New Quad Chairlift Construction Complete

The ski area at Manning Park Resort has been a flurry of construction all summer. The installation of the brand-new quadruple chairlift is now complete, and a brand-new Guest Services building is also close to being completed. The mountain is looking forward to welcoming guests for the coming winter season.

Construction of the Doppelmayr four-person chairlift started immediately following the retirement of the long-standing Orange Chair in April. The new quad chairlift follows the same profile of the iconic Orange Chair but with a lower bottom station. This allows for loading closer to the base area and puts up to four riders on the chair essentially doubling the capacity for riders.

Owner, Kevin Demers, takes a seat on the new chair with a big smile to see it all come together, “I am, of course, very excited that the new quad chair is totally finished. We are ready for snow!”

A contest is running to name the new quad chairlift, with submissions being accepted via the Manning Park Resort website until September 25th. “We will choose our favourite three names to then be voted on by the public,” says Demers. “Whomever submits the winning name suggestion wins a winter season pass, and the chance to ride the first chair when the ski area opens in December.”

Progress also continues for the new Alpine Guest Services building on the mountain which will house the Ticket Office, Rental Shop, Snow School and new washrooms all in one building.

Much of the exterior wood for the construction of the Alpine Guest Services building came from reclaiming fallen trees from the chairlift project and base area construction. The wood was milled onsite and then used for siding the building. With this new facility it has allowed for the movement of several other smaller buildings to more strategic locations, which will create more guest parking.

Local contractor, Barclay Fletcher, is constructing the Guest Services building this fall along with an additional eight new premium cabins that will open before this coming winter. “I am very excited to see the totally new look of the ski area and with the new premium cabins expected to be completed by Christmas,” Demers says, “we’re looking forward to a great winter.”

Manning Park Resort’s anticipated opening day for the ski area is December 7th.

For more details on year-round accommodations or the New Quad Chair Name Contest, visit manningpark.com. Name nominations are being accepted until September 25th and voting for the top three names will run from September 30th-October 30th, until the end of the Early Bird season pass rate.

Manning Park Resort is a four-season destination with full Resort amenities including a variety of accommodations, restaurant, pub, swimming pool, fitness centre, group facilities and exceptional outdoor recreation. There has been downhill skiing at Manning since the 1950s, along with cross-country skiing, tubing, snowshoeing and outdoor skating. The Resort is nestled in beautiful EC Manning Provincial Park, 45 minutes east of Hope on Highway #3.

Manning Park Resort New Quad Name Contest: https://manningpark.com/new-quad-chairlift-name-contest/

Brand New Quad Chairlift – Coming next Winter 2019/20!

Coming next winter, a brand-new quadruple chairlift will be installed at Manning Park Resort ski hill to replace the existing Orange Chair.

At a large gathering on Sunday morning, General Manager, Vern Schram, made this major announcement at the ski hill location where the new lift will be installed. Schram stated that “work will commence at the end of the current winter season and the new Doppelmayr four-person chairlift will be ready to take skiers and snowboarders up the mountain at the beginning of Winter 2019/20.”

Schram’s enthusiasm was evident as he talked about the work that is in progress for the mountain already this winter, as well as referencing the many improvements in the past five years at Manning Park Resort, which include the addition of the Alpine Room for weddings and group functions, the completion of five new premium cabins, new pavement around the Resort and other significant infrastructure upgrades.

The new quad chairlift represents the largest investment since owners, Kevin and Donna Demers, purchased the company in 2013. The new chairlift will replace the iconic Orange Chair, which has been in place since 1970.

In attendance for the announcement were representatives of local user groups, season passholders, staff and local residents, who were thrilled to learn the news. Many had no idea of the plans for the chairlift. The mayor of Princeton, Spencer Coyne, was also in attendance to hear about it firsthand.

“We are looking forward to a great year at the ski hill to celebrate the Orange’s last year,” says ski area manager, Andy Boulé. “We can’t wait to show you the areas on the mountain where we have completed brush cutting, entrance widening and run reclaiming this year, as well as showcase our new Rockstar sponsored terrain park.”

The ski hill is tentatively scheduled to open weekends from December 1st, then seven days a week from December 14th onwards. Some more snowfall is required before the opening dates are confirmed, although snowshoe trails are now available.

 

See some of the announcement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GnNAFG8wEg