Sun Valley, ID, Begins Demolition of Seattle Ridge Lift

The demolition of Sun Valley’s Seattle Ridge chairlift is well underway.

Last week, the Idaho resort shared footage of construction machinery tearing apart the lift’s upper terminal, making way for a new, six-person detachable replacement set for installation this summer.

Constructed in 1996, Seattle Ridge’s previous iteration was a four-person detachable lift.

“Both the top & bottom terminals, along with all lift towers and chairs, have been or are in the process of being removed,” Sun Valley wrote on social media.

The upgraded Seattle Ridge lift debuts next December, increasing uphill skier capacity by 20%. It will continue to service a beginner and intermediate terrain network Sun Valley General Manager Pete Sonntag calls “beloved,” as well as the recently expanded Sunrise area.

It's important to note that Sun Valley's definition of a 'Green Circle' on Bald Mountain is anything but ordinary. Don't sleep on Seattle Ridge's groomers. They're steep, fast, and fun.

Over the past two years, Sun Valley has furiously updated its lift infrastructure. This winter, it unveiled the new and improved Flying Squirrel and Challenger lifts, which serve skiers departing from the Warm Springs base area. The upgraded Challenger was the first Doppelmayr D-Line lift with a mid-station in North America.

Even more upgrades may be on the way. Documents on the United States Forest Service website indicate Sun Valley also plans to replace the 36-year-old Christmas lift with a six-person hybrid chairlift and gondola—called a “chondola” in the documentation. Sun Valley hasn’t officially announced this project.

Related: Snow Science Storytellers: How Avalanche Forecasters Communicate Risk

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