Warren, Vermont — Arguably the biggest offseason project for Vermont’s ski industry is happening at Sugarbush.
This offseason, Sugarbush Resort has replaced the Heaven’s Gate Triple with a new fixed-grip quad chairlift. The new Doppelmayr chairlift will have a loading conveyer but will have a similar carrying capacity compared to its predecessor due to fewer chairs being on the haul rope. Heavier chairs and slatted seats should help reduce the amount of wind holds that were common on the old Heaven’s Gate Triple. The summit area around the top terminal has also been regraded, allowing for easier unloading and getting rid of the hike that was needed to access the Jester trail.
This week, Sugarbush provided two updates on the Heaven’s Gate project. The first updated came as part of their pre-season preview blog post that detailed the offseason projects that occurred at the Vermont ski resort. As shown by the pictures below, the towers and terminals have been installed.
On Thursday, they spliced the rope for the new chairlift. Next up is installing the haul rope and the chairs, putting the lift shacks in their place, load testing, and getting the official thumbs-up from the state of Vermont to start operating the lift.
Sugarbush’s projected opening date is November 23rd. The official opening date for the new chairlift is undetermined, but it is likely to have its grand opening either in late November or at some point in December.
Image/Video Credits: Sugarbush Resort
