LPA high speed six pack return terminal (Kensho SuperChair, @breckenridge Ski Resort)
Channel: The Lewistown Trainspotter
Date: 07/03/2023

The Kensho SuperChair is a Leitner-Poma high speed six pack located at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado.

From 2002 to 2013, Breckenridge had about 2,358 acres of skiable terrain across four peaks of the Ten Mile Range, those being Peaks 7-10. But the ski area is also a very popular one for day trippers and vacationers alike, and the existing terrain was not enough to handle the existing crowds, and Breck also wanted to add bowl terrain that intermediates could enjoy. So around the same time that the BreckConnect Gondola was built and the Independence SuperChair was extended to anchor the Peak 7 base area, plans were being made to expand the ski resort north onto Peak 6. This expansion hit a few hurdles, by nature of environmental protests and the existence of privately owned property. As a result, when the expansion finally got built in 2013, two lifts were built to serve the new terrain: a fixed grip quad known as Zendo to transfer skiers over from Peaks 7 and 8, and the Kensho SuperChair to lap the peak proper. The lift names, like the trail names, were chosen through a social media naming contest. "Kenshō " is a Japanese word meaning "seeing nature, essence", an appropriate name considering the beautiful views from the top, with one being able to see Lake Dillon to the north, and Keystone and Arapahoe Basin to the east.

Due to its starting location, the lift has some unique elements not seen on other lifts. Namely, due to the geography of the terrain, it doesn't start with a depression tower out of the bottom terminal. Instead, it starts with a combi tower, and then travels relatively flat for about 600 feet before starting its climb with two back to back depression towers. Then it travels through out-of-bounds wooded terrain, before climbing up lower Reverie. Above tower 14, the lift goes above timberline, and tops off at a saddle just below the summit of Peak 6, at 12,302 feet. From here, one can hike another 300 feet to the summit to reach double black chutes in the Serenity and Beyond Bowls, or immediately ski down the blue trails on the ridge and in the lower Serenity Bowl.

Year Constructed: 2013
Manufacturer: Leitner-Poma
Capacity: 3,000 pph
Length: 5,902 feet
Vertical: 1,536 feet
Towers: 22
Chairs: 103
Drive: Bottom
Return: Top
Tensioning: Dual
Design speed: 1000fpm