Yodeler Lift Dismantled
Yodeler Lift Dismantled
Holiday Valley project to install new high speed detachable on schedule
The lifts stopped spinning, but that didn’t mean the work did. In the days after Holiday Valley ceased winter operations for the 2020-’21 winter season, its Mountain Operations crew began a project that will completely change the dynamic of one of its most iconic lifts. This summer, the fixed-grip Yodeler chairlift will be replaced by a high speed detachable quad — a $4 million project that will continue to enhance the overall experience.
You could call Jim Curtis a Mountain Operations savant. The 45-year resort veteran, now a Mountain Operations manager, has overseen close to “20-ish” lift replacements, from Snowpine (twice), Mardi Gras (twice), Tannenbaum (twice), Cindy’s (twice) and now Yodeler (for the third time). Through it all, one thing remains constant: the pride the crew has in installing and maintaining the lifts themselves.
“When we do it ourselves, we know where every bolt is where every piece goes. It allows us to maintain and take care of it so much better,” Curtis told ellicottvilleNOW.
The new lift, developed by the Austria-based Doppelmayr, will begin at slightly east of its current location and end where the Champagne Warming Hut currently sits. The Warming Hut will be moved to where the old upper Yodeler lift house was, while that lift house will head to the top of Eagle. In all, it’s an immense project with a tight timeframe.
“It’s all brand new,” Curtis said. “There are a lot of moving pieces to it, and things will fall in line as they happen. But great weather so far this spring has allowed us to get moving on it.”
To start, the crew took the chairs off (and before you ask - the entire lift has been sold to another resort, so chairs won’t be for sale) before cutting the cable. The top tower and bull wheel were removed to allow crews to begin digging a new foundation for where the Warming Hut will go. Once the building has been moved, Mountain Ops will be able to begin installation on the top terminal.
Since the new lift will follow a different line, none of the existing tower platforms can be used. Instead, Mountain Ops will continue to widen the line and remove trees in preparation for new tower installations. But unlike Mardi Gras and Morning Star - where every tower can be accessed by a truck from the run - Yodeler will require some finesse.
“Between pouring the concrete and tower installation (which will involve an all-wheel drive crane) it won’t be as easy as some of the other lift installs we’ve done,” Curtis explained. “But with it being a detachable, two of the towers will be right at the top and a few at the bottom. There will be seven in total, and the middle ones will be a little tricky due to the pitch.”
For comparison, the fixed-grip lift had over 80 chairs while the new detachable will use less than 50. While the uphill capacity is pretty similar (2,400 an hour vs. 2,400 an hour), there are two factors at play when speaking on the future benefits.
“To start, this past season we were dealing with a lot of single and double riders due to COVID restrictions and distancing,” Curtis said. “But the primary revolves around beginners. Both Mardi Gras and Tannenbaum are great for beginners because of their slow loading and unloading speeds. But once these skiers and riders get to Yodeler, it’s a fixed-grip chair that needs to be slowed down. So providing the same speed to load/unload will be really beneficial.”
The new lift will run at speeds close to 800 feet per minute, compared to the 342 of the fixed-grip. This means your ride up Yodeler will almost be cut in half - from just under 5 minutes to around 2.5.
A project of this magnitude requires a lot of moving pieces to fall into place at the right time. This summer isn’t just about installing a new chairlift - it’s getting maintenance finished on every other lift as well as the typical ins-and-outs of summertime operations. Fortunately, Curtis and the Mountain Ops crew have been through it before and understand the urgency.
“When we installed the high speed at Morning Star, we were mulching at the top around Fall Festival,” he said. “We have someone coming in to help with concrete and a technician from Doppelmayr will assist us with a lot of the electrical work. But it’s an exciting project and we can’t wait to see the finished product.”
For more information on the new Yodeler high speed chairlift, head to www.holidayvalley.com or stay locked to the resort’s social channels to see updates in real time.
