Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
More Lifts Coming to Powder Mountain for 26-27
Powder Mountain plans to invest $40 million on the public side of the resort over the next two years with a focus on the Sundown zone. Under new majority owner Reed Hastings, Powder operates a public-private model, with lifts on the eastern half of the resort open only to homeowners. So far, Hastings has added five new lifts since 2023 with up to five more on deck.
Sundown lies within the public western half of the resort with a variety of terrain for both day and night skiing. By fall 2026, Skytrac will complete a new public lift called DMI, serving 1,000 acres of steeps on the backside of Sundown. Construction began last summer on the triple chair, which will rise 1,796 feet and rank among Skytrac’s steepest-ever lifts. On the front side, Leitner-Poma will replace the existing Sundown quad with a detachable. Powder’s fourth high speed quad will expand both capacity and hours. The old Sundown chair will then move to become a beginner chairlift called Doodle. “Doodle allows beginners and ski school students of all ages to get efficient laps on a gentle, dedicated pitch,” said Powder. In addition to three new lifts, the Sundown Lodge will be replaced with a modern 15,000 square foot facility featuring ski school, rentals and dining for 2027-28. “This development plan is a demonstration of our commitment to keeping Powder a thriving public ski resort for generations to come,” said Powder President Brandi Hammon. “As a local and an avid skier, the team and I are committed to our community and season passholders and will continue investing in their on-mountain experience.”
PowMow didn’t announce specifics for the private side known as Powder Haven, though construction began on a new Half Pint chairlift last summer that could also be completed this year. For this project, Powder opted to repurpose equipment from the old Paradise quad for a new high-alpine neighborhood. Powder’s master plan also calls for a new lift up Cobabe Canyon, which could eventually replace the aging Sunrise Poma. For now, Powder Mountain says the Sunrise lift will remain publicly accessible for the 2026/27 season regardless of further lift development on the private side.
News Roundup: Indy to Ikon
- Mountain Capital Partners may enter the Midwest with a deal to operate Spirit Mountain, Minnesota. Under the proposal, MCP would lease the mountain for a minimum of 20 years beginning in October.
- Vail raises Epic Pass prices approximately 3.5 percent, offers a discount to young adults 30 and under.
- Alterra raises Ikon prices roughly 5 percent, adds Tamarack, Idaho and Devil’s Head, Wisconsin to its bonus mountain tier while removing SilverStar, BC.
- Granite Peak, Wisconsin; Lutsen Mountains, Minnesota and Snowriver, Michigan switch from Indy Pass to Ikon Pass.
- Snowmass returns and Arapahoe Basin will go unlimited on the Ikon Base Pass.
- The Wall Street Journal visits Telluride owner Chuck Horning, who says he’s “never selling.”
- The BBC profiles lift operations at Whistler Blackcomb.
- The LA Times visits independent Mt. Baldy, surrounded by Alterra in Southern California.
- SAM digs into how a small Wisconsin ski area went from closed to buying two brand new Skytrac lifts.
- Snowbird will replace Chickadee this spring.
- Pomerelle, Idaho’s General Manager buys the mountain with his wife.
- Shanty Creek, Michigan also sells to new owners.
- The cost of used gondola installation at Eaglecrest balloons from under $9 million to as much as $37 million. A report finds the gondola would make the ski area profitble on an operating basis and canceling the project would cost taxpayers $10.9 million.
- In Iowa, a government-owned ski area fundraises for a brand new chairlift.
- Revelstoke’s Stoke chair to be out of service at least three days for gearbox repair.
- Stagecoach Mountain Ranch inches toward approval near Steamboat.
- The top operator house on Chair 1 at Titus Mountain, New York burns down, rendering the lift inoperable.
Instagram Tuesday: Cabins On
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Horsetrac
- Alta Sierra, California reopens for the first time in several years but has to rope evacuate a lift on day one.
- Indy Pass raises its base pass price, lowers the full pass price and adds Thrill Hills, ND; Pebble Creek, ID and Murray Ridge, BC plus several international and cross country outposts.
- Lost Valley, Maine would like to expand onto the opposite side of its access road with several lifts.
- Aspen Highlands looks to build a year-round gondola, replace Thunderbowl with a detachable and add an Apple Strudel lift.
- Doppelmayr USA partners with Ski Utah.
- Powder Mountain proposes replacing one carrier on Lightning Ridge with a carousel horse. Automated gates will prevent skiers from riding the horse.
- Two empty gondola cabins collide in Austria.
- Another avalanche takes out a lift tower in France.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne runs its gondola on diesel at reduced speed with less than 40 cabins out of 90 operational.
- McConkey’s at Park City has been down this week.
- Sugarbush pulls both Green Mountain Express and Super Bravo Express for a few days to complete repairs.
- Opposition emerges to the proposed gondola in Rock City, Georgia.
- An unseated passenger makes it all the way to the top of Bear Mountain’s longest detachable quad.
- Royal Gorge, Colorado debuts new glass floor gondolas tomorrow.
Instagram Tuesday: Park Peak
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Wild Europe Weather
- In a real estate sales presentation, Red Mountain leaders say expansion lifts on Mt. Kirkup and White Wolf Ridge are a higher priority than replacing existing lifts.
- Sasquatch Mountain, BC provides an update on the Green Chair, which hasn’t spun all season.
- An avalanche strikes a closed detachable lift in France.
- Another French avalanche takes out a tower and hits a terminal.
- Rime ice topples a lift tower in Spain.
- A double chair rolls back during operation in China (likely a lift from BHMRI, not a western manufacturer.)
- Also in Asia, a viral video shows a gondola cabin dragging through deep snow.
- Bluewood, Washington upgrades Triple Nickel with Partek carriers, will sell old Borvig ones.
