Vail Mountain Resort has plans to keep growing in 2024, when it will add much needed attention to its aging chairlift system (a top priority), expand mountain terrain and build new facilities or update older facilities, with the first hurdle cleared earlier this year.

As the largest ski resort in Colorado and fourth largest in North America, Vail Mountain’s collaboration with the SE Group and the National Forest Service has seen its work on the resort’s 2024 Master Plan accepted.

The NFS accepted the plan in January and Vail Resorts released its 156-page Master Plan in February, a ‘wish list’ of new amenities and upgrades it wants to add.

To be fair, Vail Mountain needs some new or upgraded equipment indeed, and could ease skiers’ and riders’ minds about slow lifts and 30-40-year-old facilities.

But one big question looming on a lot of Vail visitors’ minds is will the wish list, if fully implemented, ease base-area and back bowl traffic at chairlifts?

Currently, the resort is managed to a capacity of 19,900 skiers per day, however, all current lifts can manage 23,690 skiers. If the Master Plan is implemented fully, it would increase lift network capacity to 25,420 guests or a 7% increase.

The short answer is maybe, but in theory if 23,690 skiers can be accommodated currently, another 7% increase on that number equals another 1,658 skiers and riders or 25,348.

“Vail desires to maintain certain capacities, particularly the lift network capacity, in excess of the manage-to threshold in order to ensure a high-quality guest experience,” the plan says. “These improvements would improve circulation and guest experience at Vail Mountain Resort.”

Skiers and riders are very familiar with Vail’s long lift lines, especially on weekend and powder days, and in the Back Bowls. Chairlift upgrades to both the Vail Village and Lionshead Village are plans Vail Resorts has to alleviate the journey onto the mountain from the parking lot.

“The goals of Vail are to continue operating at less than full capacity, but add lifts and lift capacity where needed in order to improve circulation, ease congestion, spread skiers out, more fully utilize underutilized terrain and keep wait times at lifts at a comfortable level and, therefore, maintain a high level ski experience for guests.”

• At Vail’s Lionshead base area, the Eagle Bahn Gondola, which was built in 1996, is marked for replacement with a likely new 12-passenger model with the capacity to transport 3,200 people per hour up the hill.

• In Vail Village, The Riva Bahn Express is also marked to be upgraded to an 8-passenger gondola, giving the front side three gondolas, and extend to the Two Elk Lodge with a carrying capacity of 3,600 people per hour.

• In China Bowl, the Orient Express chairlift is also slated for retirement with the plan saying, “this chairlift is the only access to Mongolia and Siberia bowls, so reliable service is critical to access the back bowls of the resort, and the new lift would become the first six pack in the Back Bowls.”

Vail’s chairlifts and gondolas upgrade plans chart

“Due to the extended alignment, it will have an enhanced role in transporting guests to the back bowls rather than having guests access this terrain using Northwoods Express,” the plan says.

• The Vail Village would also get a second chairlift, named Trans Montane, and be a detachable six-passenger chairlift that would ascend to mid-mountain with a drop off where Riva Ridge and Trans Montane trails merge.

• The lonely Cascade Village base area is primed for an upgrade from its fixed gripped 4-passenger chairlift now to a detachable 4-passenger high-speed chairlift, with the potential to carry skiers and riders to Eagle’s Nest.

• Blue Sky Basin has no lift upgrades planned, however a variety of trails remain in Vail’s plans along with plans for snowmaking improvements, new lodges and summer activities across the mountain.

Here is the full list Vail Resorts proposed it wants to accomplish at Vail Mountain

Winter upgrades:

Front Side

• Gondola 19 (Eagle Bahn) replacement
• Upgrade Chair 3 (Wildwood Express) with a six-passenger lift
• New lift from ABC lot to Trans Montane run
• Upgrade Chair 2 (Avanti Express) with a gondola containing a mid station
• Upgrade Chair 4 (Mountain Top Express) to an eight-passenger lift
• Upgrade and extend Chair 6 (Born Free Express) to a six-passenger lift
• Replace Chair 20 (Cascade Village) with a six-passenger lift with a mid station
• Chair 26 (Pride Express) replacement
• New lift from West Lionshead to bottom terminal of Chari 26 (Pride Express)
• West Mountain Lower intermediate terrain improvements
• Miscellaneous grading
• Construct a 12,000-square-foot mountain operations facility
• Expand snowmaking pond
• Mid Vail Umbrella Bar
• Mid Vail Renovation
• 10th Mountain Deck Renovation
• Replace or expand Wildwood Smokehouse
• Renovate Eagle’s Nest
• 171 acres of previously approved snowmaking coverage
• 64 acres of planned snowmaking coverage

Back side

• Upgrade Chair 21 (Orient Express) with a six-passenger lift
• Remove or upgrade Chair 22 (Mongolia Platter)
• Upgrade Chair 36 Tea Cup Express to a 6-person lift
• Construct Mongolia Express Chairlift from Two Elk Creek to the ridgeline above Mongolia Platter
• Blue Sky Basin trails
• The creation of a groomable route from Belle’s Camp across the ridge to West Earl’s Bowl
• Expansion of the administrative boundary in West Earl’s Bowl, East Pete’s Bowl and Mongolia Bowl
• Conduct previously-approved vegetation management across Vail
• Blue Sky Basin Restaurant

Vail still seems to be a destination resort over a day-skier resort.

“Based on Vail’s visitation data and trends, the ski area maintains a 60:40 destination-to-day skier ratio,” the plan says. “Destination guests that visit the resort and stay within the Vail area overnight (at Vail lodging or lodging within the area) account for approximately 60 percent of Vail’s annual visitation. Day skiers, which are guests primarily traveling to and from the resort over the course of a day and not staying overnight (this includes guests local to Eagle and Summit counties and other surrounding areas), account for the remaining 40 percent of Vail’s annual visitation.

Assuming most of the chairlift changes are completed, will the skiers and riders max out the new managed capacity and we’ll all be talking about the even longer lines at the chairlifts?