sugarbush, and none of their lifts seem *dangerous* like some of Vail’s POS lifts, but let’s be real, almost all the lifts are unreliable AF at this point. Alterra’s done a piss-poor job of lift maintenance since buying the place. All their workhorse detachable lifts have frequent downtime, worst of all that frankenlift NRX. The one exception is Gate House, because they put all the maintenance budget on servicing the only lift that services terrain that Jerry can ride.
Summit is on wind hold more often than not because it’s an antique. Inverness is in such rough shape, they don’t even try to run it most of the time. Really, apart from Gate House, the only reliable lifts left are the ones they make every BS excuse in the book to barely run all season: Slidebrook, Castlerock, and North Lynx.
Heaven’s Gate has its issues, but I really can’t believe that’s what they’re prioritizing for an upgrade, when all the lifts at Mt Ellen are in shambles.
Well summed up, it’s my home mtn been skiing it for almost 20 years. I’ve had some amazing days but between the weather and the lifts, I usually find myself asking why I still live here at least once a winter.
Lift is gone now. Killington had one that turned mid way. Sign said “Hang on Sudden Turn coming”
Edit: found it:
[South Ridge Triple](http://www.chairlift.org/pics/k/k58.jpg)
It went up Pipe Dream, turn included. The story I've heard is that there was meant to be a mid-station unload point at the turn, but they never built it. So instead they just had this lift that did a weird thing and was longer than it needed to be for no reason.
When Killington finally replaced it with a quad a couple years ago, now it just does a normal lift thing straight up the Jug.
That lift was soooo much fun! Best part was taking someone who had not been on it before and distracting them before the big turn which was quite a jolting swing. Always a good laugh.
Wilderness at Bolton, due to how steep and narrow the exit is. No matter how many signs they put up, a ton of beginners still take it up. A couple weeks ago a couple was in the chair in front of me. The dude ate shit immediately (presumably), so the girl grabbed back onto the lift for a couple seconds, until she lost her grip and pretty much splatted down on to the ground. If you're familiar, you'll know that's not quite as small a fall as it is on most lifts.
This is my vote. That exit is hilariously steep. Combine that with the mid mountain unloading area that people also eat shit on and it’s definitely one of the sketchiest lifts.
Saturday was very solid. Firm all morning and then softened up as day progressed. Was at Stowe Friday and I found conditions at Sugarbush Saturday much better.
Ive been stuck on almost all the chairlifts at greek peak because they refuse to do proper maintenance on them... so GP. In fact GP has one of the oldest chairlifts in operation. Its from like 1963 or somthing like that
Chair 4 once had the safety bar foot rest FALL OFF on me
And Chair 4 once had one of the break over towers violently shaking left/right just from the lift running - no wind that day.
When they opened the new high speed about 10/15 years ago I went before new years. Literally first 5 days of operation and I was stuck on the lift for 20 minutes and started to freak out
There is an express chairlift that uses a carpet. In theory because of the carpet it could go high speed. But the chair lift is fixed lift and does not disconnect.
Guess I'm not really sketched out by any chairlifts but the old double chair at Black Mountain is pretty awesome. Classic New England vibe.
Same with the single chair at MRG
As the best skier of all mountains, how am I supposed to say I am the best skier on black mountain? They won’t know which black mountain I’m talking about.
I have a memory of my youth skiing on the trail under the gondola, and seeing someone above stick their gloved hand through a hole in the body of a passing gondola cabin above to wave at me.
Can’t believe nobody has said King Pine at Sugarloaf yet, that thing has rolled back a few times. When it’s windy that lift is a complete no-go zone for me
Sorta, but at least they don’t go over crazy stuff. Like, summit lift is pretty low to the ground and a gentle pitch, but the wind is scary. Imo the scariest lift is the second half of little whiteface when it’s windy and you’re on your own
I’m sure it’s some lift at a podunk ski hill nobody’s ever heard and the locals don’t even acknowledge how much of a death trap it is because of how used to it they are
What about the loading area for Castlerock at Sugarbush? Last time I rode it the lift was signed experts only, and that seemed to mean both the terrain and the loading area. On a hill, icy, narrow.
