Angel Fire Resort 2025?26 Mountain Updates

The new Rakes Rider Lift pays tribute to Dan Rakes, a beloved member of the Angel Fire family who worked here for more than 40 years. His dedication to the resort and its guests helped shape the mountain experience generations of skiers and riders have enjoyed.

Rakes Rider will open first, debuting for the 2025–26 ski season. It’s designed to make mountain access smoother than ever. Here’s a look at the stats:

• Slope Length: 3,193 feet

• Vertical Rise: 932 feet

• Speed: 455 feet per minute

• Capacity: 1,400 riders per hour

• Drive HP: 228 (drive location: top)

• Tension Location: Top

• Towers: 13

• Chairs: 85

Located near the line of the old Lift 6 (removed in 1997), Rakes Rider’s new alignment improves accessibility and creates a more efficient flow on the mountain.

Next up is Angel Express, a high-capacity lift that is scheduled to open in summer 2026. This addition expands frontside skiing from mid-mountain down, giving beginners and intermediates even more room to explore and setting the stage for exciting future base-area improvements.

• Slope Length: 5,342 feet

• Vertical Rise: 887 feet

• Speed: 1,000 feet per minute

• Capacity: 1,800 riders per hour

• Drive HP: 500

• Drive Location: Top

• Tension Location: Top/Bottom

• Towers: 15

• Chairs: 56

To keep the slopes covered and conditions consistent, both new lifts include significant snowmaking improvements.

• Rakes Rider: 3,300 feet of new snowmaking pipe, six stick guns, and two TL8 fan guns.

• Angel Express: Additional snowmaking upgrades are in the works and will be finalized soon.

Construction on both lifts began April 1, 2025, with crews and contractors including Summit Install, Robins Construction (Antonito, CO), Timberline Helicopters, and All Mountain Construction. Heavy equipment like the Spider Excavator and Ponsse Harvesters have been hard at work, safely managing the 7.67 acres of glading for Rakes Rider and 9 acres for Angel Express.

Despite a wet summer (great for wildflowers, trickier for construction), the team has made excellent progress with no blasting or major drainage issues.

Rakes Rider will be ready to roll for the 2025–26 ski season, with Angel Express following the next year. Together, they mark a new era for Angel Fire Resort, one that honors our past while building a stronger, smoother, and more exciting mountain experience for the future.