Park City Mountain Resort, UT, Lift Upgrade Approval Upheld Through Planning Commission

Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), Utah, is clear to proceed with two new lift upgrades, after Park City Hearing Officer Tim Pack upheld the Planning Commission’s approval. The proposal allows the resort to move forward with its plans to replace the Eagle lift with a high-speed six-pack and upgrade the Silverlode Express from a six-pack to an eight-pack.

PCMR is leased to and operated by Vail Resorts, the largest ski resort operator in the world. It has been pursuing these lift upgrades for more than four years, facing multiple delays throughout the approval process.

In a decision issued in July, Pack ruled that the Planning Commission’s approval was supported by substantial evidence and that the commission correctly applied the Park City Municipal Code when granting the permit. His decision upheld the commission’s May 27 approval. The ruling comes after six Park City residents filed an appeal on June 8, arguing that the Planning Commission failed to ask for enough information from the resort regarding its Comfortable Carrying Capacity (CCC). CCC is the maximum sustainable number of skiers a resort can handle under specific operating conditions on a busy day.

• Related: Lift Upgrade at Park City, UT, Faces New Local Appeal over Overcrowding Concerns

The appeal sought to undo the lift upgrade approval given by the Park City Planning Commission in late May. The residents worried about what higher capacity lifts could do to already very crowded areas at the resort. PCMR argued the upgrades were expected to minimize congestion and reduce wait times across the resort, alleviating existing problems. Hearing Officer Pack’s research found that the new upgrades will increase safety and enhance guests’ experience at the resort. Furthermore, he stated that parking demand won’t increase as a result of these upgrades, which was a key part of the residents’ appeal.

With the approval process now complete, PCMR can move forward with the much-anticipated upgrades to the Eagle and Silverlode lifts. As part of the planned upgrade, the fixed-grip triple Eagle lift will be replaced by a high-speed six-pack, the new Eagle Express lift. This will increase uphill capacity from 1,800 to 2,800 guests per hour, a 55% increase, while the overall uphill capacity from Mountain Village will increase by 16%. The increased capacity is expected to ease morning congestion. In addition, PCMR is planning to remove the Eaglet lift, which hasn’t operated since 2021. The planned Eagle Express lift will stretch 5,796 feet and have a 1,600-foot vertical rise. Guests could expect an approximately six-minute ride time. The new lift will have a mid-station, allowing guests to offload for beginner and intermediate terrain, near the Three Kings uphill terminal. The summit station will be located near the top of the King Con Express, providing direct access to the Silverlode Express or the Quicksilver gondola, which connects the Mountain Village and Canyons sides of the resort.

The other new lift project is upgrading the Silverlode Express six-pack into an eight-pack. This lift will increase uphill capacity from 3,000 to 3,600 guests per hour, representing a 20% increase. The new lift alignment will be unchanged from the outgoing one. Silverlode Express is a major chokepoint for the resort, as it is the only lift directly out of the Miner’s Camp area, which is where the Quicksilver Gondola dumps out from the Canyons side. From there, all guests either have to ride up the Silverlode lift or ski down to King Con Express.

While the appeal has been denied, the residents who challenged the project could still take the case to Utah’s Third District Court if they choose to continue their legal challenge. For PCMR, the decision marks another step forward in its effort to modernize two of its busy lifts, as the resort has been pursuing the Eagle and Silverlode upgrades since 2022. If no further legal action is taken, the ruling clears the way for Park City Mountain Resort to move ahead with the pending lift upgrades, bringing one of the resort’s largest infrastructure projects in recent years closer to reality.