Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Skytrac to Build New Chickadee at Snowbird
This weekend is your last chance to ride Snowbird’s oldest chairlift, Chickadee. On Monday, Snowbird will begin work to replace the 1972 Thiokol double with a quad in partnership with Skytrac. The new lift will come out from underneath the Snowbird Center deck, giving beginners more space to queue and load. Riders will also enjoy a loading conveyor, making boarding even easier. “The new and fully grown-up version of the Chickadee chair will continue to create the next generation of powder chasers, future Olympians and local legends, just with a bit more room to squeeze in your whole fam,” said Snowbird.
Interestingly this will be the first lift in Snowbird’s 55 year history not constructed by Doppelmayr or a brand it acquired. Snowbird and Skytrac plan to fast-track construction and christen the new Chickadee for summer operations some time in July.
News Roundup: End of the Road
- Indy Pass adds Upper Midwest mountains Whitecap, Camp 10, Paul Bunyan and Coffee Mill.
- Ikon signs SilverStar, BC as a full partner and Giants Ridge, Minnesota to its bonus tier.
- Alaska’s capital city is poised to cancel installation of a used gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area after spending $8.3 million (this detailed presentation shows the project could be revived with private investment and would likely be profitable.)
- Pico retires the Outpost double with no immediate replacement.
- Lonesome Pine, Maine fundraises to replace its T-Bar.
- Also in Maine, Mt. Jefferson might install a used double from a larger resort.
- Germany’s Zugspitze blows up two glacier T-Bars due to melting.
- Switzerland opens a criminal investigation into last month’s Engelberg gondola detachment.
- Marquette Mountain, Michigan to install a new chairlift this summer, details TBA.
- Antelope Butte, Wyoming envisions a Westside intermediate lift.
- Colorado’s Mighty Argo Cable Car could open this month.
- The Boone’s Ridge wildlife center in Kentucky, which would include an MND gondola, to sell $70 million worth of bonds.
- Ski profiles the process to install new Elk Camp at Snowmass from factory to load test.
- After losing $1.6 million, the private operator of the Stone Mountain aerial tram will end its contract with the State of Georgia early and lay off staff. Aramark Destinations will take over operations June 1st.
- The Forest Service to close regional offices and relocate headquarters to Salt Lake City.
Lee Canyon to Expand Westward
A fifth chairlift will debut at Nevada’s Lee Canyon next winter servicing five new trails in an area known as West Bowl. The 2,200 foot Skytrac quad will rise 650 vertical feet and transport up to 1,800 skiers per hour. It is shown on the below master plan as Chair 8. Lee Canyon completed a similar expansion to the East three years ago with three new runs. West Bowl trails will range from low intermediate to advanced with snowmaking throughout. West Bowl is expected to open for the 2026/27 winter season.
The expansion caps a period of remarkable growth at Las Vegas’ only ski area with new chairlifts in 2012, 2014 and 2023 plus a new lodge in 2019.
Lee Canyon owner Mountain Capital Partners will also partner with Skytrac this summer on an expansion at Purgatory, Colorado. Skytrac plans a busy year overall with projects in Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Utah, Wisconsin, British Columbia and Quebec.
Instagram Tuesday: Snowflake Bullwheel
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Doppelmayr to Build Three New Detachables at Mont-Sainte-Anne
Mont-Sainte-Anne today announced a groundbreaking order for three Doppelmayr lifts to revitalize the mountain’s aging infrastructure over the next three years. The order, signed on March 26th and among Doppelmayr Canada’s largest ever, encompasses two six place chairlifts and a 10 place gondola. The project will be funded in part with a CA$50 million loan from Investissement Québec, a government economic development agency. Mont-Sainte-Anne’s owner, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, will fund an equal portion.
A new Express du Sud will debut first in February 2027. The bubble six pack will follow a completely new alignment, replacing both the current Express du Sud detachable and La Tortue fixed grip, both of which date back to 1986. Whistler-based Ecosign sited this lift so skiers can access North, South and East slopes from a single unload point just below the summit. Express du Sud’s 97 bubble chairs will travel at a speed of five meters per second with a trip time of 7.3 minutes, The UNI-G lift will transport 2,400 people per hour and become the first six place bubble in Eastern Canada. Tree clearing will begin this summer and both existing lifts will remain operational into next winter until the new lift is ready.
Come December 2027, Doppelmayr will complete the first 10 place gondola in Eastern Canada, replacing the mountain’s 1989 vintage gondola. This UNI-G system will include 65 CWA Omega IV level walk in cabins with individual seats and floor-to-ceiling windows. The gondola will fly a brisk six meters per second, lifting 2,600 guests per hour to the summit in just 7.4 minutes. “Designed for four-season use, this facility will also allow the transportation of mountain bikes, facilitating the development of a summer offering,” noted Mont-Sainte-Anne. “It will become much more than just a means of transportation: an experience in itself, suitable for skiers as well as visitors, groups and convention customers.” The base of the gondola will shift toward L’Express du Sud to coincide with redevelopment of the village and beginner area.
