The Wire Rope Is Also At The Top

The motor room made it to the Summit last night and the wire rope made it up today. Both traveled on the crawler. The wire rope is on a very large spool just like a spool of thread. The motor room is now set on its towers. It still needs its glass and a few more parts. These two items are the heaviest parts of the lift. Both are very difficult to move through rugged terrain. As many of you know, our summer service road is a pretty tough drive. That drive becomes incredibly difficult once it has snow on it. Needless to say, I heaved a great sigh of relief once I knew these pieces were on the top before we receive significant snowfall.

A Long, Long Journey

The Beavers Lift motor room had a very, very long journey today. It left Grand Junction early this morning arriving at The Basin mid morning. After transferring it to a crawler, the motor room, in a painfully slow manner, inched its way to the Summit. No speed records today. Finally, well after dark, the machine reached the Summit to be set on the top terminal tomorrow. It was long hard day for everyone involved.

Bottom Terminal Beavers

Things have really taken shape at the bottom terminal of the Beavers Lift. You can see that the lift operator house is substantially completed. The bullwheel is set. Tower 1 is in place. The grading is done and the spider hoes are climbing out today. Special thanks to All Mountain Construction for the spider hoe work, for the lift and for Loafer and Davis. Looking at plans, it is hard for many people to visualize how a project like The Beavers will actually turn out. You can see it now.

All Towers Are Standing

Another milestone today. After a short helicopter session this morning, all of the towers are standing. The next big steps are to get the motor room, the haul rope and the chairs up to the Summit. That should occur over the next week. The major pieces are almost in place.

Setting Tower 15

Setting the towers is, no doubt, very exciting. It is also quite challenging. Ground crews guide the helicopter and the towers and the tower heads into the foundations. Ultimately, the equipment is set on some large bolts and secured with some very large nuts. Not a typical work day for most people.

Setting the Tower Head for Tower 15

Wet Bulb 22 F

We had a surprisingly good snowmaking session last night. Actually as I write, the guns are still going strong. We have now "exercised" all of the equipment on High Noon. With a wet bulb of 22 F, the temperature was colder than we expected. This was a bona fide snowmaking session. Looking at the forecast, we are going to see some warming weather. That said, when the next cold temperatures come around, we are ready.

Afternoon Light

As the afternoon rain and snow showers wound down, the sun popped out delivering some very special colors and images. No wonder we love this place.

A Bit Of Snow

We had just a bit of snow this morning. The snow line was down to about Tower 4 Black Mountain Express. Just about all of it is gone now. We have since had a couple of little showers with both rain and snow. These early Falls snows are Mother Nature's way of letting us know to get ready for winter. The snow is definitely a sign.

Friends, Chairlifts and Helicopters

Sunday I was able to enjoy the chairlift/helicopter show with my friend Isaac and his family.

Starting To Look Like A Chairlift

We had a very successful day. 12 of 15 lift towers are standing. The bullwheel is ready to be set. The Lift Operator House is roughed in. Just about all of the grading is done. This thing is starting to look like a chairlift.

Big Fly Day

Another big fly day going on. Already this morning, the lower terminal and lower bullwheel have been flown in. A few of the towers are now standing. The lift manufacturer, Leitner Poma, is building several lifts in the region. As I speak, the helicopter has gone to Copper Mountain for a couple hours to do some work there. We should see it back in a bit and by the end of the day, 12 towers should be standing. By the end of the week, all 15 towers should be standing.

Chairlift In A Parking Lot

Most of The Beavers Lift is in our parking lots. At least the pieces that are above the ground are in the parking lots. We might be flying the towers today. I look forward to the parking lots being empty and a string of towers on the hill.

Soon To Be A New Kitchen

With the utility and foundation work behind us, our kitchen remodel is starting to take shape. We have walls and trusses. This project will probably go into November a little bit. While it will be one very big kitchen, it will function as two kitchens, one for each restaurant. Once finished, this will make a tremendous difference in the Legends Cafe and The 6th Alley. The project isn't quite as sexy as The Beavers, but is still a very important one.

