As Waterville Valley Resort opened for the winter season, the new 6-seater detachable bubble chairlift – “Tecumseh Express” – was unveiled and opened to the public. 

In the presence of John H. Sununu, former Governor of New Hampshire, Tim Smith, President & General Manager at Waterville Valley Resort, and Dennis Kinsella, MND North America Director, the lift replacing the iconic White Peaks Express was inaugurated. 

“This chairlift project is the largest and most significant lift development project in Waterville Valley Resort’s 55-year history. Our team and community are incredibly proud of building the fastest chairlift in New Hampshire, and we’re thrilled to bring the newest MND technology to New England.”, said Tim Smith, President and General Manager of Waterville Valley Resort.

From Dennis Kinsella, MND North America Director: “Today, we are very proud to open this new detachable system, the first MND 6-person chairlift on U.S. soil. Waterville Valley Resort is a long-term partner since 2017, and we’re thrilled to help enhance the guest experience at the ski resort. I want to say a special thank you to Waterville and MND teams who have been committed on this project for months. We’ve been reinforcing MND teams here in the U.S. over the last several months, and we’ll continue this persuit in an effort to support ski resort clients and address new opportunities.”

This new detachable chairlift has replaced the resort’s main lift, the 1988 “White Peaks Express”, which transports skiers from the base area to the summit. The new chairlift increases transport capacity to 3,000 people per hour and offer both comfort and reliability with the latest 6-person bubble seats. The detachable clamp technology and chair storage garage will improve the system availability and decrease maintenance costs.

Technical specifications of the new 6-passenger detachable chairlift:

• Length: 5700′ (1740 meters)
• Vertical drop: 1585′ (483 m)
• Speed: 1000 ft/min (5 m/s)
• Power input at speed: 845 HP (630 kW)
• Capacity: 3000 p/h, with 100 6-place
• Leather seats

Photo credit: Waterville Valley Resort