This week the Lift Maintenance team ticked off one of their bigger projects of the summer. Immediately after closing on Oktoberfest Sunday, they began the process of replacing the bearings on the bullwheel at the bottom of Black Mountain Express. This is not an easy task. First, they have to de-tension the lift so the haul rope can remain on all of the towers and the top bullwheel while taking the rope off the bottom bullwheel. Once that is complete, they lower the 5,000+ pound bullwheel to ground where they can actually remove and replace a very large set of bearings. Upon completion, the team reverses the process, putting the bullwheel back in place, putting the rope back on the bullwheel and, finally, reversing the de-tensioning process.
