New ski lifts are being constructed in New Hampshire and Vermont in 2018.
Friday, May 18, 2018, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
With 2017-18 ski season all but over, lift construction continues to ramp up in northern New England.
Stratton made quick work of taking down the Snow Bowl Quad in preparation for construction of a new high speed quad. The new lift will take a slightly different alignment and will have a loading terminal slightly uphill from the former location.
Stratton's former Snow Bowl Quad has been announced as the replacement for the Black Chair at nearby Magic Mountain. Surveying is in progress at Magic and the new lift is expected to have a higher summit terminal than the existing lift. Meanwhile, construction is set to resume on the Green Chair, which is projected to be completed in July.
Work continues at a feverish pace at Killington, as the Snowdon Quad and Poma are being relocated to other parts of the mountain (South Ridge and Rams Head, respectively) to make way for a new high speed six person bubble chairlift.
Bretton Woods has also started initial work on its aggressive off season lift projects. A survey line is being cut for the new 8 person gondola, which is expected to be operational this winter. In addition, chairs are being removed from Fabyan's Triple, so that the top terminal of the lift can be relocated downhill to make way for the new gondola. Meanwhile, the B Chair remains standing, though it is expected to be removed as part of the project. The gondola base terminal will likely be located where the canopy tour office currently stands.
In its annual operating plan presented this week, Mt. Sunapee postponed its North Peak lift projects due to "financial constraints, planning and permitting approvals, and/or time constraints." The relocation of the North Peak Triple to the Sun Bowl and installation of the former Sun Bowl fixed grip quad on North Peak are now planned for the 2019 off season, with the state and local permitting process possibly starting this fall.
