We have a full time lift maintenance crew here even in the summer although the lifts are not running. These guys have a lot to do in the off-season to make sure the lift is ready again to haul us all to the top come winter. The cables, grips, and mechanics of each lift are tested every summer. Sometimes a cable will be x-rayed (for lack of a better term) to make sure there are no weaknesses. Sometimes a cable has to be spliced. All of these things take a significant amount of time. In fact, right now, the West End is naked!
Another reason that the lifts do not run in the summer comes down to cost. We agree, it would be a great thing to offer the public, however it is pretty expensive. Did you know you not only have to have a full lift crew on duty but ski patrol members as well? Yep, even in the summer. If the lift were to breakdown, ski patrol would still be needed to evacuate people from the lift. This means they would need lots of 4-wheelers to reach everything under the lift.
So that, in a nutshell, is why we cannot run the lift throughout the summer. BUT, we will be running the lift for TWO Color Sundays this year so mark your calendars!
September 21 & 28
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