- Arizona Snowbowl files paperwork with the Coconino National Forest to replace the Agassiz lift with a combination Telemix/chondola as soon as this summer.
- Bromont in Quebec looks to build a Doppelmayr six place chair in place of its 1985 vintage detachable.
- It’s not every day you read about lifties being caught in an avalanche at the bottom of a high-speed quad. Thankfully no one was injured.
- I’m thinking President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel (and 10 percent for aluminum) will have negative implications for the ski lift business, though Mexico and Canada are exempted for now.
- Doppelmayr Canada seeks an experienced construction manager for its four lift megaproject at Whistler Blackcomb.
- Triple double Massachusetts mountain Bousquet is on the block.
- Tenney Mountain opened for skiing yesterday for the first time in eight years.
- When a T-Bar turns into a chairlift…
- Doppelmayr pitches a 3S gondola to connect Oakland with Alameda Island in San Francisco Bay.
- Antelope Butte’s two Riblets will see significant work this summer in advance of a possible reopening.
- Another viral video shows a child falling from a lift at Bear Mountain.
- Edmonton gondola idea wins a design competition, beating hundreds of other entries.
- New owner of Mt. Norquay eyes building a gondola from Banff for improved access.
- Vail Resorts posts strong second quarter results with net income up 58 percent and lift revenue up 6.6 percent despite skier visits dropping 4.9 percent. In addition, Vail is raising its corporate minimum wage to $12.25.
- Doppelmayr proclaims Big Sky’s upcoming 8-seater the most technologically advanced lift the company has ever delivered.
Month: March 2018
Big White Upgrading Powder Chair to a Leitner-Poma Quad
British Columbia’s third largest ski resort will retire its oldest lift this summer, a Mueller which dates back to 1979 called Powder. A new $3.1 million Leitner-Poma Canada Alpha quad chair will be capable of moving 1,900 skiers per hour versus the current 1,710. Big White calls the outgoing lift one of Canada’s oldest and most popular triple chairs with more than 15 million rides logged to date. “I’m proud to be leading the third generation of our family owned business, which was established in the summer of 1985,” said Peter Plimmer, president and CEO of Big White Ski Resort Ltd. in a press release announcing multiple summer projects worth $10 million CAD. “My grandfather, Desmond Schumann, would be proud of what we’re doing here at the resort.”
Next season Big White will operate a fleet of a dozen Doppelmayr and Leitner-Poma lifts including a six-pack and gondola. The new Powder Chair is the second announced Leitner-Poma fixed-grip project for 2018 after Arapahoe Basin’s Beavers installation. Last year, most of the Leitner-Poma Group’s fixed-grip orders went to Skytrac, though that division has yet to build a lift in Canada. New lifts are also coming to Blackcomb, Whistler, SilverStar and likely Sun Peaks in BC next winter.
Big Sky to Launch North America’s First Eight Passenger Chairlift
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgCibhZF7Sa/?hl=en&taken-by=bigskyresort
This afternoon couldn’t have been a more beautiful one for unveiling what will be America’s biggest lift. Over the next nine months, Big Sky Resort and Doppelmayr will create Ramcharger 8, a machine packed full of technology on Andesite Mountain. The current Ramcharger high-speed quad will move to Shedhorn and replace one of Big Sky’s most popular high-alpine lifts while a two-stage North Village gondola and more will eventually follow as part of Big Sky 2025. “The Biggest Skiing in America is getting bigger and better, again,” said Big Sky Resort General Manager and President Taylor Middleton before the bombshell announcement. Never before has America seen an 8-passenger chair of any kind, let alone one packed with every bell and whistle available.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Big Sky Resort and the Kircher family to be part of this momentous day in the Mountain Village, where Boyne Resorts’ Stephen Kircher detailed plans for being the North American ski industry’s D-Line launch customer. Kircher emphasized Big Sky’s lengthy path to this point and how the community has really come together in the past decade. “My family is proud of its 42-year commitment to southwest Montana and will continue the momentum that is underway at Big Sky Resort,” he said. “We are excited to bring the biggest chair in the world to Big Sky, and to work with the resort team and community to recognize the Resort’s full potential – rivaling the best of the Alps and our North American brethren.” With a huge snowpack, the Biggest Skiing in America is on track to have its best season ever with more than 500,000 skier days – a feat once only dreamed of here.
