Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Gondola Riders Injured in Incident at Mont-Sainte-Anne
Nearly two dozen passengers suffered injuries this morning when a gondola lift came to an abrupt stop at Mont-Sainte-Anne, a large resort near Quebec City. The incident occurred just before 10:00 am and cabins stopped suddenly enough that skis and snowboards fell from exterior racks. At least one cabin became lodged at an angle in a station with a broken window. Other cabins reportedly contacted towers. Out of the 21 people injured, 12 were transported to hospitals by ambulance.
By around 10:45, the gondola was restarted in reverse to unload riders. The rescue operation was completed by noon and the lift is now closed. A spokesperson for Mont-Sainte-Anne said there were 80 cabins on the line today and an investigation will be undertaken. “Our main objective is to make sure that everyone is taken care of quickly, then, afterwards, we will have more details on the mechanical aspects,” said Simon Lefebvre with the ski resort.
The gondola, known as L’Étoile Filante, was constructed by Doppelmayr and opened in 1989. It is the largest of seven lifts at Sainte-Anne, a mountain owned by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. Calgary-based RCR operates a total of six ski resorts in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.
News Roundup: Upper Peninsula
- Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort is for sale with an asking price of $2.4 million.
- Marquette Mountain finds a new owner.
- Arizona Snowbowl plans to reopen Agassiz in early March.
- A girl was lucky to fall from Park City’s Town lift where it crosses Park Avenue and has catch netting.
- Crystal Mountain, BC won’t reopen this winter but may add a new lift this summer in addition to reactivating a T-Bar for next year.
- Doppelmayr will build Saddleback a new detachable quad, which will have a ride time under five minutes and run in the same alignment as Rangeley.
- A real estate brokerage is hired to market the Hermitage properties in advance of next month’s auction.
- Three Whistler Blackcomb leaders respond to the Make Whistler Great Again petition with a video about what it takes to run such a massive ski area.
- French lift staff go on strike.
- Nonprofit Ski Cooper has become quite profitable in recent years, allowing it to make significant upgrades.
- Despite late deliveries and winter work, Skeetawk lift construction chugs along.
- Reopening day at the Sea to Sky Gondola sets a new visitation record.
- Nordic Valley wants to build its new lift as soon as this summer.
- With two prominent new gondola systems recently opened at private venues in Florida, Miami area leaders look to gondola transit.
- Last week’s death was not the first time someone fell through chair with a flipped up seat at Vail and Beaver Creek. It also happened on the very same lift in 2009.
- Removal of a second lift begins at Timberline in preparation for this summer’s new construction.
- In a letter to passholders, Nub’s Nob announces the retirement of Blue effective at the end of this season.
- The Berry Family tells the inside story of why it took so long to sell Saddleback and reveals another ski area offered $3 million for the lifts.
Sugarloaf Outlines West Mountain Expansion & Future Lift Upgrades
Boyne Resorts will embark on a major investment campaign at Sugarloaf in the coming years called Sugarloaf 2030, similar to plans revealed recently for Big Sky, Loon Mountain and Sunday River. The central Maine resort will begin work this summer on a 450 acre expansion of West Mountain with a variety of new trails. The area will eventually feature a big new lift. As part of the expansion, the current West Mountain double will be shortened to about half its current length. The expansion includes a modest new base area with expanded parking, tubing and a small lodge.
“This development will expand Sugarloaf’s beginner and intermediate terrain, and will greatly alleviate traffic congestion at the SuperQuad by shifting significant numbers of riders to this new area,” says the Sugarloaf 2030 website. “Several options are being considered for size and type of lift for this location, with lift construction expected to begin in the summer of 2021.” The lift will be designed with foot passengers in mind as Bullwinkle’s will see expanded use for weddings and conferences. West Mountain will also be home to a future lift-served mountain bike park. “This will be the most significant project at Sugarloaf since the SuperQuad was built in the mid 1990s,” noted Sugarloaf General Manager Karl Strand. “We’re thankful for leadership of Boyne Resorts, which, over the past 13 years, has helped us get Sugarloaf to a position of growth that allows for development projects like this.”
Lifts across the mountain will be replaced over the next decade. Timberline, a Borvig quad serving the summit will be replaced with another new lift supporting varied year round experiences. A third near term priority is the Double Runner double-double, which is approaching 50 years of age. A new quad would better serve ski school programs and increase out-of-base capacity. Carrabassett Valley Academy also plans to partner with Sugarloaf on a new alpine training surface lift servicing race trails above Double Runner.
Further out, Boyne plans to replace two more aging quads. A new King Pine would run in a modified alignment with better wind resistance and improved reliability. A future SuperQuad replacement is more about increasing capacity with state-of-the-art equipment.
Between this new plan, Sunday River’s vision announced two weeks ago and the rebirth of Saddleback, the 2020s are already proving to be an exciting time in Maine. The Pine Tree State is well positioned to be a great place to ski in a changing climate and companies are responding with big investment plans.
Instagram Tuesday: Rising Up
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Millions
- Crystal Mountain reopens after being closed nearly a week. Mudslides along its access road cost the resort more than $1 million in business.
- Dave McCoy, the visionary founder of Mammoth Mountain, dies at 104.
- Great job Elk Mountain staff for this rescue of a dangling young skier.
- You can also watch a heroic Mt. Hood Meadows employee remove seven inches of ice from Vista Express towers this week.
- The Sea to Sky Gondola finally reopens, six months after a crime which cost nearly $4 million dollars in damage and lost revenue.
- Chair 5 at Greek Peak breaks down and gets rope evacuated.
- Highland Mountain Bike Park will add 40 chairs to its chairlift, increasing uphill capacity by 50 percent.
- Vail Mountain COO Beth Howard explains the circumstances behind last weekend’s epic lift lines.
