Industry News
Vail Resorts announced today, May 2, 2024, that the chairs of the dismantled Perisher Double Chair will be auctioned off on the weekend of June 8-9, 2024. Perisher Ski Resort, Australia, is excited to offer guests the opportunity to own a slice of ski history at a special Opening Weekend farewell auction for the historic Mount Perisher Double Chairlift, which has been decommissioned to make way for the high-speed, 6-seater Mount Perisher 6 Chairlift, currently under construction. The farewell auction will take place on Opening Weekend, with an in-person auction planned for Saturday, June 8, and an online auction planned for Sunday, June 9.
Around 70 of the original chairs will be auctioned across the two days that will include:
- Saturday, June 8: Live auction at a Perisher Valley venue (time and location to be announced shortly): To attend, you must – <Register your interest>
- Sunday, June 9: (open for one week or until sold) Online auction via: https://aus.givergy.com/MtPDoubleChairAuction
Local auctioneer Nick Kirshner will be auctioning off the chairs, adding to the entertainment, and there will be a full lineup at Australia’s coolest music festival, PEAK Music Festival, being held around the Valley throughout the weekend.
“We can’t wait to welcome guests back to Perisher for the opening weekend of the 2024 snow season. This farewell auction will provide a wonderful way to think about the history we have at Australia’s largest ski resort. This special auction will allow Perisher history to be preserved, especially as we look towards welcoming the new Mt Perisher 6, with a planned opening in the 2025 snow season. We are proud that the proceeds from the auction will benefit local charities and organizations that make a difference for the environment, here in our community, and for our youth.”
— Nathan Butterworth, General Manager Perisher Ski Resort
The Mount Perisher Double Chair was Perisher’s first ever chairlift: a two-seater, fixed-grip chairlift that first opened to skiers in 1961. The Perisher Double Chair was a revolutionary 2-chair fixed grip by GMD Müller, which took skiers up to the top of Mount Perisher in 11 minutes. Prior to its construction, the areas that now form Perisher Ski Resort were serviced by a handful of T-bars and rope tows.
According to the Perisher Historical Society, the construction of the Mount Perisher Double was ‘spurred on by the appetite for longer runs and the interest to open up new skiing areas on the Perisher Range’. The Chair’s construction represented a major step forward in Australian skiing.
The Perisher Double has been decommissioned for the 2024 snow season to make way for a new 6-seater, high-speed Doppelmayr chairlift called the Mount Perisher 6, scheduled to run in the 2025 snow season. The new Mount Perisher 6 chairlift will provide another major step forward, improving resort capacity and assisting to redistribute skiers across Perisher’s network of 47 lifts across four resort base areas to reduce general lift wait times and improve flow and circulation. The new chairlift will have the highest lifted point in Australia at 2,042 meters.
“This lift upgrade project represents a significant investment in the guest experience at Perisher,” said Butterworth. “Our thanks and gratitude go to our team, partners, and contractors who have worked incredibly hard as we make this project a reality.”
For the 2024 season, guests will still be able to access all the same runs and terrain,the Perisher Triple Chair will still be operational.
For more information, please visit our Mt Perisher 6: Project Updates page at www.perisher.com.au or learn more about the auction, as well as the history of the Mt. Perisher Double Chair by visiting the Mt. Perisher Double Chair Auction page .
