TL;DR
Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah has begun construction on the Electric Horseman Express, a detachable high-speed quad chairlift with a vertical rise of 1,850 feet and a six-minute ride time. The lift forms the centrepiece of a terrain expansion adding 105 skiable acres and 6 new trails for the 2026-27 season. Construction is currently in the staging phase at the Mountain Camp base area.
Sundance Mountain Resort has broken ground on the Electric Horseman Express, a high-speed quad chairlift that will open access to 105 new skiable acres for the 2026-27 season.
Construction is currently in the staging phase at the Mountain Camp base area, with parts being assembled ahead of the main build. More detailed construction updates are expected in the weeks ahead.
A resort in the middle of a long rebuild
Sundance has moved quickly since its 2020 sale from Robert Redford to Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners. The past five years have brought a first high-speed chairlift, a connector lift between the two mountains, the Wildwood terrain expansion, an outdoor spa, the Inn at Sundance, a new base lodge at Mountain Camp, and a significant trail network expansion for hiking and biking.
Last offseason continued that run with 9 new trails adding 60 acres of skiable terrain. The standout addition was Storyteller, a ridge run on the back mountain. The Electric Horseman project builds directly on that momentum.
What the Electric Horseman adds
The lift takes its name from the 1979 Robert Redford film - a nod to the resort's origins that carries through even under new ownership. It's a detachable high-speed quad, starting near the Sidewinder trail and running to the summit near the top of Red's lift. The vertical rise is 1,850 feet with a ride time of around six minutes.
For the back mountain, the practical effect is significant. Rather than piecing together multiple lift rides to access the expanded terrain, skiers and riders will be able to lap the entire area in a single run. The 2026-27 season will add 6 new trails and 105 acres to the skiable footprint alongside the lift's debut.
"The addition of the Electric Horseman Express will transform how our guests experience the back mountain, allowing skiers and riders to lap all of the new and existing terrain in a single high-speed lift ride," said Czar Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of Sundance Mountain Resort. "The expanded acreage gives locals even more reason to choose Sundance Resort for their season pass, and provides our traveling guests enough variety to make our new Inn at Sundance their home base for exploration."
What it means for the resort
Sundance has historically been considered a day resort for Salt Lake City locals rather than a destination in its own right. The combination of the Inn at Sundance, back-to-back terrain expansions, and a lift system that can now support efficient lapping of the full mountain changes that calculus somewhat. At what point the overall offering tips into genuine destination territory remains to be seen, but the trajectory is clear.
The Electric Horseman Express is scheduled to open for the 2026-27 ski season.
About the author
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
