Below is a list of the top ten steepest lifts in the US and Canada. I calculated these using a ratio of slope length to vertical rise using data from the manufacturers. To give you some perspective, Snowbasin’s tram has the lowest ratio at 1.11 while Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak has the highest ratio at 120. The average lift is 4.65, meaning 4.65 feet of length to rise one vertical foot, on average. Only three of the top ten are chairlifts and only five serve ski-able terrain.
1. Mt. Allen Tram, Snowbasin, Utah – 1998 Doppelmayr 15-passenger tramway
1,165′ slope length x 1,047′ vertical rise = 1.11 length to vertical ratio
edit: Ski Area Management’s lift construction survey had the incorrect vertical for this lift. It is actually 510′ making the Mt. Allen Tram about half as steep as posted above.
2. Mt. Roberts Tram, Juneau, Alaska – 1996 Poma 60-passenger tramway
3,098′ slope length x 1,746′ vertical rise = 1.77 length to vertical ratio
3. Lone Peak Tram, Big Sky Resort, Montana – 1995 Doppelmayr 15-passenger tramway
2,828′ slope length x 1,450′ vertical rise = 1.95 length to vertical ratio
4. Sulphur Mountain Gondola, Banff, Alberta – 1959 Bell 4-passenger bi-cable gondola
4,498′ slope length x 2,292′ vertical rise = 1.96 length to vertical ratio
5. Honeycomb Return, Solitude Mountain Resort, Utah – 2002 Doppelmayr CTEC quad
1,300′ slope length x 655′ vertical rise = 1.98 length to vertical ratio
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