By Dawn's Early Light

And we are flying at dawn this morning. Concrete, building materials, steel, sand, all kinds of stuff. This will be a very big and productive day.

September Snowmaking

We fired up last night. The wet bulb temperature got down to 25F for about six hours. The snowmakers have been training and testing for the last week. They put a little bit of snow on the ground. It wasn't a big night, but it was a very productive and important night. We will probably have a few more nights like this. It is good to run the system and work out any kinks. A snowmaking system has miles and miles of machines and equipment. Most of that gear lives outside and is exposed to weather and wildlife. Testing is good, running the system under real conditions is even better. The objective is to be fully ready when we get that 36 hour period of temperatures in the teens. We will be ready.

...............And there is a big old civilian Blackhawk in Early Riser this morning.

Soaking Up The Fall

Earlier this week I caught a glimpse of these goats soaking up the Fall morning sun near the Summit. We have seem some tremendous weather, but a little bit of change may be coming. We may see temperatures below freezing Friday morning. As I drove to work this morning, there was snow on Torreys Peak (14,275')

Rainy Fall Afternoon

After some very warm and sunny weather, we finally got a little rain storm this afternoon. It was nice. Fall is certainly in the air. The snowmakers were out testing their pipelines today. They even watered the grass a little on High Noon. The crew will be watching the weather forecasts very closely. We might even see some snowmaking temperatures by the weekend. Yes, it is getting to be that time.

Flying Towers?

While we will be doing some more concrete work very soon, most of the tower foundations are ready for steel. We anticipate a second day of helicopter work to start erecting towers. This could happen within a few days of the concrete work. In the next few weeks, we will have many, many big steps, setting the bottom bullwheel, placing the motor room, installing the wire rope, putting on the chairs, etc etc. etc. This will look like a chairlift soon.

Beavers Lift tower foundations ready for steel

One More Day Of Concrete

It has been a tough summer for getting helicopters. With this season's intense wildfire activity, helicopters have been busy fighting fires. Slowly, the machines have become available for other helicopter projects. It looks like we will see a bird late this week. The object is to fully finish flying the concrete. The biggest chunk will go to the bottom terminal (pictured below). There is a little bit more concrete needed at a few towers. We have to pour concrete for a couple of columns for a couple of small solar systems (bottom Beavers Lift Op house and Pali Outpost). Lastly, we have to pour the columns for one of the picnic decks out near Beaver Bowl.

Beavers Lift Bottom Terminal

Aspens in 1st Steep Gully

Due to our elevation, we don't have many aspens. We are just a little too high. There is a small grove way low in the Zuma Hike Back. There is also a nice patch in the 1st Steep Gully. For this part of Colorado, the aspens are in peak Fall colors right now. In addition to the aspens, there are willows and other small plants in beautiful autumn color. This is a stunning time of year.

1st Steep Gully

Pali

Top of Pali Update

The Pali Outpost (new ski patrol station) at the top of Pali is really taking shape. The roof, siding and deck are just about done. This will be a great facility to patrol from.

First Oktoberfest

Today was our 1st Oktoberfest. It was an overwhelming success. The Summit Concert Band played for an hour. The Austrian Guys played for 3 hours. German beer and schnitzel and bratwurst were enjoyed by everyone. Lots of people enjoyed the free chairlift rides. There were yard games. People were  dancing.  Hikers enjoyed the mountain. Mother Nature delivered a perfect, Fall, bluebird day.

We'll be doing this event again. The outfits were awesome.

Towers and Tower Heads

Now we have towers and ladders and tower heads in the parking lot. The sheave assemblies are there too. The Leitner Poma crew will be putting all of these together in anticipation flying those towers soon, maybe next week.

Don't forget to join us for Oktoberfest this Saturday. German food and beer. Free chairlift rides. The last A-Basin summer shin dig. The Austrian Guys playing music. More great fun at The Basin.