Leonard Cottom wants to take snow-tubers on a magic carpet ride. On Thursday, Hawksnest Golf and Ski Resort in Seven Devils opened the longest continuous people-moving carpet system in North America, designed to haul snow-tubers from the bottom of the slope right back up to the top with ease. Designed and installed by the Kaiser Corporation of Italy, the 700-foot carpet eliminates the hassle formerly associated with the old rope tow system. Cottom said he had the carpet installed “to get rid of the hassle.” |
“Using a rope tow and dragging customers up the hill was a hassle for both us and the customer,” he said. “We used to just hook the tube to the rope and it’d drag them up. Sometimes, the rope would spin and bang people in the head, the lift could stop, tubes could get loose and roll onto someone else.”
The system is leveled with snow, and should a tuber fall off, the carpet features a sensor system that stops the ride altogether to prevent tubers from being dragged under.
The carpet also includes heat strips to prevent ice from building up on and under the carpet.
At a cost of more than $200,000, Cottom expects the carpet to make snow-tubing all the more fun.
“This is a real luxury for snow-tubers,” he said, before commenting on snow-tubing itself, adding. “I think the element of being eight inches off the ground and moving at a considerable speed is quite the thrilling and unique experience.”
To ensure safety, operators will be stationed at the top and bottom of the tubing slope, with another at the mid-station to help children to the kids’ slope. The tubing park itself is 1,000 feet long, and features 110-foot vertical drop.
Hawksnest opened its tubing park in 1998, and this season, Cottom expects to see more snow-tubers than skiers or snowboarders.
“We’ll have more snow-tuber visits this year just because of the demand and popularity of it,” he said. “It’s an easy thrill. The carpet’s just going to make it a luxury, especially for people who aren’t as active or agile.”
The Kaiser Corporation earned its wings through high-tech steel fabrication, though ski lifts and moving carpets have proven to be a lucrative source of income for the company.
Bruno Bender, American representative of the Kaiser Corporation, said the carpet works on many levels, including that of the human psyche.
Skiing, snowboarding and tubing can have a psychological impact on its participants, he said, especially those new to winter sports who are unaccustomed to traveling quickly down a frosty hill on their own two feet (or tube).
“So, we try to come up with some very user-friendly products,” Bender said. “This system is much more user-friendly. There’s no intimidation, you get instant confidence, you get more people up the hill, and it’s safe.”
The carpet lift can hold 87 people at one time, Bender said, calling the concept the “fastest growing segment in the ski lift business.”
Five years ago, only 20 such products were sold in the United States, and now there are 60, he said, expecting to see the demand further increase in the next five years.
“I think the people will love it,” Bender continued. “It’s long, easy and a comfortable ride.”
Installation of the product took six days, as workers were delayed this past weekend when the High Country was hit with snow, ice and biting temperatures. Now that the carpet is installed, Cottom said Hawksnest would be turning its Web cam to face the device, “so people can see how smooth and safe it is” over the Internet.
As for other improvements to the resort, six new rails of varying sizes (the longest of which is 12 feet) will be added to the snowboarding park, which will be moved to the Sock-Em-Dog slope.
Skiers will also be allowed to use the snowboarding terrain park, Cottom added.
For more information, visit www.skihawk.com on the Web.
• Frank Ruggiero may be contacted at ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com.