Up north, Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, is making progress on the Showcase lift, a fixed-grip quad set to replace a t-bar of the same name that provided access to the glaciated upper reaches of Blackcomb Mountain.
Work began this spring, and crews have completed major excavation, poured the top terminal foundation and the first tower foundations, and are continuing progress down the lift alignment, according to a recent update from the resort.
Later this summer, steel towers and terminal structures—the buildings at the top and bottom of a chairlift—are set to be installed. According to Lift Blog, the lift is made by Skytrac, a North American outfit that focuses on building fixed-grip lifts.
Photos shared by the resort show excavators, helicopters, and crews on the ground all at work under the summer sun. See below.
Matthew Sylvestre/Whistler Blackcomb
Matthew Sylvestre/Whistler Blackcomb
Once complete, the Showcase quad will “provide faster, easier access to some of Blackcomb’s best alpine terrain,” the resort said, “making it significantly easier to lap the Showcase and Blackcomb Glacier areas.”
Both the Blackcomb Glacier and Showcase areas are iconic bits of above-treeline slopes that feature wide-open snowfields. After dropping into the backside area of Blackcomb Glacier, skiers can wind their way back down to the Crystal Ridge Express, a lower-mountain lift.
Whistler Blackcomb noted that alongside the Showcase project, it’s working to improve “trail connections, skier flow, and access” into Blackcomb Glacier for an “even better guest experience.”
Whistler Blackcomb also said that during construction, protecting the glacier has been “a priority from day one,” noting that the lift’s towers and terminals are being anchored on exposed bedrock and adjacent ground rather than glacial ice.
Matthew Sylvestre/Whistler Blackcomb
The previous t-bar did have some towers that sat directly on the ice, which exposed it to erosion, crevasses, and snow instability, Pique reported.
Whistler Blackcomb’s glaciers have quickly shrunk in recent decades as a result of climate change. The changing glacial terrain prompted the resort to decommission another famed t-bar, the Horstman, in 2020. Five years later, a local ski camp, Momentum, announced that its summer offerings, which relied on glaciers, were going on an indefinite hiatus.
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