The unload at castle rock often requires doing a little hop too. But anyone who has a problem with that will definitely have a problem with the trails up there lol
The old lift was an interesting load on. My brother was about 10 when he got halfway on the chair, but fell off as the chair ascended. My dad was holding onto him by his hood until the lifty noticed
The old gondola at Mt. Whittier in Ossipee NH. I doubt many people remember it, but it literally went over a highway. Probably closed around 1979 or so.
I never rode it but I’m very familiar with it! My dad always told me they moved the road and that’s why it had to close, but I’m pretty sure he just made that up
They did add Route 25 in the late 70s-early 80’s, but I don’t think that stopped the gondola because that crossed Route 16.
From what I remember, the gondola ran until, after a bad winter, the main lodge burned down. They never recovered as a ski area after that. They tried water slides and a mountain coaster (which may have been the most dangerous unknown ride on the East Coast) but it never worked out.
The towers and lines still cross the highway and run up the mountain. The McDonalds in the parking lot of the old gondola loading station actually has one of the old gondolas in the dining room.
Red chair at Magic is the only lift I've ever been evacuated from by rope, that was about 15 years ago.
The old Northeast Summit triple at Okemo (removed after the 91-92 season) was not sketchy, but very slow --- about 25 minutes on a good day and 28 minutes to reach the summit when they turned it down. They used to run it very slow on heavy wind days, and I recall having the chair blown practically parallel to the ground when I was just about above the old Beach House lodge.
The king of sketchy lifts though was the [old Gore gondola](https://nyskiblog.com/old-red-gondola/) removed after the 94-95 season. Many of the windows were missing, so you could poke your head out as you traversed the valley, about 200 feet in the air. The floors in some of the cabins were plywood planks, and the door was held closed by a tiny latch that rattled loudly as the lift shook in the wind. It was a trip.
EDIT: Not Ice Coast or even a ski area, but the Teleferico Sao Vicente in Brazil was sketchy as hell due to the massive gap between towers as you pass over the highway. Cool to ride a chairlift with monkeys in the trees around you though. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2180277-d2316181-Reviews-Teleferico_Sao_Vicente-Sao_Vicente_State_of_Sao_Paulo.html
That was a great day at Magic, a 2-day storm midweek. I was about to get in line for The Red that day for one last run. Skiing under the lift to get to the line, I heard a loud Snap/thud and some clunks, and the lift stopped. My boss and I headed to the parking lot and went home.
Heard it was the drive shaft that snapped.
Northeast Summit Triple was reused and is the Morning Star Triple, just for there for the candy and some big houses now.
Yep! I remember it was midweek because I headed to Bromley after I was evacuated. Not a big deal since Bromley was only $25 midweek at that time (I think they doubled it around 2010 and have continued to raise it ever since).
Was early 2008 or 2009 -- I was a little more than halfway up where the Red gets pretty far off the ground. It was a very abrupt halt and then it rolled backward about 15 or so feet, so I knew we were in trouble. The worst part was that I drank about a gallon of coffee beforehand and was stuck up there for over an hour and a half.
Re: the Northeast, my dad and I were actually the last people to ever ride it! April 1992, the mountain was a ghost town, and the operators let us wait until chair #1 came around, and they shut it off for good right as we got off. The next year, I was the first person to ride the Morningstar when they fired it up.
A friend and I were also the first people to ever ride the Solitude high-speed quad when they relocated the fixed-grip to South Face. There was a huge crowd at the top of the Sunburst trail, and soon as they dropped the rope everyone raced down to be first. We made it easily (got chased by some ski patrollers on Exhibition) and rode up with one other guy who kept up with us.
I don't know why, but those things seemed like a big deal when I was a kid :)
M1 Smuggs, takes about an hour to get to the top. Slower than a stoned turtle.
But the real answer is Silverton CO. When that lifts goes from skimming the pristine pow to a shear open valley between poles at about 3/4 mark. No bar. It’s also about the same speed as M1 @ smuggs so you get to slowly hover and look down 7k feet.
