Whitewater’s newest lift, the Raven chair, will provide an additional 123 acres of accessible terrain when it opens in December.
The ski resort says construction on the brand-new quad lift is in full swing and on track to be fully operational just in time for the 2023/24 ski and snowboard season.
With the new lift, intermediate-to-expert level riders will have the opportunity to access 14 new groomed runs and additional deep, steep terrain for both tree and open run riding.
The expansion also brings increased vertical to the mountain and will run 163 meters higher than its parallel lift, the Silver King Chair.
Kirk Jensen, the vice president of development at Whitewater, explained that the expansion has been in the works since the Whitewater master plan was redeveloped in 2019.
Jensen said adding a new lift was a part of the original plan created in 2010, however in 2019 they amended the plan and changed the location and the name of the new chair.
“In the original masterplan there was a White Queen lift going up White Queen Mountain on the edge of our controlled recreational area, but that is no longer happening,” he said
“We updated our master plan in 2019, and so leading up to that review and addendum, we relocated the White Queen and basically realigned the current location for this Raven chair.”
The Raven base is on the parking lot side of the Skier Services building. It will take riders up the south side of the mountain, angling slightly north of Silver King chair alignment, extending to the top of Silver King ridge.
It’s a brand-new, Leitner Poma fixed grip quad lift, with all the parts manufactured at their factory in Grand Junction, Colorado. Jensen said it was about a $5 million investment but that the brand-new equipment will ease some of its operational requirements.
“This new chair is a bottom drive chair, which means the drive motor is at the base of the lift as opposed to the top. That makes it easier to start in the morning. We won’t have to use a snowmobile to get to the top to start it, we can just start it right at the base which is a huge advantage.”
The installation process started in June, and Jensen says so far, it’s been a smooth process, minus typical challenges due to weather. He says they are on track to have the Raven fully operational for the 2023/24 ski and snowboard season.
