Wildcat - accessing via ski area?

[rocket21]

p.s. Why do they switch? Too hard to get off a moving chair without skis?

- You don't need to take off your skis to load a chair, whereas you do for a gondola.

- I imagine with the size drive they have (800 HP), they can run the quad chairs (1,100 feet per minute) at a faster line speed than with gondola cars.

- They can load skiers a lot faster on a quad than on a gondola, ie better uphill capacity. The Wildcat 4 person chair is rated for 2,400 people per hour, while the 4 person gondola at Loon clocks in at 1,000 people per hour.

- For non skier use, a gondola eases the worry of some folks afraid of heights/slipping under the bar/etc. People can also ride up in rain/colder conditions in relative comfort.

 

[MichaelJ]

Actually, while true that it's more efficient to load/unload a chair since you keep your skis on and just sit down, and in the summer you really need a gondola since you're transporting pedestrians, the primary reason has to do with wind. The gondola cabs have a much greater profile and so are far more susceptible to swinging in the wind. Given Wildcat's location, they'd lose too much time to wind holds (temporary lift shutdowns) with the gondolas on the rope. Therefore, in the winter they pull them for chairs, while in the summer, gondies.

It's unfortunate, because on a cold, windy day it's a lot warmer in an enclosed gondola cab!

 

[rocket21]

the primary reason has to do with wind.

Not necessarily...capacity I believe was the primary factor if I recall correctly. If you look back at some of the earliest reviews of the gondola development, one of the biggest problems cited by Macomber et al was that they were struggling to get enough folks up the mountain. This led to the addition of multiple lifts.

By replacing the gondola, they were also able to remove two chairlifts and move the Tomcat CTEC Triple to limited use.

Wind is certainly an issue, but quite often winds that would close a gondola will also close a detach quad.

That said, a gondola is definitely a nice thing to ride on really cold days! I remember fleeing from MRG a few years back to KMart because it was so cold (cold enough that they didn't operate the single).

 

[skiguy]

Not necessarily...

I took my wife and daughter on the Gondala ride last fall. I also wondered why they didnot run the Gondola in the Winter. Upon asking the lift attendant this question his response was.."The Wind". Also I believe the Gondola cars hold 4 persons...the same # as the Quad Chair. Although I maybe misunderstanding your capacity issues stated.

 

[Quietman]

Also I believe the Gondola cars hold 4 persons...the same # as the Quad Chair. Although I maybe misunderstanding your capacity issues stated.

They have to space the gondola cars farther apart than the chairs due to loading. It takes longer to get 4 into a gondola car.

 

[rocket21]

Also I believe the Gondola cars hold 4 persons...the same # as the Quad Chair. Although I maybe misunderstanding your capacity issues stated.

They have to space the gondola cars farther apart than the chairs due to loading. It takes longer to get 4 into a gondola car.

A few things - correct about the spacing between the carriers (ie chairs and gondola cars). Also, I believe with the size drive they have, the gondolas run at a slower line speed.

Think about the lines you see at Wildcat on a weekend day - because they have quad chairs on the lift (closer together and loading faster), they can get 250% more people up the mountain than Loon can on their four person gondola.

 

[skiguy]

Thanks Quietman and rocket21 for clarifying.