# Operation: Backup Plan



## MrDavey2Shoes (Mar 5, 2018)

Where are you guys? I will happily donate blood sweat and beers to this cause.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

As much as I'd love to, I can't. Not mine. 

So a couple of the return wheels had actually grown into the tree. I didn't get before pics, but this one had swallowed up the whole spindle bracket and a decent chunk of the rim. 











Another had gotten hold of the rim but not the spindle. We cut both wheels free, then I cut apart the bracket to save the one spindle and mount. Burned up several sawzall blades and a fiber cut wheel on my 4.5" grinder, thanks to the angle I had to work at next to the tree and the 'real' steel they used back then. 

Someone donated a cable laying tool, and it is too cool not to use. So we dragged it up the hill.










It was heavy. Cleverly, we had decided to use this at the top most tower, so we got to hike it the furthest.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Subscribed! Please keep posting with your progress


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Oh yeah, I had made some brackets.










The one on the left is to hang the sheave wheel. The one on the right has a flange to mount the old spindle. The length is to minimize injury to the tree. If two or more holes are drilled within 12 or so inches of each other, the tree may compartmentalize that area and it will rot out there.

Did I mention all that cutting and getting sparks in the face was twenty feet up a ladder?


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Manicmouse said:


> Subscribed! Please keep posting with your progress


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## theprocess (Sep 9, 2013)

This is amazing! Keep us posted on progress and all the pow runs this season.


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## buller_scott (Jun 10, 2018)

This is friggin awesome.


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

Very cool. Good luck on this. Keep a tally on how much investment in supplies and pics of progress. 

Side note, that’s an amazing link of old NH ski tows.


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

Looks like a pretty good tree run.


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

Thats f*#&*"n awesome! 
I pray for pow for you guys so you can put that thing to good use🥳


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

Pffffffffffffffft........rope tow...............my buddy just bought a snowcat....................


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

mojo maestro said:


> Pffffffffffffffft........rope tow...............my buddy just bought a snowcat....................


But you need a dedicated driver, no ?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Scalpelman said:


> But you need a dedicated driver, no ?


No, you can let the kitty find its own way down, but need the right space.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Scalpelman said:


> Very cool. Good luck on this. Keep a tally on how much investment in supplies and pics of progress.
> 
> Side note, that’s an amazing link of old NH ski tows.


Isn't it? I love that stuff. There are sites for other states but im partial to that one. Driven by plenty of those hills.

So far we're into it for some an old d ring and some steel and I had, 6 lag bolts (including two I broke, smashing my hand. Hardwood is no joke), about 6 beers and chips and salsa. 

Just got word the electrician is showing up 'asap, so we'll no more on that soon.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Craig64 said:


> Looks like a pretty good tree run.


There's tons of lines.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

fzst said:


> Thats f*#&*"n awesome!
> I pray for pow for you guys so you can put that thing to good use🥳


Thank you thank you!


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## kalev (Dec 17, 2013)

Awesome project - I'm looking forward to seeing the progress

A local group in my area have recently reclaimed an old ski hill (the landowner has given free access to the hill). So far the efforts have been mainly focused on glading the terrain, and building / reclaiming a few 'runs.' There are still lift towers in place, but I'm not sure if they will ever turn again - so far it's been a self-propelled mission (split boards / hiking etc). 

Good luck!


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## jstar (Sep 21, 2016)

Right on, pretty awesome project you guys got going on! Definitely keep us posted!

I put in an order for one of those Towpro rope tows, so that's my backup plan. A little pricy, but they look well thought out. 

I've been researching rope tows for a few years now, was going to try and build one, but just can't find the time.

Next step is figuring out a groomer!


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

mojo maestro said:


> Pffffffffffffffft........rope tow...............my buddy just bought a snowcat....................


Work smarter, not harder.....


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

jstar said:


> Right on, pretty awesome project you guys got going on! Definitely keep us posted!
> 
> I put in an order for one of those Towpro rope tows, so that's my backup plan. A little pricy, but they look well thought out.
> 
> ...


Very cool. So what’s the backyard model price?


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## jstar (Sep 21, 2016)

Scalpelman said:


> Very cool. So what’s the backyard model price?











Towpro - The Backyard Rope Tow


Portable Backyard Rope Tow System for skiers and snowboarders.




www.kickstarter.com


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## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

jstar said:


> Towpro - The Backyard Rope Tow
> 
> 
> Portable Backyard Rope Tow System for skiers and snowboarders.
> ...


so they have $86k raised but only 20 backers? That means the average pledge was over $4k, WTF


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

So you can't really see it, but we mounted the spindle bracket and hung the wheel. All the existing wheels are Model A wheels I believe. Pretty cool repacking wheel bearing that are probably about 100 years old.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Rope is now hung!


