This season will be the last for Copper Mountain’s aging Timberline Express. Copper announced yesterday work has already begun to replace the 1994 build detachable quad with a Leitner-Poma six seater for the 2024-25 season. The new machine will become the fourth Leitner-Poma six place at Copper, following Super Bee, American Eagle and American Flyer.
Timberline Express 2.0 will span 4,825 linear feet and carry skiers 1,129 vertical feet on Union Peak. Capacity will increase to 3,000 guests per hour, up from the current high speed quad’s 2,400 per hour. “The Timberline Express chairlift services some of the most popular intermediate terrain,” said Dustin Lyman, President and General Manager of Copper Mountain. “With the introduction of a 6-pack high-speed lift, we are boosting uphill capacity significantly, effectively reducing wait times and granting skiers and riders quicker access to one of our most treasured mountain areas,” he continued. The project has already been approved by the United States Forest Service.
Copper Mountain also received approval to replace the Lumberjack triple with a detachable quad, though no timeline for that upgrade was set.
Lift Blog 
Is there ever talk about a lift linking Copper and Breckenridge?
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No because Powdr owns Copper and Vail owns Breck.
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Also avalanches
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PBRopetech mentioned that this is one of Copper’s more reliable lifts, however with Doppelmayr requiring electrical upgrades for their older lifts, will this lift get scrapped or relocated?
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Parted out and scrapped. You will very rarely now see a 30 year old detachable relocated.
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What about Ski Cooper down the road? I know this is an old lift but I know they have been trying to get a highspeed quad for a while.
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I’d assume Ski Cooper wants to replace 10th Mountian with a detachable, however Timberine is about 600 feet too short.
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Funny Enough In Europe, There are bunch of 30+ year old Detachables being reused in other countries like Poland and the Czech Republic
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Not necessarily. We aren’t going to put it back up ourselves, but there’s a chance someone else might. They’d need to bring it up to current code, which means electrical upgrades, which means money.
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I would be surprised to see Timberline relocated, at least within the United States. Red Lodge says the relocation of Alta’s 1999 CTEC will cost nearly $3 million. Tough to justify that cost to install an even older lift in two years.
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That’s in line with what we were looking at when we thought about using it to replace L-jack. The basic relocation cost has gone up though, so the total would be near what a new lift might cost. Add to that a lift that’s thirty years old, and the overall package isn’t as attractive as one might think. I stand by my original statement that this lift is the most durable I’ve worked on (and I defended my old ’86 Poma against a lot of folks in that regard) but even taking that into account it’s still got age and a lot of hours against it.
Also, Jonathan, it’s not Doppelmayr requiring the upgrades, but the current codes. ANSI B77, CSA Z95, and whatever relevant CEN standards are driving this. Doppelmayr is merely doing what’s required. I believe Rob has mentioned this before.
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I will say Timberline was my favorite lift as an operator, I-lift always ran well and LM did a good job on maintaining it, so I am a little sad to see it go. I loved that the speed dial could be on Spinal Tap’s amp (the dial is numbered 1-11).
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I think it’s worth mentioning that the electrical updates to meet current standards aren’t really a massive cost when it comes to the whole “package” of relocating a lift like this. A significant portion of the work has to be done regardless of whether the electrical is updated or not. Most wiring in terminals, on the towers, and the comline itself all need to be redone either way, and that’s where a lot of time (labor $) comes in.
Realistically, new electrical on top of the relocation adds about $300k.
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This will add Copper to the list of ski areas that has more high speed six packs than high speed quads (a list that also includes Keystone thanks to this year’s construction of Bergman, the former Squaw Valley side of Palisades, and Stratton), given that the only quads left will be Excelerator, Woodward, and Kokomo.
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Thanks to the DeMoisy Express and the upcoming Becker Express, Snowbasin can also be a part of that list.
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