Sugar Mountain Resort in North Carolina (USA) boasts a new attraction. The combination lift known as the Summit Express celebrated its grand opening in the popular skiing and hiking region of the Southern Appalachians on November 15, 2015. The lift offers a mix of 6-seater chairs and 8-passenger cabins and operates in the summer as well in the winter. It carries some 2,500 passengers per hour. Initially, the lift will be running with 6-seater chairs only. The cabins are expected to be available in the next few years. The Summit Express is the sixth project Sugar Mountain Resort has completed with Doppelmayr. “In the projects we’ve built to date, Doppelmayr has been a reliable partner, manufacturing top products and ensuring professional implementation. And whenever we have a query, the customer support team is always quick to respond,” says Gunther Jochl, President of Sugar Mountain Resort.

North America has very few ropeways that combine chairs and cabins. In the southeastern United States, where Sugar Mountain Resort is located, the Summit Express is the first combination lift ever built. “Our guests expect to be offered something new every year. Therefore it’s important that we continue to develop and provide innovations with a wow factor,” explains Gunther Jochl. Both summer and winter tourism will benefit from the new installation.