It’s summer, and Vail skiing is behind us for the 2016-2017 season. But summertime gives us the chance to celebrate a few of last winter’s high points. One of our favorite improvements to Vail Mountain this past winter was the addition of the new Sun Up Express Lift. This lift was formerly known as Chair #17, a rather slow three-person chair lift located in the Sun Up Bowl.
The new Sun Up Express Lift is in the same place, but it was assigned a new number: Chair #9. And, more importantly, the new Chair #9 was upgraded to a four-person high-speed quad that has major benefits for Vail skiing.
Vail Daily‘s ON THE HILL: New Chair 9 Installation
It may be true that the best Vail skiing can be found in the mountain’s powder stashes. For this reason, skiers often move toward the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin. And for powder skiers, the new Chair #9 brings some very good news.
“The new Sun Up Express will dramatically improve how our guests are able to move across Vail’s legendary Back Bowls, especially on powder mornings as they head toward the terrain of the China Bowl complex and Blue Sky Basin.”
-Chris Jarnot, Vail’s chief operating officer and executive vice president
Some of the Vail skiing benefits that come from the new Sun Up Bowl Lift include:
- Speed: Chair #9 is faster and more powerful than the old Chair #17
- Access: Chair #9 allows skiers to lap powder stashes more quickly in Over Yonder, WFO areas
- Reduced wait times at Chair #5 and Chair #9, with a 65% increase in capacity
- Improved flow of skiers to Blue Sky Basin
- Quicker access to China Bowl
- Upgraded technology: Out with the fixed-grid system, in with a detachable lift system, which is faster and has greater capacity.
Vail’s New Chair 9 – Catch it live with Vail Daily‘s Ross Leonhart.
Free Up Even More Time for Vail Skiing
Here at Vista Bahn Ski Rentals (VBSR), we like things that free up more time for skiing and riding. So maybe that’s why we love the new Chair #9. Less time on a chair lift means more time enjoying the classic Vail skiing and snowboarding we’ve grown to love. In order to save even more time for the slopes next season, come on in to Vista Bahn Ski Rentals for these additional time and money savers:
- Convenient Location: Vista Bahn Ski Rentals is the closest place to pick up Vail ski and snowboard rentals near Gondola One. Avoid the slow and painful walk through town with all of your gear by picking it up at VBSR, steps from the slopes.
- Ski storage: Keep your gear at VBSR’s Vail ski lockers so that you’re ready to go skiing or snowboarding on a moment’s notice.
- Online booking: You’ll save time and money booking online ski and snowboard rentals by filling out our easy reservation form online. Simply stop by to pick up your ski rental equipment that’s tuned and ready to go. You’ll save 20% when you reserve Vail ski and snowboard rentals online.
- Overnight service: Our full-service ski tuning and repair shop offers overnight services. We also offer on-the-spot ski tuning to make sure that you maximize your time out Vail skiing instead of waiting around in Vail Village.

Vail’s New Chair 9 spins up the Back Bowl & Blue Sky access
The new Chair #9 reduces chair lift time from 8.2 minutes to 3.9 minutes. It also marks the ninth chair replacement in 10 years, showing a continuous commitment to improving Vail skiing. We find the effects of this upgrade…uplifting. And we also hope that you save time in coming to Vista Bahn Ski Rentals for ski rental, storage, and service. Ultimately, we want you to enjoy the very best of Vail skiing in the upcoming season, and for many more to come.