Heated Six-Person Chairlift Coming to Saint-Sauveur in 2019
One of the world’s first chairlifts with heated seats but without bubbles will launch for the 2019-20 season at Sommet Saint-Sauveur, formerly known as Mont Saint Sauveur in Quebec. The new $4.7 million lift will be constructed by Doppelmayr, which is no surprise given that company’s significant manufacturing base just 15 minutes away in Saint-Jérôme. The six-pack will replace the Atomic Express, named for the famous ski brand and tied for the oldest operating detachable chairlift in North America at 33 years.
The Government of Quebec will provide approximately $2.3 million in funding for the new lift and other projects, an agreement which many American ski resort operators may envy. Sauveur is owned by MSSI, a holding company with five Laurentian resorts and is the previous owner of Jay Peak, Vermont.
Tahoe Donner Chooses Skytrac for New Beginner Lift
It may not be the biggest lift project I write about this week but Tahoe Donner near Truckee, California has signed a contract to replace its Snowbird SLI double this summer. The Tahoe Donner Association is one of the country’s largest homeowner associations and therefore the process of assessing the old lift, designing a new one and funding it is all detailed on the neighborhood’s website. Tahoe Donner staff solicited quotes from multiple manufacturers and looked at the used marketplace but ultimately settled on a brand new Skytrac Monarch fixed-grip triple chair to improve safety and reliability.
The new $1.5 million lift will be bottom drive and bottom tension with an increased line speed of 400 feet per minute. Capacity will jump from 900 pph to 1500 with a comfortable 7.2 second chair interval. New terminals will be smaller than the old ones and located off to the side of the Snowbird ski run for better circulation. The lift will go from nine towers to six with a slope length of 1,600 feet.
Tahoe Donner is open to the public and popular with California families as an affordable option near Lake Tahoe. It’s great to see homeowners committing to the future of the mountain with this new lift. Thanks to Kirk and Max for letting me know about the project.
Instagram Tuesday: Panoramic
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Copper Mountain to Build a Chondola & Bubble Six-Pack
Just four days after its bombshell announcement of $16 million worth of new lifts for Killington, Powdr Co. today unveiled an even bigger project planned for Copper Mountain in 2018. The American Eagle high-speed quad will be replaced with a combination lift featuring six passenger chairs and eight passenger gondola cabins while the American Flyer is going to become a six-place bubble chair. The two Poma detachables being replaced were built in 1989 and 1986, respectively, and out-of-Village capacity will increase by 35 percent.
“Replacing our most popular mountain-access lifts will significantly improve how our guests experience some of the best skiing and riding on Copper Mountain,” said Gary Rodgers, president and general manager of Copper Mountain Resort in a press release. “More guests will be able to get up the mountain quicker to enjoy a variety of easy, intermediate and advanced terrain.” The Denver Post reports the new lifts will cost a staggering $20 million.
Copper Mountain operates a mixed fleet of Doppelmayr and Poma lifts and no manufacturer was identified. Most recently, Doppelmayr built the Kokomo Express, two surface lifts in 2013 and the Union Creek Express in 2011. Pending Forest Service approval, the two monster new additions will open in time for the 2018-19 season.
Update: According to V3 in the comments, these lifts could be built by Leitner-Poma with the first DirectDrives in the United States. This would be great news if true amid a flurry of gearbox-related problems in North American ski country recently.
