Jackson Hole will soon be a three gondola valley with the addition of an enclosed lift on what locals affectionately call the Town Hill. Leitner-Poma will not only supply Snow King Mountain’s new 8 passenger gondola but also a Skytrac chairlift servicing new backside terrain. The projects were recently green lighted by both the Town of Jackson and United States Forest Service. The approval is still subject to a 45 day objection period, but the ski area wanted to get in line early with Leitner-Poma and Skytrac with the goal of completion for the 2021-22 season.
“We are extremely excited to take this leap forward for Snow King to ensure that the historic ski area can be economically viable and sustainable long into the future,” said Snow King Mountain President Ryan Stanley. “We have gone through a very extensive review process with both the Town of Jackson and USFS over the past five years and are now looking forward to making some exceptional improvements to the Town Hill that the community will be able to enjoy for decades to come.” The gondola will be the first detachable lift for 82 year old Snow King and will replace a 1981 CTEC double. To make room for the bottom gondola terminal, the Cougar triple‘s drive station will be moved 250 feet uphill.
A ride on the gondola will end at a new summit lodge featuring panoramic views of the Town of Jackson and Teton Range. The gondola will operate year round for skiers, sightseers and mountain bikers. In winter, a mountaintop learning area will feature three new surface lifts in a scenic setting. More advanced riders can look forward to new trails and glades on the southern flank of Snow King.
The two lift order is one of the first major projects announced for 2021, which could be a busy one for lift companies. More than a dozen North American 2020 projects were delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and hopefully will be completed next year.
Lift Blog 
This announcement gives Leitner-Poma more 2021 North American projects (10) than 2020 (9). For some pre-COVID comparison, they had 12 in both 2018 and 2019.
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Keep in mind a bunch are for Vail Resorts, which has not publicly confirmed which projects will proceed in 2021. Hopefully they provide more clarity in December.
The Snow King backside lift will actually be built by Skytrac, a subsidiary of Leitner-Poma.
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Very exciting news, indeed! I love it!
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Didn’t expect 2 in one year, very nice! Looks like we may finally have winner in the slow permit race between them and Apsen’s 1A.
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Sweet, after a pro forma approval process was jammed through there’s more taxpayer-subsisdized equipment for Snow King to neglect. In a few years it will be as dilapidated as everything else on the hill.
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