On Saturday, Dec. 10, Flagstaff’s Arizona Snowbowl ski resort celebrated the grand opening of the Grand Canyon Express, Arizona’s first ever six-person, high-speed chairlift.

Starting at the Hart Prairie Lodge, the lift brings riders to an elevation of 10,900 feet in six minutes.

The Grand Canyon Express drops riders off with access to 85 percent of the resort’s trails, according to its website.
On Dec. 2 Snowbowl opened its Agassiz lift from top to bottom, making accessible many of the higher difficulty trails at the top of the resort.

For those who like jumps, jibs, boxes and rails, two of the resort’s three terrain parks are now open.

Intended for beginners, the Prairie Dawg Start Park has 14 total features. The Sunset Terrain Park, Snowbowl’s park for advanced riders, had six features as of Dec. 19 and can be accessed from the Hart Prairie Lodge.

According to Snowbowl’s website, snowmaking is currently underway for Day Dreamer, its intermediate
“Progressive Park.”

As of Dec. 19, more than half of Snowbowl’s lifts were open. The Flagstaff resort is also advertising a new discounted season pass for young adults aged 30 to 36.

Snowbowl’s lifts are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, including all major holidays. Rentals and tickets are available beginning at 8:30 a.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends.