New Chairlift On The Way For a Classic Minnesota Ski Area

Welch Village is a large ski area (by midwestern standards) located just under an hour’s drive from Minneapolis.

Welch shared the exciting news that Dopplemayr will install a brand-new fixed-grip quad to replace the area’s old Hall #4 on the east side of the ski area this spring.

Full statement from Welch Village’s General Manager Peter Zotalis:

We have some exciting news to share!

This spring, we contracted with Doppelmayr USA Inc to construct and install a brand new 4-person fixed grip chairlift on the east side of the ski area. This new lift will replace the Hall #4 double chairlift and be constructed near the same lift line. The bottom of the lift will actually be placed about 30 ft to the west (towards Jaxx). You will unload the new lift in the same location as the #4 double chair.

By moving the bottom of this new lift further to the west, we will be able to open up the bottom of the Harley’s Hollow enabling guests to actually ski and ride in-between the new quad chair and the Triple Chair. There are a lot of exciting aspects to this project (and other projects) that we will share with you over the course of the summer and fall.

Right now, the anticipated opening for this lift is early December. Our crew has begun to take down the double chair and we will also soon be taking down the Hall #3 double chair on Bakkelyka as well. We have not used this lift for several seasons now primarily because we have two 4-person chairs that service the same area.

This is new lift will look just like the pictures below. The lift itself will be very similar to the two Doppelmayr quad lifts we currently have (Lookout #2 chair & Back Bowl #6 chair) but will have some added modern advances like a larger bottom terminal building.

We are also expecting to finish work on the East and West Quad Riplet lifts and add restraining bars to those lifts this summer as well. Superior Tramway has experienced significant manufacturing and shipping delays because of the pandemic.

We are excited about adding yet another brand new, state of the art, chairlift to Welch Village. Look for more updates on this project and more very soon!