Sunday River's "Chondola" blog is up and running

With construction under way at Sunday River, Maine for the new hybrid lift, or "Chondola," the resort has set up a separate website blog for those wishing to track the progress of the lift. Starting with the deconstruction the Borvig triple that was dismantled and will be on route to Michigan, there are facts, videos, links to related topics such as the company doing the installation - Doppelmayr, and lots of pictures. The site should be updated daily and will be linked off the main Sunday River website, but for the time being, it can accessed via www.chondola.com.

Still looking for a spare chair...

A thread popped up recently on the Sunday River Forum about the replacement of Lift 7 with the “Chondola” and what that meant for the 25 + year-old lift. As you can imagine, lots of folks would love to get their hands on one of the Borvig triple chairs, but most haven’t a clue as to how much each of these weighs. Let’s put it this way – a lot. So anyway, we found out that the lift is scheduled for a re-install at another Boyne resort, which I think is fabulous. We have enough lost ropeways as it is and for those of us that want used chairs, they are out there.

From days gone by...

With a brisk wind sweeping over the western ridge, I walked under the old Chair 7 Saturday morning, catching a last glimpse of the Borvig triple chair that some 25 years ago was considered high-tech. And while two others will still be in use next year at Sunday River, the new Doppelmayr hybrid will replace the triple and serve up a unique lift experience. I was admittedly a little sad looking up at the old painted brown chairs, but also look ahead to the excitement that will come next year. My hope is that the old triple will be sold and rebuilt on another mountain. Such practice is commonplace in the ski industry, especially with the price of new lifts and the few companies that still make them. And it was that same Saturday night that I cam across this old painting of Sunday River from 1972 – a special piece even before Borvig made its’ mark..