Idaho T-Bars

PeterPeter
edited September 2017 in NELSAP Forum Posts: 186
Greetings from the Rockies!  The surface lift enthusiasts that frequent here might be interested in the below pictures of four ski areas I checked out this weekend that each have just a T-Bar.  Idaho surprisingly has more ski areas than every western state except California and Colorado, though most of them are small and remote.  The Gem State is significantly larger than the New England states combined but with only a tenth the population.  One reason so many ski areas survive here is because mountain ranges naturally divide Idaho into sections with few roads between.

Bald Mountain - 1968 Hall
Cottonwood Butte - relocated Buehler with some possible Doppelmayr stuff.
Little Ski Hill - 1971 Hall
Snowhaven - 1972 Hall

My Lift Blog site now has photos of every lift in Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming and I am getting close to finishing Washington, Oregon, Nevada, South Dakota and Colorado.  It's taken a lot of miles in the car.

Comments

  • IBRAKEFORTBARSIBRAKEFORTBARS
    Posts: 1,836
    Very nice!! What are the lengths and vertical drop of these t-bars?

    IBRAKE
  • ciscokidciscokid
    Posts: 5,282
    Never heard of these "little" areas

    Cool beans I mean Ts

    Ibrake2
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,483
    The photos and stats are great and I often reference Liftblog for western lifts. Rocket has been working on the same thing for all of the New England ski areas on Newenglandskihistory.com. Now someone needs to cover the Midwest and Southeast, and then every ski lift in the US would be documented.
    - Sam
  • IBRAKEFORTBARSIBRAKEFORTBARS
    Posts: 1,836
    Oops: never mind. I saw where the stats were on the liftblog site.

    Nice to see that Hall surface lifts are alive and well out west!

    IBRAKE
  • PeterPeter
    Posts: 186
    I think the Bald Mt. Hall is the third longest surface lift in the US after Breckenridge and Black Mountain of Maine. It edges out #5 at Sugarloaf.
  • ski_itski_it
    Posts: 4,668
    Thanks Peter. I will definitely take a look. 
    ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
  • jaytremjaytrem
    edited September 2017 Posts: 745
    Hey Peter, you might be one short in Idaho.  Looks like Blizzard Mountain near Arco still operates.  The good news is it gives you another place to visit, and not too far from JH....


    Oh, and great pics.  Thanks for all your hard work on the site!!!
  • jaytremjaytrem
    edited September 2017 Posts: 745
    jaytrem said:

    double post

  • IBRAKEFORTBARSIBRAKEFORTBARS
    edited September 2017 Posts: 1,836
    Here's what skiing at Snowhaven, ID is like: just LOOK at the untracked powder and all the evergreens!!!!! :-O :-O :-O

    This is the stuff t-bar dreams are made of.

  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,483
    Peter said:

    I think the Bald Mt. Hall is the third longest surface lift in the US after Breckenridge and Black Mountain of Maine. It edges out #5 at Sugarloaf.


    What about Mount Abram? The Maine T at Abram is 3,350 feet long vs. the T-bar at Black at 2,500 feet
    - Sam
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    edited September 2017 Posts: 5,483
    jaytrem said:

    Hey Peter, you might be one short in Idaho.  Looks like Blizzard Mountain near Arco still operates.  The good news is it gives you another place to visit, and not too far from JH....



    Oh, and great pics.  Thanks for all your hard work on the site!!!

    Woah, look at that platter! Does anyone know anything about it? It seems homemade to me.
    - Sam
  • PeterPeter
    edited September 2017 Posts: 186
    jaytrem said:

    Hey Peter, you might be one short in Idaho.  Looks like Blizzard Mountain near Arco still operates.  The good news is it gives you another place to visit, and not too far from JH....



    Oh, and great pics.  Thanks for all your hard work on the site!!!
    You're right, thanks.  I have driven right by there a bunch of times and never knew it was there!  Interestingly, Blizzard is not a member of the Idaho Ski Areas Association like all the others.  As long as they grant me permission, I will go and get pictures in the next few weeks.  I agree the platter looks homemade.
  • PeterPeter
    Posts: 186
    NewEnglandSkier13 said:

    Peter said:

    I think the Bald Mt. Hall is the third longest surface lift in the US after Breckenridge and Black Mountain of Maine. It edges out #5 at Sugarloaf.


    What about Mount Abram? The Maine T at Abram is 3,350 feet long vs. the T-bar at Black at 2,500 feet
    I didn't have a length number on Mt. Abram since it was installed used or before SAM started the lift construction survey in 1962.  I have ridden that T-Bar though.
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,483
    Peter said:

    NewEnglandSkier13 said:

    Peter said:

    I think the Bald Mt. Hall is the third longest surface lift in the US after Breckenridge and Black Mountain of Maine. It edges out #5 at Sugarloaf.


    What about Mount Abram? The Maine T at Abram is 3,350 feet long vs. the T-bar at Black at 2,500 feet
    I didn't have a length number on Mt. Abram since it was installed used or before SAM started the lift construction survey in 1962.  I have ridden that T-Bar though.

    The number is from Newenglandskihistory.com
    - Sam
  • LiftGuyLiftGuy
    Posts: 353
    Hey Peter- It appears to me that the T Bar at Cottonwood Butte has a bottom Drive and Tension while the top looks like a fixed return, not tensioned .No?
    Love your site.

  • PeterPeter
    Posts: 186
    LiftGuy said:

    Hey Peter- It appears to me that the T Bar at Cottonwood Butte has a bottom Drive and Tension while the top looks like a fixed return, not tensioned .No?
    Love your site.

    Correct. And thanks!
  • PeterPeter
    Posts: 186
    I got in touch with the Lions Club that operates Blizzard Mountain and found out that the platter was built in 1950 at Beaver Mountain, Utah and moved to Arco in 1961.  I will be getting pictures of it soon.  Has to be one of the oldest operating lifts in the country.
  • PeterPeter
    edited September 2017 Posts: 186
    Blizzard Mountain platter pictures below, as promised.  It runs on propane.  Tower 5 fell over a few years back and the Lions Club carries on without it.  Quite the sight.  https://liftblog.com/platter-blizzard-mountain-id/
  • NewEnglandSkier13NewEnglandSkier13
    Posts: 5,483
    Peter said:

    Blizzard Mountain platter pictures below, as promised.  It runs on propane.  Tower 5 fell over a few years back and the Lions Club carries on without it.  Quite the sight.  https://liftblog.com/platter-blizzard-mountain-id/


    That may be the most unique lift in operation in the US. Thanks for sharing photos.
    - Sam
  • ciscokidciscokid
    Posts: 5,282
    NewEnglandSkier13 said:

    Peter said:

    Blizzard Mountain platter pictures below, as promised.  It runs on propane.  Tower 5 fell over a few years back and the Lions Club carries on without it.  Quite the sight.  https://liftblog.com/platter-blizzard-mountain-id/


    That may be the most unique lift in operation in the US. Thanks for sharing photos.
    What about my most bizarre lift in Wisconsin?
  • jaytremjaytrem
    Posts: 745
    Peter said:

    I got in touch with the Lions Club that operates Blizzard Mountain and found out that the platter was built in 1950 at Beaver Mountain, Utah and moved to Arco in 1961.  I will be getting pictures of it soon.  Has to be one of the oldest operating lifts in the country.

    Well that didn't take long. Nice work!!!  That thing is something alright.
  • RemskiRemski
    edited September 2017 Posts: 1,162
    Wow! Not only is that a funky looking surface lift but that terrain must be a blast on one of those Idaho powder days. Looks like a lift you'd see in the Middle East.
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