Wachusett replaced its main base-to-summit quad with a six pack in 2025.The new lift follows the same alignment and carries the same name.Open air chair parking facility.Queuing gates.View riding up the line.Top terminal at the summit.View down near the top.Middle section of the lift line.A support tower with eight sheaves on each side.Lower lift line.View up the line near the base area.Loading deck and lift line.Six place chair with auto lowering and locking bar.View from the top breakover.Tower 12.Middle section of the line.A loaded chair with Agamatic grip.Combination assemblies on tower 6.Tower 5.T4.Side view of the drive station.Doppelmayr nameplate.Tower 1.View riding up the line.Passing tower 6.View back down the line.European style tower head with night lighting.Nearing the summit.The final two towers.Arriving at the return.Unloading area.Side view of the top station with bar closing rail.Terminal under cover.UNI-G six place station next to the quad version.Chair leaving the bottom terminal.Side view of T1.
3 thoughts on “Polar Express – Wachusett Mountain, MA”
Erik SahlinJanuary 23, 2026 / 9:19 am
She’s a beaut! This is yet another lift utilizing full non-conical Euro Tower Heads with the E98 chairs and auto-locking bars.
On a side note, its also another one of those lifts that replaced an old one that had footrests and the new one doesn’t (Crest at Brighton for example)
Its interesting to see that this new lift has a lower capacity than the old HSQ. I assume it should have had the same, but maybe Wachusett will add additional carriers down the road just to see how loading goes the first year or so.
This actually has a higher capacity. The 2800 pph figure posted on this site is the design capacity of the old lift. Chairs were planned to be added when the cut more trails off the summit. However that was cancelled with the discovery of old growth forests above the auto road.
The old lift had 81 quad chairs. This has 66 six-pack chairs (equivalent to 99 quad chairs) and with a [slightly] higher speed.
More capacity now. It’s increased from around 2100 to 2600 pph.
Lift Blog 
She’s a beaut! This is yet another lift utilizing full non-conical Euro Tower Heads with the E98 chairs and auto-locking bars.
On a side note, its also another one of those lifts that replaced an old one that had footrests and the new one doesn’t (Crest at Brighton for example)
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Its interesting to see that this new lift has a lower capacity than the old HSQ. I assume it should have had the same, but maybe Wachusett will add additional carriers down the road just to see how loading goes the first year or so.
LikeLike
This actually has a higher capacity. The 2800 pph figure posted on this site is the design capacity of the old lift. Chairs were planned to be added when the cut more trails off the summit. However that was cancelled with the discovery of old growth forests above the auto road.
The old lift had 81 quad chairs. This has 66 six-pack chairs (equivalent to 99 quad chairs) and with a [slightly] higher speed.
More capacity now. It’s increased from around 2100 to 2600 pph.
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