Peruvian Express Details

In the summer of 2006 Snowbird’s original Peruvian lift was taken out and replaced with a new high-speed quad. While the base remains near the original base shack, the top station is located 350 feet below Gorilla Pass, a 2,408-vertical-foot rise.

This 8,000-linear-foot lift transports 1,800 people per hour, providing an eight-minute ride. Should wind conditions prevent Tram operation, this lift allows for continued skier access to Peruvian Gulch and Mineral Basin. At the top of the lift, a nearly 600-foot tunnel with a conveyor lift provides access to Mineral Basin. This lift makes Snowbird’s intermediate terrain more accessible to skiers and snowboarders

CHAIRLIFT FACTS

• Manufacturer: CTEC-Doppelmayer
• Cost: $5.6 million
• 8000 linear feet
• 2408 vertical feet
• 1800 riders per hour
• 8 minute ride
• 29 lift towers
• 90 degree bottom- and top-load
• Powered by a top vault drive
• 6000-square-foot flat base area

Peruvian Tunnel Details

The first of its kind in North America, Snowbird’s new nearly 600-foot tunnel houses a conveyor lift that will transport skiers and riders from Peruvian Gulch into Mineral Basin. Located at the top of the new Peruvian Express high-speed quad, the 12-foot high, 10-foot wide tunnel provides a four-minute ride to intermediate terrain in Mineral Basin. The new tunnel and lift makes intermediate terrain more accessible to skiers and riders by eliminating many switchbacks and the steepest pitch of Chip’s Run. It also provides an efficient way to reach Hidden Peak without the use of the Tram.

TUNNEL FACTS

• Final approval granted August 10, 2005
• Work began August 17, 2005
• Mining contractor: Small Mine Development, LLC
• Cost: Approximately $1.4 Million
• Dimensions: Approximately 600 feet long, 12 feet high and 10 feet wide
• 570-foot conveyor lift
• 1800 riders per hour
• Max speed of 160 feet/minute
• 7 percent grade
• One-way access into Mineral Basin
• 325 feet below Gorilla Pass
• ADA compliant

Why do it this way?

Many people have asked why Snowbird chose to construct a chair and tunnel rather than a chair that reached the top of the ridge. Here are the answers.

• We minimize visual impact by avoiding a ridgetop lift terminal.
• The tunnel significantly reduces the size and number of required retaining walls.
• No ridgetop grading.
• A lift that is not impacted by ridgetop winds can operate more often.
• Provides easier access to intermediate terrain by eliminating many switchbacks and the steepest pitch of Chip’s Run.

Construction Blog

December 12 – A new era in Little Cottonwood Canyon began today when Snowbird Chairman Dick Bass and President Bob Bonar shattered a bottle of champagne on the new Peruvian Express high-speed quad chairlift.

Riding the new chairlift, the duo moved up the mountain where they cut the ribbon on the 600-foot tunnel connecting Peruvian Gulch and Mineral Basin.

December 8 – The Grand Opening of the Peruvian chair and Tunnel is scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday, December 12! Come on up and be part of history!

November 30 – We’re down to the final stages of construction now and Snowbird plans to open the Peruvian Express chairlift and Tunnel in the near future. Stay tuned for more information.

November 17 – We walked out to a glorius sight today… Peruvian Express had chairs hanging from the haul rope and it was RUNNING! There is still some more testing to be done and we need a few good snow storms before the chair can open but we are definitely in the home stretch now!

November 13 – The process of hanging chairs has begun! All the recent snowfall has slowed things down a little but it looks like we will be ready to load test the new lift next week.

November 6
Chairlift: The Haul Rope has been spliced and is fully installed on the towers. The lift is currently being tested and then the crews will begin hanging chairs.
Tunnel: The Tunnel got a whole lot brighter last week with the installation of a large number of high-wattage, metal halide lights. The conveyor lift is in and ready for installation of the belt to carry people through to Mineral Basin.

October 30 – The Haul Rope went on the towers today and crews will begin splicing the ends on Thursday. Once the Haul Rope is spliced and tested then it’s time for some chairs!

October 13 – The Snowbird crews have been CRANKING and final construction is progressing very quickly. The September snows set us back a little bit but the Top Terminal of the chairlift is now complete. The Haul Rope will be installed soon and then the chairs go on! The tunnel entrances have received their doors and the tunnel floor is now complete. The conveyor lift will be driven up this weekend.

October 3 – A lot of concrete work has been done in the past few weeks. The tunnel entrances are now framed with concrete and the tunnel floor has received the first of many pours. Scroll down this page for more conveyor lift information and tunnel facts.

September 12 – The new lift towers are IN!!!! Snowbird crews beat all expectations and installed 26 towers in a SINGLE day. The remaining 3 towers will be installed in the next few days using a crane. Stay tuned for more photos coming soon…

September 11 – We started installing the lift towers today. A total of 29 towers will be installed this week using a twin rotor, Kaman KMAX helicopter. The top towers were installed first and you can see them in the photo on the left.

September 1 – Today the main drives and gearbox for the began the trip from the Snowbird base to their new home at the top of Peruvian Gulch. The drive/gearbox combination weighs over 35,000 lbs and is rated at 1200 horsepower.

August 17 – Helicopters have been flying loads of concrete up the mountain to pour the footings for the lift towers. We’re going to let the concrete cure for a few weeks and then fly in the lift towers.

August 16 – We opened the Mineral Basin end of the new Peruvian Tunnel today. It was a pretty momentous event and there was a lot of local media on hand to document it. Utah residents may have seen the tunnel opening on local TV but for those of you who missed it check out the link on the left for a Quicktime or Windows movie.

August 14 – Oktoberfest is starting in a few weeks so be sure to check out the base area of the new Peruvian high-speed quad while you’re up here. A large area around the lift has been lowered over 20 feet and the effect is quite stunning when you see it from the end of the skiers bridge. Don’t forget to take a Tram ride so you can scope the path of the new lift and check out the tunnel and top terminal construction on upper Chip’s Run.