Projects & Plans

Copper Mountain to Build Fourth Six Pack

Peter Landsman15 Comments

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.

Deer Valley Unveils Dramatic Expansion Plan

Peter Landsman56 Comments

Deer Valley will embark on one of the largest terrain expansions in US ski history over the next decade in partnership with Extell Development Company. As part of the Expanded Excellence vision, Alterra Mountain Company will develop ski operations in the area previously known as Mayflower with nine new lifts opening in the 2025-26 season and seven more to follow. All told, Deer Valley will more than double in size to 5,726 acres with 37 lifts.

Deer Valley Resort President Todd Bennett introduces the Expanded Excellence vision today at Silver Lake Lodge.

The majority of the new terrain will launch in late 2025 with 110 new runs and a 2,900 foot vertical drop. Extell will continue to develop the base portal it has been building along US-40, which guests can reach seamlessly from Salt Lake City. Alterra will manage the mountain experience under a long term operating agreement and skiers will enjoy the same elevated service and amenities they have since 1981, albeit on a dramatically larger footprint. Deer Valley expects to hire 2,000 employees to support this expansion along with additional parking and workforce housing.

New York-based Extell embarked on the Mayflower project years ago with a purchase of 40 acres and acquired more than 20 parcels since. Company founder and President Gary Barnett noted negotiations with Alterra were intense at times and a deal was only finalized this week. With the two companies in agreement, skiers will enjoy an improved ski experience under the Deer Valley brand rather than having to choose between two adjacent, competing ski resorts.

Construction has already begun on the base portal and new terrain. The flagship of the expanded lift system will be a 10 passenger gondola spanning nearly 10,000 linear feet from the new base portal to Park Peak with a mid angle station. A dozen detachable chairlifts and three fixed grip lifts will also service the expansion at full buildout. A majority will be quads in Deer Valley tradition with manufacturer(s) to be determined.

“Deer Valley Resort is committed to building upon our legacy as one of the world’s most exceptional ski areas while staying true to our founding principles created over four-decades ago,” said Todd Bennett, President and COO of Deer Valley Resort. “This expansion will facilitate even better access to the resort for our guests, while offering a substantial increase in world-class amenities consistent with the resort’s original vision.” 

Marmot Basin Announces New Knob Chair

Peter Landsman4 Comments

It’s been an open secret for months but Marmot Basin made it official this weekend: a new summit chairlift will debut this winter. Not only will the new Knob Quad replace the mountain’s oldest lift, it will also increase Marmot Basin’s lift-served vertical by 415 vertical feet. The Doppelmayr fixed grip quad will replace a 47 year old Doppelmayr double of the same name but run in a modified alignment. The new machine will be longer and taller, rising 1,289 vertical feet over 3,566 feet of slope length. A Chairkit conveyor will enable loading at 2.3 meters per second with up to 1,200 skiers per hour enjoying a sub eight minute ride. The new lift will improve access to the Cirque terrain as well as Marmot Peak.

When the project is complete, Marmot Basin will feature one of the youngest lift fleets in Canada. Marmot and Doppelmayr plan to open the Knob Quad this coming season as soon as snow permits.

Sun Valley Plans Two More Six Packs

Peter Landsman26 Comments

Two of Bald Mountain’s most popular lifts – Christmas and Seattle Ridge – will be upgraded from quads to larger lifts under a plan up for Forest Service approval. The project follows hot on the heels of two similar upgrade projects taking place this summer at Sun Valley. Construction crews with Doppelmayr are working to replace Greyhawk and Challenger with new four and six seat chairlifts on the Warm Springs side of the mountain. When both projects are complete, Sun Valley Resort will have replaced four of its seven Yan detachable quads built in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The last three up for replacement will be Frenchman’s, Lookout Express and River Run Express in future seasons.

The new Christmas lift will feature both six passenger chairs and enclosed gondola cabins. This will create a base-to-summit gondola route in conjunction with the existing Roundhouse Gondola, which runs from River Run Day Lodge to the mid mountain Roundhouse. Christmas Chondola will load at the Roundhouse and increase capacity from 2,400 guests per hour to 3,000 per hour. The top terminal location will move slightly to provide better connectivity with the Lookout Day Lodge for foot passengers riding the new chondola.

