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.

Bluewood Mountain Resort will build its first high speed lift in 2025, replacing the aging Skyline Express. The outgoing Borvig triple has served as Bluewood’s primary lift since 1978. “We couldn’t be more excited about the purchase of a high-speed quad for Bluewood,” Said Buck Lewis, Vice President and spokesperson for Bluewood’s ownership group. “This new chair will greatly decrease seat time and increase ride time on the hill, providing a much more enjoyable day on the mountain. This is a fantastic milestone for our resort and community.” As part of the project, Bluewood also intends to install a snowmaking system at the base of the mountain to improve early season coverage.

Bluewood says it’s under contract for the new lift though a manufacturer was not specified. A rendering suggests the lift may be a pre-owned 1990s Doppelmayr model out of Europe. A number of mid-sized resorts including Mission Ridge, Washington; Castle Mountain, Alberta and Pleasant Mountain, Maine have recently opted to install used detachable quads due to the rising costs of new equipment. Bluewood expects to break ground next April and become Washington State’s seventh ski area with a detachable for the 2025-26 ski season.