Powder Mountain Removing Sunrise Lift; More Public Terrain Goes Hike-To Only

The Sunrise surface lift is currently the only way for public guests to access a huge portion of Powder Mountain without hiking.

Background

The 2026-27 season will be the last one for Powder Mountain’s Sunrise Poma. In a recent operations update, the resort announced that the surface lift will be removed in the summer of 2027, and the terrain it serves will become hike-in only starting in 2027-28. Powder’s stated reason is that Sunrise sits inside the residential development footprint, and removing it is necessary to support the neighborhood growth that helps subsidize ski operations. The resort framed the change as part of its broader model of staying independent and publicly accessible by leaning on the real estate that surrounds it.

The same update pointed to other work aimed at the public side of the mountain. DMI is opening this winter with more than 1,000 acres of largely untouched terrain. The old Sundown lift has been removed and will be replaced by a high-speed quad. And the resort is spending over $1 million on 16.9 miles of new public trails this summer.

Our Take

The Sunrise platter was historically the most direct way to get from the Hidden Lake Lodge area into multiple areas including Cobabe Canyon, Sanctuary, Sunrise, and Mushroom Valley. When the Village and Mary’s lifts became homeowner-only, it then became the only public lift providing access to that entire area. And given that it’s a surface lift rather than a chairlift, its inherently low capacity caused notable lines at Sunrise once those other areas were reserved for homeowners.

Rather than upgrading to something more appropriate for the demand it was now carrying, it looks like Powder Mountain is choosing to remove lift service to this terrain entirely, at least for the general public. Homeowners can still access it via the more indirect route of taking Village and Mary’s. Even from Mary’s, the runs starting at the top of Sunrise will be hike-to only even for homeowners.  These runs include Dr C’s and Claire’s.

Now, this does go against some positive changes on the public-facing side of the resort. A new chairlift in the DMI area is expected to open a substantial amount of new lift-served terrain for the first time ever, and the Sundown chairlift is being upgraded to a high-speed quad, which should make that beginner-oriented terrain zone more enjoyable to spend time at. That’s also the only place at the resort with night skiing. But making more of the original footprint less accessible to the public in favor of private homeowners is sure to leave a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths.

It’s unclear how many people will want to do that hike once the lift is removed in 2027. The area is quite expansive, and the terrain will likely see less traffic without lift service. But not too many people are likely to want to hike in for what is ultimately still fairly mellow beginner and intermediate terrain, especially given that homeowners can still access it via Village and Mary’s, so it won’t be untouched. Because the terrain from the top of Sunrise is so large, there has always been a hardy contingent of non-homeowners who were willing to make the hike at times when this terrain was open and Sunrise not running, if for no other reason than to ski less crowded runs.

The removal of this lift is another signpost in the direction that Powder Mountain is heading under current ownership.