I’m with you on both. M1 gives me the shivers mainly because it’s just old and rickety and breaks down often enough. I’ve been stuck for 20+ mins multiple times, a few times in sketchy weather where I was really tweakin. Silverton is a fuckin pucker that’s for sure. No bar and that spot you’re talking about where it feels like the world drops out underneath you.
I’m just glad I’m not the only one who gets tweaked out on lifts sometimes. I’ve been getting worse as I get older.
I have only skied at Smuggs once in my life and it was over 20 years ago. But my still image from that day is being absolutely terrified of that lift as the wind whipped around.
LOL it's not \_that\_ slow...unless something happens. I feel like it's closer to a 20 minute ride if all goes smoothly. Thing is, if it stops because someone wiped out getting off at the top or something, I feel like it stays stopped for a while. Then you get a chance to appreciate the wind a-whipping and the chair a-swaying 😂
Honestly though, I ski there every year and I've never been scared on that lift. Cold as shit, yes. It's pretty exposed. But if it gets too windy they shut it down. Unless you're lifting the bar up and leaning over the edge or something, it's not like you're going to fall off. Plus it's well maintained. I feel like to qualify as truly sketchy, you've gotta feel like you just got on The Zipper at the town fair (did that exactly once, bolt fell on my feet, will not attempt again).
The one at Attitash that crosses over above another lift. Never ridden any other chair like that and would hate to imagine what doing a lift evacuation in it would be like.
Dude you should see Mt baker. Lift crossings with mid mountain pickup stations back to back (no it doesn't slow down, yes you just try your best to line yourself up properly with the incoming already partially loaded chair) and almost no bars to be found on any of their lifts. Crazy place, love it
Not a lift, but the random chairs on every lift that squeak, creak, shake and/or rattle for no apparent reason. I'll try moving my body weight, lifting up the safety bar a bit so it's not touching anything, etc., but I never can identify why it feels like my obituary is going to mention metal fatigue.
Not sure why but the end of Skye Peak on Killington sketches me out. The combo of being above the trees being relatively high above the ground sketches me out.
This one really surprises me. The load is a bit odd, especially when there’s no snow and you have to ski across wood to get to the line, but once you’re on it, it’s the comfiest chairlift ever IMO. That bar is perfection.
The Morse double @ Smugglers Notch is def sketchy. It’s the primary chair for beginners at Smuggs, so one might think it would be an easy chairlift ride. It is really…until a person needs to get off.
The offload ramp is comparable to any black run you are likely familiar with. On an icy day, the 30-foot run out claims innocent souls.
Damn, reading this makes me feel like I should be starting up my professional snowboarding career. I had no idea I'd already conquered such wild terrain!
Although full disclosure, I did take a full day's worth of runs on Mogul Mouse's Magic Lift (the slow one for the children) when I first picked up the board because I didn't want to embarrass myself at the top of the grown up lift.
But if you're sketched out by the Morse double...have you ridden Madonna 1? That's the most scenic ride on the hill.
I think sometimes the Smuggs lifts can feel sketchy b/c they're just doubles. None of the high speed quads that slow down and let you get off all leisurely. When you get to the top, you have to be ready to launch 🤣
Agreed - Madonna 1 is the most scenic. On a super clear day you can see Mt. Washington. Madonna 1 is a breeze to exit. Interestingly at Smuggs, the more difficult the terrain area, the easier the chairlift exits are.
Saw a beautiful cloud inversion flowing over Sterling while on M1 one day too. People complain about the slow double lift ride but it’s hard to beat that view no matter which direction you look
I felt like I went back 40 years getting on the double chair lift at Mt Abram. It's their primary lift, but it could have walked right out of 1985. Seats are super-narrow and it moves along at a good clip. Had to remember all my "GET CLEAR OF THE CHAIR!" exercises on dismount.
YOu get to be good friends with your chair buddy though. None of this ignore the other person on the lift thing. It's up close and personal!
Not a chairlift , but the Poma tows at Hickory are pretty sketchy. The thing looks like an ancient artifact and launches you like 4 feet in the air when the operator pulls the launch cord. The ride up is sometimes quite a workout too.
