Ellicottville, NY – A ribbon cutting ceremony and champagne toast will be held to celebrate the opening of the new SnowPine Quad Chairlift at Holiday Valley at 11 a.m. this Saturday.

The $650,000 chairlift is the western New York State ski resort’s tenth quad chairlift and was constructed over the summer by the resort’s Mountain Crew to replace the existing double chair.  The lift is 2,100 feet in length and has a capacity of 1,600 skiers per hour.

This new lift almost doubles the capacity of double chair and enhances the ski-in, ski-out access to the SnowPine Village condominiums.  Bear Cub, a beginner trail that was constructed for the 2010-11 season is serviced by this lift and was outfitted with snowmaking pipeline and hydrants for the 2011-12 season.  The lower section of Bear Cub was also extended for easier access to the base of the SnowPine lift.  The lift also services the double black diamond slope, The Wall, as well as the intermediate slopes of Bobsled, Catwalk and Last Chance.

A completely new drive terminal was installed at the base and the towers, cross arms, and the return station were replaced to accommodate the larger gauge of a four passenger chair.  Holiday Valley Mountain Manager Jim Curtis led the Holiday Valley mountain crew in the construction of the lift.  Holiday Valley is one of only a few ski areas in the country to construct their own lifts.  The advantage is that the mountain crew is familiar with every aspect of the lift and can maintain the lift properly and make repairs efficiently.