One of Mt. Bachelor’s most important chairlifts is starting to look very different inside, even though most skiers may not notice much of a difference from the outside.
Crews have reached a major stage in the modernization of Northwest Express, the long high-speed quad serving the west side of the Oregon ski resort. Contractors are now craning some of the lift’s biggest new components into place, including a new electric motor, drive system, diesel backup motor and fuel tank.
The project is unusual because Mt. Bachelor is not entirely replacing Northwest Express with a new chairlift.
The existing towers, foundations, terminals, haul rope and chairs are all staying. Almost everything that makes the lift operate, however, is being modernized.
That includes the drive equipment, electrical system, controls, communications infrastructure, backup power, chair storage and buildings used by lift operations and maintenance crews. The U.S. Forest Service approved the project around the existing lift infrastructure rather than requiring an entirely new lift alignment.
For a chairlift that has dealt with some of the harshest weather on Mt. Bachelor, the goal is straightforward: make Northwest more reliable when skiers want it most.
The Biggest New Components Are Going In
The latest construction update shows how far the project has progressed since summer.
At the top terminal, crews have completed the first-floor foundation for a new two-story operator and ski patrol dispatch building. Drive and control cabinets are among the next components scheduled for installation. The upper terminal and three upper towers have also been repainted.
The most significant work is happening inside the lift.
A crane is now being used to install the new electric motor, drive and diesel backup system while crews remove the old equipment. When completed, Northwest will use a modern operating system similar to the one installed on Skyliner.
That is a major mechanical overhaul of a lift originally installed in 1996.
Northwest Express is Mt. Bachelor’s longest chairlift, stretching about 1.6 miles and climbing roughly 2,365 vertical feet. It provides access to long groomers, tree skiing, advanced terrain and the West Bowls on the northwest side of the volcano.
Thousands of Feet of Fiber Are Going Underground
Some of the most important improvements will be almost invisible once snow covers the mountain.
Northwest’s communications infrastructure has historically been exposed above ground, leaving cables vulnerable to the heavy rime ice that regularly forms on Mt. Bachelor.
As Unofficial Networks reported during a July construction update, ice has previously pulled communication lines loose from connection points. Those faults can force maintenance crews to stop the lift and determine what went wrong.
The Forest Service proposal called for burying roughly 5,000 feet of communications and fiber infrastructure. The latest update says that underground conduit and fiber work is now complete and the trenches have been backfilled. The aerial portion of the system on the lower section of the lift is also finished.
New power infrastructure is also in place, including a transformer supplying the new lower operator building and maintenance facility.
Those changes are designed to eliminate some of the weather-related problems that have historically caused unexpected stoppages.
The Lift Will Be Able to Run at Night Without Chairs
One of the most interesting changes has nothing to do with moving skiers uphill.
Mt. Bachelor is installing a night-drive system that will allow Northwest’s haul rope to move slowly during storms without chairs attached.
Before a major weather event, crews will be able to remove the chairs and place them inside a new semi-enclosed storage structure. The empty haul rope can then continue moving, helping prevent severe ice accumulation while the chairs themselves remain protected from snow and rime ice.
The concrete foundation for that chair-storage building is now complete, with construction of the structure expected to follow.
Mt. Bachelor Mountain Operations Director Dustin Smith said the system should reduce the amount of work required after major storms.
“This will streamline the lift opening process, allowing skiers and riders to access that terrain sooner following major weather events.”
That could be particularly noticeable on powder mornings, when digging out and deicing a lift can delay access even after the storm itself has passed.
Northwest Is Also Getting Its Own Maintenance Garage
The project goes beyond the machinery inside the terminals.
A new maintenance garage is being built near the bottom of Northwest so technicians can test and repair lift carriers on site instead of transporting equipment elsewhere on the mountain.
The building is now framed, with additional concrete, siding and roofing work still to come.
The Forest Service proposal also called for larger operator buildings at both terminals. The upper building is being constructed as a two-story structure partly because the new electrical and control equipment requires more space.
Taken individually, each improvement is relatively technical.
Together, they amount to a near-total modernization of Northwest’s operating infrastructure without actually replacing the chairlift.
This Is the Latest Stage of a Project UN Has Been Following All Summer
Unofficial Networks first covered the Northwest modernization back in June, when Mt. Bachelor outlined plans to replace the motor, auxiliary power system and internal controls while retaining the major structural components of the lift.
By July, crews were using a specialized spider excavator to trench across steep terrain for the new buried communications lines. Operator buildings had been demolished, grading was underway and Doppelmayr crews were preparing to install the new lift equipment.
The latest update marks another important transition.
The underground infrastructure is largely finished, new power is operational and the machinery that will actually drive Northwest Express is now being installed.
Mt. Bachelor says work remains, but the project continues toward completion for the 2026-27 ski season. The resort’s current lift-ticket calendar begins Nov. 27, although operating dates remain dependent on weather and conditions.
For skiers, Northwest Express may still look like the same long quad stretching up the northwest side of the mountain.
Underneath the terminal covers, it will be a very different lift.