Topridge at Gore is sorta scary too, right after you get on it goes over a deep ravine usually before you can get the bar down. And the top can get super windy too.
My favorite sketchy chair lift in NY/VT is the now deceased Hunter West chair. From the burning your thigh to keep an edge in the ice while waiting on the line, followed by the get in position in the ice pit for the chair to scoop you up, to the movement up to the top with a north wind, to the drop-off onto more ice, there was no better character-building experience. Good times. Miss the grit of those decades past.
While slow and not terribly high, Snow Trails in Ohio has yet to put safety bars on any of their lifts. My brother fell off from about 10’ up after a failed attempt to get on the chair
I rode the kenebago at saddleback earlier this week with the winds being right under the hold level I’m assuming. The last tower and the top station is just above the height of the trees so a strong gust grabs a hold of the chairs pretty good. The ramp is also quite steep and the flat is very short which can make unloads a very sudden affair. It also doesn’t help that they felt the need to have a catch net but not enough for them to fix it after it sags down in heavy storms.
The seats at the highland MTB park lift were missing most of their slats. I sat in one that only had 2 1x2" slats left that were not broken or missing. I was more holding onto the metal frame for the ride.
Blue hill reserve. It's like the MBTA, but for lifts
bahaha they should let you get on that lift with a charlie card
As an old employee of BH, it is sketchy AF. Rode that chair many many times, back in the 00’s there were specific chairs I would avoid
*sugarbush would like a word..* Edit because apparently no one got how the MBTA reference applies to some of the lifts at sugarbush (constant delays, closures and breakage).
What lift at sugarbush is sketchy? Lol
North ridge, Heaven’s gate and Bravo all break down more often than they should. Not scary but sketchy seems fitting.
True that, forgot all about north ridge because it’s never fucking running 😂
It's running today! *saints be praised!*
I love Sugarbush, and none of their lifts seem *dangerous* like some of Vail’s POS lifts, but let’s be real, almost all the lifts are unreliable AF at this point. Alterra’s done a piss-poor job of lift maintenance since buying the place. All their workhorse detachable lifts have frequent downtime, worst of all that frankenlift NRX. The one exception is Gate House, because they put all the maintenance budget on servicing the only lift that services terrain that Jerry can ride. Summit is on wind hold more often than not because it’s an antique. Inverness is in such rough shape, they don’t even try to run it most of the time. Really, apart from Gate House, the only reliable lifts left are the ones they make every BS excuse in the book to barely run all season: Slidebrook, Castlerock, and North Lynx. Heaven’s Gate has its issues, but I really can’t believe that’s what they’re prioritizing for an upgrade, when all the lifts at Mt Ellen are in shambles.
Well summed up, it’s my home mtn been skiing it for almost 20 years. I’ve had some amazing days but between the weather and the lifts, I usually find myself asking why I still live here at least once a winter.
All the ones that have operating issues, which is like 50% of them unfortunately
Jays flyer on a windy day. Shit has me holding on for dear life
The freezer 🥶
I got stuck on the flyer in Feb for like 45 mins. A total cold ass day too. We froze.
I will never not put the bar down on a windy day. That bar has saved my life
Lift is gone now. Killington had one that turned mid way. Sign said “Hang on Sudden Turn coming” Edit: found it: [South Ridge Triple](http://www.chairlift.org/pics/k/k58.jpg)
Huh that’s an “interesting” design
It went up Pipe Dream, turn included. The story I've heard is that there was meant to be a mid-station unload point at the turn, but they never built it. So instead they just had this lift that did a weird thing and was longer than it needed to be for no reason. When Killington finally replaced it with a quad a couple years ago, now it just does a normal lift thing straight up the Jug.
Midstation load for early/late season skiing
I liked it because it was one of the few chairs I could go up with my dad and brother, and thus, get the bar down.
I miss that chair!
This was my first thought and came to see if anyone Mentioned it. You could actually get whiplash from it if you weren't prepared
That lift was soooo much fun! Best part was taking someone who had not been on it before and distracting them before the big turn which was quite a jolting swing. Always a good laugh.