- Anakeesta offers up chairs from its former Chondola but not the gondola cabins.
- The 13 year-old critically injured in an unloading incident at Ski Vorlage, Quebec last week died four days later, her family says. Quebec’s ropeway regulator inspected the lift post-accident and identified several unspecified corrective actions, now completed.
- A five year old is hospitalized after falling from Sunday River’s Jordan Mountain double.
- Groundbreaking could come soon for the Aspen development that includes a new Lift 1A.
- Skytrac to construct both new lifts at Little Switzerland, Wisconsin.
- Five people board a quad chair on the Sourdough Express at Vail, one later jumps off after the lift stops (unclear if they were directed to do so by Vail Resorts staff.)
- Wisp temporarily closes two lifts for separate repairs.
- Tye Mill at Stevens Pass goes out of service.
- Also two lifts at Pico.
- Stratton’s gondola to remain closed into next week due to a maintenance issue.
- Sundance Express at Sun Peaks to be closed this weekend for maintenance.
- Castle Mountain, Alberta temporarily closes the new Stagecoach Express to swap a motor.
- At Marquette Mountain, Michigan, a misload bends apart a Riblet chair (quickly replaced without incident.)
- The Supreme Court strikes down some of President Trump’s import tariffs but not Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs most affecting lift manufacturers. In response to the decision, the President orders a 10 percent global tariff to last 150 days (USMCA compliant goods and items already subjected to Section 232 tariffs are exempted).
Instagram Tuesday: Carrier Perspectives
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Disputes
- Val Bialas, New York reopened today after nine years closed.
- The potential buyer for closed Sleeping Giant, Wyoming specializes in roadside attractions like the Royal Gorge gondola and may not reopen skiing.
- A woman is convicted of stealing nearly $5 million from Mighty Argo gondola investors.
- Glenwood Caverns, Colorado files for bankruptcy after a $120 million judgment resulting from a 2021 ride incident.
- The owner of land under parts of Park City’s Timberline and Iron Mountain Express files suit against Vail Resorts, alleging existing easements don’t allow lifts.
- Mt. Bohemia, Michigan has a land lease issue as well.
- A lawsuit proceeds against Bittersweet, Michigan from a volunteer ski patroller who fell 20 feet from a lift after attempting to load a toboggan.
- A skier dies at Welch Village, Minnesota after hitting lift tower.
- A 13 year old is critically injured in a tragic unloading entanglement at Vorlage, Quebec; the mountain remains closed until further notice.
- Bromont rope evacuates Versant du Midi.
- A guest falls from Copper Mountain’s American Flyer.
- A new master plan for Mt. Timothy, BC targets reactivation of the Mad Platter, replacement of the triple with a quad, relocation of the T-Bar and a new platter.
- SilverStar, BC renames the Powder Gulch Express to Putnam Express and Alpine Meadows to Attridge.
- British Columbia releases 268 pages of documents related to the hanger arm failure on Kicking Horse’s gondola last season. The Incident Investigation Report says an undetected crack likely developed over several seasons as a result of both manufacturing and operational factors.
- Cannon expects its tram replacement project to cost between $25 and 33 million.
- Loch Lomond, Ontario’s North chair goes down for maintenance.
Bear Den Partners Invests in Smugglers’ Notch
The new owners of Burke Mountain today acquired a majority stake in Smugglers’ Notch, another of Vermont’s largest independent mountains. Under the deal, prior owner Bill Stritzler and his family retain a minority ownership stake while Bear Den Partners becomes the primary owner and operator. Bear Den’s chairman, Ken Graham, is a lifelong skier and investor with local ties. Jon Schaefer leads the company as CEO. Schaefer also runs Berkshire East and Catamount in Western Massachusetts and helped rebuild Hermitage Club at Haystack Mountain and Bousquet in recent years. “We were intentional about finding an operator who truly understands what makes Smuggs special,” said Stritzler, who stewarded the mountain for 29 years. “We sought out Bear Den Partners as an equity partner because they share our belief that this resort is about families, employees, and community, not trends or shortcuts. This transition is about continuity and stewardship, and we’re confident Smuggs is in the right hands.”
Smuggs features incredible terrain and a family-friendly vibe but also aging infrastructure. The mountain’s seven Hall lifts date back to the 1960s and ’70s. Several were relocated to Smuggs in the ’90s from other mountains as the rest of the industry modernized. The largest top-to-bottom lift, Madonna, dates back to 1963 and takes some 15 minutes to ride. In 2023, Stritzler floated a gondola connection with Vail-owned Stowe, a proposal that garnered significant environmental opposition. Under this new ownership model, less flashy investments are likely. “Smugglers’ Notch will continue to operate with its existing culture, values, and commitment to guests, employees, and the surrounding community,” the new owners noted. “Future investments will be targeted and collaborative, focusing on core infrastructure, guest experience, employee support, and long-term stewardship of the resort.” They specifically cited snowmaking, trail and lift improvements as near-term priorities. “Longer-term, Bear Den will initiate a full master planning process for lift, lodging, and base-area modernization while preserving the Smuggs identity: authentic, family-focused, and proudly independent.”
Pass changes are also likely. Berkshire East, Bousquet, Burke and Catamount all participate in the Indy Pass but Smuggs shuns multi-mountain passes entirely. No changes are planned for the current season other than lodging discounts for passholders of other Bear Den and Schaefer mountains. “Bear Den is evaluating future season pass reciprocity among Burke Mountain and now Smuggs to provide added value without compromising each mountain’s independence or threatening its comfortable carrying capacity with unanticipated crowds,” the company said. Future passes may also include Berkshire East and Catamount.
Lift Blog 
