- Copper Mountain seeks Forest Service approval to replace Lumberjack.
- More details emerge on the Argo Cable Car construction delay.
- The Canadian Ski Council says resort revenues fell 35 to 40 percent this year but it varied by province.
- Lots of jobs are available right now at Leitner-Poma and subsidiary Skytrac.
- Aspen Skiing Company will spin lifts across three mountains for the first time ever this summer.
- Another Gatlinburg tram update.
- Wasatch Peaks Ranch launches a website, though not much is on it yet.
- Squaw Alpine says its name change process is taking longer than expected but a historic announcement will come soon.
- In case you missed Doppelmayr Insights, product announcements included modular aerial tramway technology called Peak Line, resort management software clair and a new rotating gondola bike carrier dubbed Bike Cab. The entire event can be replayed here.
- Want to watch construction this summer? Great Bear, Seven Springs, Snow King and Sugar Mountain all have webcams pointed toward lift projects.
- Doppelmayr Cable Car is one of four finalists to supply a new automated people mover to Newark Liberty International Airport.
- Insurers appeal a NZ$12 million verdict against Christchurch Adventure Park for running a chairlift during a wildfire, allegedly spreading it.
- Steel prices reach all time highs.
- French ski resorts can finally reopen lifts May 19th.
- Snow King’s Cougar triple moves uphill to make way for the new gondola.
- Duluth, Minnesota looks to pump $25 million into Spirit Mountain.
Seven Springs Announces New Avalanche Quad
One of the very first CTEC lifts built way back in 1979 is being retired from Seven Springs Mountain Resort. Doppelmayr will construct a new Alpen Star quad in its place on the Avalanche slope this summer. The new lift will transport 2,400 skiers per hour with a ride time of just 4.3 minutes. “Our new Doppelmayr chairlift will greatly improve our guest experience on the front face of the mountain allowing for many more runs each day,” said Joel Rerko, Seven Springs Director of Mountain Operations. “We continue to be committed to our season passholders, homeowners and growing the sport as a whole. After coming off an incredible winter, we cannot wait to unveil it this coming ski season.”
The Avalanche quad will follow a new alignment ending closer to the top of Tyrol. It will feature 7 towers, 88 chairs and a 200 horsepower electric motor. The lift will be 1,956 feet in length and will cover 492 vertical feet. Construction is already underway and scheduled to be completed by November.
Instagram Tuesday: Build Time
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Moving Parts
- The Seattle Times runs a feature story on Vail Resorts’ operational challenges at Stevens Pass compared with Alterra at Crystal Mountain.
- Ridgeline Executive Group will continue running Granby Ranch following the sale to a new ownership group.
- The unique triangle gondola at Sterling Vineyards remains closed seven months after a wildfire with no estimate for reopening.
- Big Snow renames its quad chair in honor of General Manager Jim Haas and others who died of Covid-19.
- Two employees of the Georgian ski resort where a lift rolled back in 2018 have been charged criminally and face up to five years in prison.
- Visits to New York’s three state-owned ski areas were up 14 percent to 672,000 with revenue up 10 percent and expenses down 8 percent.
- Whiteface will replace the Bear and Mixing Bowl lifts with a $2.5 million Skytrac quad.
- Powder Mountain, Mt. Ashland and West Mountain join the Indy Pass, which topped 96,000 redemptions this season.
- Cherry Peak, Eagle Point, Red River and Snow Valley sign on to the Freedom Pass alliance, Toggenburg leaves.
- Another fire threatens Ski Apache, which is so far unscathed.
- We now know why the Mighty Argo Cable Car project is stalled. Owners have sued lenders, alleging breach of contract and a $4.5 million loss.
- The Routt National Forest approves Steamboat’s Wild Blue Gondola and Sundown Express replacement projects, subject to a customary objection period.
- Japan’s first urban gondola opens.
- Mi Teleferico celebrates seven years as La Paz’s urban gondola system, providing 328 million rides.
- Loon Mountain confirms the former Kancamagus detachable quad will replace Seven Brothers in 2022.
- Loveland closes Lift 8 for the season due to a mechanical issue.
- The only jigback tramway in Texas could make a return.
- Holiday Valley posts tons of photos of its latest lift replacement project.
- The first gondola components arrive in Squaw Valley.
Instagram Tuesday: Next Phase
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Earth Week
- As new cabins arrive in Canada, operators of the Sea to Sky Gondola say it will be the most protected lift system on the planet when it reopens this summer.
- Sundance’s Ray’s quad is listed for sale, though it will continue to operate until October 10th.
- The Finance Authority of Maine approves $135 million in funding for the rebirth of Big Squaw as Moosehead Mountain with high speed quad installation as soon as this summer.
- Owners of West Mountain discuss replacing an entire ski area worth of infrastructure and plans for future development.
- An Ober Gatlinburg tram rebuild update.
- Steamboat and Doppelmayr begin moving the village gondola station.
- Mexico City’s next urban gondolas will go out to bid late this year or in early 2022.
- Keystone to auction Argentine chairs for charity.
- In an interview, the head of MND says he hopes to build more lifts in the USA.
- After a strong spring in Colorado and Utah, Vail Resorts upgrades its revenue guidance.
- Al Roker and Bill Nye ride the Roosevelt Island Tram to talk green transportation on Earth Day.
- There was a minor collision in the Hollywood Studios Skyliner station last night which broke a cabin window.
