Industry News
In March 2022, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) announced that it would replace its Thunder quad chairlift with a faster and more powerful detachable quad chairlift ahead of the 2022-23 winter season. Crews have been working hard throughout the summer to install the brand new lift before the first snow falls in a few weeks and will be ready to begin load-testing shortly.
The original Thunder lift was installed in 1994 and will be replaced with a new high-speed quad made by Colorado-based lift manufacturer Leitner-Poma. The speed of the new lift is 1,000 feet per minute, twice the velocity of the original Thunder, and will cut riders’ time down from just over 7 minutes to 3.6 minutes. The new lift will have a contour load, similar to the Teton lift, and a contour unload. It will use the name Thunder and continue to access 1,454 vertical feet of terrain at JHMR.
“The Thunder lift has been the most popular lift on the upper mountain, and it delivers access to some of the legendary terrain JHMR is known for. The new Thunder lift will dramatically cut down on skiers’ and snowboarders’ time spent waiting in line and on the lift. This substantial investment is being made to improve lift waiting times and give our guests more time on snow.”
– JHMR President, Mary Kate Buckley
Removal of the existing Thunder lift began in May. Construction and installation of the new Thunder lift started shortly after, and following load testing in October, the lift should be ready for 2022/23.
They say the new lift will dramatically cut down waiting in line. Since the new lift has the same capacity as the old lift (2400 per hour), how is that possible? People will be spending less time sitting on the lift and assuming they spend the same amount of time skiing down, that would mean they are spending more time in line- translating to a longer lift line and shorter ride time. If it isn’t busy, though, one will be able to make more laps.