A report by Ski Area Management reveals new six place chairlifts will be installed at both Camelback Resort and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania this summer. The resorts share common ownership and are located within an hour of each other in the Pocono Mountains, though the lifts will be built by different manufacturers.
At Camelback, Doppelmayr will replace the aging Sullivan Express with a bubble lift named Black Bear 6. The existing high speed quad was the site of a tragic accident a year ago which injured three guests. Black Bear will feature a 667 foot vertical rise, 3,000 passenger per hour capacity and indoor parking for its 50 chairs.
Blue Mountain’s new six pack will replace the Main Street and Burma doubles but start lower on the mountain than the existing lifts. The Leitner-Poma machine will rise 980 vertical feet in under five minutes. “The new lift aims to improve connectivity between Valley Lodge at the base and the Summit Lodge, as well as access to terrain on the western part of the mountain,” reported SAM. The lift will spin at 1,000 feet per minute with 80 carriers.
Both projects are expected to begin construction this month and open for the 2022-23 ski season.
Lift Blog 
Bubbles for a lift with a 5 minute ride time seems a little overkill. Also, what was wrong with the Sullivan name? The new one comes off as a bit tacky.
Regardless of the fine details, it’s nice to see Camelback getting its first wave of capital improvements in 25 years. If I had to guess, Marc Antony and Cleopatra are next on the chopping block in favor of a fixed quad. I don’t think either lift ran at all this year (which for Marc Antony is unusual, unlike Cleo). When that happens, I see them either using the Marc Antony line and clearing the trees hiding the base terminal or cutting a new line from Cleo’s drive to Marc Antony’s return.
Any word on if the adjacent Bailey lift is being removed as well? It could serve as a good backup lift on windy days or during potential breakdowns, even if its usefulness capacity-wise is diminished.
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5 minute ride time AND Pennsylvania. It never gets below 15 degrees.
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It rains in PA though, plus it’ll be their flagship marketing lift for a premium experience.
Camelback already got a big wave of investment – 500+ brand new snowguns plus some automation, and a new FGQ.
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I can’t quite tell if this is an April Fool’s joke or if it is real?
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Blue Mountains lift is definitely real. I had been trying to get information on it ever since I had heard a bartender talk about it back in December. I had asked lifties about “a new lift” and they all had an idea of it. It’s honestly a great upgrade. Camelback’s upgrade is pretty stupid though and as someone said here, it’s really overkill for a not even 700 vert ride. Maybe that one is a joke? Probably not though..
Regardless these upgrades were needed, especially at Blue in my opinion. I skied there 47 days out of my 49 days this year, and it will for sure help with connectivity to the west side of the mountain just like it said in the article. I think a Vista upgrade is also in the pipeline but I’m not sure for certain.
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None of the articles I posted on Friday were fake. Too much real news. Maybe next year!
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Maybe next year Big Snow American Dream will announce a 10 pack bubble lift?
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I will want to be one of the first to ride a sixpack in the Poconos! Now I just have to convince my buddy, Vinny its ok to ski in the Poconos again!
CANT WAIT!
Joe Shoe!
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Blue mountain has had a six pack chair for about fifteen years now. So unless you have a time machine, you’re SOL. 🤣
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Read the fine print silly. This is Blue Mountain Pennsylvania not Blue Mountain, Collingwood Ontario. Love how people sign on to this site without reading the the actual story, just read the comments. LOL.
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Are you saying Blue Mountain PA doesn’t already have a six pack? If so, you might want to take a look at their trail map.
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I stand corrected. i should have read the list of Blue Mountain PA installed lifts first.
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Confirmed the Camelback lift will be D-Line.
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Do u know if it will have bells and whistles such as the auto locking bars that lift themselves up and loading carpet?
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Heard Blue Mountain’s may have bubbles as well.
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Blue got back to me – no bubbles, just standard chairs.
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