Ski-lift plan spares chalet
A new realignment plan for one of Big Mountain's main ski lifts will buy some time for the historic Big Mountain Chalet.
The 1949 chalet, home to Hellroaring Saloon, had been scheduled for demolition this spring to make way for the rebuild of Chair 2, but plans have changed. Resort operator Winter Sports Inc. has filed a new plan with the U.S. Forest Service that would reroute the lift about 50 feet to the west of the proposed route.
The new alignment plan still is subject to Forest Service approval, resort spokesman Brian Schott said.
"Indications are that they like the new alignment," he said.
Routing Chair 2 west of the chalet gives Hellroaring Saloon owners Pat LaTourelle, Bob Riso and Luke Riso some breathing room. They've been negotiating with Winter Sports over temporary quarters until a new Hellroaring Lodge is built in a couple of years, but were an at impasse about space proposed in the basement of Mogul's restaurant.
The restaurant recently was served a 90-day eviction notice, and its owners anticipated moving to the space now occupied by Mogul's. That plan was sidelined when Glacier Restaurant Group, a new company recently formed by Big Mountain's biggest stockholder, Bill Foley, asked for time to study the feasibility of opening a restaurant in Mogul's.
"It appears the chalet will remain where it is for the short term," Schott said. "Winter Sports is working with Hellroaring to renegotiate a lease" for the chalet building.
The three-story chalet - the oldest building on Big Mountain - has been targeted for demolition for close to 25 years. Winter Sports plans dating back to the early 1980s call for the aging building's demise, and a recently approved Big Mountain master plan also specified the chalet's removal.
Public sentiment for the building runs high, and a few weeks ago the Forest Service agreed to conduct a historic review of the chalet and determine whether it qualifies as a state historic site. That review still is under way.
MEANWHILE, THE reconstruction of Chair 1, the Glacier Chaser lift, has begun, Schott said. Some of the lift is on the ground, and recreational activities in that area will be off-limits at various intervals. The Danny On Trail and Summit Bike Trail also will be closed at times for construction activity. Signs will be posted.
Helicopter work begins in mid-May to fly the old lift away and bring in new equipment. The Chair 1 rebuild is a $5.2 million project and should be finished by September.
The original Chair 1 was a fixed-grip double chair constructed in 1960 and was replaced in 1989 by the current high-speed quad.
"After 18 years of service, we're investing significant capital to give the chairlift a complete overhaul," resort operations manager Chester Powell said in a prepared statement. "We're installing new tower assemblies, new cable, new chairs, completely rebuilding the top and bottom terminals, adding lower tower extensions, and replacing the communications line."
The Chair 2 revamp is estimated at $1.6 million. It will be converted from a fixed-grip double lift to a detachable high-speed quad, using existing lift equipment. It will connect with a new plaza at the base of Chair 1 and will allow the resort to quadruple its uphill capacity on the south side of Big Mountain.
This summer, no lift access to the summit will be available and the Summit House will be closed.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com