 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've said it before but it's absolutely unbelievable to me that any resort takes so long to replace one of its marquee lifts. Especially when they continue to increase lift passes.
I know a much smaller scale, but Kimberley had their lift hut burned down and had the lift back up running by the following season.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@boarder2020, it’s actually really quite complicated?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@under a new name, I'm not saying it's easy. Also we've had COVID. However, 6 years to replace one of the most famous lifts in a resort seems way too long. Especially when I'm presuming they got a nice insurance payout and have continued to increase lift ticket prices while it's not been running.
Again, different situations, but after the fire at Kimberly they bought in snowcats to move people around the mountain.
I don't think it would pass for resorts in n America to leave their marquee lift out of action for 6 years. It feels very gallic shrug, keep paying while we offer you less and we will replace it when it suits us.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Our own efforts with the Cairngorm funicular are rather less impressive  The Grands Montets is one of the longest cableways in the world and very exposed. They are likely to move quickly now that they have a plan.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@boarder2020, the insurance companies only agreed to pay out last year iirc
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oh and apparently the geology for the top station is proving challenging (glacier, melting, etc.)
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It was only the bottom station burnt down though? Couldn't they have just restrung a new cable car on the same pylons. I guess an upgrade also made sense. But agree on the timescales. Jackson Hole tram was down for a season IIRC. Other replacements like Penkenbahn in Mayrhofen have been done over a summer.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Dave of the Marmottes, i don’t recall the reason but there is one. AFAIK it’s not actually the CdMB’s fault.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If my memory serves me well the biggest factor in the whole delay was insurance and who exactly should pay for the replacement in light of the fact that an inadequately insured subcontractor burned the place down.
A very expensive project requiring a pay out.
@Dave of the Marmottes, The lift was two stage and it was the mid station which was consumed. I may be mistaken, but I think that a consequence of such an intense blaze was that the cables caused some damage to the foundations of the top station. There was no cheap simple solution. It appears that the price of an updated system with higher capacity cannot have been much different to reinstating the 40 year old original.
The top is 3300m and notwithstanding that the permafrost is not so perma, it can only be approached by glacier, which also constrains where the supporting towers can be safely located.
All in all a complex business.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@HammondR, exactly.
I think you're right regarding the cables. BUt it's not going to have higher capacity, as I understand it?
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@under a new name, scratching my head about that. I have a picture in my head of a learned discussion on here about the capacity of the new top lift and the conclusion was that the planned new one would in practice shift more people than the old.
I can however now find nothing at all which supports this “picture “
I therefore unequivocally withdraw my capacity fake news. One thing that does seem certain is that the new lift will be more comfortable with seating all mod cons.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We were on that cable car going up to the top of Grand Montets approx 10 days before the fire. I’d been up that lift several times before and up onto and skiid on very high glaciers and had no issues with heights before.
Going up GM in late Aug 2018 I felt an amazing sense of dread and fear, something I had never felt before or since in any way whatsoever. So much so that I had to sit on the floor of the cable car on the way up to the top, and then on the way back down (and while at the top). I could not explain it, I wasn’t ill or altitude sickness. My wife and daughter were really worried about me . We got down and I got a beer and was shaking !
Could not explain it, we went up the other lifts that week with no similar.
When I heard the fire news it just made me wonder about weird things
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Poster: A snowHead
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@sev112, Sounds similar to my experience a couple of yrs ago at the top of the Marmolada. Decided it was the sudden increase in altitude, so not altitude sickness as such, but related. I got the car back down to the next stop and skied down with no further issues.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The icemelt at the top of Chamonix now is horrific. Permafrost turning to water. The top half of that tram is not easy to build.
Base station looks a bit of a vanity project.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@jbob, official confirmation awaited on Monday.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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MB Tunnel closed from today 16/10 for nine weeks opens 18/12.
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@jbob, luckily we got (most of) our new kitchen delivered from Italy on Friday, phew!!
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