Ski Santa Fe Unveils New High-Speed Quad Chairlift for 2024 Season

Michael Fulton22 Oct 2024

TL;DR

Ski Santa Fe has completed the load test on their new high-speed quad lift, Santa Fe Express, cutting lift times by more than half. The new lift is set to debut on opening day, November 28th, 2024, offering skiers and riders a faster, smoother experience.

Level Up Your Ski Day — Download SnowStash on the App Store

Ski Santa Fe Prepares for New High-Speed Quad Lift Launch

Ski Santa Fe has successfully completed the load test on its new high-speed quad chairlift, the Santa Fe Express, with help from Leitner-Poma of America. The ski resort is set to open its new lift on November 28th, 2024, pending their scheduled opening day.

The new Santa Fe Express replaces the Super Chief Quad, which has been operating since 1988. This upgrade is a major improvement, reducing the ride time from 10 minutes to just over 4 minutes. This means skiers and riders will spend less time on the lift and more time on the slopes, making their experience more efficient and enjoyable.

This new chairlift also helps manage crowds, easing congestion during busy days and creating smoother lift lines. The lift’s design also improves loading and unloading, making it easier for beginners and more accessible for all visitors.

Ski Santa Fe Lift Location — The location of the new express lift at the resort. Credit: Ski Santa Fe

To add to the excitement, Ski Santa Fe received a light snowfall just in time to celebrate the successful load test. It’s shaping up to be an exciting season!

“Feeling like winter this morning as our firsts winter storm of the season rolls through! Scheduled opening day is less than 6 weeks away… Who’s ready to ride?”

Ski Santa Fe Load Testing

About the author

Michael Fulton

Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.

50+ resorts visited15 years skiing

Keep reading

More from the SnowStash desk

View all news →

Arosa to Replace 40-Year-Old Hörnli Lifts With New Gondola and Chair

Arosa's Hörnli sector is getting its biggest overhaul in decades. The 1986 gondola and 1994 chairlift linking toward Lenzerheide are both being replaced, with capacity up, tower count down and a new base station lower on the hill. At roughly CHF 67 million, it is the largest single investment Arosa Bergbahnen has ever made - and the target opening has already slipped a year, to December 2028. Here is what is changing, and why the timeline moved.

20 Aug 2026

Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter

Sundance Mountain Resort's back mountain is finally getting a proper lift. The Electric Horseman Express opens for 2026-27, unlocking a new bowl next to Bishop's Bowl and three expert gladed chutes across roughly 105 fresh acres - on top of the Storyteller ridge run that debuted in preview form last season. It's Sundance's biggest expansion since 1985, and it turns a three-lift slog into a single six-minute ride to Bearclaw Summit.

19 Aug 2026

Levi and Ruka Confirm October 2 Opening on Farmed Summer Snow

Finland's Levi and Ruka open for the 2026-27 season on October 2, more than seven weeks before most of Europe sees a lift turn. Neither resort is waiting on autumn snowfall - both are skiing on snow buried since last spring, insulated through the Finnish summer and dug back out for opening day. It is not a shortcut. It is a decades-old system now spreading from the Arctic Circle to Idaho, Utah, Vermont and Colorado. Here is how snow farming actually works, and why it is catching on.

19 Aug 2026

Nassfeld Invests €13 Million in New 6-Seater Chairlift for 2026/27 Season

Nassfeld is putting €13 million into a new 6-seater chairlift, the Tressdorfer Almbahn, connecting Sonnleitn with the Tressdorfer Alm from December 2026. It replaces three ageing drag lifts and will run through summer too, from June 2027, moving up to 2,500 people an hour on the roughly three-minute ride. It's the latest step in Carinthia's largest ski resort building out a genuine year-round offering, following last year's Gartnerkofelbahn gondola.

17 Aug 2026

Stelvio Glacier Suspends Summer Skiing, Leaving Continental Europe Without a Lift-Served Slope

Italy's Stelvio Glacier has pulled the plug on summer skiing from August 15. It was the last lift-served ski option left standing in continental Europe, and now there's none. Operator SIFAS pointed to persistent heat, storms, and a snowpack that simply wasn't refreezing overnight anymore. The cable car keeps running. Whether skiing comes back later this summer depends on the weather turning - and right now, nobody's promising anything.

15 Aug 2026

Maverick Mountain's Only Chairlift Destroyed as Sand Creek Fire Tears Through Montana Ski Area

Firefighters saved every base building at Maverick Mountain, Montana, but the resort's sole chairlift didn't survive the Sand Creek Fire. Owners Erik and Kristi Borge say the lift is "most likely" out for the 2026/27 season after flames tore through the mountain on August 8. The wildfire has since grown past 27,700 acres with zero percent containment. It's a gutting result for the tiny, one-lift operation near Dillon - though the lodge, groomers and equipment all made it through untouched.

15 Aug 2026

Fairmont Niseko: New Luxury Resort Revives Stalled La Plume Site for Early 2028 Opening

Fairmont is bringing its second Japanese property to Niseko, and this one's got history. The 165-room resort will rise on the site of the stalled La Plume project, which collapsed into bankruptcy in 2025 before J-Will Partners bought the site for redevelopment. Set between Mount Yotei and Mount Annupuri, it's slated for an early 2028 opening - putting it in play for the 2027/28 season. Expect two restaurants, a spa, onsen bathing, and a kids' club, a short drive from Niseko Village and Hirafu.

12 Aug 2026

Saas-Fee Closes Its Glacier to Summer Skiing as Heat Wave Drags On

Saas-Fee is closing its glacier to summer skiing from Monday, August 10 - the second major Swiss resort to shut in under two weeks after Zermatt suspended operations on August 1. Persistent heat and warm nights that won't let the glacier refreeze are behind the call, per Saastal Bergbahnen. That leaves Italy's Stelvio as the only glacier ski area open in the Alps. Reopening could come as early as August 17, though nothing's confirmed - and racing teams are already looking south instead.

8 Aug 2026