Keystone’s New Peru Express Six-Pack Nears Completion
Keystone’s new Peru Express six-pack is nearing completion, as evidenced by a tweet recently put out by the resort. This lift, which provides base-to-mid-mountain service from the Mountain House base area, is directly replacing the original Peru Express high-speed quad. The resort is also removing the adjacent Argentine double lift, which was constructed in 1977, and restoring the land it previously occupied.
When complete, the new lift will be able to carry a maximum of 3,000 people per hour. This expansion was originally set to open for the 2020-21 season, but it was delayed due to the impacts of COVID-19.
Our Take
Keystone’s new Peru lift may be shiny, but we believe its effects on the overall mountain experience will be minor. While the lift will bring six-pack lift service to the Mountain House base for the first time, the capacity upgrade over the outgoing quad (3,000 pph on the new lift vs. 2,800 on the old) is negligible. Additionally, the Argentine lift’s removal means the base area will technically offer less uphill capacity and operational flexibility than last season, although Argentine ran so rarely in its final years and was so slow that it likely won’t make for any practical difference. It would be nice if Argentine received a lift replacement as well, but it’s hard to demerit Keystone for instead making environmental improvements.
Long lines are sure to still be a thing at Peru on weekends, but the biggest impact of the six-pack installment will likely be its impact on day-to-day loading operations. The new lift will have more widely-spaced chairs than the outgoing quad, meaning loading mishaps will likely be reduced, therefore making the practical ride and wait times faster. We’re looking forward to hitting Keystone later in the season to check out the new lift for ourselves.
For more on Keystone and the Colorado resort landscape, check out our Keystone review and Colorado rankings.
