Mt. Hood Meadows to Replace Mt. Hood Express Chair with a "6-Pack"!

The U.S. Forest Service is taking comments on a proposed replacement of the 4-person Mt. Hood Express (MHX) chairlift at Mt. Hood Meadows with a 6-person lift, to be operational at the beginning of the 2022-23 ski season!

The MXH chairlift was built in 1994 and has the capacity to take up to 2600 skiers/hour uphill one mile over 1200 vertical feet. It has operated continuously, both for day and night skiing, and has operated at up to 90% efficiency at peak times.

The replacement 6-person lift would follow the same alignment to minimize ground disturbance, and is rated at a capacity of 3600 skiers/hour. The 15 towers supporting the current MHX lift would be removed and 19 new towers would be installed for the new lift. Because the chairs are heavier, the new lift should operate more efficiently in inclement weather, and should do better in high wind or icy conditions.

Removal of the old lift could start at the end of the 2021-22 season, in May, while snow is still on the ground. They would expect to be flying in the new towers starting in September 0f 2022, with a goal of opening the lift by December at the beginning of the season.

See below for the presentation from the June NWSCC meeting. The USFS has recommended the project move forward as a CE - Category Exclusion since the lift is replacing an existing chairlift. Public comments supporting this chairlift are extremely welcome. See the last page of the presentation. Comments will be received at this site.