Update 7/24: The Bluebird Express at Brundage reopened on Sunday. After a couple of regularly scheduled days off, it will reopen again on Wednesday.
About 48 hours into their summer operations, Brundage Mountain was thrown a lousy hand. A new component that was just installed on the Bluebird Express failed, resulting in the chairlift being shut down on June 29th.
Last week, Brundage Mountain General Manager Ken Rideer provided an update on the repairs. Doppelmayr and the manufacturer of the electrical component have been on-site to fix the problem, but fixes like this take time. They plan on reopening the chairlift this summer, but when it will be spinning again has yet to be determined. They also anticipate the Bluebird Express being ready well before the winter season.
On the bright side, at least this is happening in the slower summer period, not during ski season. The only groups that this really affects are the mountain bikers and scenic chairlift riders, as the chairlift services the downhill trails from the summit. These runs remain open, but it now requires you to bike up.
In the meantime, they have various things going on around the base area. Smoky’s Bar & Grill is serving food and drinks Wednesdays through Sundays this summer, the ski resort is hosting Friday night concerts, and they have opened a redesigned disc golf course.
It also shows the importance of the Centennial chairlift replacement. This summer, the fixed-grip triple chairlift is being replaced by a new high-speed quad. It will give guests another quick way to reach the terrain on the upper mountain and will help Brundage in case Bluebird goes down again. Other major offseason projects for Brundage include the building of a new Mountain Adventure Center (opening during the 2024-25 season) and starting to build a real estate development.
You can read Ken’s full letter here.
Image Credits: Brundage Mountain Resort
