South Face Express Quad
South Face
- Type
- Chairs
- Chair Capacity
- Towers
- Installed
- Length
- Vertical Rise
- Ride Time
- Vertical ft/sec
- High Speed Detachable Chairlift
- 98
- 4
- 17
- 1997
- 4,717 ft
- 1,072 ft
- 5 min
- 3.57
South Face Express Quad is the primary lift of the South Face area. South Face is a good refuge from the crowds of the main face as it rarely has lines build up and when they do, they're relatively short.
South Face, literally facing South, gets more wind and sun than the other areas. That make make rides up South Face quite frigid on windy days. Thankfully, the ride is pretty quick.
Listen carefully on your trip up. The wind sometimes causes the chairs to "sing" as they pass downhill. Midway through your ride, you'll be entertained by people attempting to dodge the lift towers on Upper Wild Thing, directly under the chairs.
This chair brings you to the true summit of Okemo so from here you can go anywhere else on the mountain. Turning left will bring you to Dream Weaver, the only beginner trail from the summit. Directly under the top of the lift is Moon Dog, connecting to Rimrock and all the other South Face trails.
Taking a right from the summit onto Sun Dog connects to the upper part of Rimrock and gives you access to the backside of Mountain Road for a long, gentle ride to the Clock Tower base. You may also take a hard right off of Sun Dog to come back to the South Face trails plus Outrage, a double black diamond trail. If you're willing to do a short uphill ascent, stay straight on Rimrock to meet up with the top of the Glades Peak Quad. There you can follow Buckhorn to the Summit Lodge.
On a clear day, drop your skis or board after you get off the lift and head straight through the trees to the fire tower. The steps can be a bit slippery, especially in ski boots, but at the top you'll be rewarded with 360 degree views of Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. To the north, you'll see the back side of Killington. To the east, you'll find Mt. Sunapee. To the south, you can see the other southern Vermont slopes (from left to right) of Magic Mountain, Mount Snow and Stratton.
The only restrooms in the South Face area are a couple of portable toilets near this lift. But at least you don't have to navigate stairs in ski boots.