After adding the Birch Quad for this season, Sugar Mountain in North Carolina’s lift modernization continues. The resort announced Tuesday that a Doppelmayr high-speed quad chairlift will replace their current fixed-grip double lift. The ride time will go down from nine minutes to just under three minutes. The main run that lift is Oma’s Meadow, and there are also some connecting trails to get skiers back over to the rest of the lifts. Many condominiums and homes are located above the top terminal, which could be another reason for the replacement.
Their official press statement is below…
“A local’s favorite and Sugar’s best-kept secret, Oma’s Meadow, a wide-open, long-intermediate-cruiser slope, located steps away from Sugar Ski & Country Club, will get the lift it deserves. A high-speed, detachable, four-passenger chairlift will be installed this summer replacing the current two-passenger, fixed-grip chairlift.
The new 2,225’ long, Doppelmayr quad chairlift will cut travel time from the old-fashion snail-pace of nine minutes to the modern-day rush of two minutes and fifty-five seconds. “Not only is the speediness a welcome upgrade but the detachable feature of the chairs slowing upon entering the base and summit stations makes for an easy and gentle loading and unloading experience for all levels of skiers and riders,” explains Sugar Mountain Resort owner, Gunther Jochl.
The high-speed, detachable chairlift will carry 2,400 passengers per hour from the lift’s base elevation of 4,451’ to its summit elevation of 4,915’ and increase the Resort’s overall uphill capacity from 11,660 passengers per hour to 13,460 passengers per hour.
This is the Resort’s fifth chairlift installation and marks nearly $20 million in overall infrastructure investment over the past seven years.
Sugar Mountain Resort is North Carolina’s largest snow-sports resort providing the best skiing, snowboarding, ice-skating, tubing, and snowshoeing experience possible. Historical winter season opening and closing dates, as well as annual snowfall, can be found here. For additional information please call 800-SUGAR MT or browse the website..”
Image Credits: Sugar Mountain Resort, See Sugar Mountain, NC
