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Europe in the past 20 years have been much like those cur-
rently in the US, helping ski companies overseas reinvest in
their infrastructure. What we’re aiming to do at Big Sky is to
take it to the front of the line in terms of lift technology in
the world, not just North America,” he says.
Tom Scully, risk control consultant at Safehold Special
Risk, an NSAA supplier company based in Portsmouth,
NH, agrees that much of the lift technology in the US
has been developed in Europe. Scully—who also chairs the
Restraint Device AdHoc Sub-Committee within the ANSI
B77 Standards Committee—has studied lifts for more than
three decades. He has worked on lift installations for lift
manufacturer CTEC (which merged with Doppelmayr in
2002) and also in lift maintenance and operations at Mt.
Hood Meadows, Ore. According to Scully, the sheer number Courtesy of Doppelmayr
of lifts installed in Europe allows manufacturers to develop ...to local support.
larger, more complex machines, and also provide a wide A birds-eye view of the Ramcharger 8 installation at Big Sky.
variety of restraining systems, including the larger detachable
lifts equipped with automated technology. streamlined with an eight-seat chair over a quad. These are all
Since 2017 in the US, the ANSI B77 Standard requires important factors to consider,” he says.
all new installations and those used for foot passengers to Everett Kircher died at the age of 85 in 2002. Stephen says
have restraint devices installed. Currently, retrofitting exist- his dad would be excited and proud of the Ramcharger 8 and
ing chairlifts with these types of automatic locking restraining the company’s overall trajectory, but he’d be even more proud
bars remains very difficult due to weight and dynamic chal- that the “lust for lifts” has been passed further down the line.
lenges. An automated restraining system like the one on the “My 16-year-old son might be the most knowledgeable per-
Ramcharger 8 can only work with a detachable lift that allows son in North America about this lift,” Kircher says. “He traveled
enough time for all of the necessary mechanics to engage. with us to Austria as we were looking at the D-line, and actually
“Since adapting these mechanisms to a typical fixed-grip began engaging with the lift bloggers when he was 13. He keeps
lift would likely be cost-prohibitive, we will likely only see them informed, they have a symbiotic relationship.”
this technology on the larger machines like the Ramcharger 8,” While international skiers and riders have tradition-
Scully says. ally made up a relatively small percentage of annual visits,
Interestingly, Kircher and his father first discussed the this season Big Sky joins the Ikon Pass and the Mountain
concept of an eight-seat chairlift more than 25 years ago. Collective with additional daily direct flights into Bozeman
“My father and I actually talked about an eight-person lift at Yellowstone International Airport from LA, Long Beach, and
the press conference when we installed the six-person chair San Francisco, Calif., as well as Portland, Ore. In all there are
in 1992. At the time we were just joking about it, but then direct flights into Bozeman from 16 major US cities. And
it happened in Europe and we were kind of disappointed all of this opens up accessibility to Big Sky in a big way. The
we weren’t able to pull the trigger at the time,” he says. innovative lift network—along with the fact that the resort is
Why would an area consider investing in an eight-seater easy to get to and from most major cities—will anchor much
and not a gondola? NSAA’s Lane offers some perspective. of the marketing going forward, says Julie Ard.
“One of the advantages of an eight-seater versus a gondola is For Kircher, the installation of the Ramcharger 8 is a major
that passengers don’t have to remove their skis or snowboards,” milestone in the evolution of Big Sky and another proud
he says. “Also, eight-seaters are less susceptible to high wind chapter in his family’s book of firsts.
conditions, particularly with the ergonomically designed “We’re excited that the opportunity was there to showcase
bubbles. The eight-seater chairs are also less cost-prohibitive the D-line at Big Sky, which is in such a transformational
than gondola cabins.” process as a whole,” Kircher says. “This lift is going to blow
Lane says that an eight-seater will enable faster lift evac- people away.” From world leader ...
uations, too, because it’s easier to evacuate guests off of one
chair instead of moving from a two- or three-seat chair down Troy Hawks is the marketing and sales director for Sunlight
the lift. “So, evacuation—albeit extremely rare—will be Mountain Resort, Colo.
Doppelmayr USA, Inc., 3160 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104, T: 1-801-973-7977, F: 1-801-973-9580 www.doppelmayrusa.com
44 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2018