We’re excited to announce that the new Arrowhead Chair is officially installed and ready to ride! Featuring a sleek Euro-style design, and a safer experience with improved loading/offloading, this new lift is set to elevate your riding experience.
Be among the first to ride it on Opening Day…stay tuned for more details on the official unveiling event.
Read on for the complete story, meet the incredible team behind the project, and explore exclusive videos and photos capturing every step of the journey.
Relive the Journey
Meet Your New Chair
The former Arrowhead Chair was installed in 1988 and was due for replacement. Since the Arrowhead Chair services some of our newest and youngest skiers and riders, the Club made it a high priority to purchase and install its replacement, a 2024 Doppelmayr. The new chair comes with some improvements over the old model, including:
- bringing the bottom station out of the “hole” to ease entry to the loading area,
- the model, an Alpen Star 4-CLF fixed-grip chair, has a sleek design, a small footprint and Euro-style “monopod/single mast” drive station,
- a mid-point unload station at a similar location with minor flow improvements,
- a slightly higher unload station to aid travel towards Gun Barrel, and,
- exciting upgrades like a 5.26-minute trip time, 67 carriers, 4 child safety bars for reduced slippage under the restraining bar, and comfort seat pads.
Before:
After:
Claim Your Legacy!
Order your very own Arrowhead Chair Family Plaque
Customize a plaque with your family name and a special quote to be proudly displayed on the chairlift for years to come. This is a unique way to celebrate your connection to the Club and create lasting memories. Limited plaques are available, so be sure to secure your spot today by completing the form below.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to cement your family’s legacy and be a part of the Club’s landscape.
Price: $3,500 + HST
Deadline: Order by December 1 to ensure placement within the 2024-25 season.
Note; this plaque is valid only for the lifespan of the current Arrowhead Chair, and will be yours to keep following any future chair replacements.
Meet the Doppelmayr Team
The Crew Behind the Arrowhead Chair Installation
This dedicated group of professionals brought their expertise and passion to the successful installation of our new Alpen Star 4-CLF fixed-grip Doppelmayr chairlift, enhancing the experience at our club. Their collaboration, technical skills, and commitment to excellence ensured that the project was completed safely and efficiently, setting the stage for many more memorable seasons on the slopes.
Pictured: Doppelmayr’s Sam, John, Jamie, Brayden and Jeremy and Alpine’s Jake and Jared.
The Doppelmayr Team came from all over the world and spent their summer living in Collingwood and working at Alpine. They shared with us that one of the best parts of their job at Alpine was the collaboration with Alpine’s Operations Team, mentioning how they were helpful, supportive and eager to lend a hand at any time.
Sam Gray hails from Fernie, BC and was the Doppelmayr lead on this project. He has worked for Doppelmayr for two years with many years of prior experience in the industry. He has been part of over 20 lift installations across North America in his time with Doppelmayr, including the first 8-seater high-speed chair in North America.
John Costello came to us from Duxbury, Vermont (having married his Canadian sweetheart) and has worked with Doppelmayr for five years, installing 7 lifts mostly in the United States.
Jamie McGrath, an electrician, came all the way from New Zealand and has an extensive history working with Doppelmayr over the last 12 years. His resume includes installing chairlifts, gondolas and funiculars in New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, among others. He has built lifts from as small as 12 ft. towers to as high as 60 ft. towers and can say he was part of building two of the world’s longest lifts. He says one of the coolest projects he has been part of was a gondola installed at Bana Hills in Vietnam.
We asked his biggest takeaway of working on a lift at Alpine – after all the places he has worked he said “Alpine might have the best view from a lift that he’s ever seen!”
Jake Robson and Jared Hodgkinson are part of Team Alpine and jumped in whole-heartedly when tasked with joining the Doppelmayr Crew for this project so that they could learn the ins and outs of our new chair. They enjoyed the opportunity of seeing a lift come together from start to finish, which will be helpful as Jake works towards his Lift Mechanic certification.
Team Doppelmayr leaves Alpine and heads to their next project in Quebec with Sam heading to Australia for the winter. We can’t thank them enough for their hard work, great attitudes and expertise.
Pictured: Team Doppelmayr and the Alpine Operations Team.
Keeping Sustainability in Mind
With a focus on sustainability and reducing our footprint during this project, the Alpine team made a conscious effort to find new homes for as many parts of the dismantled Arrowhead ’88 Chair as possible. Our team connected with several ski resorts across North America who purchased various parts, including carriers, grips, drive cabinets, and the diesel motor.
Additionally, 20 Alpine members also took home a piece of history, repurposing old chairs for their backyard enjoyment.
The Scope of the Project
Check out these videos from spring 2024 outlining the ins and outs of this project from key team members involved in the Arrowhead Chair replacement.
Part 1: What’s to come
Part 2: Your Enhanced Experience
Part 3: Project Timeline
Curious about how these strategic decisions are made?
Learn more about Alpine’s ongoing strategic planning efforts via the latest documents on our Strategic Planning page.
Follow along on social media for more information on our grand unveiling this December.