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

So cool. I've been looking for property in Idaho to build a cabin and part of the plans is a rope tow. 

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Did some trail clearing yesterday. There's a fair amount of pine, and pines shed, so there's plenty of stuff to sticks to move. Took pics of a few more tree areas



















Its cool because the whole time you're clearing your spotting new lines to ride. At one point I realized I was standing above a chute between two trees with two killer lines- drop the rock from one side, or carve in under it from the other side.










So I worked that line to the top and voila. We have a run.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Nice work mate! Chainsaw or with an axe lumberjack style?


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

That would make insanely good MTB trails in the off-season.


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

Those are some really nice tree lines. All you need is snow.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Manicmouse said:


> Nice work mate! Chainsaw or with an axe lumberjack style?


Handsaw and pole saw mostly, although the lower pine branches are dead so you can just hulk-smash a lot of 'em right off.

Not my property and I get pretty choppy with a chainsaw so I've left it at home so far.




Donutz said:


> That would make insanely good MTB trails in the off-season.


I'm already trying to figure out if there's an even remotely safe way to rope tow a bike.




Scalpelman said:


> Those are some really nice tree lines. All you need is snow.


Yeah pretty stoked.

Just about ready. Still need the electrician. And to fix my plow truck. And replace the back windows of the house because soccer ball. Then I'm ready for snow.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Looking at those pics, plan B may have to become plan A. Why fight the crowds when you have that in your backyard?


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Jimi7 said:


> Looking at those pics, plan B may have to become plan A. Why fight the crowds when you have that in your backyard?


You know, that's a really good point you make...


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

Crusty said:


> You know, that's a really good point you make...


Well not really IMO. Sure, it's fun as hell - especially as a project - but it's not really a substitute for being high up in the mountains. I also imagine that riding the same short lines over and over again will get stale pretty quick - if you aren't riding any rails or jumps.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Oh I'll still head to the mountain, but I'm a tree basher from way back and there are lines galore. This won't get stale quickly.

First 5 years of my kid skiing was at a local rope tow. It's a different vibe. More hanging out and riding than jamming runs. Think park session vs charging groomers. Except we have a tree park.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Crusty said:


> Oh I'll still head to the mountain, but I'm a tree basher from way back and there are lines galore. This won't get stale quickly.
> 
> First 5 years of my kid skiing was at a local rope tow. It's a different vibe. More hanging out and riding than jamming runs. Think park session vs charging groomers. Except we have a tree park.


Where are the tree wedges > catwalks > rails and cannons?


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

fzst said:


> Well not really IMO. Sure, it's fun as hell - especially as a project - but it's not really a substitute for being high up in the mountains. I also imagine that riding the same short lines over and over again will get stale pretty quick - if you aren't riding any rails or jumps.


Don't knock it until you try it. LOL


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

It _is_ however a pretty good substitute for cursing the heavens because you missed getting your reservation in yet again.


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

Jimi7 said:


> Don't knock it until you try it. LOL


I don't knock it all! I think it's absolutely awesome and I would pursue this project as well if I had something like this in my backyard. This will be absolutely awesome for those days where you can't make it to the mountains or if the resorts have to shut down. I just don't think it's better than being in the mountaines on actual slopes. You are also dependant on the weather to actually bring you snow and you can't ride unless there is enough snow, preferably pow.


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

@Crusty What's the altitude there?


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

fzst said:


> @Crusty What's the altitude there?


Base is at 600'. For reference base elevation at the closest ski area is 750'

I see your point about being way up high in the mountains, but I'm guessing your in the Alps. New England riding is not even remotely similar. This terrain is no different from local ski areas. Except less covidy.


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

Crusty said:


> Base is at 600'. For reference base elevation at the closest ski area is 750'


600 feet? Did I convert this correctly now?🙈 That would be 183 meters above sealevel? Is that correct?


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

Crusty said:


> I see your point about being way up high in the mountains, but I'm guessing your in the Alps. New England riding is not even remotely similar. This terrain is no different from local ski areas. Except less covidy.


Ah ok, yeah that's understandable then. I guess we are just too spoiled here, so I can't imagine trading my whole season to a one-run-ropetow when I can drive one hour and be in Laax😅
I'm still jealous about your project though - this is an amazing alternative and I can totally see me and my friends using that on like a saturday afternoon or after work when there wans't enough time to go to the mountains, COVID freezes everything again, or the weather is shit. It also saves you a ton of money!


