A Black Hawk helicopter ran back and forth across Park City Mountain July 3 with heavy payloads in tow.
There will be 24 towers supporting the 6,500-foot-long Sunrise Gondola. And all of them need to be hoisted high in the air to be placed in concrete foundations.
Park City Mountain Vice President of Mountain Operations Mike Lewis says that’s how most lifts are installed: the helicopter drops in the tower, then the cross arm and grooved wheels that the lift cables run on.
The Sunrise lift replacement is the resort's first new lift or major lift upgrade since 2019, when it added Over and Out to help move skiers out of the Tombstone area at the end of the day.
Sunrise formerly did not reach mid-mountain. The two-seater allowed hotel guests on the southern side of the Canyons Village base to ski over to the Red Pine Gondola and Orange Bubble Express at the beginning of the day.
The new 10-person gondola will drop off at the Red Pine Lodge and is on track to open for the 2025-2026 winter season.
The resort’s hope is to relieve pressure on the RPG and Orange Bubble, which are prone to wind holds in bad weather. The Sunrise Gondola’s cabins won’t be as high in the air, and the mountain’s geography will shield them from northerly winds.
The gully on the south side of the lodge has been filled in to make way for the upper terminal, which hasn’t been installed yet. Some of the ski school infrastructure that was there will be shifted around to the east side.
The gondola’s budget has been estimated at $27 million, with the Canyons Village Management Association contributing $9 million and the resort covering the rest.
Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise Foundation is a financial supporter of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