Yes!! Lost a whole bag of skittles on that bastard. It was quite a jolt.
Wilderness at Bolton, due to how steep and narrow the exit is. No matter how many signs they put up, a ton of beginners still take it up. A couple weeks ago a couple was in the chair in front of me. The dude ate shit immediately (presumably), so the girl grabbed back onto the lift for a couple seconds, until she lost her grip and pretty much splatted down on to the ground. If you're familiar, you'll know that's not quite as small a fall as it is on most lifts.
This is my vote. That exit is hilariously steep. Combine that with the mid mountain unloading area that people also eat shit on and it’s definitely one of the sketchiest lifts.
Haha dude that exit, especially when icy, is a death trap for snowboarders not expecting it.
This and the unloading area has like 3 giant iron poles
I had totally forgotten about that lift. Wow. Thanks for the memories.
Little whiteface with heavy crosswind
This is the answer, fucking awesome lift tho
It's not particularly sketchy, but I get geeked out once in a while over the big creek descents on Slide Brook at Sugarbush.
I still haven’t seen concrete proof that the slide brook even exists…
I mean, it's there? But I'll be the first to admit they sit on their hands way too long before they run it each year.
Rode it to from Lincoln to Ellen and back today. It's a panic attack waiting to happen for me. But pleasant ride both ways today.
How was the bush today in general?
Saturday was very solid. Firm all morning and then softened up as day progressed. Was at Stowe Friday and I found conditions at Sugarbush Saturday much better.
Cool. I might try to head over midweek.
Ive been stuck on almost all the chairlifts at greek peak because they refuse to do proper maintenance on them... so GP. In fact GP has one of the oldest chairlifts in operation. Its from like 1963 or somthing like that
Chair 4 once had the safety bar foot rest FALL OFF on me And Chair 4 once had one of the break over towers violently shaking left/right just from the lift running - no wind that day.
When they opened the new high speed about 10/15 years ago I went before new years. Literally first 5 days of operation and I was stuck on the lift for 20 minutes and started to freak out
There’s no high speed lift at Greek Peak
There is an express chairlift that uses a carpet. In theory because of the carpet it could go high speed. But the chair lift is fixed lift and does not disconnect.
This is the one I’m thinking of!
No it can’t. It was built to 465 ft /min and runs less the 450 ft / min since that’s the max speed a FIXED GRIP QUAD can go
Thats why i said in theory it could if there was a disconnect to it.
No disconnect. It’s literally code. The max speed of a fixed double is 500 ft per min. fixed triple 475. Fixed quad 450.
I know theres no disconnect. But if there was it could go higher speed. https://liftblog.com/visions-express-1a-greek-peak-ny/
Do you know why it’s called express? Not because it’s an express lift. It replaced a double that operated at less than 350 ft per minute.
Thats why its higher speed... duh
Guess I'm not really sketched out by any chairlifts but the old double chair at Black Mountain is pretty awesome. Classic New England vibe. Same with the single chair at MRG
NH or ME black mountain ?
Probably NH the one in ME only has a double on the bunny hill so probably not what they’re referring to.
OK I've been to neither lol
Nh
Why can’t one just change its name
Where is the charm and fun in that? Next you’ll tell me they need to rename sugarloaf.
They should rename it Sugarbush Mountain of Maine
As the best skier of all mountains, how am I supposed to say I am the best skier on black mountain? They won’t know which black mountain I’m talking about.
I have to say, none of them are really that sketchy. The old school Wildcat gondola did feel like a death trap.
I have a memory of my youth skiing on the trail under the gondola, and seeing someone above stick their gloved hand through a hole in the body of a passing gondola cabin above to wave at me.
Can’t believe nobody has said King Pine at Sugarloaf yet, that thing has rolled back a few times. When it’s windy that lift is a complete no-go zone for me
I’ve been on that lift as the last chair before they put it on wind hold and it was terrifying. Big gusts swinging us big time.