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

fzst said:


> 600 feet? Did I convert this correctly now?🙈 That would be 183 meters above sealevel? Is that correct?


It's not just about altitude, it's longitude too


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Got the old motor off, and built a roof for the replacement. 




























And don't judge. It was literally built with leftover stuff from behind my shed. In a rush.

At this point we swapped the pulley to the new motor, went to install it and found the pulley were mis-aligned by an inch or so. No pictures because annoyed. Beer time came early. Gotta make a motor plate I guess.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

I think it looks great. One hell of a back up plan.....


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Here's some wtf for ya. Been trying to figure this out.,


















So, yes, that's a boat trailer bumper used as a fairlead. I don't love the rope overlap on the pulley, and would think the rope should be on the other side of the fairlead. But the shaft is welded to the bracket, so unless someone re-spliced the rope and screwed up, it's always been this way. The rub mark seems to indicate this is how it was made as well.

I think I'm going to pull the bracket and cut a notch just bigger than the rope in the back side. Then on first fire up we watch how the rope behaves. If it chafes on itself at the pulley, it goes on the inside. If it slaps around into the pole, it goes back on the outside.


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## fzst (Jan 3, 2019)

Looks awesome mate


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

Yankee ingenuity at work!


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Scalpelman said:


> Yankee ingenuity at work!


It's awesome. Lived in this state all my life, and I love this stuff. Like I said it was cool repacking Model A wheel bearings that were probably 80 or 90 years old.

For those of you who don't know New England, the rope tow was invented here. Ok, technically Quebec, but we quickly stole the idea, and they started sprouting up all over the place. They usually consisted of a tractor or truck driven to the top of a hill and tied to a tree or such. Then the tire was pulled off and the rope ran around the rim. 





















There's one nearby still running that has a 50s Ford truck that at some point had an electric motor fitted. But from all the oil and coolant cans scattered around, it was run off the old flathead for quite a while.

This one has always been electric I believe, bit it is pretty late model


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## cjaggie123 (Oct 21, 2018)

This is one of my favorite threads on here. Super interesting, thanks for posting.


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

The Vee in the pulley looks asymmetric which indicates to me that the "return" (vertical) rope can come off at an angle to avoid it touching the "primary" rope. This would entail moving the top pulley a couple of inches out from the post with a spacer and inclining it by a few degrees.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

BoardieK said:


> The Vee in the pulley looks asymmetric which indicates to me that the "return" (vertical) rope can come off at an angle to avoid it touching the "primary" rope. This would entail moving the top pulley a couple of inches out from the post with a spacer and inclining it by a few degrees.


That's a great idea, hadn't thought of that. I'll have to see what that will take. The pulley is a couple feet up, so it would be more than few inches out, but shouldn't be hard to do. I ain't skeered.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

cjaggie123 said:


> This is one of my favorite threads on here. Super interesting, thanks for posting.


Dang, that's high praise right there. I'll keep rambling on if you guys like it. My kid learned on a rope tow, so I'm kind of fond of 'em.






This one is pretty killer. It's right down the road from Loon Mtn. and run by the town rec center. Some years back they had a real lean snow year and lost a ton of money there. The town wanted to pull the plug, but one guy approached the selectmen and said 'let's go big'. He came up with a plan to add snowmaking, and got Loon to sell them some old equipment. Their head of snowmaking at the time was a guru, and helped get them set up up. They have a late model groomer now as well, so the snow is always good (actually better than Loon's on busy weekends). Season pass is $100, lunch is $1.50 for hot dog, chips, and juice, and it's just a great atmosphere for kids.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

I love this thread!

I may have posted already in here, but I've been looking for some property near Wallace, ID to build an off the grid cabin. Covid has slowed down the process a little with my wife now currently unemployed, but when we find some land, clearing some timber and adding a rope tow will be happening for sure.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Yeah, having your own rope tow for the winter and pump track or bike trail for the summer would be just about ideal.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Donutz said:


> Yeah, having your own rope tow for the winter and pump track or bike trail for the summer would be just about ideal.


Pump track is a mile up the road at my house. 😁

And apparently we're building a mini half there as well.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Before. Like my high tech CAD design 3 axis built motor plate?










And after. With a little bit of help from an a-dapter kit:










And the 12-14" we got. 










