Swift Current 6 Fact Sheet
About Swift Current 6
Swift Current 6, a new six-person Doppelmayr D-Line chairlift, will debut at Big Sky for the 21-22 winter season. Traveling at a staggering 1,200 feet per minute, or 6 meters per second, Swift Current 6 is the fastest six-person chairlift in North America. Featuring ultrawide, heated seats, and a weatherproof Big Sky Blue Bubble, Swift Current 6 is a major chairlift upgrade servicing Lone Peak from Big Sky’s Mountain Village.
Swift Current 6 replaces the current four-person chairlift with state-of-the-art, energy-efficient Doppelmayr D-Line technology. “This technology offers guests reliability and a staggeringly fast, warm, and comfortable ride up to the iconic Lone Peak—America’s Matterhorn. There will be no faster, safer or more comfortable chairlift in North America,” said Stephen Kircher, CEO and president, Boyne Resorts.
Big Sky 2025 is a vision for the resort’s future –transforming Big Sky into what has been called America’s Alp. A cornerstone of this transformative vision includes creating the most technologically-advanced chairlift network in North America, similar to what can be experienced in the Alps. Swift Current 6 is the fifth major chairlift infrastructure project at Big Sky in the past five years, revolutionizing the way skiers access nearly 6,000 acres of terrain.
The Basics
- 24 conical towers
- 126 chairs
- Unrivaled speed: 1,200 feet per minute/6 meters per second
- Up to 50% increase in uphill capacity, consistently transporting 3,000 skiers per hour
- Ergonomically-designed, ultrawide heated seats
- Individual headrests and footrests
- Weatherproof Big Sky Blue Bubble
- Custom Swift Current 6 graphics on chairs
FIRST OF ITS KIND: Swift Current 6 is the first six-seat, Doppelmayr D-Line chairlift in North America.
DOPPELMAYR DIRECT DRIVE: The Doppelmayr Direct Drive, an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly gearless drive, makes for whisper-quiet operations and low maintenance. This Direct Drive technology significantly improves energy efficiency and reduces the use of fossil fuel derivatives. By eliminating a traditional gearbox, the chairlift is more reliable and requires less maintenance time. The D-Line series of chairlifts also includes individual tensioning belts between each set of accelerator tires, designed to increase operational reliability over other technologies.
ADJUSTABLE LOADING CARPET: Once guests reach the loading point, lift attendants can manually raise and lower the loading carpet height to more easily and safely load children on the lift.
AUTOMATIC UNLOCK SAFETY BARS: When lowered, Swift Current 6’s safety bar will lock and automatically unlock in the top terminal, offering the highest level of safety, especially for children.
SPEAKER SYSTEM: Chairlift towers are fitted with a speaker allowing for updates in the event of a lift stoppage or other communications from lift operations personnel.
WIND RESISTANT: Swift Current 6 is highly wind-resistant, allowing it to run reliably in high-wind events. Reducing wind-related stops will further decrease average ride times and increase uphill capacity.
90 DEGREE UNLOAD: Swift Current 6 radically improves the offloading experience by exiting skiers toward the bowl on Jay Walk. The entire top location will be shifted to greatly enhance the flow of traffic from the Shedhorn area and skiers exiting from Swift Current 6. This will reduce the number of historical stops occurring at the offloading ramp.
DOPPELMAYR CONNECT: Doppelmayr Connect is the latest and most sophisticated control system and operating system that allows for control of the lift from both a touchscreen station and tablet. Connect controls are the easiest available interface between lift operators, mechanics, and the lift itself. This shortens the diagnostic time, improving operational reliability over other control systems.
FULLY-AUTOMATED OVERNIGHT CHAIRLIFT STORAGE: With the press of a button, chairs are stored in a chair barn, located near the top terminal of Swift Current 6. The storage system protects the chairs from collecting snow and ice at night.
BIKE HAUL CAPABILITY: In Summer 2022, Swift Current 6’s chairs will be configured to transport bikes, as well as foot traffic.