- Vail Resorts stalwart Chris Jarnot will depart later this year and the mountain division he leads will be split into three regions.
- The latest Epic by Nature episode explores the rise of the Epic Pass and welcoming of a competitor.
- Police confirm the Sea to Sky Gondola cable was definitely cut.
- The Hermitage may still be sold whole although Lakeland Bank gets the go-ahead to repossess 48 snow guns.
- Garaventa is building a one of a kind six pack in Switzerland with 180 degree loading.
- The Forest Service anticipates making a decision on Timberline’s Pucci chairlift replacement project in November.
- Ikon adds Zermatt Matterhorn, the first European destination and first with a 3S gondola on the pass.
- The operator of urban gondolas in Bolivia says the mechanic who died last month did not follow procedures.
- The Disney Skyliner may face a strong hurricane less than a month before opening.
- Wolf Creek readies the D. Boyce detachable Pomalift for a return to service with a new haul rope.
- Granite Gorge and an insurance company settle their lawsuit involving a broken double chairlift.
- The Aspen Mountain Pandora’s expansion hits a snag.
- Leitner-Poma gears up for a busy next few years with multi-resort, multi-lift contracts and possible urban lifts.
Month: August 2019
Instagram Tuesday: Violet
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the world.
News Roundup: Italian American
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- The Edmonton Ski Club and its Mueller T-Bar will reopen this winter following a one year hiatus.
- The developer of Big Snow America is so confident in the American Dream project that it offered the Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall as collateral to secure a $2.8 billion construction loan.
- Investors and Berkshire Bank battle over whose claim to the Hermitage six pack should take precedent.
- The White River National Forest extends public commenting for the Breck Peak 7 Infill chairlift project to September 1st.
- The Forest Service approved Aspen Mountain’s Pandora expansion awhile ago but the county still needs to approve necessary zoning.
- SilverStar adds 24 hour security, surveillance cameras and enhanced line checks in the wake of the Sea to Sky Gondola downing.
- TransLink’s CEO says the proposed Burnaby Mountain tricable gondola would be less susceptible to such an attack.
- Grouse Mountain gives all Sea to Sky Gondola passholders free lift access through November 30th.
- S2S cleanup will take awhile and trails remain closed for public safety.
- Swiss manufacturer Bartholet shows it’s possible to build a new fixed quad in just three weeks.
- Jaegerndorfer now exports Omega V cabins in miniature form to the United States.
- Aspen Snowmass will add chairs to lifts at Highlands and Snowmass to address Ikon Pass crowding concerns.
- Skytrac will manufacture towers for and install the new Leitner T-Bar at Ski Cooper.
- This profile demonstrates why the Kaiser S2 excavator is so popular for ski lift construction.
- MND Group, owner of LST Ropeways, says it has resolved “financial difficulties” by reorganizing its debt.
- Doppelmayr names Jürgen Pichler its new global marketing chief.
- It looks like Sunday River’s Locke Mountain triple will gain a tower or two thanks to the new T-Bar that crosses under it.
- Arctaris Impact Fund hosts a community meeting and announces its intention to close on the purchase of Saddleback come early November.
- Big Sky and Loon Mountain will launch the world’s first dual frequency RFID lift access system in partnership with Axess.
- With a new detachable quad under construction, Bogus Basin caps a five year turnaround.
- Alpine Media display screens will go live on more chairs this winter.
- Big Burn at Snowmass may be replaced with a bubble lift.
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Instagram Tuesday: Suspended
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Great Divide to Build Two New Chairlifts
Montana’s Great Divide announced on Friday plans to construct new chairlifts in 2020 and 2022. The first one, dubbed Summit Shuttle, will load at the bottom of the Hiballer run and unload above the Mt. Belmont double‘s top terminal. This will extend Great Divide’s vertical from the true summit of 7,330’. The reasons for Summit Shuttle are four fold: allow skiers to lap the upper mountain without having to return to the base area, add lift capacity for peak days, provide maintenance redundancy and quicken access to Way Out West trails.
In three years, the mountain plans to add a second new lift in terrain known as Tall Timbers south of Rawhide Gulch. Part of this zone will open this winter and it will eventually encompass more than 150 acres. Egress to the base area will be via the existing Rawhide Gulch double. Components for both new lifts are already on site with engineering underway. Great Divide operates a quirky mix of entirely used Mueller and Riblet lifts from other mountains and these are likely to be similar.
In this era of consolidating ownership, it’s fantastic to see a family run, community ski area like Great Divide flourishing and expanding. The 1,600 acre mountain offered the longest season in Montana last year and a walk-up, peak period lift tickets cost $48.
