Canada's Sun Peaks ski area have just started work on installing a new quad chairlift to enhance uplift capacity and skier flow in a key sector of their ski area, now Canada's second largest.
Work on the new Crystal chairlift, a Doppelymayr fixed grip quad, will take two summers to complete before the lift opens for winter 2020-21.
This summer will see engineering, electrical, lift line, and concrete work taking place, all in preparation for the summer of 2020 when the new lift, which will increase uphill capacity by 20%, will be installed.
It's not just uplift that's being improved however, a key feature of the project is a lift realignment that will see the top terminal relocated to the Top of the World on Mt. Tod, providing better access to a much larger area of terrain than before, thanks to the slightly higher elevation.
"A new Crystal Chair is very important as we look at the future of our upper mountain terrain at Sun Peaks," said Darcy Alexander, the BC resort's Vice President and General Manager, "As more people continue to discover the Sun Peaks experience, we need to invest in moving additional guests around the mountain effectively and efficiently."
This latest lift project, which has a $5 million dollar price tag, is the first component of an upper mountain redesign for alpine terrain access at Sun Peaks. It's also the latest in more than $70m spent in resort upgrades and improvements in recent years both in the village and on the mountain, including the recently added new Orient quad chairlift.
The Burfield chairlift will continue running to its current location, meaning guests will have the advantage of two lifts accessing the Top of the World area once the new Crystal chair opens.
Another important component of the project will involve ski run grading to improve skier access from Top of the World to signature Sun Peaks runs such as Spillway and Headwalls.