Epic Pass Adds Six Canadian Resorts + Telluride, Ikon Gains Five, Mountain Collective Scores Big Sky
The latest battle in the 2018-19 season pass war is being waged to the north. Vail Resorts today announced the Epic Pass will now include up to seven days at six mountains owned by Resorts of The Canadian Rockies – Fernie, Kicking Horse, Nakiska, Kimberley, Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham. The addition of these MAX Pass refugees follows Alterra’s recent announcement that Revelstoke, Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Mt. Norquay and Sugarbush will join the new Ikon Pass. In addition, Telluride has defected from the MCP to join Epic and Ikon partner Big Sky Resort will also join the Mountain Collective.
The 10th anniversary Epic Pass will go on sale tomorrow with access to 21 North American destinations with 284 lifts. It will offer unlimited skiing with no blackout dates at Vail Resorts owned mountains and a limited number of days at partner properties like Telluride. Epic Passes will also offer access to international resorts including Hakuba Valley, Japan; Perisher, Australia; and Val d’Isère, France. In theory, you could hit a crazy 61 resorts on this pass. Pricing is still pending.
The 2018-19 Mountain Collective Pass is on sale now for $409 and includes up to 33 days at 16 destinations, most of which are unchanged from last year (Telluride is out, Big Sky in.) The MCP includes access to 19 separate mountains in North America with 231 lifts and 50 percent off days after the first two. Most Mountain Collective destinations are also on the new Ikon Pass for those seeking more days.
The Ikon Pass offers unlimited access to most of Alterra Mountain Co.’s resorts with limited access to Deer Valley and numerous partner resorts. The flagship pass will cost $899 with a blackout date version for only $599. Ikon includes the most North American options by far with 32 mountains and 400 lifts. It’s not quite as many as the defunct MAX Pass (45 mountains, 435 lifts) but Ikon offers many more days at higher-caliber places. The Ikon also goes on sale tomorrow.
Boston Gondola Would Link South Station with Seaport District
Two private development firms are moving forward with plans for a $100 million gondola in South Boston, which would feature three stations in its first phase. Millennium Partners and Cargo Ventures are building a 2.7 million square foot mixed-use development at the eastern edge of the Seaport District, a part of the city historically under served by public transit. The current Silver Line bus rapid transit lines here have been criticized since their inception as slow, overcrowded and inconvenient while a gondola would create a quick and efficient path to the new complex and beyond.
Millennium is working with Handel Architects and Leitner-Poma on a design which it presented to the Boston Planning and Development Agency in January. The latest route avoids cabins flying past rooms at the new $550 million Omni Hotel, a source of criticism for an earlier route proposal, which is somewhat ironic considering Omni’s hopes to build its own gondola at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire. The Boston gondola would travel over Summer Street for its entire 4,650′ alignment with stations adjacent to the South Station transit hub, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and Marine Park.
The lift would feature 13 towers, 70 10-passenger cabins and a capacity of 4,000 passengers per hour, per direction (nine second spacing!) A ride between South Station and Marine Park would take just 7.3 minutes. A second phase could service the South Boston neighborhood with the Marine Park terminal becoming a sharp angle station. Cabin parking and maintenance would also be housed at Marine Park.
This proposal is one of many urban gondolas envisioned for North American cities including Albany, Vancouver and Washington, DC. It will be interesting to see which one will be the first to actually break ground.
As The Hermitage Faces Foreclosure, What About the Lifts?
Berkshire Bank of Massachusetts initiated foreclosure proceedings on the Hermitage Club and related properties last Friday, claiming three loans worth $17 million are in default with $16.3 million in principal still outstanding. The private club, located next to and once part of Mt. Snow, is open and spinning lifts this weekend but it’s not clear how long that will continue. While the marketing department feverishly posts pictures of fresh snow and smiling children on social media, what happens next will probably be decided in a court room. No one knows the eventual outcome but recent ski resort foreclosures and bankruptcies offer some insights.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgzjwfAT79/?hl=en&taken-by=hermitageclub
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