News Roundup: Changing of the Guard
- The developer behind Kicking Horse and Jumbo Glacier wants in on the Crystal Mountain reopening.
- Disney Skyliner staff will wear custom uniforms that mimic gondola cabins.
- The federal government looks to convert Timberline’s bankruptcy case to a Chapter 7 liquidation.
- Stevens Pass and Doppelmayr successfully move the Skyline Express bottom terminal to its new home.
- Steamboat’s gondola replacement project remains right on schedule.
- Aspen Skiing Company raises its minimum wage for all workers to $15 an hour.
- A chairlift is planned to be part of a new adventure park in Gilroy, California.
- The province of Nova Scotia sells Ski Cape Smokey to a private ownership group with plans to replace an inoperable chairlift.
- The former Intrawest executives who own the Sea to Sky Gondola aren’t sure when they will reopen and may delay a planned expansion.
- André Lamoureux is set to retire as President of Doppelmayr Canada in October and will be succeeded by Luc Guy.
Mayflower Mountain Resort Eyes 2021 Opening
Mayflower Mountain Resort, the fledgling billion dollar development near Park City, Utah, made headlines early this week on two fronts. First, the proposed resort’s owner reached an agreement with Alterra Mountain Company for Deer Valley to continue leasing a chunk of land on Bald Mountain for 199 years. Second, Mayflower held a media gathering, revealing grand plans for its first lifts to open in 2021.
With the new lease between Deer Valley and Mayflower’s parent companies, the existing Mayflower lift and terrain will remain part of Deer Valley regardless of what happens with Mayflower Mountain Resort.
Most of the 5,600 acres Extell Development of New York City has pieced together is currently undeveloped. That could change shortly with three new hotels, 400 acres of ski runs and multiple chairlifts above the Jordanelle Reservoir. Whether those lifts will be Deer Valley green and disallow snowboarders is an open question. There are a lot of parallels with Moonlight Basin, Montana throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Initially a modest development with a couple access lifts operated under contract by Big Sky Resort, Moonlight turned into a ski resort of its own before eventually being integrated back into Big Sky’s ticket products and operations.
Regardless of who operates the lifts, Mayflower could be big. Current plans call for five main lifts and two surface lifts, not counting a potential connector lifts to Deer Valley. Extell is commencing road and infrastructure work this fall with potential lift contracts a year away. The company has roughly two years to sort out whether it wants to be independent, partner more broadly with Alterra or perhaps another ski industry player.
Instagram Tuesday: Rebuilding
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Disaster Strikes the Sea to Sky Gondola
Something terrible happened to the Sea to Sky Gondola overnight and police say it was likely an intentional act. General Manager Kirby Brown told the Squamish Chief that a worker heard a loud noise around 4:30 am and later found gondola cabins on the ground. “We’re just in the early moments of investigating how that could possibly happen,” he told the newspaper. “Certainly, early indications are that there was no environmental or maintenance mechanism that could have caused it. It points toward a conclusion that somebody interfered with the lift.”
No one was on the 7,000 foot long gondola at the time. The Doppelmayr eight passenger installation opened in May 2014 to carry sightseers and hikers above Howe Sound near Squamish, British Columbia. Not everyone was happy about the project when first proposed due to its proximity to the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. The gondola proved popular, however, and just this spring more cabins were added to bring the total number to 31.
At a 3:00 pm press conference, Kara Triance with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said a criminal investigation is underway. “At this time we believe the cables were cut and this was a deliberate act of vandalism,” she said. The 52 millimeter haul rope was completely severed and the majority of cabins crashed to the ground. Teams are attempting to survey the entire lift line for clues and are asking the public to stay away. Technical Safety BC and Doppelmayr are also assisting with the investigation. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the RCMP at 604-892-6100.
News Roundup: Affirmation
- White Pass and Mission Ridge join the Powder Alliance as SilverStar and Stevens Pass exit.
- Soldier Mountain’s owners aren’t having much luck finding a buyer.
- An appeals court affirms the Jumbo Glacier Resort project can’t proceed without a new permit.
- Red Mountain is posting construction updates on the Topping Creek expansion every Tuesday.
- KSL Resorts becomes the new operator of Camelback.
- New runs are cut on Vail Mountain with lift installation to commence shortly.
- Snow King modifies its master plan to shift a proposed gondola and eliminate the existing Cougar lift.
- A worker dies while performing overnight maintenance on the La Paz urban gondola system.
- Hermitage Club stakeholders consider what might happen at the next bankruptcy court hearing, scheduled for August 23rd.
- Europe’s 15th 3S gondola system launches November 30th.
- Big White to add new, larger capacity cabins to Lara’s Gondola.
- Bittersweet in Michigan is significantly lengthening its Hawthorn triple.
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