One Colorado Ski Resort Wants to Install the Highest Ski Lift in North America

The massive ski industry in Colorado employees nearly 50,000 people and brings in nearly $5 billion each year. Getting skiers to your resort, can mean having something at  your resort, that others don't.

Copper Mountain Introduces Plan for Highest Ski Lift in North America

For over 50 years, Copper Mountain Ski Resort has been a popular destination for tourists and Coloradans alike for great slopes, with over 2,500 acres of trails. In 2025 they had 24 lifts, looking to add one more.

One that will set a new record.

You don't have to be an avid skier in Colorado to take interest in it, knowing that it brings in a ton of money to the state, and provides many jobs. When you get word that one of Colorado's resorts is looking to make a new mark, you take notice.

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When Copper Mountain first opened in 1972, they only had five ski lifts; decades later, with 24, they can get 32,000 skiers onto slopes every hour. I can hear someone say, "it's still a long line..."

👇 STILL to COME: Your Guide to Colorado's Best Ski Resorts 👇

According to SnowBrains.com, Copper Mountain has submitted plans to install a new lift, dubbed "Jacque East;" if everything goes through, Jacque East will be higher than Breckenridge's Imperial Superchair lift, which sits at 12,840 feet.

How High Will Copper Mountain's Jacque East Lift Be?

Copper Mountain's Jacque East, named for Jacque Peak near Copper, would top out at just over 13,000 feet; not "crushing" Breckenridge, but a "win" is a "win," right? Many skiers would want to say they took "Jacque East," for the bragging rights, alone.

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There's no real timeline as yet, as there are factors that the Forest Service and Copper Mountain need to work out, first.