- I talk six-packs with the Vail Daily.
- Heavenly’s Comet Express remains closed following a Jan. 1st rope evacuation, apparently due to a gearbox issue. This is one of the reasons Vail Resorts is replacing its fleet of 1980s-vintage detachable quads.
- Doppelmayr and the United Nations are hosting a week-long urban mobility ropeway class in April.
- The New York Times tells the tale of Big Sky Resort.
- Ski patroller severely injured in fall from chair at Terry Peak.
- Gondola proposed to serve airport in Vietnam’s congested largest city.
- BC Parks considers a gondola to Mt. Seymour to alleviate parking and traffic problems.
- Ski Area Management‘s lift construction survey dropped this week. Highlights from its outlook for 2017:
- “We’re off to a strong year for ’17, there are lots of people asking about lifts…It’s very positive compared to the previous two years.” – Jon Mauch, Senior Sales Manager at Leitner-Poma
- “There’s a lot of enthusiasm about what could happen under a Trump administration. People expect deregulation and a more business-friendly climate.” – Mark Bee, President at Doppelmayr USA
- “We’re seeing lots of requests quotes, lots of major modifications and retrofits…It’s all being driven by the age of the existing lift infrastructure.” – Carl Skylling, General Manager at Skytrac
- I’ve already identified 29 new lifts likely to be built in 2017, pacing well above the last few years for mid-January.
- Slovakian manufacturer Tatralift debuts its third detachable lift using a Wopfner grip. That makes seven companies capable of building a detachable lift globally – Bartholet, BMHRI (China), Doppelmayr/Garaventa (Austria), Leitner–Poma (Italy), LST (France), STM (Turkey) and Tatralift (Slovakia.)
- Gstaad in Switzerland will launch the Doppelmayr D-Line “cube” station option next year.
- Coming soon: D-Line in 1:32 scale.
- Vail Resorts skier visits are down 13.2 percent season-to-date, but catching up fast after a slow start. Meanwhile Big Sky, Whitefish and Jackson Hole set holiday records.
- The Sea to Sky Gondola welcomes its one millionth visitor.
- Anakeesta breaks ground, with a Leitner-Poma chondola slated to debut in June. Still no word on reconstruction of the Gatlinburg Sky Lift across the street.
- Boston Magazine asks, can Les Otten really build another Sunday River in Northern New Hampshire?
- Chairs are being hung this week on Waterville Valley’s new Green Peak triple.
- Alta modifies alignment of its proposed two-stage Supreme high speed quad in hopes of building this summer.
- Poma’s latest gondola project in Mexico remains stalled over tower placement concerns.
- Post-Olympics, Rio’s second urban gondola shuts down indefinitely, following the closure of the first in August.
Lift Blog 
Nothing new at 49 North for 2017? I thought they were finally going to install a detach
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Their website does mention a Nelson Creek fixed-grip lift for 2017, so I’ll add that to the list. You can see where it will go here: http://live49n.com/location/
The Klondike Express sounds like more of a long-term project. Sorely needed though, Bonanza is almost 7,000 feet long.
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They replied to someone on instagram saying that they hope to put in a new chairlift this year, I presume they are talking about the Klondike Express.
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And slow and obsolete. Great skiing there though. The deserve investment.
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The NYT article on Big Sky needs a correction: there was only one high-speed lift installed this season…
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Depends on your definition of high-speed.
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