From more than 1,000 acres of newly accessible terrain at Powder Mountain to major new lifts at Deer Valley, Whistler Blackcomb and Sundance, these are the new ski resort chairlifts that matter most for the 2026–27 season.
There are a lot of new chairlifts opening across North America for the 2026–27 ski season.
Some are straightforward replacements. Others will shorten ride times, improve reliability or untangle awkward parts of a mountain.
And a handful will fundamentally change where people ski.
We’ve already been tracking the biggest ski resort expansions and new lifts coming for 2026–27, but for this list we’re narrowing things down to the 10 most important new ski resort chairlifts in North America.
We gave the most weight to lifts that open significant new terrain, create an important connection or noticeably change how a resort skis.
As always with lift construction, opening dates remain subject to final construction, inspections, weather and snow conditions.
Here are the 10 we’re watching most closely.
1. DMI Lift — Powder Mountain, Utah
Lift: Skytrac fixed-grip triple
New terrain: More than 1,000 acres becoming publicly accessible
Lift-served terrain: Roughly 900 acres
Vertical: Approximately 2,200 feet
Opening: 2026–27 season
There may not be another new chairlift in North America this winter that opens more consequential terrain than Powder Mountain’s new DMI lift.
The chair accesses the Don’t Mention It, or DMI, zone in Wolf Creek Canyon, where Powder Mountain is bringing more than 1,000 acres of advanced and expert terrain into its public ski area.
We took a closer look at Powder Mountain’s DMI expansion and what the terrain will actually ski like. The zone includes open faces, steep glades, chutes, cliffs and technical terrain that previously wasn’t accessible as a conventional lift-served part of the resort.
The new Skytrac fixed-grip triple provides roughly 2,200 vertical feet of lift service through the zone.
Powder Mountain is simultaneously replacing Sundown with a detachable high-speed quad, an important upgrade because Sundown will become one of the primary gateways toward DMI. Powder Mountain detailed both projects as part of its ongoing expansion.
Powder Mountain’s official expansion information can be found here.
Why it matters: Powder Mountain isn’t simply replacing an old chair. It’s turning a massive piece of expert terrain into repeatable lift-served skiing.
2. Electric Horseman Express — Sundance Mountain Resort, Utah
Lift: Doppelmayr high-speed quad
Vertical: More than 1,850 feet
Ride time: Approximately six minutes
New terrain: More than 100 acres
Opening: 2026–27 season
Sundance’s back mountain has always had excellent terrain.
The problem was getting around it efficiently.
Electric Horseman should change that.
The new high-speed quad climbs more than 1,850 vertical feet to Bearclaw Summit and provides a much more direct route into Sundance’s back mountain.
As we covered in our look at Sundance’s 2026 terrain expansion, the project also includes more than 100 acres of new skiing.
Among the additions is Storyteller, a roughly 1.7-mile upper-intermediate groomed ridge run, along with expert gladed terrain.
Instead of requiring skiers to piece together a less direct route through the mountain, Electric Horseman effectively gives Sundance a high-speed backbone for this side of the resort.
Sundance has more information on the expansion here.
Why it matters: More terrain is good. Making that terrain significantly easier to lap may be even more important.
3. Hail Peak Express — Deer Valley Resort, Utah
Lift: Doppelmayr high-speed quad
Capacity: Up to 2,400 skiers per hour
Vertical rise: Approximately 1,130 feet
New terrain: 200 acres and seven runs
Opening: Winter 2026–27
Deer Valley’s massive expansion isn’t over.
The next major piece is Hail Peak Express, a detachable high-speed quad serving another 200 acres of terrain.
The new lift will serve seven runs ranging from beginner through advanced terrain and continue the buildout surrounding Deer Valley East Village.
We recently broke down what’s new at Deer Valley for the 2026–27 season, including helicopter installation of the new Hail Peak lift towers.
Once the terrain opens, Deer Valley says the expanded resort will offer roughly 4,500 skiable acres and 209 runs, served by 32 chairlifts.
Deer Valley’s official Hail Peak announcement is available here.
