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View Full Version : Do You Miss the Spring Fling Triple?



summitchallenger
01-16-2009, 08:45 AM
So it has been about seven years since it was removed. Was this a good idea? It was sold to an amusement park. Should it have been moved to another location on the mountain?

flakeydog
01-16-2009, 09:30 AM
I would have to say that I do miss having the Spring Fling Triple there. While it is nice to not have the traffic coming off the lift at the top of Spring Fling I really don't think the lift and tower placement effected the flow of the trail all that much. I always thought of Spring Fling as "South's Inverness" with a variety of terrain- sometimes low angle bumps on the lift-side (skier's right) of the trail, cruising on the other side, access to lower Moonshine/Twist and now Eden Woods. Now that Eden is so well developed, I know a lot of kids that would do laps in there. I am not saying we need to put it back, I just remember spending a fair amount of time over there when it was running.

Also- It's funny that amusement parks use ski lifts as "rides" while we skiers view a chairlift as just a means to get around.

Last Tracks
01-16-2009, 09:43 AM
Chairlift Soliloquy‏ - funny video for those who spend a lot of time on the lift...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUEQG8ixY-I

Lostone
01-16-2009, 10:00 AM
My buddy and I were at the Valley House. He needed to take a bio break. I figured I'd take a quick run up Spring Fling, while I waited. When he came out I was... at tower 3. :shock: :lol:

Still, would be handy for the end of the season, when they have so much trouble keeping the Snowball lane open. 8)

Lostone
01-16-2009, 10:19 AM
And that Chairlift Soliloquy was great!

Sent it to a bunch of non-skiers. 8)

summitchallenger
01-16-2009, 11:14 AM
I can honestly say that I only rode it once or twice....and the comparison to Inverness is quite interesting and appropriate, IMHO.

madhavok
01-16-2009, 11:51 AM
I like Spring fling more without the chair. What I do miss (but not angry!) is when you could unload off the Valley house double left or right. Never saw it to be a problem, plus I think it caused less congestion on the traverse.

freeheel_skier
01-16-2009, 12:03 PM
I don't miss it at all. I like the trail without it. Years ago I remember riding spring fling on thanksgiving and that was the only lift and trail open. It must have been around '87.

summitchallenger
01-16-2009, 12:11 PM
I like Spring fling more without the chair. What I do miss (but not angry!) is when you could unload off the Valley house double left or right. Never saw it to be a problem, plus I think it caused less congestion on the traverse.

I would think unloading left would make sense to avoid that bad bottleneck.

Fourwide
01-16-2009, 01:25 PM
Agreed--don't miss it at all (and we're in Snowcreek).

smootharc
01-16-2009, 01:38 PM
nm

Strat
01-16-2009, 01:44 PM
I only remember riding it once, and I don't remember how fast it went, but I remember thinking "Hey, this would be a nice jaunt for a last run, cruise down Spring Fling or Snowball late afternoon, get a few more turns in before heading to the parking lot..." It's just such a schlep to get back over to that area when Valley House isn't running (most days of the year)... I would say I kinda miss it.

summitchallenger
01-16-2009, 02:09 PM
nm

Compliments of Chairlift.org:

http://www.chairlift.org/pics/sb/sb18.jpg

http://www.chairlift.org/pics/sb/sb19.jpg

http://www.chairlift.org/pics/sb/sb20.jpg

http://www.chairlift.org/pics/sb/sb21.jpg

The last pic is funny......"hey check me out, I'm posing in front of the Spring Fling Chairlift because I know that someday when this lift is removed I will be on Chairlift.org and SkiMRV.com!"

freeheel_skier
01-16-2009, 07:10 PM
Love the chairlift.org pics. 8)

shadyjay
01-16-2009, 07:13 PM
Funny - my cousin and I were just discussing this same topic an hour or so ago. I do miss it... it was great for a quick run to end the day... whether down Snowball or Spring Fling. On weekdays to reach that terrain, its a long traverse from top of 'Bravo, and on weekends, you have to either take the 'Bravo and fight the traverse, or hike up to VH.

I believe the ride time was the same as the VH - 6 1/2 minutes.

flakeydog
01-19-2009, 12:26 PM
There was a couple of years in the mid-late '80s that Spring Fling was the 1st terrain to open for the year.

The usual "North vs South" early opening argument was brought out then as well. Not a recent issue by any means, goes back 20+ years... :lol:

John Walden
01-19-2009, 08:18 PM
My only comment here is that I think the VH chair should be able to un load to the left. That traverse can get awful busy and slick on most weekends.

freeheel_skier
01-19-2009, 09:21 PM
^^^^^^

+1

Spartan82
01-19-2009, 09:26 PM
The last part of the VH Traverse can turn into an ice fest right in front of the entrance to Steins/Mall. The fact that people are coming off the lift makes it even worse. I don't get why you can't unload to the left anymore.

mattlucas
01-19-2009, 11:22 PM
I miss the SF triple. cool color. I remember a couple of days where I sat my nonskiing then gf there in spring so she could read and get some sun while i lapped the VH and occasionally said hi. she was brunette and not the blonde from chairlift.org, but pretty and well read. good times.

Also, me and my bro used to ski spring fling with one ski sometimes when conditions were subprime. for some reason we always had fun over there. I also remember the 80s-ish thanksgivings when my dad used to pack us in after dinner and drive to the bush while we slept. Sometimes i would wake up as we flew around bomoseen and I knew that there would be an icy novemberish spring fling for me to ski the next day.

man that was a long time ago.

not sure if i want the chair back now though, as long as the VH runs it's fine by me. plus i like flying down spring fling on an empty day with no obstacles, towers or otherwise (especially not dumb half trail grooming.)

all good memories though. thanks for reminding me.

Lostone
01-20-2009, 08:59 AM
A few selections of mine: 8)

http://forums.skimrv.com/albums/Assorted_Pix/P9141375_Valley_House_Lodge_CnR.jpg


http://forums.skimrv.com/albums/Assorted_Pix/tTop_of_Spring_Fling_01_21_01.jpg


http://forums.skimrv.com/albums/Assorted_Pix/tA_Little_Below_Top_of_Spring_Fling_01_21_01.jpg


http://forums.skimrv.com/albums/Assorted_Pix/tPA150788.jpg

boze
01-20-2009, 10:45 AM
Greta pics, thanks for digging them up Lostone.

I don't miss the chair so much but it did help spread base traffic esp on the busiest days. But to large extent that's been taken on my the VH and absorbed by upgrades to the SB & GH (which I think have taken place since that triple was taken down?).

And I have the same question: why no off-loading option to the left for the VH chair?

mattlucas
01-20-2009, 07:07 PM
we can get to the point here:
if there is a lift to be missed it's the NL poma. the end.

slatham
01-20-2009, 07:10 PM
The question shouldn't be the Spring Fling Triple, it should be replacing the Valley House lift (and reconfiguring the unloading zone). The intermediate terrian from Valley house is THE BEST ON THE MOUNTIAN (I'm not including ME) IMHO, and needs to be accessed from the top of the real terrian, and not via traverse. And then there's Moonshine and Twist, and endless woods possibilities. Oh, and isn't there a run over there called Steins? And the Mall? For goodness sakes its the best all around skiing on the moutain, and the lift is ancient and rarely open. But I know Wins on this and I suspect this will change in due course. Can't do everything in day! THINK SNOW!

groomer
01-22-2009, 04:35 PM
we can get to the point here:
if there is a lift to be missed it's the NL poma. the end.

ABSOLUTELY!!!!! I Have many fond memories of that lift. Used to do lap after lap on that when I was a kid. Never a windhold! Bring it back!!!!!