Peak 9 at Breckenridge Ski Resort is about to look a little bit different. 

After first being proposed at the end of 2023, Breckenridge Ski Resort’s Peak 9 project was officially approved this summer.

Breckenridge Ski Resort expects the project to transform Peak 9, enhancing the user experience of beginner skiers and riders on the mountain. Scoping for the project officially began in May 2024, and the project was formally approved on June 10, 2025. 

Now that the project has been signed off by the U.S. Forest Service, Breckenridge can begin preparing for the project, which has an anticipated implementation of sometime in 2026.

Guests that have visited Peak 9 on the weekend know that the base area is often bustling with activity. Home to the ski resort’s learning areas, guests often have to maneuver around congestion as they near lifts. 

The project aims to greatly improve the recreation experience on Peak 9. Not only will the resort address the arrival experience on Peak 9, but the project will work to provide better connectivity to other peaks and improve skier flow. 

One of the ways Breckenridge expects to improve skier flow and the arrival experience is by constructing a gondola. Aptly named the “Peak 9 Gondola,” the new lift will provide a second option out of the Maggie base area. 

The gondola’s lower terminal and loading area will be located on private land directly north of the existing Quicksilver SuperChair bottom terminal. The gondola will ascend to an angled mid-station where a new ski and ride school teaching area, the Frontier Learning Area, will be located.

The Frontier Learning Area will feature two new, short conveyors, a ski and ride school warming hut with restrooms, and a new snowmaking system. The snowmaking machines will ensure that the learning area can open alongside the rest of Peak 9.

All beginner skiers and riders will now have the option of riding the Peak 9 Gondola to access the Frontier Learning Area. The alternative route will allow guests to bypass the Quicksilver SuperChair and the lower Peak 9 trails that are often congested. 

Moving the teaching terrain to the new Frontier Learning Area and removing the existing conveyor and platter from the Eldorado trail is also expected to improve the circulation as well as reduce traffic on the runs accessed by the Quicksilver SuperChair. 

The Peak 9 Gondola is expected to have an initial capacity of 2,200 persons per hour and will be designed to accommodate future capacity increases at the resort. The upper terminal of the gondola will be located directly east and slightly downslope of the existing upper terminal of A-Chair.

Following the installation of the Peak 9 Gondola, Breckenridge will be removing A-Chair. The resort will be removing the chairlift because the gondola will be serving roughly the same terrain as the currently outdated A-Chair.  

Once A-Chair’s two lift terminals, its mid station and 39 tower foundations have been removed, restoration and revegetation will take place at the resort.

The last piece of the project includes the direct in-line replacement of the existing fixed-grip, two-person C-Chair. The lift replacement will upgrade C-Chair to a six-person, high-speed detachable lift. 

The new lift will up the capacity of the chair to 3,000 persons per hour and will follow the same alignment as the existing C-Chair. The replacement of C-Chair is expected to include up to one acre of tree removal in order to widen the lift corridor to 60 feet. 

In hopes of facilitating an improved passage for skiers coming over from Peak 8, the bottom terminal of the lift will be located slightly uphill from its current location. The top terminal will be set above the Overlook Restaurant and will provide access to underutilized terrain on the north side of Peak 9. 

The total disturbance for the project is expected to be up to 13.5 acres. Five of those acres will be allotted to vegetation removal, 6 acres will cover the grading work and 2.5 acres will be disturbed for utility trenching. 

For more information, visit FS.USADA.gov.