On Seattle Ridge, another new six pack will similarly increase capacity from 2,400 to 3,000 skiers per hour. This new lift will also travel in a slightly modified alignment to accommodate a new ski patrol facility. “Both of the existing lifts are over 35 years old and are nearing the end of their operational lifespans,” the Forest Service wrote in its scoping letter. “Replacement of the lifts would ensure a safe and reliable user experience, and increased lift capacity would help address the long lift lines experienced at both lifts in their existing condition.”

A public meeting about Sun Valley’s latest projects is scheduled for Thursday, August 31st from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Ketchum Library. Public comments can also be submitted online to comments-intermtn-sawtooth-ketchum@usda.gov.

Expansion Under Construction at Lee Canyon

Peter Landsman3 Comments

Just three months after Mountain Capital Partners purchased Lee Canyon, Skytrac is already working to build a new lift to the east of existing terrain. The fixed grip quad, shown as Chair 5 on the above map, will service three new beginner trails with a capacity of 1,800 skiers per hour. The chairlift will span approximately 1,400 feet with a 310 foot vertical rise. The Forest Service approved the project last year when the resort was still owned by Powdr.

The project has not been formally announced but Skytrac posted photos on Instagram yesterday of its ninth and final line survey of the year at an unnamed mountain that looks a whole lot like Lee Canyon. Aerial imagery from the Sentinel satellite network taken this morning confirms the scope of work at Lee Canyon, the only ski resort in the Las Vegas region.

In addition to Chair 5, Lee Canyon also has Forest Service approval to build two new conveyors and a westward expansion with another fixed grip quad in the coming years.

Utah Department of Transportation Selects Gondola for Little Cottonwood Canyon

Peter Landsman61 Comments

The State of Utah has selected a 3S gondola as the winning alternative for Little Cottonwood Canyon mobility after a multi-year environmental impact study. The study considered roadway widening, enhanced bus service, rail and two different gondola options. UDOT received and analyzed some 50,000 public comments in the lead up to its decision.

The selected gondola alternative B will start with enhanced bus service in 2025 and other road improvements before the gondola is constructed and State Route 210 becomes tolled. The 3S system would be capable of carrying 1,050 passengers per hour from a base terminal at La Caille to stations at Snowbird and Alta. The innovative system would include four sections with 35 passenger cabins departing stations every two minutes.

“The gondola provides the highest travel reliability, as it can operate independently of State Route 210, avoiding delays related to adverse weather, crashes, slide offs, and slow moving traffic,” wrote UDOT in its Record of Decision. “While the gondola does have high visual impacts, it has low impacts to the watershed, wildlife movement and climbing boulders, along with low operations and maintenance costs.”

The gondola itself would cost $370 million to construct and would become the most expensive and capable lift system ever built in the United States. A new parking garage, tolling infrastructure and trailhead improvements would bring all-in capital cost to $729 million. However, because the gondola would cost less than $8 million per year to operate, it has the lowest 30 year lifecycle cost of all the options studied.

Once the gondola is complete, UDOT expects the Utah Transit Authority to discontinue bus service in Little Cottonwood with transit riders transferring to the gondola at the base of the canyon. Skiers and resort employees alike could reliably access Snowbird in 27 minutes and Alta in 37 minutes whenever the gondola is operating. The road would remain open for private vehicles with tolling in the upper canyon to help pay for improvements.

Although gondola alternative B is now officially the state’s selected alternative, lawmakers have not yet funded the project. As such, no timeline has been set for gondola construction to begin.

New Gondola Planned for Canyons Village at Park City

Peter Landsman35 Comments

Visitors to Park City’s Canyons Village will soon have a third out-of-base lift option. Today the Canyons Village Management Association board voted to sign a joint funding agreement with Vail Resorts for construction of a new 10 passenger gondola linking the south end of Canyons Village to Red Pine Lodge. Canyons Village has seen immense growth in recent years with new hotels, commercial space and employee housing opening while lift investment lagged. Once the project is complete, Park City skiers will be able to choose between the new Sunrise Gondola, the existing 8 passenger Red Pine Gondola and four passenger Orange Bubble Express chairlift at Canyons Village. The new machine will provide a much-needed out-of-base capacity and create a second downloading option for end-of-day egress.

The 6,512 foot long gondola will replace the Sunrise double and run along an undulating alignment crossing the existing Over and Out quad. 10 passenger cabins will carry riders 1,103 vertical feet between the village and mid-mountain. The bottom terminal will be located near the new Pendry hotel and the top will sit near the Saddleback Express and High Meadow Express lifts.

