Eden, Utah — After a busy offseason, Powder Mountain has gradually opened its lifts over the past month. Due to the dry start to Utah’s ski season, this has been slower than PowMow wanted, but recent snowstorms mean that all the new chairlifts are now open. Here’s a rundown of what each of the three chairlifts adds to the skiing and riding experience:
Timberline: The first to open was the new Timberline chairlift, which happened on December 17th. The old Timberline was a fixed-grip triple chairlift. The new SkyTrac fixed-grip quad chairlift has a vertical rise of 782 feet and a ride time of around eight minutes.
Lightning Ridge: For most of Powder Mountain’s history, Lightning Ridge wasn’t lift-accessible. Instead, those who wanted to ski this black diamond terrain had to hike up or take a snowcat. This new lift changes all that.
A new Skytrac fixed-grip quad chairlift has been added to this terrain pod. The chairlift, which made its debut on New Year’s Eve, has a vertical rise of 1086 feet and a ride time of around eight minutes. The chairlift also provides quick access to Sundown. This is thanks to the Lightning Ridge run, which is an intermediate trail that connects to the Sundown base area. This wasn’t previously wasn’t possible for guests who parked at the Timberline Lodge base area and wanted to get to Sundown via lift.
Paradise: On January 5th, the final new public chairlift opened for the first time. From 1999-2024, Paradise was serviced by a fixed-grip quad that took a sixteen-minute journey to the top terminal. This new Doppelmayr detachable high-speed quad chairlift has a vertical rise of 1605 feet and reduces the ride time to seven minutes. The new Paradise is Powder’s second detachable high-speed chairlift, with the first being Hidden Lake.
The fourth new chairlift, a fixed-grip quad, will service the Raintree terrain pod. Raintree features advanced trails and glades. However, this will not be accessible to the public. The new chairlift is a part of the Powder Haven ski resort, which is only accessible to homeowners on the mountain.
Image Credits: Powder Mountain
