Whistler Spend $18 Million On Lift Upgrades
Whistler Spend $18 Million On Lift Upgrades
Published : 11-Nov-2013 01:47
Whistler Blackcomb is installing a new high speed chairlift on each of its two mountains this winter, the start of which is now only a few weeks away.
Whistler Mountain's Harmony high-speed, quad chairlift will be replaced with a new Doppelmayr high-speed, detachable, six-pack chairlift capable while Blackcomb Mountain will also see a lift upgrade with a high-speed quad chairlift going into a new area in the Crystal Zone, currently accessed by a fixed-grip triple chair.
The new Crystal Ridge Express chair will increase skier carrying capacity on the route by two thirds over the lift it replaces, with a new capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour. It will deliver skiers and riders to the same location as the current triple chair next to the Crystal Hut.
However, the route of the new lift line is quite different to the previous lift, and will originate 158 metres lower than the old Crystal lift. The bottom terminal elevation will be 1,292m (4,239ft) and will be located along the Blackcomb Glacier Road ski-out, eliminating the need to utilize the Excelerator Chair to access many Crystal Zone trails including Ridge Runner, Rock 'N' Roll, and gladed trails like Outer Limits.
The new alignment will make it even quicker to return to the Glacier Express chair to access areas such as the Horstman Glacier, Blackcomb Glacier and Spanky's Ladder.
The new Harmony 6 high-speed chairlift will dramatically improve the uphill capacity in the Harmony Zone on Whistler Mountain by 50% to 3,600 skiers per hour and will keep the same alignment as the original chair.
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