Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico has completed construction of its Angel Express chairlift, the resort announced on July 29, 2026. The resort will open the state’s first high-speed six-person chairlift in the 2026-27 season, marking a new milestone for not just the resort but the entire state of New Mexico. Angel Fire introduced New Mexico’s first high-speed four-person chairlift in 1996. Now, three decades later, the resort is preparing to open the state’s first high-speed six-pack, building on its legacy as industry leader in the state.
The new Angel Express chairlift replaces the resort’s legacy Lift 2 and will give skiers and snowboarders faster access to the mountain while increasing uphill capacity. Angel Fire says the project will be particularly beneficial during busy periods, when lift lines can become a major factor in how many laps guests can get in. The new six-pack brings Angel Fire’s total to eight lifts, including three high-speed lifts.
The Angel Express climbs 887 vertical feet (270 meters) over a slope length of 5,342 feet (1,629 meters). The new lift has an uphill capacity of 1,800 skiers per hour and travels at a rope speed of 1,000 feet per minute (305 meters per minute). With its ride time of approximately 5 minutes and 18 seconds, the new Angel Express high-speed chair cuts not only the travel time but boosts hourly capacity by more than 250%. The lift uses 56 six-person chairs supported by 15 towers. The bottom terminal sits just steps from The Lodge and rises to a top terminal just below Leon’s Lane on Bodacious.
While the lift is designed to improve mountain access for everyone, Angel Fire says one of its biggest benefits will be for beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders. The Angel Express begins near the base area and provides access to terrain above the resort’s Dream Catcher beginner hill. That creates a progression option for newer skiers who are ready to move beyond the beginner area but may not yet be comfortable riding directly to Angel Fire’s 10,677-foot (3,254-meter) summit.
Instead, guests can use the new lift to access friendlier mid-mountain terrain and gradually build their skills before progressing to more challenging parts of the mountain. For a resort that has long marketed itself toward families and developing skiers, the new lift could therefore have an impact beyond simply reducing the time spent in lift lines.
Work for the Angel Express began in April 2025, when crews cleared the lift line through the trees using specialized feller-buncher machinery. The bottom-terminal foundation was poured in June 2025, while crews also excavated and prepared the locations for the lift’s 15 towers. By July 2025, helicopter operations were being used to position tower-base forms on the mountain. The top-terminal foundation was poured in August, with helicopters airlifting concrete to the individual tower locations.
The project entered its final major construction phase in spring 2026. In March, the resort demolished and removed the previous Lift 2. The new top and bottom terminals were installed by crane in April, while all 15 towers were flown into position with assistance from Timberline Helicopters. In May, crews spliced the new 49-ton haul rope on site before wrapping it around the lift’s bull wheels and stringing it between the towers. The final stage came in July, when the six-person chairs were delivered and installed. The completed lift underwent load testing using weighted buckets before receiving final certification for public operation.
With construction, testing and certification complete, Angel Express is scheduled to open with Angel Fire Resort for the 2026-27 winter season in December.
