Park City, Utah — After a new gondola opens this ski season, lift replacements are expected to continue at Park City Mountain Resort in the years ahead.
As part of Vail Resorts’ Fourth-Quarter results, the company detailed several of its capital projects for the years ahead. The first is the previously announced Cabriolet replacement. Currently, an open-air people-moving lift is scheduled to be replaced by an enclosed gondola system. These ten-person cabins will protect guests from the elements, but I’ll personally miss the adrenaline rush you get from standing and riding along. This project, which could open during the 2026-27 season, is subject to approval. The new Cabriolet will coincide with a new parking garage, which is currently under construction.
The second group of projects is over on the Park City side. Back in 2021, it was announced that the Silverlode, Eagle, and Eaglet chairlifts would be replaced for the 2022-23 season. Silverlode was planned to be replaced with a detachable high-speed eight-pack, while the Eagle & Eaglet lifts would be replaced by a detachable high-speed six-pack with a mid-station.
However, a successful appeal to the Park City Government by a group of locals to the initial approval led to a prolonged legal battle. Courts sided with the locals, agreeing that Vail was unable to explain its comfortable carrying capacity and whether its parking mitigation plan would reduce crowding. However, since the successful appeal by locals in 2022, Vail Resorts has implemented a new parking plan on the PC side.
Vail Resorts decided to let the ruling stand and will reapply to install these lifts in 2027. The new goal is to open the lifts during the 2027-28 season (subject to approvals).
Did I mention that it was subject to local approvals? While approvals on the Canyons side run through the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission, the approvals for lifts on the PC side go through the Park City Planning Commission. While a Cabriolet approval seems likely, the approval of the chairlifts could be tumultuous. That approval process should be an interesting thing to monitor.
Sunrise Gondola
This isn’t the only lift project going on at Park City. This offseason, the Sunrise double chairlift is being replaced by a gondola. The ten-person gondola cabins will provide the ski resort with additional capacity at Canyons Village. This will go from the Canyons Village to the Red Pine Lodge. That lift has been installed and is nearing completion.
Deer Valley is making headlines for its expansion and new lifts, but Vail Resorts aims to compete with them in the years ahead with these improvements.
Image/Video Credits: Park City Mountain Resort, Ryan Birk (Risen Life Photography)
