Lincoln, New Hampshire — The last remaining chairlift at Loon Mountain Resort from its grand opening day in December 1966 is going the way of the dodo.
Yesterday, Loon Mountain Resort announced that the Little Sister chairlift has been retired. The chairlift was installed in 1966, making it one of the lifts that debuted during Loon’s opening season. This served beginner terrain, including the Little Sister and Lower Bear Claw trails. The Little Sister trail is also home to one of Loon’s terrain parks. It was also home to snow tubing, but Loon got rid of that activity relatively recently. That cancellation likely made the lift too little used to keep it operational.
If you’re looking to snag a piece of Loon history, the New Hampshire ski resort will be auctioning off 15 chairs from the lift. The auction will begin at noon tomorrow(August 17th) and close at noon on Thursday, August 20. The proceeds will go towards the Upper Pemigewasset Historical Society and Lincoln-Woodstock Friends of Recreation. It should be noted that these aren’t the original chairs, as they were replaced in the 1990s.
While this removal won’t impact Loon’s operations that much, it could open up a cool opportunity for terrain park skiers and riders. Some are calling for adding a rope tow in the Little Sister park. Rope tows in terrain parks have grown beyond their Midwest roots over the past few years, popping up at places like Big Sky.
New Lifts At Loon
Lift removals and new lifts have been frequent at Loon Mountain. The first new lift of the 2020s was the Kanc 8, a Doppelmayr high-speed eight-pack bubble chairlift. The old Kanc high-speed quad chairlift was renovated and moved over to the Octagon base area to replace the Seven Brothers triple chairlift. In early 2024, Loon debuted the Timbertown expansion over at South Peak, which is served by a Doppelmayr fixed-grip quad. Last year, Loon added a new conveyor lift.
Next up could be a pulse gondola connecting the Riverside hotel to Timbertown/the future base village. However, the timeline for that project remains unclear. Alternatively, Loon is currently seeking approval to replace its existing gondola, which could happen during the 2027 offseason.
Image/Video Credits: Loon Mountain Resort