- The Balsams may be closed but Les Otten opens the doors for himself and four others to cast first in the nation presidential votes.
- Swiss manufacturer Bartholet launches a fresh website.
- The Little Mountain that Could is a short film by L.L.Bean exploring the rebirth of Whaleback as a nonprofit.
- Locals frustrated with Whistler Blackcomb operations and staffing petition Vail Resorts to do better.
- One of those involved in the Stoos chair accident succumbs to his injuries. Two others have been released from the hospital.
- Stevens Pass reopens Seventh Heaven 11 days after this incident.
- A man dies in a terrible accident involving the Skyline Express at Vail. A preliminary investigation suggests he slipped through a chair’s seat, was caught by his jacket and asphyxiated.
- Former Vail Resorts mountain division head Chris Jarnot becomes a consultant for the upcoming Mayflower Mountain Resort in Park City.
- Sunday River President Dana Bullen talks about the Merrill Hill expansion, future lift projects and which lifts are staying put.
- Al Henceroth confirms the Pallavicini double will be replaced by a Leitner-Poma double this summer.
- Utah Business magazine makes the case for One Wasatch.
Nordic Valley Seeks to Add a Fourth Chairlift
Mountain Capital Partners no longer plans to build nine new chairlifts and one of the world’s longest gondolas in Northern Utah but a scaled back expansion of Nordic Valley is moving forward. The previous vision hinged on use of Forest Service lands and received chilly public reception.
The resort recently applied for a conditional use permit to add a new lift on 347 acres of entirely private land south of the current ski area. The updated project includes 50 acres of new snowmaking coverage and an approximately 4,400 foot chairlift dubbed Lift 5. Photos included with the application depict Skytrac lifts, indicating the new lift would be fixed-grip.
Back in 2018, Mountain Capital Partners forged an agreement to operate Nordic Valley, becoming the firm’s first property in Utah. MCP specializes in modernizing historically under-capitalized resorts across the Southwest. “The proposed project will allow for an improved guest experience for the surrounding communities and will compliment and improve the existing ski operations at Nordic Valley,” said the Colorado-based company. “With the addition of snowmaking, Nordic Valley will be able to minimize the impact of low natural snowfalls and offer a more consistent product to its customers.”
Instagram Tuesday: Ice Coast
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
New York State Ski Areas Plan New Lifts for 2020-21
New York’s state-owned Olympic Regional Development Authority plans to spend a whopping $147 million to upgrade its facilities during 2020 and 2021. Those venues include Belleayre, Gore Mountain, the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex and Whiteface, which together saw three new lifts over the last three years. On Friday, the agency issued a formal request for proposal for three more fixed-grip quad chairlifts to be built over two years.
This summer, both Gore and Whiteface would see new lifts replacing Riblet models. Gore proposes replacing the Sunway double with a fixed quad capable of moving 2,400 guests per hour. The previous lift dates back to 1986. The new alignment would end slightly higher than the current lift, with a 566 foot vertical rise and 3,102 foot slope length. This machine would be bottom drive, bottom tension with a loading carpet.
Also in 2020, Whiteface plans to replace the Bunny Hutch triple with a quad. The current lift opened in 1997 with used Riblet equipment. The new lift would be about 450 feet longer with a vertical rise of 364 feet. This quad would also be bottom drive/bottom tension and may include a loading conveyor.
Following in 2021, Gore would see a replacement for the High Peaks double. The existing lift is a quirky Riblet-CTEC hybrid that experiences long lines during peak times. The new lift would be a bottom drive fixed-grip quad with a design capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour.
No new lifts are planned for Belleayre, understandable considering the Catskills mountain got two of the last three projects. There’s no guarantee ORDA will follow through on these specific plans but the RFP gives us a pretty good idea of the authority’s wish list. Potential suppliers have until March 5th to bid and, if funded and approved, construction would be complete by November 15th of 2020 and 2021.
News Roundup: Big Game
- Did you catch a glimpse of gondolas flying during the Super Bowl? The lift is called the Bud Light Seltzer SkyView and is expected to be open around 50 event days per year at Hard Rock Stadium.
- The Bridger-Teton National Forest releases a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Snow King with a preferred alternative including a new gondola, backside fixed grip quad and access platter or T-Bar.
- Arctaris officially owns Saddleback and plans to order at least a detachable quad.
- With its longest chairlift out of service for weeks, Arizona Snowbowl opens its summit to hiking access.
- An Austrian newspaper interviews Anton Seeber, head of the Leitner Group, about the company’s growing presence in that country and worldwide.
- Sasquatch Mountain’s access road washes out, trapping guests at the resort for days and closing the mountain for a week.
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota budgets $1.6 million for a new chairlift at Great Bear.
- Donner Ski Ranch finds success as a family business despite being surrounded by larger resorts.
- Two more individuals bid on Hermitage Club assets with an auction now scheduled for March 20th.
- Bartholet and MND Group/LST Ropeways expand their ropeway partnership to include unified sales, service, production and products.
- The Australian resort hit hardest by this year’s wildfires won’t open next season.
- Wynn Resorts considers building a gondola from a casino in Everett, Massachusetts to a nearby transit station.
- Loon Mountain GM Jay Scambio talks extensively about Kanc 8 and Flight Path 2030.
- Keystone plans to remove Argentine as part of the Peru Express replacement project.
- New Hampshire’s largest newspaper visits Cannon Mountain and highlights the lift maintenance profession.
- A lift operator born deaf blazes trail for people with disabilities at Breckenridge.
- Struggling White Pine, Wyoming goes up for sale.
- A small Minnesota ski area closes due to chairlift problems but another local resort steps in to help.
- Three different lifts are under construction this winter in Alaska including one at the new Skeetawk ski area.
