SAM Magazine-Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, June 26, 2008-Utah's Solitude has long been known as a sleepy backwater, with slow, fixed grip chairs, plenty of powder and no crowds. Next winter, however, life will become a little faster at the resort, with the summer installation of two high-speed quads in a $7 million lift upgrade.

Less than three years after installing the Moonbeam III fixed-grip quad rising from the ski area's revitalized day skier lodge, Solitude is replacing the lift with a high-speed detachable, dubbed Moonbeam IV. Solitude spokesperson Nick Como said that the III's slow line speed and frequent stops to accommodate learning skiers and riders cut actual capacity significantly. The detachable will resolve those issues. The III will be reinstalled elsewhere at Solitude in the future.

Construction is also underway to replace the aging Apex double chairlift, which has been moving novice and intermediate skiers out of Solitude's village area to a mid-mountain location since its installation in the late 1970s, with a second new detachable quad.

"Our goal is to have our guests access the terrain they desire quickly and efficiently," said Dave DeSeelhorst, Solitude's VP of operations. "The sole improvement visitors request most are lift upgrades, and these new express chairs allow us to continue offering a world-class mountain experience." \