Devil's Fiddle Quad

[LonghornSkier]

What is the history behind this lift? And why was it Abandoned?

 

[ERJ-145CA]

This page basically says it was underused, scroll down to the Devil's Fiddle entry:
http://www.chairlift.org/killington.html

 

[2knees]

i rode it once in the 80's. other then that one time, i never even saw it running. it was completely redundant with the ol quad right next to it.

 

[threecy]

Nothing earth shattering, but a little more history of Bear Mountain:

http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/skiareaexpansions/Vermont/killington.php#bear

 

[skiadikt]

of course great for doing laps on the fiddle. also during the glory years it was a useful lift. the ol lift would often have a full coral and you'd take spacewalk over to the fiddle lift. worse case it would have a short line. between k's declining skier visits and more high speed lifts throughout the mtn, the fiddle lift became redundant.

 

[Newpylong]

I rode this lift once, I believe the second to last year of the ASC. It was a mob scene that weekend in the spring, but this lift was absolutely dead. I was one of maybe 6 using it. I can see why it was deemed redundant, especially with the new Skye Peak Quad.

 

[gpetrics]

I think it was really a product of Pres Smith's approach to having a big mountain with lots of lifts that one could kind of "discover" as they skied around the mountains of the resort as if in Europe. At the time it was (and i'm sure now if it still existed it would be) great fun. I can just see the thrill of a relatively new Killington visitor "discovering" a lift tucked off to the side of Bear Peak with short liftlines, and which was servicing the same terrain that the busier bear mtn quad serviced. The same can be said of the triangle South Ridge lift (which thankfully continues to operate somewhat regularly)

I.E. I think the whole point of the devil's fiddle lift was simply to just be "fun"... not really to do anything logical.

of course in today's ski business environment where efficiency and logic are key, i'm not sure anyone considers stuff like that anymore...

so to answer your question i think it's just a relic of a bygone era... one that shouldn't be forgotten. if skiing makes a resurgence as a "must participate" sport in the American psyche I can see thinking like Pres Smiths' becoming relevant once again... until that time though margins are tight, and resorts must be efficient

 

[oakapple]

The way they went about removing it seems lazy, as the terminals and the supports are still there. Are they trying to preserve the option of putting it back again someday (if skier visits rise), or are they just too cash-strapped to truly remove all the evidence?