New Millicent lift at Brighton
I have been watching the new Millicent Express quad lift going in this summer.
It is a bittersweet moment for me as I remember this charlift’s debut in 1974. I loved riding that lift as a kid, feeling the two-seater chair swaying it’s way up to the top. As a parent, I was numbed by the fact that there wasn’t a bar to protect my babies riding up vast expanse of the Milly bowl.
This new high-speed quad chairlift is 3920 feet long with a vertical rise of 1109 feet. With the new Millicent lift all Brighton’s terrain will be accessable by high-speed quad. This provides a fast ride up while dispersing skiers across the vast terrain, providing shorter lift lines. The new day lodge at the bottom of the lift is slated to be built next fall.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Adrienne, your notation brings back memories of the old Millicent single chair lift. Upon loading, the operator swung the bar open, you plopper down, and closed the bar which also swung in the foot rest. You could lean forward, resting your arms on that bar while watching skiers careen down the hill on 215 Head Deep Powders.
There used to be a big annual GS race from the top to the bottom of the lift. I entered once and thought I had a pretty good run. At the bottom, I threw the latch to release my cable bindings (they had the hot new Miller toe), and stepped out of my skis, to hear the bottom timer/gatekeeper, along with some spectators, yelling “Back, back”. Apparently I had missed the last gate and had to run with my skis back around and threw it. It was confusing when I finished the race because there were several bamboo poles sticking out of the snow and I had chosen to ski between the wrong ones. Luckily I still finished in the top 66%. A lot of guys must have burned on the course.
Adjacent to the Milly lift was a warming house/lunch place. It had a fun balcony for sunning and watching the “shush boomers” impress ladies as they screamed down the final stage of the hill. Lunch was pretty rudimentary but the chile dogs and hot chocolate were a welcome treat for me.