COPPER MOUNTAIN — Copper Mountain, and its parent company, POWDR, announced today planned upgrades to replace the American Eagle and American Flyer lifts with high-speed combination and bubble-style lift service, slated to debut for the 2018-19 ski season. Plans to replace the two lifts are subject to U.S. Forest Service approval, and further details will be available in the coming days.

“Replacing our most popular mountain-access lifts will significantly improve how our guests experience some of the best skiing and riding on Copper Mountain,” said Gary Rodgers, president and general manager of Copper Mountain Resort, in a statement. “More guests will be able to get up the mountain quicker to enjoy a variety of easy, intermediate and advanced terrain.”

The American Eagle lift, a high-speed quad, will be replaced with a high-speed lift that includes a combination of both six-person chairs and eight-person gondola cabins. The new lift will increase uphill capacity by over 40 percent, allowing more skiers and snowboarders access to an abundance of Copper’s intermediate terrain.

A high-speed six-person chair with bubble enclosures is set to replace the high-speed quad known as the American Flyer lift, offering a more comfortable ride and greatly increasing uphill capacity. The new lift will primarily serve the easy and intermediate side of the resort’s unique naturally-divided terrain and also will provide expedited access to Copper’s advanced high alpine bowls.