Hot Wheels Chairlift Replacement Update

People have been asking questions about the state of the Hot Wheels replacement which we reported on last season. For those who are out of the loop, the Hot Wheels update would provide:

• Move from fixed triple to high speed quad
• Extend the top of the chair to Sherwood Ridge, somewhere near Shuttle Cornice. This would allow direct chair access to the Sherwood side without utilizing Ray’s Rut or hiking over Upper Saddle.
• Change the current top terminal into a midway terminal so beginners and intermediates could continue to access frontside terrain

There’s certainly some mixed emotions on the plan. Some have smartly pointed out that current underutilized terrain at Sherwood will become more crowded. As an example it would become more simple to make laps on Art’s Knob, Sherwood Cliffs or other places that tend to remain fresh longer. The upside is that it takes a ton of snow and effort to create Ray’s Rut. The Sherwood side could be opened earlier in the season with easier access. Spreading crowds to Sherwood may improve conditions in other areas of the mountain.

The entire plan is discussed at length in the Mitigated Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact. The entire 34 page document can be downloaded here. Sadly, the one part that is not clear is the exact location of the top terminal. That page of the map is not included in the PDF file. The comment period for the Negative Declaration ends on July 9th. Click the link to download the PDF:

AlpineMeadowsHotWheels.pdf

Monday Update: The latest info we are hearing is that the Hot Wheels replacement has been postponed until the summer of 2013. There is also a suggestion that the actual terminus would be closer to Arts Knob and Sherwood Cliffs, which seems unlikely due to a significant change of direction. The Collins chair at Alta had a turn at the mid station…but it sure seems easier to keep things in more of a straight line and terminate near Shuttle Cornice. A chair that allows direct access higher up would sure put a lot of people in the wrong place.