Sunday River - Merrill Hill Triple

The Merrill Hill Triple at Sunday River Maine is a fixed grip triple chair that runs up the front face Merrill Hill, and is a part of a brand new real estate development plan for that area. The history of Merrill Hill actually dates back to the days of when Les Otten owned Sunday River. A plan for Merrill Hill was designed by Otten himself, but never publicized. The plan unfortunately did not come to fruition, and plans were shelved after Sunday River was sold. Fast forward about 15 years later, and that plan is now a reality. When the lift 19 was built, it sat idle for a year, due to no snowmaking infrastructure, as well as most properties being an active construction zone. When opened in 2023, the complex featured 4 new trails and access to another lift, Merrill Hill II (lift 20). Lift #20 also travels to roughly the same spot as lift #19, and will also sit idle for this season as there is also no snowmaking or infrastructure around it. Trails off the lift 19 feature quite a few ski bridges, some tunnels, and breathtaking scenic views of Sunday River's 8 interconnected peaks.

The Lift:
Merrill Hill (or lift #19) is a standard Doppelmayr triple with an Alpen-Star drive terminal, lengthy chair spacing, updated controls, and new operator shacks. It also features a depress tower prior to unloading, which makes for a steep unload ramp. This is because the lift must cross over a road, and must abide by the height required for crossing over. It travels at the same speed as Spruce (which is 500 fpm), but I suspect that in the future it might be slowed down; only because of how long the load ramp is, and how abruptly the lift will scoop you up when loading. Because of its limited terrain it is only regulated to run on weekends and holidays. This is identical to lifts 3, 4, 6, 13 and 15, which open at 9:00 am, and close at 3:30 pm (except for Oz). However, this does not mean the lift will close earlier in the season. There is an an agreement between the mountain and Merrill Hill homeowners, as the lift must run through the duration of lift #7 (Chondola) operating hours.

Info:
Builder: Doppelmayr USA
Year Built: 2021
Capacity: 1800 riders/hr
Vertical: 494 ft
Length: 2037 ft
Design Speed: 500 fpm / 2.54 meters per second
Speed During Recording: 450 fpm / 2.2 mps
Average Ride Time: 4.1 Minutes

0:00 - Bottom Terminal
0:29 - Lift Line
5:14 - Summit Terminal
5:43 - Taking a look at the new Merrill Hill II Chair!

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Filmed with a GoPro 9 MaxLensMod attached.