On January 27th, the Montana Snowbowl opened one of the steepest chairlifts in the country for the first time. Called the Transporter, the new SkyTrac triple chairlift has various perks for the Montana ski resort.
For one, it becomes the second chairlift that services the upper mountain at the ski resort from the base area, so it’s a major capacity upgrade. Secondly, it directly accesses Snow Park, which was difficult to get to and from before this chairlift was opened. In addition, it allows for downloading, making it easier for people to get to the base area at the end of the day.
The ride climbs 1,700 vertical feet, has a length of 3,800 feet, and takes nine minutes to reach the top of TV Mountain, which directly accesses Snow Park. Brad Morris, who is the Owner of the Montana Snowbowl, described the perks of the new chairlift to The Missoulian:
“It’s pretty fast. It’s pretty steep. It makes it easier to get over to Snow Park.”
The new chairlift adds advanced and expert terrain to Snowbowl.
Five new runs were added to their terrain network: three double black diamonds, one advanced trail, and an intermediate run near the base area. Here’s what Montana Snowbowl told me about how the new lift improves access to their terrain network:
“The new runs are some of the steepest at the ski area. The lift also allows better access to beginner terrain to the Snowpark runs without having to take the Grizzly chair up then taking a long cat trail.”
The new trail map that features the new lift and trails is below.
Image Credits: Montana Snowbowl