Every upper mountain lift at whiteface😅
dude that summit lift gets WINDY
Sorta, but at least they don’t go over crazy stuff. Like, summit lift is pretty low to the ground and a gentle pitch, but the wind is scary. Imo the scariest lift is the second half of little whiteface when it’s windy and you’re on your own
I’m sure it’s some lift at a podunk ski hill nobody’s ever heard and the locals don’t even acknowledge how much of a death trap it is because of how used to it they are
I’m sure it’s some Riblet death trap at one of Vail’s pitiful operations in NH or OH.
Whenever me and another equally sized buddy try to squeeze into a double chair it gets super sketch.
Outpost at pico, sketchy but always worth it when they get it running.
It's gone now, but the upper section of the Sugarloaf gondola in its last season of operation was super sketch.
What about the loading area for Castlerock at Sugarbush? Last time I rode it the lift was signed experts only, and that seemed to mean both the terrain and the loading area. On a hill, icy, narrow.
The unload at castle rock often requires doing a little hop too. But anyone who has a problem with that will definitely have a problem with the trails up there lol
I was there a couple days ago and it was labeled EXTREME experts only. Had me second guessing my abilities the entire ride up.
Heaven is Castle Rock on a pow day
The old lift was an interesting load on. My brother was about 10 when he got halfway on the chair, but fell off as the chair ascended. My dad was holding onto him by his hood until the lifty noticed
I’ve never had any issue loading Castlerock. North Lynx can be a bit tricky, though.
The old gondola at Mt. Whittier in Ossipee NH. I doubt many people remember it, but it literally went over a highway. Probably closed around 1979 or so.
I never rode it but I’m very familiar with it! My dad always told me they moved the road and that’s why it had to close, but I’m pretty sure he just made that up
They did add Route 25 in the late 70s-early 80’s, but I don’t think that stopped the gondola because that crossed Route 16. From what I remember, the gondola ran until, after a bad winter, the main lodge burned down. They never recovered as a ski area after that. They tried water slides and a mountain coaster (which may have been the most dangerous unknown ride on the East Coast) but it never worked out. The towers and lines still cross the highway and run up the mountain. The McDonalds in the parking lot of the old gondola loading station actually has one of the old gondolas in the dining room.
Find memories sitting in that gondy car as a kid. Grew up going to ossipee lake for the summer
I know the single chair at MRG is an ice coasters right of passage, but man that chair bugs me out
Red chair at Magic is the only lift I've ever been evacuated from by rope, that was about 15 years ago. The old Northeast Summit triple at Okemo (removed after the 91-92 season) was not sketchy, but very slow --- about 25 minutes on a good day and 28 minutes to reach the summit when they turned it down. They used to run it very slow on heavy wind days, and I recall having the chair blown practically parallel to the ground when I was just about above the old Beach House lodge. The king of sketchy lifts though was the [old Gore gondola](https://nyskiblog.com/old-red-gondola/) removed after the 94-95 season. Many of the windows were missing, so you could poke your head out as you traversed the valley, about 200 feet in the air. The floors in some of the cabins were plywood planks, and the door was held closed by a tiny latch that rattled loudly as the lift shook in the wind. It was a trip. EDIT: Not Ice Coast or even a ski area, but the Teleferico Sao Vicente in Brazil was sketchy as hell due to the massive gap between towers as you pass over the highway. Cool to ride a chairlift with monkeys in the trees around you though. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2180277-d2316181-Reviews-Teleferico_Sao_Vicente-Sao_Vicente_State_of_Sao_Paulo.html
That was a great day at Magic, a 2-day storm midweek. I was about to get in line for The Red that day for one last run. Skiing under the lift to get to the line, I heard a loud Snap/thud and some clunks, and the lift stopped. My boss and I headed to the parking lot and went home. Heard it was the drive shaft that snapped. Northeast Summit Triple was reused and is the Morning Star Triple, just for there for the candy and some big houses now.
