Top 13 Ski Areas With the Highest Lift Capacity in the World

No one likes lines, so we all appreciate efficient infrastructure that gets you on the mountain and ready for some fun fast. Naturally, people will be drawn to resorts with the highest lift capacity to maximize the time on snow.

The most common way to measure a ski area’s lifting capability is the hourly capacity of all its lifts. It is important, however, to remember that not all lift capacity is equal. For example, a magic carpet with a capacity of 2,000 passengers per hour (short ‘pax’) that goes up 30 feet in elevation is different from a tramway that transports you up several thousand feet. So, it is crucial to remember that these numbers are purely quantitative and don’t say anything about the type of lift infrastructure of a resort or ski area.

Top 13 Resorts with the Highest Lift Capacity per hour*:

#13: Zillertal Arena, Austria — 96,364 pax

#12: Ischgl-Samnaun, Austria/Switzerland — 97,433 pax

#11: Le Grand Massif, France — 99,741 pax

#10: Via Lattea, Italy — 100,460 pax

#9: Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta, Italy — 107,538 pax

#8: Val Gardena/Gröden, Italy — 127,740 pax

#7: Saalbach Hinterglemm, Austria — 140,020 pax

#6: Tignes/Val d’Isère, France — 144,681 pax

#5: Ski Arlberg, Austria — 145,948 pax

#4: Wilder Kaiser-Brixental, Austria — 148,000 pax

#3 Paradiski (Les Arcs/La Plagne), France — 231,873 pax

#2: Les Portes du Soleil, France/Switzerland — 250,776 pax

#1: Les 3 Vallées, France — 282,383 pax

In case you are wondering where the American resorts are in this ranking, the highest capacity in North America is currently at Park City which has a capacity of 81,460 passengers an hour. This may be the highest capacity on the North American continent but it is just a fraction of Les 3 Vallées’ capacity. However, it is important to remember that 3 Vallées literally means three valleys and the ski area consists of several resorts across three valleys. The Park City ski area consists of Park City and Canyons and in theory could be combined with Deer Valley into America’s largest ski area which would have a combined capacity of 132,760 pax, catapulting the area into the top 10.

*All lift capacity data from Skiresort.info