Top 10 ski chairlifts in the western United States: Best of the rest part 2

August 26, 9:18 AMSkiing ExaminerEric Wagnon

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Click here for best of the rest part 1

For Views:

The Crystal Express lift at Diamond Peak Ski Resort in Incline
Village, Nev., offers spectacular views of Lake Tahoe. 
                             Photo: Diamond Peak Resort/Robyn Scarton

While people ski on crystallized water, they generally like to gaze at liquid water. Beachgoers have the ocean, but skiers have Lake Tahoe. Too deep to freeze, Lake Tahoe provides a stunning backdrop for the Crystal Express lift at Nevada's Diamond Peak Ski Resort, Homewood Mountain Resort and Heavenly are the other two prime Tahoe ski areas for lake views.

The Panoramic Express lift at Colorado's Winter Park Resort lives up to its name with views of the largely undeveloped Fraser Valley. Rising to an elevation of 12,060 feet, the Panoramic Express is the highest six-pack lift in North America.

For Trees:

Steamboat Ski Resort in Colorado is known for its tree skiing
and light powder.                   Photo: Steamboat/Larry Pierce

Shadows at Steamboat Ski Resort may be the most famous tree run in the United States. Skiers can stay in the Shadows of perfectly spaced aspens by lapping the Sundown Express lift.  Just skier's right of Shadows, Closet provides an evergreen tree alternative.

The Red Dog lift at Squaw Valley USA and Chair 22 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area are a pair of California cousins. Both have better-known brothers at their resorts, KT-22 and Chair 23, respectively (No. 1 and No. 2 on the Skiing Examiner Top 10 Chairlifts List). Both are excellent lifts on storm days when the upper reaches of the mountain are closed, a fairly common occurrence at both Squaw and Mammoth. Finally, both have excellent tree skiing.   

Best Theme:

A chairlift named Stella at Schweitzer Mountain Resort
brings a touch of Disneyland to Idaho. 
                                           Photo: Schweitzer Mountain Resort 

In a category of its own, Stella at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Idaho has its own fictional storyline for its lift line. Designed by former Disney Imagineer Geoff Puckett, the loading station for the six-pack is designed to look like a barn from the 1870s. 

According to the story, Phineas Schweitzer, an inventor and tinkerer, named his lift after his wife, Stella.  The couple has four kids, making a high-speed six-pack just the right capacity for the family.  

The barn features props and fanciful machinery that supposedly drives the lift. The lift ride takes five minutes-- incidentally about a third of the ride time for the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Biggest Turn:

The Snowflake lift at Breckenridge Resort in Colorado makes
a severe right turn.                                      Photo: Vail Resorts

The Snowflake double chairlift at Breckenridge Resort in Colorado is not remarkable for the couple of beginner runs it serves, but its unusual design merits a mention.

Appropriately enough, the Snowflake lift is rather “flaky” in its lack of a clear direction. About halfway through the lift ride, the lift line turns about 70 degrees to the right. The lift also has a midway loading point just before the turn.

Meant to provide access to Peak 8, the Snowflake lift stretches 5,322 feet, but climbs only 631 vertical feet. Breckenridge is also home of the highest lift in North America, the Imperial Express SuperChair.

For Late-season Skiing:

 The terrain served by the Little Cloud Lift at Utah's Snowbird
 Resort stays open generally into June.       Photo: Eric Wagnon

The Little Cloud Lift at Utah's Snowbird Resort stays open into June for most seasons. Looking down on Little Cottonwood Canyon, the lift climbs to an elevation of 10,830 feet. 

The elevation, favorable exposure and Snowbird average annual snowfall of 500 inches permits the long season.

Once Snowbird closes, die-hard skiers can head to Timberline, a ski area on Mount Hood in Oregon. The Magic Mile and Palmer lifts on the upper reaches of the mountain stay open through Labor Day weekend. 

The area at Mount Hood is frequently used by ski teams for summer training.

Top Non-chair Lifts:

The Silver Queen Gondola rises to the top of Aspen Mountain.
                                                          Photo: ASC/Hal Williams

Chairlifts are the most common mode of transportation at major ski resorts, but a few other varieties of lifts deserve recognition.

Aspen's base-to-summit Silver Queen Gondola makes the legendary Colorado resort seem bigger that its surprisingly small 673 skiable acres. The gondola travels 2.5 miles and more than 3,000 vertical feet.

The Jackson Hole Tram in Wyoming and the Snowbird Tram in Utah share a common purpose. Both provide base-to-summit access for very tall, steep mountains.

The Upper Panorama Gondola at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is the companion to Chair 23 (No. 2 on the Skiing Examiner Top 10 Chairlifts List). Both modes of transportation reach the excellent terrain on the top half of the California resort.

Gondolas and trams may cost millions to construct, but no lift can match the throwback cool factor of the Powder Country Shuttle at Powder Mountain, Utah. An old school bus picks up skiers along the resort's access road and takes them back to the top of the mountain.

Click here for Top 10 Chairlifts in the western United States