Breckenridge Planning Peak 9 Gondola and C-Chair Upgrade

If all goes according to plan, Breckenridge’s Quicksilver SuperChair (pictured here) will have an eight or ten-passenger gondola running alongside it as early as the 2025-26 season.

Colorado’s Breckenridge has some big plans in store for its Peak 9 terrain area, according to a report put out by the US Forest Service. The resort is seeking approval for two new lifts: (1) a new two-stage gondola extending from the bottom of Peak 9 to a terminus near the top of the current A-Chair, and (2) a high-speed six-pack replacement for the C-Chair in a slightly different alignment.

As currently proposed, the new gondola would load adjacent to the bottom of the Quicksilver SuperChair. The two-stage lift would be broken up by a mid-station serving the proposed Frontier Learning Area, a new learning center with multiple magic carpets. As part of this initiative, the bunny hill at the base of Peak 9 would be dismantled and replaced by the new setup.

The new C-Chair will start and end slightly higher than the existing double chair, with the lengthened top terminus allowing for easier access to the Overlook restaurant. While it won’t serve any new high-speed terrain, the new C-Chair will replace a nearly five-decade-old lift and cut down the ride time for that lift down by approximately 50%.

Should these projects see the light of day, the expert-oriented E-Chair will remain the only fixed-grip lift on Breckenridge’s Peak 9. The full USFS proposal can be viewed here. The gondola could see construction as early as for the 2025-26 season, while the C-Chair replacement will likely, at the earliest, begin operations for the 2026-27 season.

Our Take

The changes to Breckenridge’s Peak 9 lifts and terrain as part of this proposal.

Peak 9 Gondola

Breckenridge has long been one of the most popular ski resorts in Colorado—if not the entire country—and the resort has struggled to handle crowds at its Peak 9 base for years. As the only lift that starts at the bottom of Peak 9 and the main beginner chairlift on that part of the mountain, the Quicksilver SuperChair has historically been Breckenridge’s worst chokepoint—and although recent beginner enhancements on Peak 8 have helped a bit, this six-pack lift still sees unbearable lines during peak times.

If completed as proposed, the new gondola looks to bring significant relief to the Quicksilver lift. While a capacity metric for the gondola has not been finalized, if the new setup so much as doubles capacity out of the Peak 9 base, guests should be in for much more palatable waits.

The upper half of the two-stage gondola should bring some notable benefits as well. While it will run in a different alignment, the top section of the gondola will effectively replace the A-Chair, which currently serves some very underutilized beginner terrain due to the current lift’s slow speed. In spreading beginners up to mid-mountain areas, we expect the gondola to sway some folks away from lapping the Quicksilver chair, further reducing the crowds there.

The new Frontier Learning Area is worth a mention too. More and more large Colorado ski areas have been moving their learning areas to out-of-base mid-mountain terrain zones, and by moving the Peak 9 learning area up to mid-mountain, Breckenridge will put its learning terrain in line with competitors such as Steamboat, Keystone, and Vail. Such a setup will allow for first-timers to learn in a more isolated environment than the current packed base of Peak 9, and should also provide a more scenic backdrop than current Breckenridge learners are treated to.

C-Chair Replacement

The six-pack replacement for the C-Chair may come in handy during busy times, but it won’t be nearly as revolutionary as the proposed gondola. Although it won’t be bringing high-speed lift service to any new terrain, the new lift should provide some relief for the busy, four-place Mercury and Beaver Run SuperChairs during peak times. The current C-Chair is almost never utilized—even as a backup lift—due to its egregious 12-minute ride time, so the curtailed ride time of the updated lift should make the six-pack a lot more desirable. We expect the biggest benefit to come to guests skiing or riding over from Peak 8, who will be able to jump on a high-speed lift to get up Peak 9 without making their way all the way down to the Beaver Run loading area.

Considering a trip to Breckenridge next season? Check out our comprehensive mountain review. Additionally, check out our full Colorado and Rockies rankings, as well as our Breckenridge video review below.