Sun Valley has secured federal approval to replace the Lookout Express and Christmas chairlifts on Bald Mountain, with construction beginning April 2026. The Lookout Express quad will become a six-pack, while Christmas remains a quad. Both upgrades aim to increase uphill capacity and reduce ride times on the Idaho resort's primary mountain.
Sun Valley secures approval for two lift replacements on Bald Mountain
Sun Valley has received approval from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to replace two chairlifts on Bald Mountain, with construction slated to begin in April 2026. The Lookout Express will be upgraded from a detachable quad to a six-pack, while the Christmas lift will be replaced with a new detachable quad. Both lifts are critical access routes on Bald Mountain, and the ageing infrastructure needed replacing - a straightforward operational decision dressed up as a major announcement by resort management.
Sun Valley Christmas Express. Credit: SkiResortInfo
Lookout Express becomes a six-pack
The existing Lookout Express detachable quad will be replaced with a Doppelmayr UNIG 6CLD six-pack. The new lift will cover 2,673 vertical feet across 21 towers, with ride times dropping to approximately 8.5 minutes at speeds up to 1,000 feet per minute. Sun Valley claims this follows the same model used for their Seattle Ridge upgrade completed in 2024, suggesting they're sticking with a proven configuration rather than experimenting.The capacity increase should be meaningful - six-packs move considerably more people than quads when you're running at full speed. Whether that translates to shorter queues or just enables the resort to sell more lift tickets remains to be seen.
The Christmas lift replacement takes a more conservative approach, swapping the existing detachable quad for a new Doppelmayr UNIG 4CLD detachable quad. This lift handles mid-mountain circulation rather than summit access, covering 1,354 vertical feet across 14 towers with a ride time of approximately 4.5 minutes.
The decision to keep this as a quad rather than upgrade to a six-pack suggests either the terrain it serves doesn't warrant the additional capacity, or the budget ran out. The resort describes it as the same model as their Flying Squirrel upgrade from 2023.
Summer access impacts
Construction will affect biking and hiking access on the River Run side of Bald Mountain throughout summer 2026, though the resort plans to keep the mountain operational. They're being deliberately vague about specifics, directing people to sign up for email updates and check their operations page in spring.
A new Connector Trail project, linking with the City of Ketchum's connection of River Run to Warm Springs via Bald Mountain Trail, has also been approved for construction this spring. This will create additional access disruptions, with details promised "in the coming weeks" - the standard resort playbook of announcing projects before working out the inconvenient details.
COO claims most efficient lift system in the country
Pete Sonntag, Sun Valley's COO, stated that "Sun Valley has the most efficient lift system in the country, and these upgrades will ensure that continues for many years to come." That's a bold claim that's difficult to verify without defining what "efficient" means - fastest uphill transport? Best capacity to terrain ratio? Lowest wait times? Most reliable mechanical performance?
Sun Valley does have a strong lift infrastructure after years of steady upgrades, and they've been methodically working through their older chairlifts with Doppelmayr replacements. Whether that makes them objectively the most efficient operation in America is another question entirely.
The trail map at Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho.
These are sensible infrastructure upgrades at a resort that's been systematically modernising its lift network. The Lookout Express upgrade to a six-pack addresses what is presumably a bottleneck for summit access, while replacing the Christmas lift maintains current capacity with newer, more reliable equipment.
The timing - starting construction in April 2026 for what will likely be a summer-long project - suggests Sun Valley is aiming to have both lifts operational for the 2026-27 season. That's an aggressive timeline that will depend on weather, supply chain reliability, and whether any complications emerge during construction.
For skiers considering Sun Valley, these upgrades won't dramatically change the on-mountain experience, but they should improve reliability and reduce the likelihood of lift closures due to mechanical issues. The resort's claim about having the most efficient lift system in America aside, they do appear to be investing consistently in their infrastructure rather than letting it deteriorate - which is more than can be said for some North American operations.
The real test will be whether the increased uphill capacity on Lookout Express leads to better mountain flow or whether Sun Valley simply sells more lift tickets to fill the additional capacity. Based on how North American resorts have operated in recent years, I'd lean towards the latter.