Why it matters: Hail Peak fills in another important piece of the enormous East Village expansion and makes that new side of Deer Valley increasingly feel like one cohesive ski area.
4. Wild West Lift — Lee Canyon, Nevada
Lift: Skytrac fixed-grip quad
Length: Approximately 1,370 feet
Vertical rise: Approximately 800 feet
Capacity: Approximately 1,800 people per hour
New terrain: Five trails initially
Opening: 2026–27 season
One of the most interesting ski resort expansions this season is happening less than an hour from Las Vegas.
Lee Canyon is expanding into its long-discussed West Bowl with the new Wild West chairlift.
We visited Lee Canyon during construction and got an up-close look at the West Bowl expansion.
The Skytrac quad climbs approximately 800 vertical feet over a 1,370-foot lift line and is designed to move about 1,800 passengers per hour.
The first phase will include five trails, mostly intermediate terrain, along with wooded areas that should provide significantly more options for advanced skiers.
The project took another major step this fall when helicopters installed the new Wild West lift towers.
Lee Canyon’s expansion was initially announced as part of $5 million in resort improvements.
Why it matters: Lee Canyon is opening an entirely new lift-served section of the mountain rather than simply upgrading something that already exists.
5. Colorado Couloir — Purgatory Resort, Colorado
Lift: Fixed-grip triple
Length: Approximately 4,439 feet
Vertical rise: Approximately 1,625 feet
New terrain: Roughly 40 acres
Opening target: December 2026
Purgatory’s new Colorado Couloir lift is interesting because it changes both the terrain and the way skiers enter the mountain.
The chair starts near the Gelande parking area and climbs toward the upper mountain, providing a new access point that allows skiers parking at Gelande to enter Purgatory’s lift network without first heading through the main village.
The lift also serves approximately 40 acres of advanced and expert terrain, including seven new trails and connectors, steep glades and technical skiing.
Construction reached a major milestone this summer when Purgatory began helicopter work on the Colorado Couloir chairlift.
We also included Colorado Couloir in our broader look at the biggest ski resort expansions coming this winter.
Why it matters: It adds genuinely interesting expert skiing while simultaneously creating another functional entrance to the resort.
6. Showcase Chair — Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
Lift: Fixed-grip quad
Replaces: Showcase T-Bar
Terrain served: Blackcomb Glacier area
Opening: 2026–27 season
Not every important new chairlift needs to be a detachable six-pack.
Whistler Blackcomb’s new Showcase chair replaces the Showcase T-Bar and improves access toward the Blackcomb Glacier.
Vail Resorts says the fixed-grip quad will provide more consistent access to approximately 215 acres of high-alpine terrain while significantly increasing uphill capacity compared with the T-bar.
We’ve been following construction of the Showcase Chairlift throughout the offseason.
The project has also produced one of the more unusual pieces of lift engineering we’ve seen this year. One tower required a cantilevered design after crews discovered buried glacial ice beneath the originally planned foundation area.
Vail Resorts’ capital-investment information can be found through its investor relations site.
Why it matters: Access to one of Blackcomb’s most recognizable alpine zones should become considerably easier than riding a surface lift.
7. Lookout Express — Sun Valley Resort, Idaho
Lift: Doppelmayr high-speed six-pack
Vertical rise: 2,673 feet
Ride time: Approximately 8.5 minutes
Opening: December 2026
Sun Valley isn’t using Lookout Express to unlock some enormous new terrain pod.
It doesn’t need to.
The significance comes from where this lift sits on Bald Mountain.
The new detachable six-pack replaces the previous Lookout detachable quad, which dated to 1993. The new lift rises a substantial 2,673 vertical feet and is expected to complete the trip in approximately 8.5 minutes.
It’s one of two significant lift replacements at Sun Valley this winter.
The resort is also replacing the Christmas lift with a new detachable high-speed quad. That chair will climb approximately 1,354 vertical feet with an estimated ride time of around 4.5 minutes.
Sun Valley outlines the projects in its official What’s New for 2026–27 update.
Why it matters: Lookout is a major piece of Bald Mountain’s lift infrastructure, and a complete replacement should provide a significant reliability and capacity upgrade.
8. South Express — Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec
Lift: Doppelmayr detachable six-pack with bubbles
Capacity: Approximately 2,400 people per hour
Ride time: Approximately 7.3 minutes
Opening target: February 2027
This one comes with an important caveat.
Mont-Sainte-Anne’s new South Express isn’t expected for opening day. The current target is February 2027, meaning its debut should come during the second half of the ski season.
Still, it is one of the more significant lift projects underway in eastern North America.
The detachable six-person bubble chair replaces both the existing South Express and La Tortue using a redesigned alignment intended to improve movement between the north, east and south portions of the mountain.
The new lift will have 97 carriers, operate at up to five meters per second and move approximately 2,400 people per hour.
Mont-Sainte-Anne has the full project details here.
Why it matters: This is more than an old-for-new chairlift swap. The resort is redesigning a major connection within its lift network.
9. Snowdon Quad — Killington Resort, Vermont
Lift: Doppelmayr fixed-grip quad
Replaces: Snowdon Triple
Capacity increase: Approximately 33%
Project cost: Approximately $7.5 million
Opening: 2026–27 season
At first glance, replacing a triple with a fixed-grip quad doesn’t sound like one of the most exciting new ski lifts of the year.
But Killington’s reasoning makes sense.
Rather than installing another detachable chair, the resort deliberately selected a modern fixed-grip lift for an area where reliable operation in difficult Vermont weather is a priority.
The new Snowdon Quad increases uphill capacity by roughly 33%, offers a somewhat quicker ride and includes a backup generator capable of operating the chair at full speed during a power outage.
It replaces the Snowdon Triple, which originally opened in 1973.
Killington outlines the new lift and its other capital projects here.
Why it matters: Killington isn’t chasing lift speed for the sake of lift speed. It’s modernizing an important section of the mountain with reliability in mind.
10. Chair I — Mont SUTTON, Quebec
Lift: Skytrac fixed-grip quad with loading carpet
Capacity: Approximately 2,400 people per hour
Investment: C$8 million
Replaces: Three double chairlifts
Opening target: November 2026
Mont SUTTON is taking a fairly unusual approach to its latest lift project.
Instead of replacing one chair with another, the Quebec resort is consolidating three older double chairs into one modern quad on the west side of the mountain.
The Skytrac chair will include a loading carpet and move approximately 2,400 skiers per hour.
As we reported when the project was announced, the lift will be Skytrac’s first installation in Canada.
The broader C$8 million project includes beginner-area improvements, another learning carpet, snowmaking upgrades and RFID access.
Mont SUTTON has additional information on the project here.
Why it matters: Three aging lifts are being consolidated into a much simpler, higher-capacity system while the surrounding family zone gets upgraded with it.
A Big Year For New Chairlifts
What makes the 2026–27 crop of new chairlifts in North America interesting is how different these projects are.
Powder Mountain is opening an enormous expert zone.
Sundance is transforming access to its back mountain.
Deer Valley continues to construct what effectively amounts to an entirely new side of the resort.
Lee Canyon and Purgatory are opening new terrain pods.
Whistler Blackcomb is replacing an alpine T-bar with a chairlift.
And Killington is deliberately sticking with fixed-grip technology because dependable operation matters more than simply putting the word Express on another trail map.
It’s also worth looking at the bigger picture. Utah alone is adding more than 1,300 acres of new or newly public terrain this season between Powder Mountain, Sundance and Deer Valley. We broke down Utah’s massive 2026–27 terrain expansion here.
And these aren’t the only significant new chairlifts coming online.
Powder Mountain’s new Sundown Express high-speed quad is also scheduled to debut this winter, while Sun Valley is replacing the Christmas lift.
Colorado’s Powderhorn is another one worth watching. The resort is replacing its slow West End double with a refurbished detachable high-speed quad originally used at Snowmass. Construction on that project was nearing completion in October.
There will always be arguments about which chairlift deserves to rank where. But judging a lift only by speed, capacity or price misses the point. The lifts worth paying attention to are the ones that change how a mountain skis. And this winter, there are quite a few of them.