Ever wanted your own lift chair? Searchmont upgrade could make that dream come true

Searchmont Resort announced on Tuesday that the parts for their brand-new chairlifts are arriving and construction can begin shortly.

The ski resort will be adding two new triple lifts — one in the double chair location and one in the new beginner area that is being developed for the season.

“We’ve always wanted new lifts but were never able to fund it until now,” said general manager Chris Greensted. “I think people will be very happy to have new lifts now, ecstatic even.”

“Basically we’re putting in one brand-new lift that will go up in the beginner area, above the old beginner hill. We’ve never even had a lift up there before since it’s brand new terrain. That one’s going to be approximately 2000 feet long,” he said.

Another triple chairlift will be added to replace the old double chairlift, and those chairs will be available for sale to anyone who would like to keep a piece of the history of Searchmont.

The original chairlifts were installed and have been in use ever since the opening of the resort in 1972. 48 years later, they are excited to start building the new updates.

Searchmont has been operated by Detroit-based Wisconsin Resorts Inc. for two seasons now and the new lifts are among a number of improvements promised by the new owners.

“Right now we’re just getting started,” Greensted said. “We’ve secured a contractor to install one of them and construction and work on the foundations will probably start during the last week of June. We’ve got a lot of shipments coming in the next couple of days.”

Greensted says that this project won’t be cheap, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.

“We’re making substantial investments into these lifts, probably $3.5 million just for the lifts alone, but they will be great for expanding the resort and just making the resort better overall,” he said.