Grand Targhee resort will replace Blackfoot chair
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It’s official: the much-loved Blackfoot lift at Grand Targhee is being replaced this summer.
The resort announced the change Tuesday.
“It’s definitely going to help make that skiing over in the Blackfoot area better,” said Ken Rider, Targhee’s head of sales and marketing, “and it’s going to make it more skiable for a lot more people.”
The resort will retire the current two-seater lift, which has been in operation for 42 years, and replace it with a Dopplemayr fixed-grip quad with foot rests. It was time, Rider said.
The Blackfoot lift, at the northern end of the resort, services several blue and black-diamond runs, including Floyd’s Fantasy and Raven Wood.
The current plan is to have all work completed by opening day for the winter season at the end of 2016. Crews are expected to begin work as early as this week. Rider said one company has approached the resort in the hope of buying the entire lift.
Resort officials said the new lift will decrease ride times by five minutes — from 12 minutes to seven — and increase uphill capacity by 800 passengers per hour.
Grand Targhee has recently made several capital improvements that Rider said many visitors might not have noticed: they replaced beds and pillows throughout the lodge, built a separate VIP locker room, and even added heating to the plaza area. He said it’s all part of a larger push to keep improving the guest experience and creating a long-term master plan for the resort.
“This is maybe the single largest step that we’ve taken recently,” he said. “It’s going to be able to put quite a few more people up the lift per hour.”
Several commenters on the Teton Valley News Facebook page were less than enthused about the looming replacement.
“Now it’s going to be tracked after two laps,” wrote Rory Nelson. “Awesome!”
“More people on that terrain does not make it better for this season pass holder,” wrote Tom Toxby. “Blackfoot area now tracked out by 10 am. Bummed.”
The construction will not affect summer lift service, as Blackfoot has traditionally been closed during the summer season.
This article was originally published at Teton Valley News. It is used here with permission.