Just out of curiosity, has anyone around here every wondered what's up with the ancient chairlifts at most US ski resorts? And this for what sometimes is up to twice as much as what it costs to ski in Europe. In the US I was always appalled at how archaic most lifts were. And usually it cost me more for that lift ticket. Where does all the money go? Definitely not for updating equipment. Worse of all is that nobody seems to care. They just spend the money and don't notice or care about a thing. Then this happens.
Sugarloaf chairlift derails, 8 injured
While this does not happen often, I still find it unbelievable that the lift was installed in 1975 and modified in 1983. It looks it as well. After moving to Europe, here is the Doppelmayr that I usually end up going up a mountain in.
Doppelmayr Garaventa Group - Surface and Aerial Ropeways, Funicular Railways, Urban Transit Systems, Elevators, Mechanical Garaging Systems and Stacker Cranes for high rise warehouses,*Kuppelbare Sesselbahnen
Very nice, very modern, windshield bubble and all. And you can literally expect this stuff all around Western Europe nowadays. It's interesting that this issue is barely every discussed among skiers who have done both sides of the pond.