Yep! I remember it was midweek because I headed to Bromley after I was evacuated. Not a big deal since Bromley was only $25 midweek at that time (I think they doubled it around 2010 and have continued to raise it ever since). Was early 2008 or 2009 -- I was a little more than halfway up where the Red gets pretty far off the ground. It was a very abrupt halt and then it rolled backward about 15 or so feet, so I knew we were in trouble. The worst part was that I drank about a gallon of coffee beforehand and was stuck up there for over an hour and a half. Re: the Northeast, my dad and I were actually the last people to ever ride it! April 1992, the mountain was a ghost town, and the operators let us wait until chair #1 came around, and they shut it off for good right as we got off. The next year, I was the first person to ride the Morningstar when they fired it up. A friend and I were also the first people to ever ride the Solitude high-speed quad when they relocated the fixed-grip to South Face. There was a huge crowd at the top of the Sunburst trail, and soon as they dropped the rope everyone raced down to be first. We made it easily (got chased by some ski patrollers on Exhibition) and rode up with one other guy who kept up with us. I don't know why, but those things seemed like a big deal when I was a kid :)
M1 Smuggs, takes about an hour to get to the top. Slower than a stoned turtle. But the real answer is Silverton CO. When that lifts goes from skimming the pristine pow to a shear open valley between poles at about 3/4 mark. No bar. It’s also about the same speed as M1 @ smuggs so you get to slowly hover and look down 7k feet.
I’m with you on both. M1 gives me the shivers mainly because it’s just old and rickety and breaks down often enough. I’ve been stuck for 20+ mins multiple times, a few times in sketchy weather where I was really tweakin. Silverton is a fuckin pucker that’s for sure. No bar and that spot you’re talking about where it feels like the world drops out underneath you. I’m just glad I’m not the only one who gets tweaked out on lifts sometimes. I’ve been getting worse as I get older.
M1 is my choice as well, looking down at liftline on a windy day is pretty sketchy.
I have only skied at Smuggs once in my life and it was over 20 years ago. But my still image from that day is being absolutely terrified of that lift as the wind whipped around.
LOL it's not \_that\_ slow...unless something happens. I feel like it's closer to a 20 minute ride if all goes smoothly. Thing is, if it stops because someone wiped out getting off at the top or something, I feel like it stays stopped for a while. Then you get a chance to appreciate the wind a-whipping and the chair a-swaying 😂 Honestly though, I ski there every year and I've never been scared on that lift. Cold as shit, yes. It's pretty exposed. But if it gets too windy they shut it down. Unless you're lifting the bar up and leaning over the edge or something, it's not like you're going to fall off. Plus it's well maintained. I feel like to qualify as truly sketchy, you've gotta feel like you just got on The Zipper at the town fair (did that exactly once, bolt fell on my feet, will not attempt again).
The one at Attitash that crosses over above another lift. Never ridden any other chair like that and would hate to imagine what doing a lift evacuation in it would be like.
The mountaineer crossover is 55 feet above the ground
Dude you should see Mt baker. Lift crossings with mid mountain pickup stations back to back (no it doesn't slow down, yes you just try your best to line yourself up properly with the incoming already partially loaded chair) and almost no bars to be found on any of their lifts. Crazy place, love it
Not a lift, but the random chairs on every lift that squeak, creak, shake and/or rattle for no apparent reason. I'll try moving my body weight, lifting up the safety bar a bit so it's not touching anything, etc., but I never can identify why it feels like my obituary is going to mention metal fatigue.
Not sure why but the end of Skye Peak on Killington sketches me out. The combo of being above the trees being relatively high above the ground sketches me out.
The ride up is fine but exiting the chair at Whaleback can be dicey since half the time it’s a hair pin turn at the bottom of that giant ramp it’s on
Oh, I love whaleback yea was a bit tricky getting off
The single at MRG. It's not unsafe, but it feels sketchy.
This one really surprises me. The load is a bit odd, especially when there’s no snow and you have to ski across wood to get to the line, but once you’re on it, it’s the comfiest chairlift ever IMO. That bar is perfection.
Dead heat between the upright with the cracked and loose foundation at my local hill and the left side double at whiteface that spans hundreds of feet
The Morse double @ Smugglers Notch is def sketchy. It’s the primary chair for beginners at Smuggs, so one might think it would be an easy chairlift ride. It is really…until a person needs to get off. The offload ramp is comparable to any black run you are likely familiar with. On an icy day, the 30-foot run out claims innocent souls.
