New Mexico’s Angel Fire resort is getting some serious upgrades.
In 2025, the resort announced a handful of ongoing projects around the mountain aimed at enhancing mountain access and improving the skiing and riding experience for guests. As part of the project, this past winter, the ski area debuted a four-seater lift that gives access to the backside of the mountain and a solid chunk of expert terrain.
Now, as summer in the Sangre de Cristo range kicks off, Angel Fire has another new lift build underway.
Currently, construction on New Mexico’s first-ever high-speed six-pack chair, the Angel Express, is cruising along. As of May 14, crews had begun to splice together the lift’s 5,200-foot haul rope. The fabrication of one of these massive cables is a specialized job that requires teams of up to 20 people working together.
Last month, crews worked to place towers for the new lift via helicopter. The Angel Express is slated to open during the 2026-27 ski season.
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Angel Fire’s 59-year-old Lift 2 was removed earlier this year to make way for the new chair. The Riblet-made fixed-grip two-seater has been at Angel Fire for as long as the resort’s been open. While the lift in its entirety won’t be part of Angel Fire anymore, many of the parts are being used to maintain other lifts around the mountain, such as Lift 3 and Dreamcatcher.
In addition to the two new lifts at Angel Fire, the resort has a host of other infrastructure upgrades in the works.
Perhaps most notably, the resort announced last spring that it was building new pickleball and tennis courts as well as a pro shop to enhance summer recreation opportunities. The project began in 2025, and when it’s ready for showtime, it will include eight pickleball courts. The resort shared an update on how the courts were coming late last month.
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