A right of passage is a ceremony or event marking an important step in ones life. For those who rode the old summit lift, it is accompanied by the terror that comes with loading this loud, unslowable, Evel Knievel ramp sending chairlift that left many bruised, broken and battered. Luckily we have soft snow. But riding this lift meant you were destined to become better at skiing because there was no easy terrain at the top and downloading wasn’t an option. While loading the thing was a skill to master in itself, so was getting down the steep groomers or even steeper cliff faces peppered throughout the mountain. But that was the best part of all. Those who made it past the difficult load were rewarded with a 7 minute ride alone or with one companion to help balance the weight and keep the chair from swinging into halos that protected the towers. Early season wasn’t so bad but later into the winter the snowpack would rise enough that patrol had to rope off the “kick in the head” and on big seasons had to side slip the powder so peoples skis wouldn’t catch in the snow. The old summit was purchased from festival grounds in the states where it was once used to transport people along flat ground from the parking lot. Whitewater purchased it and sent it up the steepest terrain they had and called it the Blast.