Before we get into the article these are just hypothetical situations. Chairlifts currently being replaced are not eligible for this and each mountain has one chairlift to upgrade even if they would not really need it right now.
Attitash
Abenaki Quad
The Summit Triple and East/West Double Doubles recently got upgraded to quads which leaves us with the Abenaki Quad. This quad is pretty slow considering how high up the mountain it goes and could really use an upgrade to a high-speed quad. Now if you are wondering what would happen to the midstation well take down the Kachina Triple and build a new chairlift (quad or triple) that starts where the Kachina does and goes to the area around where the current midstation is for the quad. Then if you are worried about how to quickly get back to the terrain park cut another trail that has at least some downhill trajectory because Bearback is just a flat trail.
Likeliness of Happening: 1/10
Black Mountain
Summit Double
With the Summit Double and East Bowl Triple the only two to choose from here and there is not really a need to upgrade them just yet, especially with the history behind them and the ski area. I would really like to keep the double with the red chairs but if one needed to go, it would be the Summit Double. Opening up a quad that goes directly to the summit would make it more accessible and potentially open up more trail opportunities from the summit. The only problem with this is if it is really worth it considering roughly 85% of the trails are below the current midstation and can be accessed by the East Bowl Triple.
Likeliness of Happening: 0/10
Bretton Woods
Add one that goes to Two Miles Home
Cheating a little on this one since Bretton Woods’ chairlifts and gondolas are all very good so I’m going to cheat a little on this one and add a new quad that starts at the base and goes to the area where Two Miles Home and Telegraph Traverse meet. This solves the problem of needing to take two lifts to the Rosebrook Glades or getting off at the gondola and having to push yourself across the beginning of Two Miles Home to get there. The problem with this idea is where would the base of it be. The gondola and Bethlehem Quad and lift lines already take up a lot of the base area so would it be placed at the bottom of Bretton’s Wood or maybe move the Learning Center Quad over a little bit and put it next to that. This is all highly unlikely and would take a lot of money and effort to put in that Bretton Woods probably does not have at the moment.
Likeliness of Happening: 2/10
Cannon
Mittersill Double
Looking at the options at Cannon there are a lot of long-standing lifts that could be upgraded but the one that stands out the most is the Mittersill Double. Yes, there is not as much skier traffic on the Mittersill side and yes there is more limited terrain over there, but it would be a fun upgrade. The T-Bar could remain intact and there would be a faster way to get to the top of Mittersill but this would have to be after the Aerial Tram gets replaced.
Likeliness of Happening: 3/10
Cranmore
Schneider Triple
I really like what Cranmore has going on right now with their lift set up but if I had to choose one it would be the Schneider Triple. Each of their current lifts really fits where it is on the mountain and what its purpose is but the Schneider Triple could be upgraded to a quad if Cranmore was to expand down the backside of the mountain a little bit more.
Likeliness of Happening: 3.5/10
Crotched
Valley Lift
Crotched has the Rocket lift and that is about it. So upgrading the Valley lift to have easier access to Meteor, a racing course, and the terrain parks would make a lot of sense here.
Likeliness of Happening: 5/10
Dartmouth Skiway
Holt’s Ledge Double
Its either this or Winslow and Holt’s Ledge gets the pick here since it is the older of the two lifts and it is only a double. There is still a classic element to this lift but compared to the Winslow lift, this one should be upgraded first.
Likeliness of Happening: 1/10
Granite Gorge
Pinnacle Double
One chairlift at Granite Gorge right now so there is only one answer here.
Likeliness of Happening: 0.5/10
Gunstock
Tiger Triple
Now this is a mountain that had multiple candidates: Pistol, Ramrod, and Tiger. Ramrod is already a quad that goes to the Ramrod Racing Trail which makes sense on race days so that leaves us with the Pistol and Tiger. The Pistol lift services the terrain parks and would make a difference of how many people are on the terrain parks at a time, but it works well in the current environment. That leaves us with the Tiger Triple where let’s just say it was not really a comfortable ride up the mountain. The chairlift is old, and you could really feel that. Also, if it received an upgrade and went a little faster, access to the night skiing portion of the mountain would improve.
Likeliness of Happening: 5.5/10
King Pine
Polar Bear Triple
King Pine doesn’t need a lift upgrade right now but if I had to choose one it would be the Polar Bear Triple. There is already the Powder Bear Triple on that side, and it would least affect operations.
Likeliness of Happening: 1/10
Loon
Kissing Cousin Double
Loon recently got the Kac 8 and will be adding terrain this winter, so this is a more of a future prediction here. The learning center area does not really have a good lift in it and could be upgraded to a triple chair at some point.
Likeliness of Happening: 6.5/10
McIntyre
East and West Double
There are only two chairlifts that are next to each other so there is a simple answer.
Likeliness of Happening: 3/10
Pats Peak
Vortex Double
Upgrading the Vortex Double would not really put any strain of operations except you have to pick the correct time to upgrade. Multiple lifts already go to the summit so why not make one of them a high-speed quad.
Likeliness of Happening: 4/10
Ragged
Add one near Wild Side and Wild Ride
Another cheating one here as there is just one chairlift on the Ragged Mountain side. This lift would serve as a halfway lift and would start at the bottom and end near where Wild Side starts. To make this happen Raggae Glades would have to become a lift line trail while if you wanted to keep glades then Ragged could add some between Lower Ridge and Lower East Winder above Moose Alley.
Likeliness of Happening: 3/10
Sunapee
North Peak Triple
Sunapee likely won’t upgrade a chairlift soon but if we had to choose one it would be the North Peak Triple. An upgraded lift would provide quicker access to Lynx as a racing trail.
Likeliness of Happening: 2/10
Tenney
Eclipse Triple
Similar to Black Mountain, flipped a coin and landed on the Eclipse Triple.
Likeliness of Happening: 1/10
Waterville Valley
Green Peak Triple
Waterville Valley just got a lift upgrade and now they could use a quad on the Green Peak side to replace the Green Peak Triple. Adding a quad here would make it quicker to get to the summit of that side of the ski area and would likely attract some more skier traffic from the Mount Tecumseh side.
Likeliness of Happening: 4/10
Whaleback
Double Chair
There is only one chairlift at Whaleback, so this makes for a very easy selection.
Likeliness of Happening: 1.5/10
Wildcat
Tomcat Triple
Wildcat is faced with some of the most wind in the state of New Hampshire which consistently causes problems in terms of lift operations. Making the Tomcat Triple into a quad that can withstand high levels of wind is easier said than done but I think it is worth the investment as the Summit Quad went on wind hold numerous on numerous occasions last season.
Likeliness of Happening: 7/10
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