Shawnee Mountain has installed its first high-speed quad, which will whisk skiers and boarders to the top of the Pennsylvania mountain beginning this winter. The new chairlift is the centerpiece of $5 million in capital improvements made over the summer. Ribbon cutting on the new lift is expected to take place in early December, 2010.

Manufactured by Doppelmayer CTEC USA in Salt Lake City, Utah, the new Tomahawk Express Quad has been installed centrally along the Tomahawk trail. The lift will service 20 of Shawnee’s 23 slopes and trails. The fixed grip quad lift formerly in that location is being relocated to the Arrowhead trail.

The Tomahawk Express will cover 3,100 feet in 3 minutes, cutting the former travel time down from 7 minutes. Although the lift will run at 1,000 feet per minute, it will slow down to 225 feet per minute at the base terminals, providing a relaxed load and unload speed for children and new skiers and boarders. With rear slanting seats, the new lift will transport 2,400 skiers and riders up the mountain per hour.

In addition to the new lift, Shawnee Mountain has installed 46 new automated snowmaking to two additional ski trails, the Kittattiny and Bennekil. In anticipation of future snowmaking automation along the mile-long Pennsylvania trail, Shawnee got a head start by installing over a mile of new air and water pipelines.

The mountaintop Summit Lodge has seen some renovations over the summer, including new siding, windows, doors, flooring, and outdoor decks.

Older locker rooms near Guest Services have been transformed into a new family locker room. The Pennsylvania resort has also installed over 150 new electronic Go Pod Lockers in two sizes, which will provide easy rentals and all-day access via a credit card.