Sundance Mountain Resort opens the 2026/2027 ski season with its most significant terrain expansion in recent memory: a new high-speed quad lift and a signature 1.7-mile ridgeline run that together unlock more than 100 acres of previously inaccessible back mountain terrain, pushing the Utah resort's total skiable footprint to 605 acres.
The Infrastructure
The centerpiece of the expansion is Electric Horseman, a high-speed quad lift engineered to carry skiers and snowboarders more than 1,850 vertical feet in approximately six minutes — providing single-lift, direct access to the entire back mountain. The lift is designed to reduce congestion on existing infrastructure while opening terrain that was not operationally viable before. Paired with it is Storyteller, an upper-intermediate groomed run carved from what was formerly known as the Far East Ridgeline. The run features sweeping turns and panoramic views, and branches into three expert gladed chutes for advanced skiers seeking more technical descents.
Resort Context
The expansion closes out Phase 1 of Sundance's multi-year back mountain buildout. The resort's capital investment arc stretches back to 2021, when the Outlaw Express Lift slashed the ride to Mandan Summit from 20 minutes to seven. In 2022, Sundance added more than 50 acres of intermediate terrain along with expanded snowmaking. Two seasons later, the Mountain Camp Day Lodge debuted as a consolidated day-skier hub — covering lockers, ticketing, ski school operations, and gear rentals under one roof.
For hospitality operators and resort-adjacent food and beverage businesses, expanded terrain capacity translates directly into longer dwell times on the mountain, higher skier day counts, and stronger demand for on-mountain dining and après-ski programming. Sundance has received One MICHELIN Key in both the 2024 and 2025 MICHELIN Guides, underscoring its positioning as a culinary and hospitality destination alongside its ski operations — a profile that distinguishes it in the increasingly competitive mountain resort segment. Operators watching hospitality investment trends will note that resort expansions of this scale typically drive measurable lifts in food, beverage, and lodging revenue per visitor.
The naming convention for both the lift and run reflects the resort's founding identity. Robert Redford established Sundance in 1969 around principles of artistic expression and environmental stewardship, and the Electric Horseman and Storyteller names are explicitly designed to reinforce that cultural legacy. New stewardship has continued that direction while advancing operational improvements, including the forthcoming opening of the Inn at Sundance. Resorts that tie infrastructure investment to brand narrative have shown stronger guest retention — a dynamic restaurant and hospitality operators at destination venues increasingly leverage in their own programming strategies.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
