With the removing of the Kennebego T-bar (The only lift on the map to the summit) at Saddleback, Maine and the subsequent installation of a fixed grip quad, not only is a piece of history leaving, but a part of the mountain that was once accessible in heavy winds will now sit idle many days next winter. Sure, I know the value of putting in a chairlift for the mountain. It makes the summit much more accessible to the intermediate terrain up top, but in my opinion, the t-bar served many purposes like crowd control and keeping people off some expert terrain that can be as hairy as anywhere in the east. Second to all of that is that Saddleback had always prided itself on the fact that they had t-bars and slower lifts as they have always been a throw back to what skiing was. Now, as they expand and try to cater to higher income guests, they are going away from that philosophy, but also perhaps hurting their amount of skier days. The issue itself is industry-wide. Not many resorts still consider surface lifts as viable as many skiers and riders are afraid to ride them, but in my opinion they are not only fun, but also highly functional lifts that last a long time and can operate when other lifts sit idle. So the next time you look up at a part of any mountain that is closed because of wind while you cruise the beginner and intermediate terrain waiting for lift holds to open up, remember back to when t-bars and Pomas were the order of the day for expert terrain and remember how great it was to still get fresh tracks after a storm or even be able to access the same terrain. We live in different times now.
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