Chairlift ‘Smooth’ After Refitting

Sun Valley Co. has finished rebuilding one of its detachable-quad chairlifts and has six to go.

Natural snow will likely be available at Sun Valley and elsewhere. It has already hit the highest elevations - two weeks earlier than usual.

About 2,000 locals were able to try out the River Run Express by skiing Sunday. Sun Valley has the most extensive snowmaking system in the world.

“It was a smooth, quiet ride,” said Katherine Pleasants, one skier who tried the new lift.

Sun Valley Co. is rebuilding all of its detachable quads for safety reasons.

The $10 million to $12 million project started this spring after design flaws in the Yan lifts resulted in a fatal accident at the Whistler, British Columbia, ski resort.

Sun Valley Co. opted to retrofit all of its Yans with Dopplemayr lifts, the world’s premier designer.

“We wanted to allay the rumor mill,” said Jack Sibbach, Sun Valley Co. spokesman. “We’ve been getting calls from people who’ve heard we’re not going to have any lifts running this year. That’s not the case. Everything is on schedule.”

Sun Valley Co. plans to have four quad lifts open by its Thanksgiving holiday opening set Nov. 27. The remaining three lifts will open before Christmas.