Kirkwood Ski Resort lift system

Kirkwood

Kirkwood’s ski area is served by two high speed quads,eight chairlifts, and two handle tows, with a capacity for 17,905 skiers per hour.

KirkwoodHigh-Speed 4 person2
Triple chairs7
Double chairs1
Surface lifts2
Rides per hour17,905

The lift system is graded to match level of difficulty of the terrain accessed from the top of each lift. The easiest, distinguished by the usual green circle, gives access to the beginners’ trails off chairs #1 and #9, and off chair #7. The more difficult intermediate terrain is shown by a blue square and includes trails off chairs #2, #3, #4, #5, #7, and #11. For advanced skiers and riders, a single black diamond is used which includes trails off chair lifts #4, #6, and #11. Finally the expert trails are denoted by two black diamonds and are reachable by chairlifts #4, #6, and #10. Lifts start from 8:30–9:00 am and close at 4:00–4:30 pm.

The resort recently installed its first high-speed quad chair (the first of several planned high speed detachable ones), which will transport skiers from the Mountain Village to the top of the mountain in just four minutes. Other new lifts and upgrades will increase lift capacity from the Timber Creek area to the Mountain Village and incorporate an on-mountain restaurant at the top of Caples Crest. Kirkwood’s new Mountain Master Development Plan (MMDP) will, over the next decade, provide lift access to hundreds of further acres of “hike-to” terrain and reduce travel time from the front side to the back side of the resort by more than 50 percent.