STATELINE, Nev. — A new, upgraded chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort that officials say will increase uphill capacity and reduce wait times at other lifts opened on Monday.

North Bowl Express, a new high-speed detachable 4-person chair that replaced a fixed-grip 3-person chair, is expected to improve uphill capacity by more than 40% and reduce wait times at the Stagecoach and Olympic lifts. The lift will also provide better access to some less used terrain at the resort. 

The project took a little over a year from approval to loading the public on it Monday. 

“To have this lift turning for the public today, in just over a year is quite a feat,” said Tom Fortune, VP and COO of Heavenly and the Tahoe Region. “We would not be here today if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication of all of the contractors who worked on this lift, and most importantly the Heavenly crew; the lift maintenance crew, the mountain ops crew, and every other team member that made this project happen. We are so thankful for all of the skiers and riders that joined us for the opening today, and we’re beyond excited for all of our other guests to experience this for the first time. It is a game changer for our mountain.”

The grand opening of the lift featured a short ceremony including a ribbon cutting and banner break. 

The lift upgrade was part of Vail Resorts’ $320 million capital investment plan for 2022.

The old chairlifts, 97 of them, were auctioned off and raised $162,000, of which $50,000 was donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe and another $50,000 was put towards constructing a new community park in the Ski run area. The balance of funds were put towards Vail’s EpicPromise foundation.