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Welch Village’s Stop Boards at Lifts Improve Mountain Bike Loading, Unloading

BY DAVE BYRD, DIRECTOR OF RISK & REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Courtesy of Welch Village

Sometimes “low tech” can be every bit as innovative as “high were to become wedged in the tire slot of the carrier, the
tech.” Case in point: a new foot-operated chairlift stop board operator would need to leave the carrier and rush to activate
that the folks at Welch Village, MN, are using for the loading the stop button. Operators now can use their foot to stop
and unloading of downhill mountain bikes. the lift in time while the carrier is still accessible from the
This meld of common sense and outside-the-box thinking unloading deck.
was designed with guest safety in mind. Essentially it is a They can stay with the carrier throughout the unloading
simple, hands-free device that allows the lift operator to stop process, which is important, as many downhill mountain
the lift with his or her foot while helping the guest load or bikers are not as familiar with loading and unloading issues
unload the bike onto or off of the carrier. with chairlifts as seasoned skiers or snowboarders. Lindholm
Welch has used these low-cost devices for two seasons recommends that with summer operations like mountain
now with its relatively new mountain bike operations—and has biking, ski areas should paint directions—such as foot prints or
enjoyed tremendous success and practically no downside to arrows—for exiting from the unloading platform deck, to give
this innovation. Another benefit: it’s inexpensive, with some guidance on where guests should go. (Rather than just standing
parts that can be salvaged from an area’s own boneyard. All when the chair arrives, they now have a map to lead them.)
told, ski areas can pull together the various components and Given the success with the unloading platform, Lindholm
install it for less than $150. added a foot-operated stop board at the loading platform as
The idea for the stop board came from Nate Lindholm, well. Both operators and guests can use the device in the event
Welch Village’s mountain operations manager, who worked there are issues with loading mountain bikes. For the loading
with his lift department to customize a Hall lift deropement platform, Welch installed the stop board so it was flush with
circuit micro-switch. The team used barn door hinges to mount the loading deck, so that a guest’s feet can clear it without
a 2” x 8” piece of lumber to the deck and a hood spring from triggering the device. Even if the device is accidentally triggered,
a vehicle to maintain the board up until manually depressed there is only a few moments of delay in lift operations to reset
onto the switch. For placement of the boards, they analyzed the switch, Lindholm explained.
the loading deck and located the boards with chair stopping Mike Lane, NSAA’s director of technical services, said
distance in mind, to ensure that bikes could still be retrieved that the clever idea will certainly catch on at other ski areas
or repositioned from the loading deck. with summer operations and mountain biking, and that the
In the first season of use, the area installed the devices at concept will be introduced at the ANSI B77 Committee as
the top unloading platform to assist operators with unloading well. Affordable, Midwestern sensibility and creativity put
guests’ bikes. Without the foot-operated stop board, if a bike into practice point to the fact that there’s a lot to learn from
handle were to get tangled on the outside bail, or if a fat tire a smartly operated smaller ski area like Welch Village.

46 | NSAA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019