PHOTOS: Powderhorn’s Wild West Express chairlift installation nears completion

“The new lift and improved access to Powderhorn’s west side is an amazing way to celebrate our 60^th anniversary season”

Atop the Grand Mesa at Powderhorn Mountain Resort, you might have seen construction workers and chairlift parts in the parking areas most of the summer.

All those pieces were there in order to build something new; a high-speed detachable quad named the Wild West Express.

Construction started in early summer 2026, with prep work and foundation digging have taken place first. More construction continued throughout the summer into the fall.

During the first week of October, construction crews flew chairlift towers via helicopter to the foundations, making more progress to complete installation of the new chairlift, with a target opening date sometime in December.

Powderhorn is celebrating its 60th anniversary this season, and for it the farthest west Colorado ski resort gets a brand new toy for skiers and riders to shush them quicker to the top.

“We’re proud to give this chairlift a new home at Powderhorn as the Wild West Express,” Powderhorn Assistant GM/Director of Marketing and Sales Ryan Robinson said. “We’ve been very impressed by the level of maintenance the Snowmass team put into it, and we’ve worked diligently with our partners at Leitner-Poma of America on an extensive refurbishment process. The new lift and improved access to Powderhorn’s west side is an amazing way to celebrate our 60^th anniversary season while serving our guests for many years to come.”

The new chairlift was repurposed from Aspen Snowmass’s former Elk Camp chair, and refurbished by Leitner-Poma of America.

The Wild West Express replaces the aging West End double chairlift, which had been operating since 1972. The West End lift was one of the longest fixed-grip chairs on the continent, according to Powderhorn Mountain Resort.

The overall length and elevation rise of the Wild West Express will remain the same at 7,000’ in length, and 1,650’ of elevation rise. But the design capacity will be approximately 1,800 people/hour, about a 75% increase over the old West End’s capacity.