- Squaw Alpine posts a pre-construction update on the Base-to-Base project.
Schweitzer Joins Ikon, Plans Lift Improvements
Idaho’s Schweitzer has signed on to become the 45th Ikon Pass mountain in North America. Ikon Pass holders will enjoy up to 7 days of access at Schweitzer and Ikon Base Pass holders will get 5 holiday-restricted days. Schweitzer’s top tier local passholders will receive an Ikon Base Pass valid at destinations worldwide. “This is a huge win for skiers and snowboarders and for our community,” the resort said in a statement. “We wanted to be able to offer our customers the benefit of a multi-resort pass and joining Ikon Pass allows us to do just that. The Ikon Pass includes premier mountains around the globe, and we are excited to be the newest Ikon Pass mountain destination.”
The partnership with Alterra replaces Schweitzer’s membership in the Powder Alliance reciprocal program, which brought the North Idaho mountain about 5,000 skiers per year over the last seven seasons. Schweitzer says it was the single most-redeemed destination in that alliance.
With Ikon and regional population trends, Schweitzer is planning for continued visitation growth of about 5 to 10 percent over the next couple of years and will make “continued investments to help the mountain to absorb that growth.” This summer, the resort will dedicate more than $250,000 to increase the capacity of the Stella Express by 15 percent (235 people per hour). This will be accomplished by adding 14 new six passenger chairs. The mountain will also debut a $500,000 RFID ticketing system in the fall, enabling direct-to-lift access. Following these projects and the debut of a new slopeside hotel, replacement of the Musical Chairs lift will become the mountain’s next major capital priority. The new high speed quad will span a creek near the current bottom terminal and connect to a parking lot for 1,500 cars.
The mountain’s master plan envisions at least four other new lifts in both Schweitzer and Outback bowls in the years to come.
Grand Targhee Selects Doppelmayr D-Line for Peaked Mountain
With skier visits up 17 percent this season from a previous record, Grand Targhee Resort will spend more than $20 million on improvements the next two years, including a new six place chairlift on Peaked Mountain.
The Peaked lift will become Targhee’s fifth chair and the seventh Doppelmayr D-Line system in the United States. Introduced in 2015, D-Line features more than 200 improvements to previous Doppelmayr detachable technology. The lift will transport 2,000 people per hour, gaining 1,815 vertical feet in just over five minutes. The Peaked area will offer unmatched views of the Tetons with access to over 600 acres of intermediate and advanced terrain. Heavier six passenger carriers will improve the lift’s ability to operate in windy conditions and full carrier parking will help speed storm recovery. Cat skiing will be offered on upper Peaked Mountain for one final season in 2021/22.
Tower/terminal foundations, communications trenching and the lift’s power supply will be completed this summer with steel installation to follow in 2022. New chairs will also be added to the nearby Sacajawea high speed quad during the summer of 2022 to bring its uphill capacity to 2,000 guests per hour. The resort will also construct new employee housing, increase parking and complete a new maintenance shop this summer. “Due to the efforts of many dedicated employees and the support of our guests and partners during challenging times, Grand Targhee is fortunate to be able to announce these projects,” the resort said in a statement.
Instagram Tuesday: Spooling Up
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
MND Ropeways to Build First US Detachable at Waterville Valley
Waterville Valley Resort and MND Ropeways have inked a deal to bring a first-of-its-kind chairlift to New Hampshire. The six place bubble lift will replace the White Peaks Express, in operation since 1988. One hundred chairs designed by Porsche Design Studio will carry 3,000 skiers per hour along a 5,700 foot alignment.
Waterville Valley and MND previously collaborated to install three surface lifts and more than 400 snow guns. “We have been partners with Waterville Valley Resort since 2017 and are pleased to be continuing our collaboration,” noted Xavier Gallot-Lavallée, Chairman and CEO of MND. “This project will expand our position in the U.S. market by building our first detachable ropeway transportation system in the United States.”
The $9 million, 845 horsepower machine will become one of the largest bubble lifts in the East. “Replacing our White Peaks lift is the most important project in our investment plan for the existing resort footprint, and we will continue our work to enhance the guest experience at Waterville Valley Resort,” said President and General Manager Tim Smith. “This lift represents the best technology in the market today and we are pleased to extend our partnership with MND.”
MND Ropeways has built lifts in more than 40 countries to date. German Peter Loipolder founded the company as LST (Loipolder Seilbahn Technik) in 1989. Following Mr. Loipolder’s 2011 death, the French conglomerate MND (which translates in English as Mountain and Snow Development) acquired LST, moving manufacturing to the French Alps. MND went public on the Euronext Growth exchange in 2013 and constructed its first detachable chairlift in 2016. By 2019, the firm pivoted to a partnership with Bartholet Maschinenbau Flums (BMF) of Switzerland, allowing MND to utilize Bartholet’s detachable technology. MND has been present in the United States for 10 years with a main office in Eagle, Colorado and a satellite location in Laconia, New Hampshire.
A third player entering the North American detachable lift business is a big deal. The last time three companies offered detachables here was pre-2002, when Doppelmayr merged with Garaventa. Competition is good for ski resorts and ultimately the skiing and snowboarding public.
White Peaks is a turnkey project with MND providing design, project management, equipment fabrication, construction, installation, start-up and operator training. Foundations for Waterville’s six pack will be poured this year with steel erection taking place next summer. Commissioning is slated for the fall of 2022.