Finally a second six pack will open on the North side of the mountain in December 2028, replacing both a 1987 detachable quad and 1970s T-Bar. This UNI-G detachable will include 67 non-bubble chairs moving at five meters per second. A ride will run just 4.6 minutes with an hourly capacity of 2,600 skiers. When Express du Nord is complete, Mont-Sainte-Anne will have replaced five aging lifts with three modern machines. Mont-Sainte-Anne noted it selected Doppelmayr after a competitive bid process in part due to the Austrian company’s head office in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, “providing superior guarantees for installation and adherence to schedules.”
Mont-Sainte-Anne also plans to install a mountain coaster and revitalize the snowmaking system together with the new lifts. “This project marks a turning point for Mont-Sainte-Anne, said Maxime Cretin, Vice President and General Manager, Eastern Region for Resort of the Canadian Rockies. “It allows us not only to modernize our infrastructure, but also to rethink the overall experience offered to our visitors starting next season, by focusing on performance, comfort and innovation.”
News Roundup: Skyway
- Berkshire East and Catamount to join Burke Mountain and Smugglers’ Notch under unified ownership.
- Quebec’s CMSQ takes over management of a fifth mountain, Belle Neige, and sets sights on a sixth.
- A private ski area with five chairlifts is approved in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains.
- Doppelmayr’s CEO highlights the importance of the United States market.
- In the wake of a fatal crash, Swiss media report Garaventa offered a voluntary retrofit for DT-108 grips on the Titlis Xpress several years ago.
- One person is killed and six injured when an aerial tram cable snaps in India.
- A law firm files an antitrust lawsuit against Alterra and Vail, claiming both “unlawfully inflated prices and suppressed competition through anticompetitive bundling practices tied to their multi‑mountain season passes.”
- Park City’s Cabriolet replacement to be called the Canyons Village Skyway.
- Park City officials get another chance to approve Eagle and Silverlode replacements.
- MND provides an update on its 10 lift project in Uzbekistan, including the first Orizon detachable.
- A Denver TV station looks back at the 1976 Vail gondola disaster with a multi-part series.
- Here’s a cool primer on how a splice comes together.
- Jackson Hole to debut a golden gondola in honor of Olympian Breezy Johnson.
- A tree falls on the Silver Mountain gondola.
- Alaska public radio explores how a gondola project supposed to cost under $10 million more than tripled in price.
- Big Sky will shorten Powder Seeker 6 this summer, slightly lowering the top terminal due to moving glacial rock.
- The Zincton proposal in BC faces local opposition.
- Nub’s Nob to replace the Orange triple with a Skytrac quad this summer.
- Skytrac will also build Lee Canyon’s expansion lift.
- Sponsored job: Electrical Lift Installer – Okanagan Project – Doppelmayr Canada
Sugarbush Plans North Ridge Replacement
Alterra-owned Sugarbush Resort intends to replace its oldest chairlift next year, subject to state approval. The North Ridge Express, which began life lower on Mt. Ellen as the Green Mountain Express, would be removed in spring 2027 and swapped for a Doppelmayr UNI-G detachable quad. The project is expected to cost $10 million, including $2 million of site preparation and utilities work. The new lift would transport 2,400 skiers per hour and follow the same alignment as the existing lift. Alterra first eyed replacing North Ridge in 2023 but the project was tabled in favor of other priorities.
Poma constructed the current lift in 1990 as Sugarbush’s first detachable chair. American Skiing Company then moved Green Mountain Express to North Ridge in 1995. NRX currently ranks 7th oldest detachable in New England and has suffered frequent downtime of late, most recently a result of communication line damage. Sugarbush notes the new lift will improve operational reliability and the overall guest experience at Mt. Ellen. North Ridge Express 2.0 is expected to open in time for the 2027-28 ski season.
Instagram Tuesday: St. Lawrence
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Spring Winds
- The Hermitage Club’s new detachable quad to cost $6.25 million and include a chair parking facility.
- Oregon ski areas celebrate passage of an outdoor recreation liability reform bill.
- Castle Mountain rope evacuates the new Stagecoach Express.
- An investigation into the fatal Swiss gondola crash this week focuses on weather and operational factors, not a design issue. The lift was being unloaded at the time and the cabin involved likely hit a tower.
- A tree falls on the BreckConnect Gondola at Breckenridge.
- Red Lodge Mountain’s owner and an insurance company argue over coverage related to a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a man who died on a lift last season in high winds.
- Wind blows the roof off the Silver Fir Express at Snoqualmie, shuttering it until further notice.
- Alberta opens public consultation for the proposed Silvertip Gondola in Canmore.
- Aspen skiers struggle to ride the new T-Bar atop Snowmass.
- Holiday Mountain, New York to install new Partek chairs on Roman Candle this fall.
- A child is unharmed after falling from a lift and being caught at Pats Peak, New Hampshire (video)
- Oz Trails Bike Park to open June 12th.
- Sun Valley confirms construction of two new detachables this summer.
- Lee Canyon to construct the final lift from its master plan this summer, manufacturer TBA.
- Hogadon, Wyoming likely to construct a new chairlift next summer.
- Craigleith, Ontario addresses downtime on the Funnel chair.
- Last day riders of Killington’s Snowdon triple tomorrow will be entered to win a chair.
- Little Switzerland, Wisconsin give skiers the opportunity to own a Riblet chair.
- In an interview with the Vail newspaper, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz makes the case mega passes have kept crowds stable or even reduced crowding.
- Vail also releases an insightful investor presentation outlining shifting priorities.
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