From a vantage point inside the new domed Teepee Town chair at Sunshine Village, the sky really is a different colour.
Large orange acrylic bubbles now adorn the windy chairlift, shielding users from the elements, while a new warming system keep riders cozy on the ride up. It’s a bold change for Sunshine Village, which will have the new chair ready to go on opening day.
“It’s almost like sitting inside a pair of goggles,” said Sunshine Village chief operating officer Dave Riley.
Riley knows the ins and outs of the heated lift better than most. With nearly 30 years of experience in the ski industry, he’s seen their popularity explode in Europe, and overseen construction of this chair from conception to completion.
It’s the only heated lift in Canada, and only the third of its kind in North America (Utah and Vermont each have one).
“There are over 150 of these in the Alps. For some reason, they haven’t taken off in North America. In the Alps, if you’re building a detachable chair, it’s the only kind of lift people buy,” Riley said.
The orange tint is a colour used in Europe to distinguish heated lifts from non-heated lifts. The dome’s aerodynamic shape reduces wind effect on the chairlift, which makes it more efficient. Riders will have the option to raise or lower the dome on the way up, while it will automatically lower on the way down. Riley said the dome should reduce chair swing, and ride more efficiently in the wind.
While the dome is the most visible part of the lift, the heating system will be the most popular. The new system provides a sensation akin to heated seats in a luxury car, and should draw more riders to a neglected area of the ski hill.
“As the chair comes through the lower terminal, brush terminals connect and energy is sent to the seats, which heats the seat quickly. As the chair leaves, the energy stops. There is no power in the middle of the lift,” Riley said. “On a windy ridge, I was up there the other day and it really makes a huge difference.”
At 1,200 riders per hour, the lift has the same capacity as the old chair to fit with Parks Canada regulations, since the ski hill hasn’t completed its long-range plan yet. However, it is expandable and more chairs could be added.
“The old lift was underutilized. It was rare that you’d ever see a full lift all the way up. But I suspect a lot of people will really like this and we have the ability to add additional chairs,” Riley said.
The lift was approved in August 2014, which was too late to open for last season, but the hill was able to start pouring concrete on the lower towers. In spring 2015, using snowcats and helicopters, the rest of the tower work was completed. Building while snow was still on the ground helped mitigate environmental damage.
Riley said even though the footprint is the same, the added weight of the chairs means the entire lift had to be reconstructed, so adding the same technology to other spots on the ski hill would require complete rebuilds of popular lifts. Riley believes once skiers and snowboarders ride the Teepee Town chair, there will be demand to change out other lifts on the mountain.
“It’s more complicated than just hanging new chairs on a rope. These weigh a lot. The lift is engineered for a certain weight, so there are some we can’t retrofit because of the foundations. With the Teepee Town chair, everything is new. Nothing is used,” Riley said.
