Ski Bluewood's Skyline Express pushed to 2027

A two-year supply-chain saga over a second-hand Austrian chairlift has left one of Washington state's smallest ski areas facing a third season on its ageing triple chair, with the long-awaited high-speed quad now slated to spin in late 2027.

For the second year running, Ski Bluewood in southeastern Washington has been forced to delay the installation of its new Skyline Express — a used 1993 Doppelmayr detachable quad with weather bubbles that would be the resort's first high-speed lift.

The resort confirmed in late August that the final components — the haul rope and the bullwheels — are now en route from Austria, but are not expected to arrive until mid-September. That misses the narrow summer construction window the resort needs to dismantle the existing base-to-summit triple chair and build its replacement, meaning the project slips another year, with construction now set to begin in April 2026 and completion targeted for September or early October 2027.

Why a small resort bet big on a used lift

Ski Bluewood, located in the Blue Mountains near Dayton in Columbia County, is a compact area with just two lifts: the Triple Nickel and the Skyline Express, a 1978 Borvig triple chair that is the only route to the summit and accesses the bulk of the mountain's terrain 

Replacing that ageing triple with a high-speed detachable quad — capable of carrying 2,400 people per hour and cutting the base-to-summit ride from roughly 12 minutes to under six — is the centrepiece of the biggest upgrade in the resort's history, which also includes mountain-bike trails, night skiing and a lodge remodel

To keep costs manageable, the resort opted for a second-hand lift. In June 2024, Bluewood's parent company, WGSKI, signed a contract with British Columbia-based Steelhead Systems Inc. to broker the relocation of the used Doppelmayr lift from Austria's Pro-Alpin Ropeway Services.

A dispute over containers and invoices

The deal quickly soured. Of 27 shipping containers holding the disassembled lift, around 23 reached Washington — containing the chairs, towers and terminal components — but four remained in Austria, holding the bullwheels and haul rope, the parts that actually make a detachable lift run.

The dispute centred on money. Steelhead Systems argued that shipping costs had risen more than 70 percent above the original $600,000 estimate — an increase of roughly $425,700 — and that a weakening US dollar against the euro had added a further $110,400 in exchange-rate adjustments, plus invoices for additional engineering and an extra tower. Bluewood, which said it had already paid invoices totalling about $2.2 million, characterized the additional demands as inflated and unjustifiable.

In August 2025, WGSKI filed suit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against Steelhead Systems, its sister shipping company Mar Divina, and principal Zrinko Amerl, alleging breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment, and seeking immediate delivery of the equipment plus damages. Steelhead Systems denied the allegations, countersued for unpaid invoices totalling around $587,000, and argued that the contract placed responsibility for shipping and exchange-rate risk on the buyer.

A judge later ordered the shipment of the remaining containers from Austria to Washington as soon as possible, though without setting a completion timeline. That ruling ultimately unblocked the parts — but not in time to save the 2026-27 season.

Why the timing was unforgiving

For a larger resort, a late-arriving rope might be an inconvenience. For Bluewood, it is operationally critical. Because the new lift replaces the existing Skyline triple on the same alignment, the old chair must be fully dismantled before the new one can rise — and with only the Triple Nickel as a backup, there is no margin for error

General manager Peter Korfiatis has been blunt about the stakes, telling SnowBrains that without the Skyline lift there effectively is no season, and that running the Nickel alone would not be fair to guests. The resort has already honoured a commitment to issue $100 mountain credits to season-pass holders for the missed 2025-26 installation

In the meantime, crews have not been idle. Foundation work, tower-pad excavation, concrete pouring and terminal site preparation are substantially complete, meaning that once the rope and bullwheels are on site and the season ends, installation can move quickly

A wider picture of supply-chain strain

Bluewood's predicament is an extreme example of a broader industry headache. The used-lift market, which many smaller resorts rely on for affordable upgrades, has become more difficult as global shipping costs have risen and currency fluctuations and import tariffs have added layers of cost and uncertainty — Bluewood, as the importer, was responsible for US tariffs on the European equipment.

The timing also comes as North American lift construction cools from its post-pandemic peak. Industry tracker Lift Blog reports that 2026 lift installations are expected to be down around 40 percent from the post-Covid high reached in 2022, a decline it attributes to several recent project postponements.

One more season on the triple

For skiers and snowboarders in the Tri-Cities and beyond, the practical upshot is a familiar one: another winter on the 1978 Borvig triple, a slower, no-frills ride that the resort has nonetheless come to embrace. Bluewood framed the extra year as a last chance to enjoy the old lift before it is retired, and pledged to welcome guests back to the mountain regardless.

The bigger bet — a high-speed quad opening the door to summer mountain biking, night skiing and year-round revenue — remains on the table, just delayed. With Forest Service approval secured and Tamarack Trail Works engaged on a planned network of more than 20 miles of trails for all ability levels, the resort is pressing ahead with the pieces it can control while it waits, again, for the rope 

For a small mountain that has staked its future on a second-hand Austrian lift, the line between ambition and exposure has never been thinner. The Skyline Express will eventually spin — the question Bluewood's owners and passholders are still asking is simply when.