Arapahoe Basin Announces New Lift for 2010-2011 Season
Update: Aguust 30, 2010
Today eleven chairlift towers were flown by helicopter from the base area to their new homes. This process took just under 2 hours to complete. We are still on schedule to finish in late September. The next step of construction will be to put the haul rope on the towers. Check out the Lift Construction Gallery for images of the lift tower installation.
Update: August 26, 2010
Sections of the motor room (upper terminal) were taken up to mid-mountain today. A large crane was used to put the sections of the motor room in place. This part of the construction will take place over two days. Next week we will be flying in the lift towers via helicopter. We will have video footage of the lift towers shortly after they are in place. The construction of the lift is on schedule and we hope to have it complete by the end of September, just in time to open. New photos of the motor room have been put on the Lift Construction Gallery.
Update: August 23, 2010
The motor room, or top terminal, just arrived. The plan is to move the motor room to mid-mountain this Thursday and Friday. We will take video footage and photos of the installation if you miss watching our webcams. The Lift Construction Gallery has photos of the new arrival.
Update: August 17, 2010
On Friday, 8/13/10, the lower lift terminal was installed. Pieces arrived on trucks and a large crane was used to install the pieces. Images of the lift taking shape can be found on the Lift Construction Gallery. A video will be made and should be up by the end of today. Construction will be moving fast now that all the foundations have been established. We have winter on our minds.
Update: August 11, 2010
Different sections of the lower lift showed up this morning. Leitner-Poma have erected one piece of the lower terminal. Currently the guys are working on both upper and lower terminals. There will be more photos once more pieces are put together. New photos on the Lift Construction Gallery.
Update: August 10, 2010
A section of the lower "return" terminal arrived today. This is just one section that will maneuver the chair as they come around down the bottom of the lift. This piece will be put in on Friday, so visit the web cams for a time lapsed version of the install. A few pictures of the terminal have been put on the Lift Construction Gallery.
Update: August 9, 2010
The majority of the foundations for the lift towers and terminals is nearly done. We had a concrete pour yesterday for lift towers 1 and 2. The motor room is currently being transported by air from Switzerland and will be installed on either August 26 or 27. Soon after the motor room is placed, the lift towers will be flown in. Photos have been uploaded to the Lift Construction Gallery.
Update: July 26, 2010
Over the weekend construction began on the lower terminal lift shack. The building is partially built and should be finished this week. Today a helicopter called "The Hulk" was used to transport concrete to pads which will house the lift towers of the new lift.
Update: July 22, 2010
Concrete has been poured for several tower pads. A large concrete pour will take place on Monday, July 26 for the remainder tower pads. A helicopter will be used to fly in concrete to the areas. We will be filming and takes pictures so stay tuned.
Update: July 14, 2010
Concrete for both the top and bottom lift shacks has been poured. Surveying has been completed on the lower terminal and the ground has been brought up to grade. Next week the concrete will be poured for the lift towers. We will have footage of this event. Currently we are on track to be completed mid-September.
Update: July 1, 2010
Concrete was poured today for the top terminal of the new Black Mountain Express. Deconstruction of the Exhibition lift has been completed and we are working on rehabilitation for the area’s Exhibition affected. Images of the pour can be found on our Lift Construction Gallery. Below is a small video about today’s pour.
Update: June 29, 2010
Today the remains of the Exhibition chair lift were picked up. The lift towers are going to be recycled and used to build an outside classroom/amphitheatre at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge.
This Thursday, concrete will be poured for the upper terminal. More photos to come.
Update: June 14, 2010.
Lietner-Poma removed all of Exhibition's lift towers. Towers were first cut and then removed by a helicopter. Images of the towers being removed can be found on our Mountain Snapshot page.
Update: June 9, 2010
Today Lietner-Poma removed the haul rope from the Exhibtion lift. The next step for the deconstruction will be the removal of the towers.
Update: June 7, 2010.
Exhibition chairs are removed.
All chairs from the Exhibition chair lift where removed today. The lift maintenance crew removed all 118 chairs from the lift. Images of the chairs being removed can be found on our Mountain Snapshot page.
Watch the progress of the new lift through our webcams.
Update: February 3, 2010.
Arapahoe Basin Announces Name of New High Speed Quad For 2010-2011 Season
The new, high speed quad chairlift that will be constructed this summer at Arapahoe Basin has found a name - Black Mountain Express. Alan Henceroth, COO of A-Basin, put a call out to A-Basin aficionados to help name the lift. He received hundreds of suggestions from "Quadzilla" to "Chairway to Heaven." After much contemplation and days of looking through suggestions by A-Basin management, some of them very entertaining, "Black Mountain Express" won the crown.
Mark La Flamme of the Arapahoe Basin Snow Maintenance Department was the first to submit the winning designation. Mark won a $300 gift certificate at Arapahoe Sports for his winning name. Since Mark is getting married this summer, the award is timely enough to buy his lovely wife-to-be a wonderful gift from the retail shop.
Arapahoe Basin, CO – December 29, 2009 – Detachable quad chairlift to replace current base area triple chair.
This summer A-Basin Ski Area will begin construction on a new detachable quad chairlift. The new lift will replace the Exhibition fixed grip triple chair located in the base area, which was installed in 1978. The new lift will have a capacity of 2000 people per hour, a length of 2877 feet and have a vertical rise of 719 feet. The ride time will be just under three minutes, half the time of the current lift ride from base area to mid-mountain.
Construction is scheduled for mid-June and will not impact the current season’s closing date (tentatively scheduled for June 6, 2010). The top terminal of the new lift will be slightly realigned uphill and to the west away from Black Mountain Lodge. The lower terminal will remain in the same location.
A contract has been signed with Leitner-Poma to build and install the lift which will cost approximately four million dollars. The new detachable lift will enable beginner and intermediate guests to load and unload more easily, resulting in fewer stops and starts on the ride to mid-mountain. In addition, with the new quad chairlift, Black Mountain Lodge will be more accessible for weddings and special events throughout the year.
Alan Henceroth, Arapahoe Basin COO and General Manager is excited to upgrade the current lift, “With its increased capacity, shorter ride time, and ease of loading, the new detachable chairlift will be a tremendous benefit for our guests. The new lift will provide rapid, easy access to the upper mountain, Montezuma Bowl, and Black Mountain Lodge. Each year we receive hundreds of comments suggesting we make this change. Finally, after working on this project for the last five years, we are very excited to christen a new chairlift for the 2010-2011 season.”
Arapahoe Basin is taking suggestions for the name of the new lift. A 2010-2011 Arapahoe Basin Season Pass or $300 gift certificate to Arapahoe Sports will be given to the person whose suggestion is selected. If multiple people provide the winning selection, the award will be given to the first suggestion received.
Send suggestions to alanh@a-basin.net.