Leitner-Poma will install its first ever bubble chairlift in Canada at Banff Sunshine. The six place chairlift with heated seats will replace the aging Angel Express, built in 1988. The move follows construction of Sunshine’s first bubble lift, the Tee Pee Town LX quad in 2015. When the project is complete within the next two years, all lifts at Sunshine will be under 30 years old.
Parks Canada approved the project in March and Sunshine crews spent this summer widening the lift line and pouring select foundations for the new lift. No opening date has been set but Sunshine intends to have the Angel Express 6 operational for either the 2024-25 or 2025-26 ski season.
Lift Blog 
I wonder how these things will hold up in 20-30 years
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And then there was one:
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Allegedly Rex is gone next summer.
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No. Rainier Express will not be gone in 2024.
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This is great news. The angel chair was the first chairliftI ever rode when I was six years old in 1973. Original lift was replaced in the 80s, it’s high time it’s replaced again. the TP town quad chair made a massive difference to skiing that terrain on those blower -30 days above tree line. It’s so welcome to have that heat and protection from the wind.
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Angel is not your first ski lift you have rode. I know this because you have to take the gondola up before you ski.
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The original VonRoll Gondola was built in 1979, before that point you had to ride up an access road and park at the bottom of Angel. So yes, Christopher’s first lift was the original Angel double, just as he said.
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Since he said “charlift”, that excludes the gondola and so he is right.
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I said chairlift not ski lift. Also, the first time I rode angel chair there was no gondola I rode up from the parking lot on a bus. Snap!
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I also rode that bus – if I remember correctly (I was a very junior Gearjammer grom) it was a glorified school bus with heavy duty chains. Simultaneously the most beautiful and terrifying bus ride ever!!
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Who’s bubble will be built better? Sunshine or Lake Louise?.. 24/25, the year of the bubble.
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The existing Angel lift is in phenomenal shape given its age.
This has got to be one of North America’s coldest lift lines. It suffers frequent wind closures. Heavier chairs will make a difference but bubbles increase wind susceptibility, so unsure if the new lift will be more resilient.
Sunshine needs to focus on its lodges. The existing village lodge is far too small and environmentalists seem to have killed the Goat’s Eye lodge idea.
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Doug- now that we’ve had our bubble for a few years, we’ve all noticed that as long as the bubbles are closed they’re actually better in the wind (up to a certain point, of course, then all bets are off like any other chairlift). If they’re open, though, hold on tight.
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everyone gets so excited about bubbles.
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They are quite nice once you get spoiled by them on a windy day.
They’re also a relative rarity in North America…
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@RYAN obviously you have never skied Sunshine, or the Angel chair for that matter. The bubbles are definitely a welcome upgrade here. My concern is that the vandalism of bubbles on TeePee Town (sharpies and ski poles) will make it over to the new Angel lift within a few years.
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Surprised they’re not going with Doppelmayr to match with Tee Pee Town. I think it would look way better if they matched tbh
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This is amazing news! Angel has got to be one of the coldest lifts I’ve ever ridden so it’s great to see this getting replaced with a bubble.
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I will definitely miss the original Angel chair, but this is a welcome upgrade in my opinion. Sunshine has always been a leader in the Albertan ski market in terms of their lift infrastructure, and I’m excited to ride the new lift.
Now only if RCR would replace Silver at Nakiska…
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If RCR would replace lifts at Stoneham and MSA
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If they would replace lifts at all!
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RCR needs to replace the Elk chair, not the Silver Chair. It is a long ride.
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Silver is (along with Mont Sutton’s detachable) the oldest detachable chairlift operating in North America. Based on age alone, it should be upgraded. Elk at Fernie would be nice to have upgraded, but it’s not as big of an issue as Silver is.
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I rode the Olympic Chair on the last week of November 2023 and it seemed fine. If the Silver Chair breaks, they can use parts from the Olympic Chair to fix it. The Elk Chair definitely needs to be replaced sometime soon.
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I’m not talking about Olympic. Olympic is fine as it is (it almost never gets used). Silver runs 7 days a week for ski season, and is almost 40 years old. Perhaps Nakiska could use parts from Olympic to keep Silver running. But at that point, why wouldn’t they just replace a 4-decade early generation Doppelmayr detachable?
It seems like you only want Elk to be replaced based on the ride time. I understand that, and it probably should be replaced sometime as an out of base lift. But mechanically, it’s a simple fixed grip quad that’s probably way easier to maintain, and more reliable than Silver.
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Never Heard of Silver having issues.
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Paradise or Ptarmigan should get replaced soon as well
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Angel is an awesome lift with a really good mix of terrain. As others note it can be a bit cold, but that is Sunshine so we are used to it. Angel really is aging and talking to the mechanics it takes some creativity to keep it running year to year. Last winter it had more than it’s share of tech issues and really is time for something new.
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Bubbles chairlifts with heated seats should be a priority for all cold resorts.
I ski in Sweden and love going up in january/february, but bubbles and heated seats would make a ton of difference, especially when bringing along children/less experienced skiers.
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Apparently it will be called “Super Angel”, will have direct drive and yellow bubbles, so no mach to TP.
https://www.skibanff.com/explore/news-blog/23-24-winter/angels-last-call
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Apparently the Angel Express 6 will have a direct drive. The first Leitner direct drive in Canada.
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Sunshine put up a rendering of the chairs at the hill: Blue seats, yellow bubble and black frame. Looks like more premium individual seats compared to TP Town. The terminals are all white from what they have delivered to the base. Today was also Angel’s last day – they have a mobile crane at the top station so work should start soon.
https://imgur.com/a/NlVDb35
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Are those.. pucks.. I refuse to accept that a huge plastic bar automatically slamming down into your crotch against your will is “the future”. I’m going to lose it if this thing has an unnecessary loading carpet.
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When sitting a chairlift, I like to sit between the footrests even though a big handle comes down between my legs. It give you more space on the footrest to rest your tired legs. I have not rode a chair with pucks, but I like the thought of them because you don’t have to bend your legs to reach the footrest. Everyone has their own puck to rest their feet on.
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Lift Rendering:
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