Big White | Bullet Express

Описание: This is one of the oldest areas of Big White, once served by several lifts. There was first the Bunny T-Bar, likely a 1960's install, an original lift at Big White. It started at the Village Centre, and served a beginner area. Another lift called Easter Chair was added above this lift in 1977. Next to this, a Village Chair was added in 1980, running higher than Easter, ending right at the bottom of the Alpine T-Bar. In the late 80's Alpine was realigned and extended downhill, more than doubling the lifts vertical rise, and making it easier to access. The Easter Triple (seems likely) was also moved to replace the Bunny T-Bar on a longer, new alignment, and taking the name Village Chair. The former Village Chair was renamed to Summit Chair, as the other lift had taken the name. In 1989, Big White decided to upgrade this area of the mountain, as there was a mess of lifts at this point. Bullet Express opened that year, starting at a lower point from Village Chair, and ending on a mound slightly above Summit Chair, replacing both lifts on a single alignment. This lift fixed the messiest area of Big White. At the time, Alpine T-Bar was the only way to get to The Cliff, Big White's most difficult terrain, but the new Bullet Express now also provided a way in. Alpine still remains to this day, as its still the main access to The Cliff, and it stays open when the other lifts going past the tree line can't.

Bullet Express is a Doppelmayr high speed quad. It is the oldest detachable lift on the mountain, and the third oldest lift currently operating lift, behind Alpine, and Plaza Chair. It uses the prototype UNI terminals, before they were officially released, with DS-104 grips, EJ chairs, late 80's/early 90's style lifting frames, and a pancake style return with a bottom tensioned drive. It appears the chairs are designed for bubbles, and may have even had them at one point. I would guess Big White never implemented them, as they have incredible maintenance, and probably would have been able to take care of them. There also isn't a parking facility, a key element in keeping the fragile EJ bubble chairs in good shape. The bottom of Bullet Express acts like a bucket, collecting a lot of snow, and requiring a lot of digging up, to operate the lift normally. Even though it turns 32 years old this summer, Bullet Express will likely stay around for awhile, as it runs smoothly, and is kept in very good condition, despite the heavy snowstorms and rime ice Big White commonly gets. One other thing to note is that at tower 14, the com line is routed underground, due to wind reasons. I could see this lift lasting a long time, and could end up being one of the oldest detachable lifts around.

Recorded on February 14th, 2021