Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort, NM, Opens Lift 3 This Saturday Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort, New Mexico, will celebrate its 73rd year with a big birthday present: the opening of Lift 3, a two-person chairlift that replaces a 47-year-old vintage surface lift. Sipapu will host a ribbon-cutting at 11:00 a.m. on January 24 at the base of Lift 3. Construction on the new lift began in June, and the resort is […] Industry News Press Release | January 22, 2026 0 Comments
The 9 Best Chairlift Names According to SnowBrains Readers The most important feature of a ski area will be different for everyone. Some will say it’s the terrain, others, the snow quality. Even more will say it’s about how family-friendly it is or the après ski scene. The names of the chairlifts are probably pretty low on the list, but these vital conveyances, which whisk skiers and snowboarders up […] Brent Glogau | October 12, 2025 1 Comment
This ‘Ski Lift Graveyard’ Is More Like a Museum With an Abundance of Alpine History Nestled in the French Alps along a quiet roadside near the town of Taninges lies a strange and beautiful sight: row after row of decommissioned ski lifts. Chairlifts, gondolas, bubbles, and cable cars rest quietly in what looks like an outdoor museum. To the passerby, it is known informally as the ski lift graveyard. But this is no junkyard. It […] Industry News Brent Glogau | May 23, 2025 0 Comments
Updated Master Development Plan for Vail, CO, Includes Potential Lift Upgrades Vail Ski Resort is located in Summit County, Colorado, along with many other major ski destinations. Vail is loaded with 34 lifts, which include two gondolas that provide access to 5,317 acres and 3,500 vertical feet of skiing. Its immense size makes Vail the fourth-largest ski area in the United States. Vail has been developing its 2024 Master Development Plan […] Industry News Luke Guilford | February 29, 2024 0 Comments
Thredbo, Australia, Adds New Lift at Friday Flats This week, Thredbo Ski Resort launched Australia’s newest ski lift: ‘Freddie’s Snowrunner’. The snowrunner can be found in the Kids Learning Area on Friday Flat, and is the perfect addition in time for the Australian school holidays. The surface lift will be a game changer for children’s skiing and snowboarding lessons and takes Thredbo Ski Resort’s total number of lifts […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | June 23, 2023 0 Comments
Why Didn’t a Ski Lift/Tram Ever Get Built on Mt. Rainier, WA? Imagine taking a ski lift from Mt. Rainier’s Paradise station at 5,400 ft to the 10,000 ft Camp Muir level where you would have endless terrain to snowboard or ski. One could certainly see why this precise location would be so enticing and attractive to set up a permanent ski lift. You could easily argue that the south part of […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | March 21, 2023 0 Comments
Perisher Resort, Australia, to Replace 2 Chairlifts with 1 High-Speed 6-Seater Perisher set to expand its lift infrastructure: It has come to SnowBrains’ attention that the development application lodged by Vail in December 2019 for a new chair lift on Mt. Perisher was quietly approved in September 2021 while lifts in the resort had stopped spinning due to the state-wide Covid-19 lockdown. The approval gives the green light to replace the […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | August 8, 2022 0 Comments
Brundage Mountain, ID, Replacing Frontside Triple Chair with New High-Speed Quad as Part of $30 Million Improvement Plan Brundage Mountain Resort is replacing the Centennial Triple Chair with a new high-speed quad lift. Construction of the lift will take place in the summer of 2023 and will be ready to operate for the 2023-24 season. It will have a vertical rise of 1,616 feet. The new lift will be called the Centennial Express and will greatly improve the […] Industry News Brent Glogau | July 27, 2022 1 Comment
Crowdfunding Campaign to Begin For Portable Backcountry Ski Lift Have you ever imagined having your own personal ski lift? As prices and lineups continue to grow at major resorts, the thought is more appealing than ever. A Canadian company will soon introduce an innovation that brings that dream to life and promises to shake up the ski industry. The PL1, developed by Zoa Engineering, is a rope tow that […] Industry News SnowBrains | January 18, 2022 6 Comments
[VIDEO] 2 Hospitalized at Beech Mountain, NC, After Water Line Violently Sprays Skiers on Chairlift View this post on Instagram A post shared by SnowBrains (@snowbrains) According to Beech Mountain officials, 2 people were hospitalized after being sprayed with cold water on Friday after a water line appeared to break at Beech Mountain Ski Resort in North Carolina. Tim Williams took this video. It’s being reported that some skiers were blown off the lift when […] Industry News SnowBrains | January 8, 2022 1 Comment
