Dayton, Washington — Bluewood skiers and riders will need to wait one more year until they can ride their mountain’s first high-speed chairlift.
Yesterday, Ski Bluewood GM Pete Korfiatis announced what guests were fearing: the new-to-them high-speed quad bubble chairlift won’t debut this upcoming ski season. Originally scheduled to debut during the 2025-26 season, a dispute and lawsuit with the lift broker left the project stalled into this year.
That seems to have resolved itself, as the final parts are set to arrive in mid-September. Unfortunately, this limited timeframe doesn’t give them enough time to remove the old Skyline chairlift and then construct the new chairlift. Also factoring into the decision is that their parking lot is being used as a staging area for firefighting crews, leading to reduced space for construction. Because of this, the ski area is currently closed to the public.
Some work on the project will still take place this summer. The plan is to start the lift work in earnest in April 2027, with the goal of completing it in either September or early October 2027.
Mountain Biking
Meanwhile, work is ongoing to make Bluewood a summer destination. The U.S. Forest Service has approved the ski area’s plans to add mountain biking trails. The ski area is working with Tamarack Trail Works on developing the mountain biking park. A trail is currently being built on Green Giant, while four other trails are being planned. When complete, Bluewood will have over 20 miles of mountain biking trails. If completed fast enough, the new lift could debut with the mountain biking network in the fall of 2027.
You can read Pete’s full letter to passholders here.
Image/Video Credits: Ski Bluewood