No manufacturer has been announced but lift equipment is expected to cost $18 million with an additional $9 million non-lift costs. The Canyons Village Management Association will fund up to $9.24 million of the $27 million total, though Vail Resorts will own and operate the gondola. The agreement between the two parties stipulates the new lift is to be completed within 36 months. “Park City Mountain and CVMA are pleased to be moving forward together toward this important future investment,” the two parties said in a statement. “A future gondola will enhance the Canyons Village experience and contribute to the operation of a world-class resort. Today’s CVMA board vote was one step in a process we are excited to continue as we partner to reimagine Canyons Village as a world-class destination.”

Smugglers’ Notch and Stowe Propose Interconnect Gondola

Peter Landsman37 Comments

Two of Vermont’s largest ski resorts could be connected by gondola under a plan uncovered by the Morrisville News and Citizen. Stowe Mountain Resort parent Vail Resorts and longtime Smugglers’ Notch owner Bill Stritzler have reportedly been in talks for several years but sought to keep initial work on the project confidential. Lawyers for the State of Vermont recently determined that documents could be released under public records law.

Under the proposal, a 9 tower gondola would link Spruce Peak at Stowe to Sterling Mountain at Smugglers’ Notch along a relatively flat area home to an alpine pond and the Long Trail. A ride across the 2,600 foot connector lift would take just over five minutes and link two very different mountains. Vail-owned Stowe currently operates a fleet of six high speed lifts while Hall doubles service narrow New England-style trails at Smuggs. One mountain accepts the hugely popular Epic Pass while the other shuns multi-mountain passes entirely and charges $85 for a peak day ticket. If connected, the two resorts would encompass six peaks, 17 lifts and 194 trails with 5.5 miles of distance separating Toll House at Stowe from Morse Highlands at Smuggs.

The gondola would only rise about 280 vertical feet and no new ski trails would be cut between the two mountains. The lift would be designed with only 26 cabins and a modest hourly capacity of 1,200 skiers per direction. As part of the project, Smugglers’ Notch would place 72 acres of private land under conservation easement and Stowe would protect another 92 acres to offset development of the gondola. A portion of the Long Trail could also be rerouted to reduce visual impacts. If approved by state regulators, the project would take two years to implement.

Mt. Southington to Install New Triple Chair

Peter Landsman7 Comments

Construction has already begun on the only lift project in the state of Connecticut this year at Mt. Southington. The new Northstar triple, built by Partek Ski Lifts, will replace a Hall double of the same name and improve access to beginner terrain. Partek, based in Pine Island, New York, supplies economical fixed grip chairlifts exclusively to small and mid sized mountains. Mt. Southington already operates two Partek lifts called Avalanche and Thunderbolt. Partek is also building a new chairlift for Trollhaugen, Wisconsin this year.

Mt. Southington’s outgoing Hall double has been sold to another New England ski area and may be re-installed for the 2024-25 ski season. That mountain would be the lift’s third home following stints at Craigmeur, New Jersey from 1976 to 1997 and Mt. Southington from 2001 to 2023.

Three New Triple Chairs Coming to Alpental, Washington

Peter Landsman9 Comments

The Summit at Snoqualmie today announced plans to build three new lifts in two years at Alpental, following other recent lift projects at Summit East and Summit Central. Year one at will see construction of a new Sessel triple this summer with a replacement Edelweiss triple and new International triple to follow in 2024. The projects are all part of the Summit 2030 plan announced by The Summit and parent company Boyne Resorts last year.

Sessel will be realigned with a 1,790 foot slope length and 590 foot vertical drop. The existing Riblet lift, built in 1967, rises about 80 feet less. The new Doppelmayr Alpenstar will feature a loading conveyor, boosting rope speed to 500 feet per minute and capacity to 1,800 skiers per hour. The lift will look very similar to the new Hidden Valley triple which Snoqualmie opened this season at Summit East.

Doppelmayr will also commence foundation work for both a replacement Edelweiss chair and brand new International triple this spring. Both these lifts will service upper mountain terrain beginning in the 2024-25 season.

Due to construction, Alpental will close earlier than normal on April 23rd. Most of the ski area is roadless, necessitating over snow access to tower and terminal locations.