FOR as long as Perisher have welcomed snow revellers to the resort, Mount Perisher has forever been one of the favourite areas within the resort and Towers run a haven for the Perisher faithful.

Good news on the horizon for skiers and snowboarders is Perisher have submitted a Development Application (DA) for a new six seat detachable chair to replace the current double and triple chairs on Mount Perisher.

In what Peter Brulisauer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Vail Resorts Australia and Perisher described as a “significant development”, the Mount Perisher landscape is set to be vastly changed.
The development is much needed, and some would say overdue, as the double chair was installed in 1961.

Included as part of their overall plans would see the six-seater bottom station slightly lower than the current triple chair, take a similar line to the triple, have a 90-degree unload at the top, be the highest lifted point in Australia plus have the popular Towers run widened.
There would be two new skier bridges at the bottom of Towers for access and the Eyre T-bar bullwheel would be relocated downhill 11.2 metres.

Currently Thredbo have the highest lifted point in Australia with Karels T-bar at 2037m. This would be surpassed with the new six-seater top station unload area at 20141.69 metres.
The estimated cost for the entire project is over $19 million. The DA is still to be approved and Perisher have indicated they don’t have a timeframe for construction yet.

“Once we receive approval, we will assess the landscape and determine the best path,” said Brulisauer.

In discussing the finer points of the project, Brulisauer, who grew up skiing at Perisher and knows the resort terrain intimately said, “We are really excited about how well the run will ski and ride once its widened and the towers from the Mt Perisher Double and Triple chairlifts are removed. Its excellent terrain and it will be an unbelievable improvement.”
“The 90 degree unload like the Village Eight Express will deliver guests higher up on the hill, sheltered from the prevailing wind and ready to head out high and wide past Eyre T-Bar to Shiftys or select more fall line and choose from one of the many runs from the top of Mt Perisher.”
For regular skiers they will all be aware that when the blizzards deliver new snow, they often arrive with strong winds which result in wind hold days for the chairs.
Mr Brulisauer said, “We are very confident that the chair design will perform very well in the wind, just like the Village Eight Express. It will be a massive improvement on the current wind performance of the chairlifts on Mt Perisher.”

When we queried would Mt Perisher become overly busy when the new chair is installed and have traffic problems, Brulisauer said, “I think it will be loved like the recent chairlifts we have added to Perisher, only on a much bigger scale. In 2014, our guests rushed to Guthega to experience the new Freedom Chairlift and for many it is still their favourite place in the resort. Likewise, in 2019 the new Leichhardt Chairlift changed the way that skiers and snowboarders experienced Perisher Valley with far more people enjoying that part of the resort including the much loved Leichhardt Terrain Park.”

There are also future plans to revamp the restaurant at the bottom of the double chair, but these have not been confirmed as yet. But you would expect with a new chair and the extra traffic it will attract the current Powder Inn restaurant would be in dire need of an upgrade.
The plan is to expand the facility and create an indoor and outdoor dining venue and bar, where you would then have a slight downhill traverse from the deck area across to the new six seat chair.