Cut the slot I mentioned in the fairlead bracket as well. No pictures because beer time again.

Now we just need the electrician, which could even be as I type this.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Guess the electrician showed up last weekend. Got a message with a video of it briefly running backwards. Oops. May or may not have been because I never marked any wires when we tore the old motor out. They were nice enough not to say. Then once that was worked out it started catching the rope at the drive pulley like I was afraid of. Tried putting the rope inside the fairlead but it would just jump off the the inside. At least it ran. And it worked before, no reason we can't make it work again.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Went up the other day. Had an idea, so we flipped the loop on the drive. Notice the rope comes off (up) to the inside. No more V.










Still bound. Shit. Bound again, and again. Shit shit shit. But then it started to run smooth for several seconds at a time.

At this point by buddy tried grabbing the rope and putting some load on it. Tripped the breaker immediately. And again. And again. By now at least the rope is running freely, so we just let it run on its own. Some funny growls in the gearing, but they worked themselves out after a few. And pretty soon you could see the line had cleared itself of ice and dirt. So we tried loading it again- can't stop it. Pulls hard. I guess it just needed to work some kinks out after sleeping for 40 years. We let it run while I ran to the bottom checking wheels, looking for issues, nothing. Let it pull me as far up as I could (speed is a very fast jog, btw). No issues.

We have a rope tow.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

Well done! Such a great feeling to "figure it out"! Now the only thing missing is a few prayers to Ullr and you are riding. 

Or is your next project a small snow making system? 😜


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

Looks like you’ll be using the rock board?

Well done!!! Now all we need is a dump.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

It is a great feeling. I'm pretty stoked for my buddy, because this is his. His land, his project. Lucky bastid has his own ski area!

Not gonna lie. Snowmaking has been joked about. 

But this is out my back door right now...









(Its coming down nicely if potato pic doesn't show it)


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Scalpelman said:


> Looks like you’ll be using the rock board?


Um, yeaaahhh lol.

We actually hiked and made some runs before the Xmas rain. Its rideable with about 6". And luckily I still love my rock board. 🤪


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Crusty said:


> Dang, that's high praise right there. I'll keep rambling on if you guys like it. My kid learned on a rope tow, so I'm kind of fond of 'em.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dang, where is that!? 

Good on loon for helping out. I'm sure it was an easy tax write off for them but it's nice to see the mountain spread the stoke. 



Crusty said:


> It is a great feeling. I'm pretty stoked for my buddy, because this is his. His land, his project. Lucky bastid has his own ski area!
> 
> Not gonna lie. Snowmaking has been joked about.
> 
> ...


I've seen a bunch of posts on dmq where folks have figured out a little snowmaking for a backyard rail setup so...


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

ridethecliche said:


> Dang, where is that!?


Behind the Cman. You can just see it from the highway at or north of the exit.

Yeah tax right off, bring local kids to the industry, town goodwill... Great idea all around.


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## OldSnow (Nov 20, 2019)

Isn't this section going to wear the rope out and load the lateral forces un nessarily?








I don't know how it's meant to work, but looks like it's going to rub on itself without a real reason?


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

OldSnow said:


> Isn't this section going to wear the rope out and load the lateral forces un nessarily?
> View attachment 156099
> 
> I don't know how it's meant to work, but looks like it's going to rub on itself without a real reason?


Yep, he talks about that issue here: Operation: Backup Plan


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

OldSnow said:


> Isn't this section going to wear the rope out and load the lateral forces un nessarily?


Heck, that's the improved version!




OldSnow said:


> I don't know how it's meant to work


We don't either.  

We just sort of inherited it, if you will. Still can't find the owners manual. We knew it ran, though, and the only things that I think could have changed was the top wheel location (post had been re-set at some point) or maybe the rope fell off and somebody just looped it back on. Easier to try the loop first, and so far so good.

Bonus points for the little snow geyser too.














Yesterday's test results-

-Easily pulls 2 kids and 2 Dads at the same time.
-3" is enough to ride. 
-Bring rock board if riding 3". Better yet bring someone else's rock board.
-Still better than the resort. 