How Old is Your Ski Lift? When you come to a resort and ride a ski lift, do you think of how old that lift is? Probably not, unless you’re stuck on the chair for a few hours. Are the new lifts more reliable and safe than the older ones? Well, it’s hard to say—I was stuck for three and a half hours on a relatively […] Industry News Claire Weiss | January 26, 2021 5 Comments
New Loveland, CO Lift Gets the Green Light Early last week, family-owned and operated Loveland Ski Area in Colorado received some great news for future plans. The ski area got the official approval to replace the aging Lift 6 from the Forest Service. Related: Loveland Ski Area, Colorado Announce the Name of their New Lift after Naming Contest Lift 6 is an ancient (40 years old) fixed-grip double […] Industry News Grant Weaver | November 13, 2019 0 Comments
Colorado: Safest Ski Lifts In The World? Did you know that Colorado has the most regulations for ski lifts out of anywhere on earth? According to The Summit Daily, Colorado has among the safest ski lifts in the world. Lift malfunctions and accidents are quite rare, yet Colorado resorts had an epidemic of ski lift-related issues in the past three years, including one that killed a visitor […] Industry News SnowBrains | October 15, 2019 0 Comments
Ski Lift Evacuation at Northstar, CA Today | Eyewitness Account Today was a nice bluebird day at Northstar. We skied a few off-piste runs on Backside and were about to check out Lookout mountain when the Promised Land chairlift suddenly stopped. That was at ~ 10:30 am in the morning, about halfway up the mountain. The lift was pretty packed – almost all chairs were fully occupied. Probably ~200 people. […] Industry News Claire Weiss | February 25, 2019 10 Comments
Vail Resorts Plans To Replace Two Chairlifts & More At Stevens Pass, WA For The 2019-20 Season Winter Wonderland. Ian Terry with The Herald Stevens Pass may be getting a nice upgrade for the 2019/20 ski season. Vail Resorts is planning to invest upwards of $180 million into various resorts over the next year. Stevens Pass is one of many resorts getting a nice upgrade. Vail plans to replace the Daisy and Brooks chairs with a high-speed quad and […] Industry News Jason Ringenberg | December 14, 2018 0 Comments
7 Reasons to Ride and Ski Grand Targhee, WY [sponsored by Grand Targhee] Grand Targhee Ski Resort is often overlooked for some of it’s more famous neighbouring resorts, which is precisely what makes it worth it! Get there soon before the secret is out. #1) THE SNOW Grand Targhee Ski Resort averages more than 500 inches of snow each season. That’s the fifth snowiest resort in America. As weather […] Conditions Report Kim Vinet | April 16, 2018 1 Comment
First Ski Lift for Small Children and Skiers With Disabilities A new six-seat chairlift is open at Klosters in Switzerland, Madrisa ski area. This new “Schaffürggli” chairlift includes a unique feature unique – the seat height of the chair will be controlled depending on the size of the skier. A laser scans passengers and determines whether they are adults or children. A hydraulic control then adjust the seat height so that even the smallest […] Claire Weiss | December 22, 2016 0 Comments
VIDEO: How To De-Ice a Chairlift | by Timberline Lodge, OR Every wondered how ski resorts de ice the chairlift cables after a big storm or an rime or ice event? Us, too. This video shows us exactly how it’s done. Basically, you need some chairlift ninjas, a snowcat and some rope, and some serious know how. MHR crew Tim Douglass and Hette Olyano head up to document deicing the haul rope on the Magic Mile chairlift at Timberline Lodge and Ski Area – Timberline Lodge ski resort, OR […] SnowBrains | January 22, 2014 0 Comments
How To: Build a Chairlift | Video & Photos of Whistler’s 2 New Chairs Whistler Blackcomb is currently in the process of building two new chairlifts that the snow world is highly anticipating: A new Crystal Chair & a new Harmony Chair. How do they get these chairlifts built? A lot of helicopter help, a lot of helicopters. And it’s fun to watch. Have a gander at this video and check out what these guys do. I don’t think I’d wanna be one of these guys on the ground guiding these huge pieces into place. Props to these technicians. Whistler Blackcomb’s Harmony high-speed, quad chairlift will be replaced […] SnowBrains | October 31, 2013 1 Comment
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