SAM Magazine - Mammoth Mountain, Ca, May 7, 2007 - One of Mammoth's original chairs is finally getting a makeover. Chair 9, a double installed in 1969, is being replaced by a six pack detachable built by Doppelmayr.

The lift has the largest vertical rise of any chair at Mammoth, at 1,700 feet. The new Doppelmayr lift will cost $6.5 million, will reduce the ride for skiers from 10 minutes, 30 seconds to six minutes, 30 seconds, and will terminate at 10,371 feet. The elevation of the lift, coupled with its location on the east side of the mountain led the resort to choose a six-pack over a quad to allow for operations during periods of high winds.

"Upgrading this lift is not being done to increase traffic on the terrain under the chairlift," says Mammoth CEO Rusty Gregory. "It's about moving skiers around the mountain as evenly as possible to ease the pressure at base chairlifts. I believe a majority of people who ride the new Chair 9 will ride it to transfer to other parts of the resort."

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