We went to Waterville Valley in the am. Lift lines in masks, shitty man made snow, can't bring bags. Did two runs and left. Was just supposed to test run the tow; wound up doing about 10 runs, then drank beer and watched the kids beat themselves up jumping sleds. Life is good.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

You could try adding another roller further up to hold the rope away from itself an inch. Like the one you have that isn't used but rotated 90 degrees.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Manicmouse said:


> You could try adding another roller further up to hold the rope away from itself an inch. Like the one you have that isn't used but rotated 90 degrees.
> 
> View attachment 156116


Actually, at a glance it looks like the horizontal rope should be coming in through the roller that's already there, and passing to the right of the vertical rope instead of the left. Seems to me that would do exactly what manicmouse is talking about.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Donutz said:


> Actually, at a glance it looks like the horizontal rope should be coming in through the roller that's already there, and passing to the right of the vertical rope instead of the left. Seems to me that would do exactly what manicmouse is talking about.


Reading up I thought that caused the rope to jump off the wheel


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Manicmouse said:


> You could try adding another roller further up to hold the rope away from itself an inch. Like the one you have that isn't used but rotated 90 degrees.
> 
> View attachment 156116


I think you want to use 2 rope standoffs with the standoff's having bearings...one horizontal and the other vertical. And it would be better if the wheels were further apart and a little more distance between the vertical planes of the wheels. Also might want to double hang or do an axel through the wheels so that it is not getting torqued to the attached side...sort of the idea of a motor cycle single swing arm verses the standard double swing arm idea. And get a wider driving wheel...its too narrow. All the little adjustments should get you enough separation so the rope is not rubbing on its self...and using bearings where ever possible will decrease the load. Very cool project!


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Manicmouse said:


> Reading up I thought that caused the rope to jump off the wheel


Could be. You prolly want the roller on the rope on the way out rather than on the way in. But it _looks_ like that's what the existing roller was intended for. Maybe it did pop off a lot. Maybe what's really needed is a wheel wide enough to wind the rope around it one more time so that the rope itself on the wheel will provide the natural spacing.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Manicmouse said:


> Reading up I thought that caused the rope to jump off the wheel


Yes. That was the first fix when it began grabbing. The rope would jump to the inside- viewer's right, above pic- and get bound up. As of right now it's working just fine- and from what we can tell it's how it ran before. We're going to monitor everything as we go, and hopefully just ride it out (pun intended) and not re-invent the wheel (I am on fire!)


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

All in favor of whacking Crusty with a wet newspaper?


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Sorry. I'll start towing the line.


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

LOL - hope you guys have some fun on tow rope with your rock boards.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Welp, haven't had a whole bunch of natural snow yet, and groomers have been great. But vacation weeks (ie resort hell) started this weekend, so we had our first 'official' day at the rope yesterday. Ran great. Snow was a little thin, but there were still good turns to be had. Once I got used to the fact I have forever committed that board to #rockboardlife it was a blast. Lots of little stumps and rocks to bonk, side hits to pop, stuff like that. Definitely a much more natural riding experience- kind of like the anti-groomer. It's a cool change really.

Six of us ran the two main trails and it wasn't fully tracked out at the end of the day. That's about 1/2 the terrain, as there is a ridge you can hike to ride the back side. We tried that but the cover at the top was sketchy. Pine trees tend to hold snowfall, and the top of the ridge has plenty. Now that we see it while riding, we can see new lines and what to clear this summer. There is actually a gulley right down the middle that will take a lot of work to clear, but will make an awesome natural halfpipe. I didn't take many pics, but this is The Bowl- a tree area above one of the trails.










Best of all the longest lift line was 3 kids deep, the lodge had a nice fire going, and beers were downright cheap.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

This is an awesome setup. You're going to be giving the kanc a run for its money!

That said, lines at cannon didn't look too bad on saturday. Lots of exposed rock just about everywhere though.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

ridethecliche said:


> This is an awesome setup. You're going to be giving the kanc a run for its money!


Have you been to the kanc? I love that place. 



ridethecliche said:


> That said, lines at cannon didn't look too bad on saturday. Lots of exposed rock just about everywhere though.


I bet yesterday was busier. Lots of people up for the week, and since yesterday was warmer they just waited out Saturday. And, black out days. And, self justifying lol.

By the way, you're not supposed to ride the rocky stuff, you're supposed to find where that snow blew into.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Crusty said:


> Have you been to the kanc? I love that place.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Never been to the kanc but it's likely a spot we'll hit sometime on days we want to ride but don't feel like making a big day of it. Could be cool if they have a mini park or a few jumps to practice on!

Re: rocky stuff.
I got distracted by the moguls and chased just about every run I saw bumps on. We mostly rode the profile chair when we were there. Didn't venture over to the other face at all. Will be back sometime fosho.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

ridethecliche said:


> Could be cool if they have a mini park or a few jumps to practice on!


