Whistler (BC), Canada – Whistler Blackcomb is preparing for the 2013-14 ski season with the resort’s first major capital expansion project since the installation of the B.C. ski resort’s Peak 2 Peak Gondola in 2008.
Whistler Blackcomb will be introducing two new chairlifts for the upcoming ski season – the new Harmony 6 Express high-speed six pack on Whistler Mountain and the new Crystal Ridge Express high-speed quad on Blackcomb Mountain. Off-season investments at Whistler Blackcomb this summer have totaled C$18 million.
“At Whistler Blackcomb we are committed to progression and are always looking for new ways to ensure our guests are having the best possible experiences on our mountains,” says Dave Brownlie, President and Chief Executive Officer, Whistler Blackcomb. “We are extremely excited to introduce the new Harmony 6 Express and the new Crystal Ridge Express this winter. These new lifts will better service two much loved areas of our resort and will solidify why Whistler Blackcomb is consistently rated the number one ski resort in North America.”
In January, Whistler Blackcomb announced the existing Harmony high-speed, quad chairlift on Whistler Mountain would be replaced with a new Doppelmayr high-speed detachable six-pack chairlift for this ski season. The new Harmony 6 high-speed chairlift will be capable of transporting six people on each chair and will increase the uphill skier capacity by 50 percent, going from 2,400 skiers per hour to 3,600. The Harmony 6 chair will keep the same alignment as the previous Harmony lift and will continue to service terrain spanning from the edge of the Symphony Amphitheatre all the way over to Glacier Bowl, adjacent to the Peak Express. This area, known as the Harmony Zone, makes up over 485 hectares (1,200 acres) of Whistler Blackcomb’s 3,306 hectares (8,171 acres) of total terrain.
The new Crystal Ridge Express, also announced in January, will provide a dramatic transformation to the skiing and riding experience on Blackcomb Mountain. The new Crystal Ridge Express high-speed quad chairlift in the Crystal Zone will continue to deliver skiers and riders to an elevation of1,827 meters (5,994 feet) next to the Crystal Hut; however, the aspect of the new lift line is dramatically different, and will originate 158 meters (518 feet) lower than the previous Crystal triple chair. The new bottom terminal location along the Blackcomb Glacier Road ski-out eliminates the need to utilize the Excelerator Chair to access many Crystal Zone trails including Ridge Runner, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and gladed trails like Outer Limits. This new lift alignment will also allow guests to return to the Glacier Express chair more quickkly in order to access Horstman Glacier, Blackcomb Glacier and Spanky’s Ladder.
The new Crystal Ridge Express will be 1,708 meters (5,604 feet) in length, with a vertical rise of 535 meters (1,755 feet) and will increase skier carrying capacity from 1,800 skiers per hour to 2,400.
In conjunction with the construction of the new Crystal Ridge Express chair on Blackcomb Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb has also invested C$3 million into a comprehensive snowmaking upgrade in the Crystal Zone. The Crystal Zone is an extremely popular area on Blackcomb, but up to now there has been no snowmaking at all in the Crystal Zone. The improved snowmaking infrastructure in this area will ensure guests are able to ski the new Crystal Ridge Express lift top to bottom as soon as the new lift opens this winter. It will also add reliability to mid-mountain terrain when the alpine does not open due to avalanche risk or stormy weather.