SkiCo proposes high-speed quad at Tiehack

[Pat Donnelly]

Aspen Daily News

Wed 12/19/2007 12:00AM MST

Tiehack fans will get whisked up the east side of Buttermilk Mountain a whole lot faster if a plan now entering the public process is approved.

The U.S. Forest Service is inviting public comment on several proposed improvement projects on Buttermilk and Snowmass ski areas. This initial “scoping” process will identify issues and kicks off a public process that could last 18 months.

Proposed Buttermilk improvements include a new high-speed, detachable, four-person chairlift to replace the upper and lower Tiehack lifts, both fixed-grip double chairs. SkiCo mountain planner Victor Gerdin said replacing the lifts with a high-speed quad is something the company has been wanting to do for a long time. The Forest Service has actually approved the lift replacement twice, in 1997 and 2001, he said, but since the agency adopted a new forest plan it had to redo the review.

“Buttermilk is such a great mountain, it separates skiers so naturally with beginners on the west side, park skiers on main Buttermilk and powder skiers and racers on the Tiehack side,” said Gerdin. “But the Tiehack side gets so little use because of the old, slow lifts. You’ll see that much more utilization on that side with a high-speed lift.”

Both main and West Buttermilk are serviced by high-speed quads. Two short lifts and a magic carpet serve beginners near the main base area.

SkiCo also wants to add two new snowmaking reservoirs next to the compressor building near the Midway Avenue trail, along with additional snowmaking equipment. An upper and lower pond would be the first water storage facilities on Buttermilk, and would make the ski area’s snowmaking capacity more efficient, said Gerdin. For example, with water storage crews could make twice as much snow during cold periods than now, when they’re drawing directly out of Maroon Creek. It’s also like insurance for snowmaking on the lower part of the mountain early in the season when Mother Nature doesn’t provide as much.

Another improvement is a proposed skier overpass at the Teaser Trail/Homestead Road intersection between main and West Buttermilk. This is a place where many beginners and terrain park users tend to cross paths, and should be separated, said Gerdin.

At Snowmass, SkiCo wants to deepen Rayburn’s Pond near Elk Camp to make snowmaking more efficient, and add a switchback to the work road up to the Big Burn, because some big trucks can’t make the steep grade up a portion of the mountain access road on Sneaky’s.

Initial public comments on these plans must be received by Jan. 21. Forest Service staff will then review the comments and determine what level of environmental review the proposal should go through. Further public comment will be invited on both the draft and final plans. The whole process is part of the National Environmental Policy Act and generally takes around 18 months, said Gerdin, so it’ll be a few years before skiers and riders get to experience the new lift.

Written comments should be addressed to Maribeth Gustafson, Forest Supervisor, c/o Roger Poirier, Winter Sports Program Manager, White River National Forest, P.O. Box 948, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602-0948. Comments may also be sent by fax to 945-3266 or by e-mail to wrnf_scoping_comments@fs.fed.us.

For more information, contact Jim Stark, Aspen district snow ranger, at 945-3314.

lutz@aspendailynews.com

[bobdea]

about ****ing time, for the price you pay there riding that lift is waste of time that I could be riding.

if I wanted to ride ****ty lifts I'd have dreadlocks and ride mad river glenn or loveland

[Ernie00]

I know the tiehack chair issue has been discussed here before.

I liked riding tiehack because it was empty, nice for carving, didn't have to worry about people flying off in straight line, you could pick up any lines you wanted and the run was yours.

So with a high speed chair we all know what is going to happen.. tons of people. They groommed runs in the morning and by 2:30 pm they still looked freshly groommed... well except for the trenches JoelP and I did at 9 AM that morning :)

It's a slow chair that's for sure but at least you are sitting instead of waiting in line with tons of people.

Plus the mascott was really cool !

I'd say keep it like this !

[pcABQ]

yeah, tiehack and loveland and those slow lifts . . .

those places are a total waste of time

i'd stay away from them

pc

[dantheman0177]

From my trips to Aspen, on balance I would agree with Ernie.

While it is frustrating to sit on such a slow chair, between that and the difficulty in getting on and off for beginners, it certainly keeps that side of the hill relatively free of riders and so the quality of the runs you do through the day doesn't deterioriate anywhere near as much as in areas served by high speed lifts.

[Fastskiguy]

I sure am glad I get to weigh in on this issue because I really like to go to Buttermilk, usually make it once every couple of years.

I have no opinion on a new Tiehack lift.

[Furi]

ive been riding tiehack for the past 3 days and love it...like Ernie said by the afternoon you can still find nice groomed sections. I mostly stayed on the express lift in the morning until it was tracked out then head over to tiehack for the afternoon runs :)

The other postive point about it being so damn slow is that its empty and you can really take up the width of the run since few people visit that side of the mountain. Yah it takes something like 12-13 mins to get back up but it gives me a chance to catch my breath and reflect on what I needed to work on next run. And yah the mascot bungiee corded to the chair is always good for a grin on the ride up!

[JoelP]

As a local I think it's a shame to loose such a special place to a high speed quad but money sure talks around here and with a daily ticket at $87.00 and sure to go over $90 by next season I can see how the SkiCo has to keep up its image and having an old slow double doesn't fit in. I love that chair....most people ride quads and stop during their run or wait in a line and end up taking the same amount of time top to bottom back to top again or they get so much in they are wiped out by noon and so are the trails. At Snowmass the groomed goes so damn fast they have to rope off a trail for an afternoon groomed run to open. I've been out here long enough to know that all that will happen is the trails will get destroyed by noon. The other thing bad about this quad is it will go to the bottom so they can eliminate 2 lifts for one. they'll not put in a mid way station as it's not worth it. they just need to advertise another quad in their brochure. Going to the bottom sucks because the last few turns aren't that great but I guess it's a few more...

Quads are fast and get you the vertical but most people here can't get the vertical I get since i don't stop on the trail like I see on the other hills with quads. I figure the lift gets my breath back. Well now I'll just need to be another one of those posers standing on the side catching my breath.

there are positives and negatives to both but for Tiehack I'll choose the slow double with non stops top to bottom groomers all day and no one breathing down your neck everyday.

Maybe I'll be dead before they actually get it done anyway. There's a lot of other work needed here first.

JoelP