Vail Resorts have announced plans to spend $52 million (US) at Whistler Blackcomb ahead of the 18-19 ski season. The new lifts at the largest ski resort in North America, which they acquired last year, will include the creation of what Vail Resorts believe is the world’s first three-gondola inter-connect.
This largest single investment in the resort’s history will include a new 10-passenger gondola, new six-passenger high-speed lift and new four-passenger high-speed lift providing quicker, easier access to all levels of terrain.
A new 10-passenger gondola will replace the Wizard and Solar chairlifts and ascend from the base to the top of Blackcomb Mountain, terminating adjacent to the existing PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, which transports guests to and from Blackcomb and Whistler. Upon completion, the new gondola will offer guests a more comfortable and weather-protected experience.
The new gondola is expected to represent a 47-percent capacity increase and move 4,000 people per hour, the highest capacity in North America, a Vail Resorts statement claims..
In addition to the new gondola, the capital plan also includes lift upgrades in Whistler Blackcomb’s Family Ski Zone, an upper-mountain area renowned for intermediate trails tailored to families. The Family Ski Zone’s Emerald Express four-passenger lift will be replaced with a new six-passenger high-speed lift, increasing guest uphill capacity by 29 percent and maximizing time on the snow for families on the mountain’s premier intermediate learning terrain.
Finally, the existing Catskinner triple-passenger lift will be replaced with a four-passenger, high-speed lift, which will increase uphill capacity by 56 percent and allow Whistler Blackcomb guests to enjoy faster, more convenient access to Blackcomb Mountain’s beginner and intermediate terrain.
“This transformative investment, will offer a dramatic improvement to the experience for all of our guests as they explore and enjoy the largest and most popular resort in North America. said Pete Sonntag, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Whistler Blackcomb, adding, “We intend to continue to pursue other base area and village improvements that were part of the Renaissance, but we believed it was critical to start at our core, on the mountain.”
