Mt. Hood Meadows: Saying Goodbye to Blue

After more than 55 years in service, the time has come to give Blue a much-deserved retirement. The iconic chairlift will be decommissioned this summer, as it has reached the end of its lifespan and would need to be overhauled for it to be available next season. 

Blue, originally known as Chair #1, was constructed in 1967 and began service during our inaugural season in 1968. It is a fixed-grip, two-seater chairlift manufactured by Riblet, which was in business from 1908 to 2003 and was once the largest chairlift manufacturer in the world. At the time, it was arguably the most important lift at Meadows, helping uplift guests out of the base area to access a large portion of the resort's terrain. It eventually fell out of favor with the arrival of the Express/Jacob's Ladder three-seater fixed grip in 1984, and even more so with the arrival of the Mt. Hood Express high-speed quad in 1994 (now a high-speed six-pack, which was installed in 2023).

In recent years, Blue had been relegated to an auxiliary role and was rarely utilized; with the new Mt. Hood Express six-seater being able to run in similar wind conditions as Blue, there is no longer a need to keep the chair operational. 

Blue's chairs and haul rope will be removed this summer, while the towers and terminals will remain in place for the time being. But before we do that, we need your help in saying goodbye! Join us for “The Last Blue-rah” event on Saturday, April 19: dress up in vintage clothes from the 60s and get your picture taken on the chair. 

And speaking of chairs: we know there will be a lot of interest in acquiring them, so we will be holding a lottery for who gets to purchase them. Details are below; watch our website, eNews, and socials for updates.

142 chairs will be available for purchase to the general public; we are holding some back to give to a few charitable organizations so that they can auction them off for fundraising purposes

Cost will be $900; limit one chair per family

Chair lottery will be open via May 1-31; registration will be on the Meadows website

Lottery will be drawn on June 3 and winners will be notified shortly thereafter

Winners will have until June 15 to pay for the chairs

Payment will be via credit card on our website; all sales are final (no refunds)

Chair pickup will be available on select dates (TBD)

You must be able to pick up your chair onsite in the Mt. Hood Meadows main lot

You will need a pickup or a trailer; we will have it hoisted for you to back under and at your own risk

Constructed: 1967

Started Operations: 1968

Manufacturer: Riblet

Number of Chairs: 167

Speed: 500 feet per minute

Ride Time: 8.9 minutes

Motor HP: 250

Bottom Elevation: 5,378 feet

Top of Elevation: 6,555 feet

Vertical: 1,177 feet

Horizontal: 4,238 feet