A ski resort in Ontario has installed a new chairlift monitoring system that can detect when riders have not lowered their safety bar or are not seated properly after loading.
Blue Mountain Resort installed the technology on its Silver Bullet Express ahead of the 2026-27 ski season. According to Blue Mountain’s rundown of its offseason improvements, the system continuously monitors the chairlift’s loading area and alerts lift operators when it detects a potential problem before the chair reaches the first tower.
That gives lift attendants another opportunity to catch a problem during the first few moments of a chairlift ride, when a passenger may still be getting situated or a restraint bar may remain raised.
Blue Mountain has not publicly identified the manufacturer of the system or explained what type of sensors or cameras it uses. The resort’s description also does not say the technology automatically stops or slows the chairlift. Instead, Blue Mountain says the system detects the issue and alerts its lift operators, who can then respond.
Monitoring Riders Immediately After Loading
The new technology has been installed on Silver Bullet Express, the high-speed six-person chairlift that rises from Blue Mountain’s Village area.
Blue Mountain operates five high-speed six-person chairlifts across a relatively compact mountain with 365 skiable acres and 720 feet of vertical. Silver Bullet is one of the resort’s primary uphill routes from the base village. Blue Mountain’s total uphill capacity of more than 26,000 passengers per hour across the resort’s lift system.
Chairlift attendants already watch passengers as they load and can slow or stop a lift when someone has trouble getting onto a chair. Blue Mountain’s new system adds another layer of monitoring after a chair leaves the immediate loading position.
Ontario Regulates Chairlifts Through TSSA
Chairlifts and other passenger ropeways in Ontario are regulated by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. TSSA says its Passenger Ropeways and Ski Lifts Safety Program reviews and registers lift designs, licenses devices, performs inspections and investigates incidents. Existing ski lifts must renew their operating permits and undergo a TSSA inspection at the beginning of each ski season.
Rider behavior remains part of the equation. Blue Mountain’s Alpine Responsibility Code states that guests must know how to safely load, ride and unload lifts and should ask a lift attendant for assistance when needed.
The new Silver Bullet system does not replace that responsibility or the lift attendant watching the loading area. Instead, it effectively provides another set of electronic eyes looking for two specific problems after a chair has loaded.
Part Of A Bigger Offseason At Blue Mountain
The lift-safety system is one of several infrastructure projects Blue Mountain completed ahead of its 85th winter.
The resort also installed approximately 11 miles of new snowmaking pipe across the mountain. In the Orchard area, crews doubled snow gun density on Butternut and installed nearly 9,000 feet of new pipe around Butternut and the Badlands Terrain Park. Blue Mountain also added new valve huts, grooming equipment, padding and other mountain-operations equipment.
Blue Mountain is owned by Alterra Mountain Company. Alterra has become one of North America’s largest ski resort operators, with a portfolio that also includes destinations such as Mammoth Mountain, Deer Valley, Palisades Tahoe, Steamboat and Tremblant.
The Silver Bullet project is a considerably smaller investment than building or replacing a chairlift, but it provides a glimpse at how technology is increasingly being incorporated into everyday mountain operations. At Blue Mountain, that now includes a system specifically watching to see whether riders are seated correctly and whether their safety bar actually came down.
