This new lift services a real estate development on the back side of Merrill Hill.Upper part of the lift line.The lift line is quite long but not very steep.Upper lift line.Top station near the same summit as Merrill Hill I.View from the summit.Tower 15.The upper station.Unloading area.Middle section of the line.Tower 12.Lower lift line.The bottom terminal along the road to Jordan Bowl.Lift overview.Side view of the Alpenstar drive.Another view of the bottom station and tower 1.Tower 2.View up at tower 3.
This lift is longer than Aurora, Oz, South Ridge Express, and all three White Cap quads. It strikes me as odd they wouldn’t try to make it a “real” trail pod and take advantage of that fact.
I did not realize how long this lift was going to be until I saw the stats on this site, and was surprised to see that. SR could definitely use some more low-green terrain to lessen the constant crowding of South Ridge. But a fixed-grip and McMansions are presumably a much bigger profit than a detach and new trails.
I am also surprised that they were so quick to build this lift. I haven’t seen a master plan with updated Merrill Hill plans, I don’t think, and this lift doesn’t serve the current home sites. There probably is room to cut a few more trails and maybe have a remote parking lot back there, but again, I’d imagine the buyers want something like a private lift.
I continue to be baffled that this objectively enormous expansion is entirely absent from trail maps, marketing, social, etc lol.
Fun fact: while Sunday River claims a patently absurd “8 mountain” footprint … using a rather objective 300′ prominence rule, all their advertised peaks are just minor summits of nearby Wheeler Mountain. Using even an incredibly generous 100′ prominence rule, it spans at most 2 peaks.
Except: when they strung the first lift up Merrill Hill. Merrill Hill has well over 300′ of prominence. It is, by reasonable definitions, a mountain. It’s Sunday River’s “second” mountain.
I agree with some of your sentiment regarding the lack of marketing, but a fundamental issue is that the terrain here is just not as interesting. I do not think it would be possible to cut a trail steeper than a green, and with most of the land reserved for homes, it is unlikely that more than a couple of trails will even be cut.
Merrill Hill I is a different story. While the terrain may struggle to retain snow by facing south, it is steeper and more varied. The existing condos above South Ridge prevent any lift or trail from extending too far down, but I am sure it would be appreciated by those seeking shorter runs.
I feel like rambling beginner terrain is a crowd pleaser, at least for a segment of skiers. I was curious to see how the trails they’ve cut profile (just going off low-res satellite images, I thought I saw three of them, including the lift line).
Here’s how the compare to other greens at Sunday River … (Lollapalooza, 3 Mile Trail, South Ridge) … pretty similar pitch, leaning towards steeper:
I believe the reason for this is due to the fact that the lift isn’t running and there aren’t trails leading to the loading area (Other than the lift line). They will cut more trails for the lift this coming summer and I expect it to be included on the trail/lift count for the following season. However, it is primarily a real estate lift so there is a possibility of it being private. I guess we will have to wait and see!
It wasn’t put on the trail map yet because there were no trails leading to it. It was installed simply because Dopp already was mobilized at the resort so it made sense. It will not be a private lift, open just like the front of MH.
Yes, which includes tree-clearing, regrading, leveling and adding snowmaking to around 3-4 trails. How Sunday River has any money in the budget after this season for those projects is a mystery, as they operated at a net-loss of almost two million this winter. Most of the money in the budget went to either of these three events:
The flash flooding on December 18th 2023 (and subsequent rebuilding projects across the mountain afterwards) that completely wiped out the access road in five different places – and filled South Ridge lodge with two feet of water. Completely renovating the Jordan Bowl hotel (throughout the entire winter season), and of course building two new chairlifts in one summer.
Sunday River will have to seriously dig deep for a successful winter this upcoming season – granted they are able to balance their own budget.
The Jordan is owned by the quarter share owners of the rooms/suites. SR may still own some unsold quarter shares. The ownership paid for the renovations with an assessment.
@SkiLucas Merrill Hill II hasn’t operated in two years because #1: there was no snowmaking equipment on the trails the lift services (hopefully they’ve finnished installing the pipes by now!) and #2: there wasn’t any homes or houses occupied by residents to justify an operational schedule for the lift to operate. Based on these two factors, the resort probably didn’t want to advertise a large portion of the mountain on their map that would remain closed the entire winter.
Lastly, both lifts on the Merrill Hill side will remain open to the public, and they are not (and hopefully never will be) private real-estate chairlifts.
Lift Blog 
Merrill Hill II has been assigned lift number 20.
LikeLike
This lift is longer than Aurora, Oz, South Ridge Express, and all three White Cap quads. It strikes me as odd they wouldn’t try to make it a “real” trail pod and take advantage of that fact.
