Mega Snowbird News

Off of the AP

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Snowbird ski resort is planning to replace
one of its original 1971 chair lifts with a longer, faster lift
that would take skiers nearly to the top of the resort in Peruvian
Gulch.

But that's not all: the resort would drill a 400-foot tunnel
through the mountain so skiers can reach the backside in Mineral
Basin, riding a conveyor belt without taking off their skis.

The sheer engineering audacity of the tunnel is bound to turn
heads in the industry, and cost a lot of money, although how much
is unknown; Snowbird officials said they hadn't drawn up plans and
were still examining the lift and tunnel as a concept.

Save Our Canyons is unlikely to oppose the transformation
because Snowbird promises to tear down the Peruvian lift when it
builds the new lift, and because the new detachable four-seat lift
would end just short of a ridge line and wouldn't mar the Wasatch
scenery.

The new lift would stop short of the saddle that separates
Peruvian Gulch from Mineral Basin so intermediate skiers wouldn't
have to navigate steep terrain from its top. By keeping the chair
off a ridge, it would stay protected from high winds that could
limit operation, resort spokesman Dave Fields said Tuesday.

But that would require a tunnel to get skiers through the
mountain saddle and into Mineral Basin, where the conveyor belt
would deliver skiers onto moderate terrain. Fields said the
"moving carpet" in the tunnel was key to keeping the new lift
below the ridge line, meaning the resort wouldn't have to build
retaining walls or grade the ridge top for a lift terminal.

Save Our Canyons would like to see Bass dismantle and replace
the tram with a gondola hugging the ground closer. Instead, Fields
said the new lift and tunnel "would take a lot of pressure off the
tram," making it more useful for skiers.

Snowbird lift designs pose a special challenge. "The bottom
line is this resort is on an extremely steep mountain, and they
have all sorts of problems operating up there," said Witherspoon.

The 1,078-member Save Our Canyons often weighs in resort
expansion requiring U.S. Forest Service approval, and Snowbird's
new lift would require at least two lift towers on national forest
land that makes up the patchwork of public-private land at the
resort.

Witherspoon, speaking as one board member and an avid
backcountry skier, said he could find little reason to oppose
Snowbird's plans.

"Do they need a new lift up there? That's ski resort decision.
I would really like it if they just get rid of the tram," he said.

Snowbird also plans to ask the Forest Service for
approval to build another base lodge near the bottom of the
high-speed Gadzoom lift.


--------------------------------------
http://iplay2ski.blogspot.com
http://buildmybankroll.blogspot.com

"JB" wrote in message
ups.com...

The 1,078-member Save Our Canyons .........


Bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaha.........NAMBLA probably has more members.

In article , pigo says...


"JB" wrote in message
oups.com...

The 1,078-member Save Our Canyons .........


Bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaha.........NAMB LA probably has more members.



And you would know because why?