This weekend Grouse Mountain opened its Screaming Eagle chairlift to the “midstation.” Normally the Screaming Eagle chair runs all the way from the bottom of the Cut to the top. The midstation is generally only used during “early season conditions,” and allows the top half of the Cut to be opened for skiing even if the bottom half does not have enough snow coverage. This winter has been particularly warm, and thus snow has been very lacking.
The midstation setup consists of half of a cross-arm with supporting sheaves on Tower 7. This half-arm is only rotated in line with the haul rope when the midstation is in operation. The little half-tower 8 with a depression assembly is permanently stationed. There is also an operator shack and a control panel.
The chairlift has to operate at fixed grip speeds while the midstation is used. This means that it can become congested even more quickly than usual.
Here is a video of the midstation in operation:
