Park City, Utah — It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks for the Park City Planning Commission, as it plans to debate a hotly contested pair of lift replacements.
Earlier this year, Park City Mountain Resort resubmitted a proposal for the approval of two new lifts. These projects would see the replacement of the Eagle, Eaglet, and Silverlode chairlifts.
Eagle is currently a fixed-grip triple chairlift, while Eaglet is a standing but not operating chairlift that served a terrain park. This would be replaced by a high-speed six-pack chairlift with a mid-station for unloading. It would become a key lift for ski racers and terrain park riders, providing access to the Three Kings terrain park zone. The top terminal would be situated near the top of the King Con Express chairlift, providing easier access to that carving-filled terrain pod. As part of the plan, Three Kings would reduce its operational schedule.
Silverlode is currently a detachable high-speed six-pack chairlift. The proposal has that lift being replaced by a detachable high-speed eight-pack chairlift. That lift is situated at a crunch point at PC, with the other adjacent lift being the Quicksilver Express gondola.
For these projects to proceed, approval is required from the Park City Planning Commission. The last time they tried it, it became a years-long battle due to the ski resort’s recent crowding issues. Due to the delays, Vail Resorts ended up sending the lifts to Whistler Blackcomb. These additions would be a new batch of lifts.
The Commission is meeting on Wednesday to discuss the proposal. After that, the next meeting, which would include public comments and a potential vote, is scheduled for May 27th.
The New Guy
Another complication is that there’s a new member of the Commission who has an affiliation with the ski resorts. TownLift reported in March that Mayor Ryan Dickey picked Adam Strachan to join the Planning Commission. He was a longtime member of the Commission, serving from 2008 to 2018. He has also done extensive work with ski resorts, with his online bio stating that he has “defended nearly every ski resort in Utah.” For Park City Mountain Resort, he represented them in injury-related cases. In theory, this could be a conflict of interest, which concerned some locals.
However, he won’t be factoring into this. According to the Park Record, Strachan intends to recuse himself from the discussions regarding the Park City lifts. It shows how contentious this lift project remains, even though they remain a good idea for the ski resort.
Image/Video Credits: Ian Wood, Park City Mountain Resort, Beyond the Lodge
