Just weeks after their long 09-10 ski season ended in late May, Sunshine Mountain at Banff is starting work on installing a high-speed quad chairlift, bought second hand from Whistler where it was in use for the Olympic Games. The Alberta resort’s ‘Strawberry quad’ will be in action for next winter 2010-11.

The Doppelmayr built quad lift – part of more than $60 million in upgrades undertaken in recent years at the resort is replacing the aging Strawberry fixed-grip triple chair. The high-speed quad is the ninth high-speed lift at the resort.

The top assembly of the new lift is already in place – transported over snow, so that the installation has no impact on the fragile vegetation. Over the summer, new towers will be airlifted into place once foundation work is complete, and the rest of the lift assembled and tested.

The new lift, used at Whistler Blackcomb resort for the 2010 Games, has a rated capacity of 1,800 guests per hour, using a total of 45 chairs. The Strawberry lift has a design capacity of 2,100 riders per hour, but has been running at a rate of 1,520.

The 35-year-old, three-passenger Strawberry lift has reached the end of its service life. The company that made it, Hall Ski Lift Co., is no long in business, creating maintenance challenges. The fate of the old lift is undetermined. It will either be sold as a complete unit to another ski resort, or for parts.

When Sunshine opens once again on November 11 (weather permitting), skiers will not only find the new lift, but also major renovations to the Creekside restaurant building at the gondola base. The restaurant, retail area, snack bar and skier services areas are all being completely redone, to improve customer convenience.

www.skibanff.com