Powderhorn Resort: Wild West Express progress

The final West End towers have been successfully helicoptered off the mountain, bringing Powderhorn one step closer to new installation. The helicopters have headed home for now, but they’ll return later this summer to fly the new Wild West Express towers into place.

Down the road in Grand Junction, Powderhorn partners at Leitner-Poma of America are making steady progress as well. Grips and hangers have been inspected, rebuilt, and staged for delivery, lift mechanisms are being sanded and painted, towers are being modified, and electrical control cabinets are moving through refurbishment.

The Wild West Express is coming together in two places at once: on the mountain, where crews prepare the landscape, foundations, utilities, and access, and just 30 miles away, where skilled technicians are rebuilding the machinery that will soon make the familiar climb up Highway 65.

Sometimes progress is loud, with helicopters overhead. Other times it’s measured in inspections, fresh paint, precision machining, and the patience to let nature set the schedule. When the helicopters return, they’ll be carrying the future uphill instead of the past down.