The Lift Maintenance Crew has finished getting all the chairs back on all five of our aerial lift lines. Each summer, 20% of all chairs and grips are removed from the haul line and undergo a detailed inspection. The guys are finishing up their projects in preparation for our annual licensing inspection with the CPTSB later this month.
I recently had an opportunity to check out the timber operations across the highway on Monarch Ridge. The work is coming along utilizing the winch assist machines. There were several decks stacked along the upper road and the machines have worked their way towards the mining claims located adjacent to the Madonna Mine. Once they reach this northern boundary, they…
As described in an earlier post, one of our planned summer projects was to relocate an historic cabin. Today, we moved the cabin from the vehicle maintenance lot up to Pano flats across from the bottom of the Panorama lift. We worked with Terry’s Crane & Rigging to relocate the cabin. Definitely was not their first rodeo! All went well…
A few of us went up to Ski Cooper today to visit our friends there. Earlier this summer, they stopped by Monarch to see what we were up to. Just like we are doing at Monarch, they are also making preparations for operating in a COVID landscape this season. This is one of the great things about the ski industry.…
The Lift Maintenance Department conducts a lot of work behind the scenes each off-season getting our lifts ready for winter. In addition to the numerous maintenance projects completed each summer, the crew also periodically performs what is known as “dynamic testing” on our lifts. In accordance with the federal regulations for passenger ropeways under ANSI B.77.1 2017, each lift undergoes…
Last week’s storm brought a lot of snow, but it also unleashed some serious wind on the mountain. The storm event started out with warm ground and rain which then transitioned to heavy, wet snow. Trees were loaded from the snow and the roots loosened up by the moist ground conditions. Oftentimes, during these types of heavy storms later in…
With the first snow of the year, we got a sneak peak at what Monarch Ridge will look like across the highway from the ski area. The plan is to continue thinning dead spruce trees along the ridge to the north until they reached the private mining claims down near the Madonna Mine. As time and conditions permit, the USFS…
It was a full day. Shoveling, plowing and skiing! We had between 6″ and 18″ of snow depending on slope aspect. I had to take advantage of having enough snow on the ground in September to skin around and make a few light turns on a grassy slope. (It pays to know the mountain!) These opportunities only show up every…
Hot temps, smoky skies and then snow. It’s been quite a 24 hour swing! Things were just starting to pick up when we left the ski area early afternoon. The highway closed shortly afterwards due to treacherous driving conditions and multiple accidents. This photo was right before I left the mountain and the storm is forecast to bring heavy snow…
