Sixth-cent fix? Hogadon chair lift parts rare; new one could double capacity - Casper, WY Oil City News

Oct 23, 2024

CASPER, Wyo. — The fixed-grip double-seat chair lift at the Hogadon Ski Basin was built in 1981 by the Riblet Tramway Company, which went out of business in 2003, according to Chris Smith, superintendent of the ski facility.

“Our main concern is it’s aging out and we’re having difficulty purchasing parts, or even finding parts,” Smith told members of the media at the facility on Oct. 2. “They’re virtually nonexistent in the used market.”

The two big manufacturers now are Doppelmayr and Skytrac. Smith said one of those company’s fixed-grip quad chairlifts could at least double the amount of people getting up the slopes.

The chairs would also include safety bars, and there would be a loading carpet at the bottom of the run that would allow people with disabilities to board without having to stop the lift, as is done now at Hogadon.

That would cost about $4.2 million, and it is one of eight capital projects for the city of Casper that could be funded by an optional sixth-cent sales tax.

That money would also pay for lighting on the Dreadnaught run, which is arguably the most popular of the runs, city Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director Zulima Lopez said.

Voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on each proposition in the Nov. 5 general election. Only the projects approved by the majority would get funded. The tax would run for two years or just long enough to meet the sum total of the approved projects.

When he became the superintendent 11 years ago, Smith said a big day at Hogadon was about 300 people. Now there are at least a half-dozen days per season with 800 people, which is good for business but also means 20- to 30-minute wait times at the bottom of the lift. “And that is a detractor,” Smith said. Some people are also leery of the lack of safety bars on the lift.

“It’s very safe still; our crew does a very good job maintaining it,” he said.

Smith says he talks to most of the people he can, and a lot of them come from along the Front Range, Nebraska and central Wyoming. Smith said they like Hogadon’s classic steep and narrow runs and remark on the attention to grooming. They are also here for the value.

“To ski in Colorado, it can be a $1,000-a-day experience for families,” Smith said, adding that those families could spend a weekend skiing in Casper for half that.

If voters approve the new lift, it could be installed in seven months during the off-season. Smith said the city could sell most of the parts, especially the towers and cables. “Because it’s 40 years old, some of the demo guys think it’s worth a fair amount of money, and it was probably manufactured in the United States,” he said.

Crime/Court Reporter More by Greg Hirst