Minnesota’s Welch Village has announced a deal with Doppelmayr for an Alpen Star quad chair. The fixed grip lift will replace the East Ridge double, also known as Lift 4. The new machine will load about 30 feet to the west of the current Hall and open some time in December. “By moving the bottom of this new lift further to the west, we will be able to open up the bottom of the Harley’s Hollow enabling guests to actually ski and ride in between the new quad chair and the Triple Chair,” said Welch Village President and General Manager Peter Zotalis in a blog post.  “There are a lot of exciting aspects to this project (and other projects) that we will share with you over the course of the summer and fall.”

Welch Village also announced the removal of the Bakke double, which two newer lifts made redundant years ago. When this summer’s projects are complete, the mountain will operate six quads, one triple and one double.