The Park City Planning Commission got its first look at Park City Mountain’s new lift upgrade proposals Wednesday.
One application seeks to upgrade the Silverlode Express from a six-passenger detachable lift to an eight-passenger detachable lift. The other involves modernizing the 30-year-old Eagle and Eaglet chairlifts. They would be replaced with a six-passenger detachable chairlift and mid-mountain station.
Park City Mountain Director of Mountain Planning Zach Purdue said the lift upgrades are meant to replace aging infrastructure. The Eagle, Eaglet and Silverlode lifts were installed in 1993, 1995 and 1996 respectively.
“Lift technology and operational standards evolve, and these lift replacement cycles are an important part of maintaining a safe, efficient and reliable mountain transportation system,” Purdue said.
He said older lift technology and detachable lift systems would be replaced with modern systems and terminals. Silverlode and Eagle chairs would arrive at the top terminal in under 6 minutes. Eagle chairs would reach the mid-station in 2.5 minutes.
The new lifts would also provide a better loading and unloading experience, as well as increase lift capacity. The Eagle lift would go from moving 1,200 passengers per hour to 2,800, and Silverlode would increase capacity from 3,000 passengers per hour to 3,600.
Park City Mountain also included environmental reports for each lift proposal. As the new Eagle lift will feature a new alignment and Silverlode will widen slightly, Purdue said the projects involve clearing about 6 acres of vegetation.
“The vegetation removal for both projects will be mitigated at a one-to-one ratio through vegetation treatments on adjacent lands that reduce fuel loads as well as improve forest health and resilience,” he said.
Park City Mountain submitted a similar application to upgrade the two lifts via an administrative process in the 2021-2022 ski season. However, the plans were stalled after four locals contested approvals and the planning commission and the court agreed.
The new applications are largely the same; however, they are for conditional use permits, which involve a more robust process that includes several public hearings.
The main differences between the previous proposal and the new ones are the applications were submitted separately, there are no new base area redevelopments and the Silverlode proposal now includes a maintenance building next to the bottom terminal.
“It allows our lift maintenance teams to operate more efficiently and service carriers and equipment during the winter season, improving operational reliability,” Purdue said.
The main issue with the previous application involved the parking and traffic plan and how it relates to the resort’s carrying capacity. Planning Commission Chair Christin Vane Dine said this topic will be addressed during a future work session. Still, Commissioner John Frontero asked Park City Mountain to address the carrying capacity question.
That’s because the resort’s narrative for both lift applications says lift replacement will enhance mid-mountain circulation and reduce wait times without increasing resort capacity. However, the resort also stated capacity on each lift would increase.
“When you come back next time … have that included in your presentation,” he said. “I'm just trying to make sure that I understand fully that statement that's in your project narrative.”
Overall, the commission was satisfied with the plans so far.
Park City Municipal is a financial supporter of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