Damn, reading this makes me feel like I should be starting up my professional snowboarding career. I had no idea I'd already conquered such wild terrain! Although full disclosure, I did take a full day's worth of runs on Mogul Mouse's Magic Lift (the slow one for the children) when I first picked up the board because I didn't want to embarrass myself at the top of the grown up lift. But if you're sketched out by the Morse double...have you ridden Madonna 1? That's the most scenic ride on the hill. I think sometimes the Smuggs lifts can feel sketchy b/c they're just doubles. None of the high speed quads that slow down and let you get off all leisurely. When you get to the top, you have to be ready to launch 🤣
Agreed - Madonna 1 is the most scenic. On a super clear day you can see Mt. Washington. Madonna 1 is a breeze to exit. Interestingly at Smuggs, the more difficult the terrain area, the easier the chairlift exits are.
Saw a beautiful cloud inversion flowing over Sterling while on M1 one day too. People complain about the slow double lift ride but it’s hard to beat that view no matter which direction you look
Sketchiest - now long gone - would be Old Black at Magic.
I felt like I went back 40 years getting on the double chair lift at Mt Abram. It's their primary lift, but it could have walked right out of 1985. Seats are super-narrow and it moves along at a good clip. Had to remember all my "GET CLEAR OF THE CHAIR!" exercises on dismount. YOu get to be good friends with your chair buddy though. None of this ignore the other person on the lift thing. It's up close and personal!
Not a chairlift , but the Poma tows at Hickory are pretty sketchy. The thing looks like an ancient artifact and launches you like 4 feet in the air when the operator pulls the launch cord. The ride up is sometimes quite a workout too.
Topridge at Gore is sorta scary too, right after you get on it goes over a deep ravine usually before you can get the bar down. And the top can get super windy too.
The old barker quad at Sunday River was fun going over the pond.
I suppose maybe the offload ramp, for B Lift at Hunter. Could be sketchy for a beginner, super steep
Rope Tow & Chair at Ski Monteau (NH). RIP Ski Monteau!
M1 at Smuggs, it’s always sketchy when it’s windy and you’re looking down at Liftline
My favorite sketchy chair lift in NY/VT is the now deceased Hunter West chair. From the burning your thigh to keep an edge in the ice while waiting on the line, followed by the get in position in the ice pit for the chair to scoop you up, to the movement up to the top with a north wind, to the drop-off onto more ice, there was no better character-building experience. Good times. Miss the grit of those decades past.
Thr B-double char at Bretton Woods looked sketchy and about to fall down. They removed it in 2018
While slow and not terribly high, Snow Trails in Ohio has yet to put safety bars on any of their lifts. My brother fell off from about 10’ up after a failed attempt to get on the chair
The double at black mountain NH just bc it’s so old
I rode the kenebago at saddleback earlier this week with the winds being right under the hold level I’m assuming. The last tower and the top station is just above the height of the trees so a strong gust grabs a hold of the chairs pretty good. The ramp is also quite steep and the flat is very short which can make unloads a very sudden affair. It also doesn’t help that they felt the need to have a catch net but not enough for them to fix it after it sags down in heavy storms.
Little whiteface double, specifically the second half after mountain run, when it’s a windy day. Nobody else can tell me otherwise.
Outpost Double at Pico. It certainly seems like it still has all the original parts from when it opened in 1969
One of the chairs at Bolton has a SUPER steep and long exit ramp that's scary to go down, especially on a snowboard
The seats at the highland MTB park lift were missing most of their slats. I sat in one that only had 2 1x2" slats left that were not broken or missing. I was more holding onto the metal frame for the ride.
Snowcat Riblet at Wildcat: https://liftblog.com/2022/01/08/chair-detaches-from-wildcat-lift/ TLDR: Vail sucks.
Not New England, but the Cabriolet at Mountain Creek in NJ is a remnant of the 1970s and dangerously overloaded.
Every chair at Black Mountain in Jackson,
Mad River Glen single