News
Big Sky Resort to unveil new Swift Current lift on opening day
Published
2 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersFastest six-rider chairlift in North America ‘big evolution’
in the ski industry
By Bella Butler EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – Amid Big Sky Resort’s era of capital innovation, new technology will shape visitors’ experience at the start of this winter season in the form of the fastest six-passenger chairlift in North America.
The highly anticipated Swift Current 6 chairlift is scheduled to carry skiers and riders up the mountain on opening day, Thanksgiving Day, for their first runs of the 2021-2022 season.
The lift, which replaces the old Swift Current, a detachable quad chair that served as one of the resort’s main base-area lifts since 1996, is perhaps the pinnacle of Big Sky Resort’s new projects.
“What Stephen [Kircher] is envisioning for this place and what’s already happened, it’s just a big evolution in the ski lift world,” said Eric Schwartz, lift maintenance director at Big Sky Resort. “…A lot of other ski areas and large ski conglomerates generally are always looking to get the cheapest possible ski lift they can. And here, we’ve decided for guests’ experience that we wanted to get the nicest ski lift available.”
And get it they did.
With a maximum speed of 6 meters per second, or 1,200 feet per minute, Swift Current 6 will join the fastest lifts in the country, marking a revolution for the ski lift industry as a whole.
Comparatively, the adjacent chairlift in the base area, Ramcharger 8, which was unveiled at the start of the 2018 winter season, travels at 5 mps, and the old Swifty operated at 4 mps.
“It’s going to feel noticeably different,” Schwartz said, adding that the ride on Swift Current 6 will be approximately four minutes faster than on the old lift.
“I always rode Swifty, but kind of just to get from point A to point B because it was such a long, cold ride,” Schwartz said. “Now, it’ll be a quick, warm ride, and I might be lapping Swifty more.”
As visitation increases at Big Sky Resort each year, the new Swift Current 6 lift will help alleviate bottlenecks in the base area, consistently moving 3,000 skiers uphill an hour, according to Stacie Mesuda, the resort’s public relations manager.
Ramcharger 8 is the continent’s first eight-pack chair and along with Swift Current 6, the two primary base lifts will move 6,600 people uphill from the base an hour.
Another new feature of Swift Current 6 is its 90-degree, contoured unload area. The new offload will spit riders out north in the direction of Jay Walk, eliminating scramble time at the top of the lift.
“I think it’s going to be a whole new world up there,” Schwartz said.
In addition to its speed, Swift Current 6 boasts a number of other amenities that are coming to define the new age of large-resort skiing: wide, heated seats, an automatically unlocking bar, head and footrests, and a weatherproof bubble.
Schwartz, who can rattle off the mechanical wonders of the Doppelmayr lift off the top of his head, is also excited about the direct drive motor, a low-vibration, low-noise gearless motor that will increase the lift’s efficiency, a feature that complement’s the resort’s Forever Project, a mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
The back of each chair is adorned with wildlife photos by local photographers Charles Post, Patty Bauchman and Dale Evans. Mesuda said educational messaging about the Forever Project will overlay the photos.
Big Sky Resort also added 5 additional miles of snowmaking this year, stretching from the top of Swift Current 6 to the base area to broaden skiable acreage in the early season.
Swift Current 6 is scheduled to debut on Thanksgiving, Big Sky Resort’s opening day, and riders can celebrate with a special Swifty 6 brew made by MAP Brewing Company. Local DJs Jen Steele and Chance Lenay will kick off opening day with music starting at 8 a.m., and Big Sky Resort will be giving away Swift Current 6 swag.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716