Southeast Washington skiers will have to wait one more year for their first high speed chairlift. Ski Bluewood revealed a dispute with the broker of a used bubble quad has pushed the project beyond completion for this winter. “This Summer we had every intention of installing the new Skyline Express,” the independent mountain wrote in a letter to passholders. “It is a major upgrade and the first high speed lift in Bluewood’s history. We are beyond excited, and we know many of you are too. Unfortunately, due to an ongoing dispute with the lift broker, a few key components of the lift have been significantly delayed,” the letter continued.
This particular lift operated from 1993 to 2025 at Sölden in Austria. While aging lifts in the Alps are generally high quality and well maintained, importing used lifts from Europe has a checkered history in the United States. Mission Ridge successfully debuted the Wentachee Express in 2020, relocated from Brixen, Austria. Alaska’s Eaglecrest imported a pulse gondola from Austria in 2022 but struggled to acquire additional parts and complete installation. The primary importer of such lifts is Steelhead Systems, though Bluewood did not identify the broker it’s working with.
Luckily Bluewood planned for this eventuality and kept its base-to-summit triple inact. The Skyline Express triple will continue operating for one more season as it has since 1978. Because of the delay, Bluewood promised to compensate season passholders via a $100 credit toward anything at the mountain. Bluewood plans to continue working on foundations so vertical construction can hit the ground running in summer 2026. “We have taken formal legal action to resolve the situation and secure delivery of the remaining parts,” Bluewood noted.
Lift Blog 
Too bad for Bluewood, at least, they will have it by next year.
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Will need to update the old triple to running status again. She lives another year.
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In the long run, this will give them a chance to get it all right. Good thinking not to rip out the triple. Good luck!
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Silberbrünnl Sölden, not Quattralpina Hauser Kaibling.
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Updated, thank you.
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Every situation like this just underscores the need for a low-cost new-build detachable option in this country. With hundreds of old Riblets and fixed-grips still in service and nearing the end of their useful lives, the market has never been more clear.
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I am no expert in the lift industry, but it seems overly optimistic to sign a deal in June and expect it to be operating that very winter season.
And that would be my opinion on a new lift from a domestic manufacturer,.
To do so with a used lift from across the Atlantic seems like a pipe dream in my view.
Is it situations like these why it doesn’t seem like there are vey many relocations of detachable lifts between resorts? In Peter’s excellent records, there are lots of fixed grips making miles, but not so much with the detachs.
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The deal was signed in June 2024, a year ahead of time. Installation in 2025. Now that’s been pushed to 2026.
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