This lift was built in 2021 to service a new peak with a real estate focus.The first Alpenstar terminal at Sunday River.Side view of the combo drive-tension terminal.Lift overview.Loading area.View up the lift line.Middle part of the line.Lower lift line with Barker Mountain in the background.Upper part of the lift line.View looking down.The top terminal near the true summit of Merrill Hill.Return bullwheel.Upper station overview.Breakover tower 7.
It’s not on the trail map just yet, but this lift is confirmed as being numbered Lift #19. Saw the new information board in the River House (lift ops main base) yesterday, figured I’d just mention it here. Photos look great Peter!
No, it didn’t operate at all last season (if you don’t count lift ops doing normal daily checks), and as of 2022 it has not once been open to the public.
When it was installed there was no snowmaking equipment installed on the surrounding trails, so it would take a lot of natural snow for it to be open. There were also a lot of homeowners that had not built on their property when they finished building the lift, so there were no houses. Merrill Hill was solely designed as a real estate area, so without its main function (real estate lift) it would be sort of redundant.
My son and I had the excitement of riding this lift this weekend on its opening day of public rides. Nice lift and great cruising green circle to the left. Would be nice if the other trails on Merrill returned to this chair rather than dumping to the congested South Ridge base area.
It’s definitely the hardest lift to access since it’s nestled by condos and in a canopy of trees. I will say these trails are great and you can pretty much see the entire mountain from this lift. I hope they can keep expanding trails over here. Never people over here. Pretty sure we went on it when it was open two years back?
Ehh, I wouldn’t say it’s hardest lift to get to, but it is confusing for first time guests, as the bottom terminal is pretty buried in the trees and is not visible from any other lifts nearby. It’s pretty easy to get to Merrill Hill (#19) from Dreamaker, or even T72; you just have to keep your speed up for Ridge Run, a trail that cuts across both trails to the left just before they end, and you’re pretty much there. This might be an unpopular opinion, but IMO none of the lifts at Sunday River are hard to get to if you know where to go.
Lift Blog 
It’s not on the trail map just yet, but this lift is confirmed as being numbered Lift #19. Saw the new information board in the River House (lift ops main base) yesterday, figured I’d just mention it here. Photos look great Peter!
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Did this lift ever run during its first season?
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No, it didn’t operate at all last season (if you don’t count lift ops doing normal daily checks), and as of 2022 it has not once been open to the public.
When it was installed there was no snowmaking equipment installed on the surrounding trails, so it would take a lot of natural snow for it to be open. There were also a lot of homeowners that had not built on their property when they finished building the lift, so there were no houses. Merrill Hill was solely designed as a real estate area, so without its main function (real estate lift) it would be sort of redundant.
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My son and I had the excitement of riding this lift this weekend on its opening day of public rides. Nice lift and great cruising green circle to the left. Would be nice if the other trails on Merrill returned to this chair rather than dumping to the congested South Ridge base area.
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It’s definitely the hardest lift to access since it’s nestled by condos and in a canopy of trees. I will say these trails are great and you can pretty much see the entire mountain from this lift. I hope they can keep expanding trails over here. Never people over here. Pretty sure we went on it when it was open two years back?
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Ehh, I wouldn’t say it’s hardest lift to get to, but it is confusing for first time guests, as the bottom terminal is pretty buried in the trees and is not visible from any other lifts nearby. It’s pretty easy to get to Merrill Hill (#19) from Dreamaker, or even T72; you just have to keep your speed up for Ridge Run, a trail that cuts across both trails to the left just before they end, and you’re pretty much there. This might be an unpopular opinion, but IMO none of the lifts at Sunday River are hard to get to if you know where to go.
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