Scotland — You may not know that Scotland has skiing, but it had quite a memorable 2025-26 ski season. It was a snowy winter for ski resorts in Scotland, as they reported their best season in years. However, one ski resort, Nevis Range, has struggled in recent years. In response, Nevis Range plans to pursue a project that would secure its future.
Last week, Nevis Range announced its intentions to build a new chairlift to its summit. Called the Summit Chairlift, this lift would be a fixed-grip quad bubble chairlift. It would have a length of 850 meters, a vertical rise of 270 meters, and a capacity of 1,800 people per hour. It would be used for winter operations, with the current lifts serving this terrain removed. You can read the full statement that discusses the project here.
There are some strange parts of the proposal. For one, fixed-grip bubble chairlifts aren’t common. Secondly, the lift alignment is not straight, meaning it would need an angle station. As Alta’s Supreme chairlift situation showed, maintaining this type of lift can be problematic. The rendering of it also looks… off.
Local Response
The public reaction to the proposal is mixed. Some are excited to see money being put into the skiing experience. However, others remain critical due to the ski resort’s diminishing quality in recent years. Back in April, local stakeholders released a public letter detailing their concerns with the current operational strategy this past winter. You could argue that the chairlift proposal was announced in part due to viral posts from local snowboarder Mark Back Corries.
Commenters on a social media post about the project by Scottish ski publication Winterhighland Ltd were critical of installing a chairlift in an alpine environment with high winds, as the surface lifts there are designed to account for that. Others weren’t happy that they kept comments off on the social media posts, and others accused the photo and statement of being AI-generated.
While it’s good that a major investment is planned, it sounds like there needs to be more than just a new lift to make it a functional ski resort.
About Nevis Range
Nevis Range features 35 trails and 12 lifts. Typically operating for skiing from December to mid-April, Nevis Range is home to the UK’s only mountain gondola. As referenced in their statement, this schedule has been affected by warmer winters, leading to greater reliance on summer recreation. Some of the activities during the non-snowy months include mountain biking, hiking, and scenic gondola rides.
Image/Video Credits: Nevis Rnge
