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Holiday Valley to Build Yodeler High Speed Quad in 2021

Holiday Valley Resort announced last November plans to construct a new chairlift in 2021. The new lift is a state of the art high speed detachable quad chairlift that will replace the fixed grip Yodeler Quad that was built in 2001. The new lift has been purchased from Doppelmayr USA, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Including installation, the cost of the new Yodeler High Speed Quad is $4 million.

Many beginner skiers and snowboarders ride the Yodeler lift to return to the base area from the beginner slopes at Tannenbaum and Spruce. The chairs of the new lift will travel uphill at a much faster rate, but they detach from the cable and go slower for loading and unloading, making it much easier for skiers to get on and off the lift. Holiday Valley currently has 3 other detachable chairlifts; Mardi Gras, Tannenbaum and Morning Star.

The existing lift will be in service for the rest of the 2020-2021 winter season, but preliminary site work has already begun. The Holiday Valley Mountain Crew has cleared the alignment of the new lift and a profile is being conducted to calculate the placement and height of the towers in relation to the grade of the slope and engineering of the top and bottom terminals. The Holiday Valley Mountain Crew will handle the lift construction during the summer of 2021 and it will be operating for the 2021-22 winter season. Holiday Valley is one of the few ski areas in the country that installs their own chairlifts, giving them first-hand knowledge of the mechanical aspects of the lift as well as the intricate electrical work and computer operations.

The new lift will have a slightly modified alignment with the top of the lift moving west. This change will allow a lower tower height at the unloading area and make it easier for skiers and snowboarders to navigate to the various slopes at the top. The new unloading area will actually be located where the Mountaintop Warming Hut is now, and that building will be moved east toward Yodeler slope. The slopes of Ego Alley, Ego Glades and Champagne will be slightly altered to make room for the lift towers and terminal, but will all be skiable for the 21-22 season.

According to Dennis Eshbaugh, Holiday Valley's President and General Manager, "We are excited that the success of the 2021-22 season allows us to build this new lift. It gives our customers a great improvement to look forward to and will sustain our award winning lift system."

Source : Holiday Valley Resort