They do. They actually make a big ol' knuckle with a small and large kicker, and it's good for side hits. Usually a fun little roller section, and occasionally other features. 

Plan ahead though, I think I heard they are only doing seasons passes this year. We didn't get passes this year for reasons obvious in this thread.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Crusty said:


> They do. They actually make a big ol' knuckle with a small and large kicker, and it's good for side hits. Usually a fun little roller section, and occasionally other features.
> 
> Plan ahead though, I think I heard they are only doing seasons passes this year. We didn't get passes this year for reasons obvious in this thread.


Yeah, was thinking more like next season if we have to limit days on ikon pass and it's either busy at loon or meh conditions.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

Best thing about yesterday? Yesterday my kid became a snowboarder. He started skiing when he was 3, and is a very strong skier - park, trees, bumps, whole mountain. I never wanted to take that away from him, so I never pushed boarding. He has a set up, but has only ridden a couple times for a couple runs. 

Well yesterday he wanted to ride. I told him he could, but he could only hike. So he skied for an hour or so then got his board on. He hiked one small run once then asked to ride the rope. I said no, not until you show me control. So he hiked a bunch more, working at it, making decent turns. Finally I told him he could try the rope and off he went. He rode the rest of the day. In trees, in natural snow, while his buddies kept skiing, he rode. He crashed a bunch, but was making more turns that not. At one point I see him at the bottom, covered in snow, and tells me he just 'scorpioned' for the first time. He was even hitting the little kicker they built and trying 180s by the end. My kid is a snowboarder. 

And really sore this morning.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

And days like that you will both remember for ever. No greater feeling than watching your child get determined and strive to accomplish a task. He is going to be alright. Congrats Dad!


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

You're not kidding. Thanks.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Hopefully you caught some of the wipeouts on video so you guys can sit around and laugh about them when he starts nailing 360's.

Given what this kid sounds like.... it'll probably be next week!


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## Jimi7 (Jan 14, 2020)

Crusty said:


> Best thing about yesterday? Yesterday my kid became a snowboarder. He started skiing when he was 3, and is a very strong skier - park, trees, bumps, whole mountain. I never wanted to take that away from him, so I never pushed boarding. He has a set up, but has only ridden a couple times for a couple runs.
> 
> Well yesterday he wanted to ride. I told him he could, but he could only hike. So he skied for an hour or so then got his board on. He hiked one small run once then asked to ride the rope. I said no, not until you show me control. So he hiked a bunch more, working at it, making decent turns. Finally I told him he could try the rope and off he went. He rode the rest of the day. In trees, in natural snow, while his buddies kept skiing, he rode. He crashed a bunch, but was making more turns that not. At one point I see him at the bottom, covered in snow, and tells me he just 'scorpioned' for the first time. He was even hitting the little kicker they built and trying 180s by the end. My kid is a snowboarder.
> 
> And really sore this morning.


Awesome. My daughter tried switching to snowboarding this year, but after a day of the dreaded "snowboarder slam," she switched back to skis. Can't say I blame her....


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

We need updates @Crusty! 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

smellysell said:


> We need updates @Crusty!
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk



Well, I redid the back deck and patio, got a puppy, bought another Jeep...

Oh , you mean rope tow... funny, I was just there yesterday. We fired it up for pre-season check, found a couple little things. The bottom ON/OFF switch contacts stuck on ON. I'm no AC guy, but the I/O switches at the top and bottom seem to be on the same circuit, so the bottom switch being stuck ON rendered both switches inoperable. So we field serviced the switch (ne turned it on and off a dozen times) and good to go. 

And the break away safety switch at the top kinda fell apart. Funny thing it was originally an extension cord, with the two ends plugged together, that we replaced with a 'proper' connector. Bet the extension cord would've lasted lol.

My buddy who owns the property needed some driveway work done, so be brought in a machine. While it was there he cleared an area to open up a little more terrain, made a table top kicker, and most important levelled out the fire pit slash apres bar area.

Sorry no pics. I'll do better next time. Come awn snow!


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Crusty said:


> Well, I redid the back deck and patio, got a puppy, bought another Jeep...
> 
> Oh , you mean rope tow... funny, I was just there yesterday. We fired it up for pre-season check, found a couple little things. The bottom ON/OFF switch contacts stuck on ON. I'm no AC guy, but the I/O switches at the top and bottom seem to be on the same circuit, so the bottom switch being stuck ON rendered both switches inoperable. So we field serviced the switch (ne turned it on and off a dozen times) and good to go.
> 
> ...


Can I please come play here? Pretty please?


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