Sun Valley's New Game-Changing Chairlift Nearing Completion

Ella Boyd
·2 min read

Sun Valley in Idaho began the Warm Springs Enhancement Project, a development effort that will bring two new lifts to the resort's Warm Springs base area and improve skier circulation around the mountain (everyone skiing this month can relate to wanting that)!

The project was slated for completion in December of 2023, and would you look at that: the time is now!

The project had been going on all summer, and by August, serious progress had been made.

Ian Greenwood of POWDER reported that, in a nutshell, Sun Valley was replacing its Challenger Quad with a high-speed six-seater that is 35% faster than its predecessor.

Additionally, as part of this replacement, the resort is completely removing the Greyhawk Quad, whose terrain it'll preserve by including a mid-station on the new Challenger six-seater.

Finally, the resort is replacing the Flying Squirrel chair, which was lost in a 2014 fire, with a high-speed quad.

Both of these lifts start from the Warm Springs base, hence the project title.

Now, in week 34, John Nichols, Grooming and Trails Manager at Sun Valley says, "we are nearing the end of getting all the chairs on Challenger, and we are looking forward to getting this through its final commissioning steps over the next week or so."

"Right now we have the Doppelmeyer crews loading these beautiful new 6-pack chairs onto the Challenger line."

"We only have a few more left."

As snow starts to cover the ground, skiers are frothing to get their butts on these new-fangled lifts. And get their skis all over Sun Valley's awesome terrain, of course.

Amazing what happens when man and nature work together. With a little more push from Mother Nature, things are about to get epic.

Related: Sun Valley's Major Enhancement Project Is Taking Shape

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