LikeLike
I did not realize how long this lift was going to be until I saw the stats on this site, and was surprised to see that. SR could definitely use some more low-green terrain to lessen the constant crowding of South Ridge. But a fixed-grip and McMansions are presumably a much bigger profit than a detach and new trails.
I am also surprised that they were so quick to build this lift. I haven’t seen a master plan with updated Merrill Hill plans, I don’t think, and this lift doesn’t serve the current home sites. There probably is room to cut a few more trails and maybe have a remote parking lot back there, but again, I’d imagine the buyers want something like a private lift.
LikeLike
I continue to be baffled that this objectively enormous expansion is entirely absent from trail maps, marketing, social, etc lol.
Fun fact: while Sunday River claims a patently absurd “8 mountain” footprint … using a rather objective 300′ prominence rule, all their advertised peaks are just minor summits of nearby Wheeler Mountain. Using even an incredibly generous 100′ prominence rule, it spans at most 2 peaks.
Except: when they strung the first lift up Merrill Hill. Merrill Hill has well over 300′ of prominence. It is, by reasonable definitions, a mountain. It’s Sunday River’s “second” mountain.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I agree with some of your sentiment regarding the lack of marketing, but a fundamental issue is that the terrain here is just not as interesting. I do not think it would be possible to cut a trail steeper than a green, and with most of the land reserved for homes, it is unlikely that more than a couple of trails will even be cut.
Merrill Hill I is a different story. While the terrain may struggle to retain snow by facing south, it is steeper and more varied. The existing condos above South Ridge prevent any lift or trail from extending too far down, but I am sure it would be appreciated by those seeking shorter runs.
LikeLike
I feel like rambling beginner terrain is a crowd pleaser, at least for a segment of skiers. I was curious to see how the trails they’ve cut profile (just going off low-res satellite images, I thought I saw three of them, including the lift line).
Here’s how the compare to other greens at Sunday River … (Lollapalooza, 3 Mile Trail, South Ridge) … pretty similar pitch, leaning towards steeper:
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sunday River didn’t even put it on the map, or even put it on the lift guide. Does anyone know why this is?
LikeLike
I think its a real estate lift, like the kadenwood gondola at whistler
LikeLiked by 1 person
I believe the reason for this is due to the fact that the lift isn’t running and there aren’t trails leading to the loading area (Other than the lift line). They will cut more trails for the lift this coming summer and I expect it to be included on the trail/lift count for the following season. However, it is primarily a real estate lift so there is a possibility of it being private. I guess we will have to wait and see!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merrill Hill II will not be a private lift-serviced area – unlike Big Sky.
LikeLike
It wasn’t put on the trail map yet because there were no trails leading to it. It was installed simply because Dopp already was mobilized at the resort so it made sense. It will not be a private lift, open just like the front of MH.
LikeLiked by 1 person
lift will be open to the public next season. Still more trailwork to do this summer.
LikeLike
Yes, which includes tree-clearing, regrading, leveling and adding snowmaking to around 3-4 trails. How Sunday River has any money in the budget after this season for those projects is a mystery, as they operated at a net-loss of almost two million this winter. Most of the money in the budget went to either of these three events:
The flash flooding on December 18th 2023 (and subsequent rebuilding projects across the mountain afterwards) that completely wiped out the access road in five different places – and filled South Ridge lodge with two feet of water. Completely renovating the Jordan Bowl hotel (throughout the entire winter season), and of course building two new chairlifts in one summer.
Sunday River will have to seriously dig deep for a successful winter this upcoming season – granted they are able to balance their own budget.
LikeLike
The Jordan is owned by the quarter share owners of the rooms/suites. SR may still own some unsold quarter shares. The ownership paid for the renovations with an assessment.
LikeLike
this aged like milk bub
LikeLike
What happened to this lift? I noticed it wasn’t on the trail map this year. Is it going to be running this year?
LikeLike
It’s not listed on their website as lift, so I’m guessing it never ran this year.
LikeLike
It probably has run. It is a real estate lift, that’s why it’s not on the map.
LikeLike
And not on the website.
LikeLike
@SkiLucas Merrill Hill II hasn’t operated in two years because #1: there was no snowmaking equipment on the trails the lift services (hopefully they’ve finnished installing the pipes by now!) and #2: there wasn’t any homes or houses occupied by residents to justify an operational schedule for the lift to operate. Based on these two factors, the resort probably didn’t want to advertise a large portion of the mountain on their map that would remain closed the entire winter.
Lastly, both lifts on the Merrill Hill side will remain open to the public, and they are not (and hopefully never will be) private real-estate chairlifts.
LikeLike
This lift looks so nice.
LikeLike