by Pete ‘The Frog’ Taylor

I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of the current build site of the brand new state of the art 6 seater chairlift on Mt.Perisher. Once completed this will be the highest lifted point in Australia at 2042m (5m higher than the current Karels lift at Thredbo). I’m assured this was not the reason for the new lift, as it was in the original pre 2000 Perisher Master Plan for a new lift on Mt Perisher.

The shear magnitude of this build cannot be understated, it’s been in planning for years and once all relevant documents were lodged it took another 2 years for approval to be given to begin. Being well within the Kosciouszko National Park, as expected there have been many environmental issues to deal with, and the resort along with their build partner Doppelmayer (based in Jindabyne), have met every concern. It’s been a build project over two off seasons, and last Summer we saw the old double chair removed and the chairs auctioned off raising well over $300,000 for local community organisations and charities. The new chair is expected to be ready sometime in April.

Currently the top station is already well and truly looking like it’s not far off completion and the bottom station footprint is well underway. The view from the top is truly magnificant and as well as looking across the entire Perisher Valley, you can now see the top of the Ridge Chair at Blue Cow and the Freedom Chair at Guthega. The top tower of the Eyre T-bar has been moved a little further up the hill to allow easier access both above and below the lift when alighting the new chair. Being higher you can now easily access the Mt.Perisher T-bars which many probably don’t even realise are there, with them being tucked around the corner along the resort boundary. Much more terrain will now be accessible as a result.

The lift will be much faster with better wind performance. The chair can be slowed in stronger wind conditions and operate in stronger winds than were previously possible, which should result in less time lost due to wind hold. The state of the art Doppelmayer chair has a wider rope guage and can monitor any movement to the mm any movement and improve user safety. A trip to the top will take 5.6-minute, which is much faster than the previous 10minute ride and a 60% increase in chairlift capacity on Mt Perisher and a 22% increase in overall lifted capacity in the Mt Perisher precinct . The chairs will have comfortable padded seating and foot rests, will be detachable so can be automatically stored overnight at the bottom station so we won’t see ice on the chairs after overnight snow. Another plus is that the lift is planned to open from 8:30am during peak times. There will also be alternative access tracks from the bottom of the Mt Perisher Triple to the Leichhardt Chair. The removal of the double and triple chair towers and the new lift only need 6 external towers will mean there will be skiable area on the Towers run.

Food and beverage will be improved at the bottom of Mt Perisher. Currently the Powder Inn Restaurant serves food and drinks, but is not so easy to access, due to it’s small size. A temporary outside kiosk will be added for this coming season. The now vacant concrete slab where the double chair loaded will now be an outdoor seating area with chairs and tables as well as ski racks. You will now be able to grab a coffee, go to the toilet and easily slide back into the lift line without even needing to head inside. For those wondering why there isn’t any new restaurant or amenity built, that’s not off the cards for the future. Visitor numbers will be closely monitored and we may see additions if there is a genuine need.

All we need now is to find a name for the new Chairlift and will Perisher try to match or out-do Thredbo’s current bell which is probably the most instagramable spot in the mountains. Got any ideas?

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