Lift lines: Chairlift work progressing at Whitefish Mountain Resort
<p>A helicopter lowers the pole for Tower Six of the new Bad Rock lift at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Thursday morning. The helicopter made three trips from the staging area in the Willow parking lot to bring all the parts up to the new tower. Three other towers still need to be installed.</p>
Work is well under way on two lift projects at Whitefish Mountain Resort — one to repair a slump above Chair One’s Tower Six and the other to complete the new Bad Rock lift.
Chair One, the high-speed lift used for scenic rides and carrying mountain bikes to Big Mountain’s summit during the summer, was shut down in June after a maintenance crew noticed a slump that shifted the tower about 6 inches out of plumb. Heavy spring moisture was blamed for the damage.
Today a crew begins pouring 120 tons of concrete for the pile cap on Chair One’s Tower Six.
“It’s a big cube of concrete,” resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus said, listing the dimensions at 7 feet high, 14 feet wide and 14 feet long. “The weather looks good to pour.”
Once the concrete cures, the area will be backfilled and more concrete will be poured on top of the pile cap.
“That’s where we’ll attach the tower,” Polumbus said. “We’re confident we’ll have the tower back up before the end of fall.”
The resort’s winter ski season begins Dec. 3.
A helicopter hauled away the leaning chair-lift tower shortly after the damage was discovered because it was regarded as a hazard. The resort quickly regrouped following the closure of Chair One and opened Chair Two in early July to accommodate summer visitors.
ANOTHER major project that will be completed by ski season is the new Bad Rock lift, a 1,627-foot-long span that can serve up to 1,000 passengers per hour. With a vertical rise of 461 feet, it is designed as an overflow lift for Chair Six that connects to the Base Lodge.
“Bad Rock will go above Russ’ Street to let skiers off, and also will get skiers to Chairs One, Two, Three and Four,” Polumbus said.
The used lift was purchased from a New York ski resort that had never installed or used the equipment.
It originally was used at a Pennsylvania ski resort.
Polumbus said the design is similar to Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Chair Three.
Another improvement that wrapped up this summer was the addition of a new bar inside the Base Lodge.
The Corner Bar in the Base Lodge will continue to serve drinks but will offer a “grab and go” menu for skiers, Polumbus said.
The sale for discounted tickets runs through Sept. 30, offering adult season passes for $560. After that, a season pass costs $845 from Oct. 1 through Nov. 15, and after Nov. 15 the price jumps to $1,085. More ticket information is available online at skiwhitefish.com.