Sugarbush - Heaven's Gate Triple

The History:
By 1984, Sugarbush's Carlevaro & Savio gondola was starting to show its age. It was installed in 1958 as Lincoln Peak's first lift stretching from the Valley House Lodge at the base of the mountain all the way to Lincoln Peak's summit. Since this lift had 3 passenger cabins, a relatively slow line speed, vintage detachable technology, and far cabin spacing, it had a low capacity and became outdated quite quickly. In 1984, during ARA's brief ownership of Sugarbush, the gondola was removed and replaced by two Poma triple chairlifts. While this did result in the loss of a top to bottom lift, it increased capacity significantly from well below 1,000 p/h to 1,600 p/h. The new lift layout was also more efficient. The two lifts were the Sugar Bravo Triple, which ran from the base to the top of Gadd Peak, and this lift, the Heaven's Gate Triple, which ran from the bottom of Downspout to the summit. While Sugar Bravo was removed in 1995 and replaced by a Doppelmayr detachable quad, Heaven's Gate has been running continuously since its debut. It still serves as a decently reliable summit lift, but is definitely starting to show its age. Over the summer of 2022, Sugarbush applied and got approved for permits to build a Doppelmayr fixed-grip quad to replace Heaven's Gate. Although the permits are in place, this likely will not happen for a couple more years.

The Lift:
The Heaven's Gate Triple is an early Poma Alpha model. It uses a hydraulicly tensioned Poma Alpha bottom drive, first-generation Arceaux triple chairs, early 1980s Poma lifting frames, Poma spoked sheaves, and an 80s style Poma fixed return. In 2014 this lift's control system and drive were upgraded by Skytrac, giving this lift modern electronics that can ensure that it will be reliable for years to come. It has a design speed of 500 ft/min, but it usually runs closer to 425 ft/min. Its design capacity is 1,600 p/h.