- The European Union will pay French ski operators up to 49 percent of lost revenue from this winter.
- Ober Gatlinburg’s tram closes for two months for track rope and drive replacement projects totaling $4.5 million.
- Bluewood’s general manager explains why fixing a 43 year old lift still makes sense for the mountain vs. buying a new one.
- The Burke Mountain and Jay Peak receiver says in a court filing the mountains are “desperately in need of liquidity” while battling financial services giant Raymond James.
- Whiteface issues a request for proposals to replace the Bear double with a fixed grip quad starting lower in the base area.
- Kelly Canyon’s new Skytrac will be a triple reaching 600 feet beyond the top of Chair 2.
- With one Doppelmayr gondola finished but never opened to the public and another partially complete, Icy Strait Point removes all booking availability until April of 2022.
- Skiland performs a rope evacuation of the northernmost chairlift in the Americas.
- The National Ski Areas Association updates its lift safety fact sheet.
- Mission Ridge isn’t done with On the Way Up just yet! Episode 18 explores the parking system and more.
- At a leadership forum in Park City, Alterra CEO Rusty Gregory says his company will invest $200 million on capital improvements this year and plans to build the Squaw-Alpine gondola.
- We also learned Deer Valley is in talks with Mayflower Mountain Resort about shared access.
- Rusty next joined the Storm Skiing Podcast, confirming the Ikon Pass will add at least one new resort for 21-22.
- Vail Resorts slashes Epic Pass prices by 20 percent.
- Developers say the Moosehead Mountain project is “moving fast” with a lift to be ordered as soon as May for completion late this year.
- Two more days until Snow King’s Summit double stops for good to make way for a gondola, though the Forest Service’s Record of Decision has not been signed and litigation looms.
- Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry confirms it’s investigating last weekend’s chair fall at Camelback but does not expect to make the report public.
Lift Blog 
does anyone know what will happen to the summit double at snow king mountain? hopefully not being scrapped and can be reused some where
LikeLike
1981 CTEC double? I don’t love the odds. Summit at Solitude was 7 years newer when it got replaced and it was scrapped if I remember correctly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Add to that it got use in the summertime I believe, so she’s got a lot of hours on her. But.. never say never.. The components are still easy to come by for the most part, SkyTrac or Doppie could do something unique with it somewhere else at a resort that needs another Fixed Grip on a budget..
LikeLike
beautiful top terminal and break over. https://skiliftblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_3105.jpg
LikeLike
I thought a previous report stated that the mountain had it listed for sale.
LikeLike
I spoke with a friend at Alterra last week about the delayed March capital plan announcement. He said they realized that they are spending a significant percentage of that capital on Squaw/Alpine between the rebrand, gondola, etc., and they did not want to announce all of that until the season is essentially over. They did not want an initial announcement without the Squaw/Alpine information that would be underwhelming.
Other comments: Rusty spoke on the Storm Skiing Podcast about PNW capacity. At the moment, another acquisition is unlikely, but at least one new partnership is coming. I heard Cypress is the main candidate. He also mentioned a potential Camelback partnership, and that is coming as well. KSL is figuring out whether to “sell” the property to Alterra or operate it separately like the Crown Family does with Aspen Snowmass, which would impact if it goes full Ikon or 7/5 days. Regional Ikon Passes are also being studied and will likely be happening in another couple of years. They need to figure out if partners would be included or not. Part of the reason Ikon could not drop its price to match Epic is that their pass and revenue model is different, and they have more partners who need to be paid.
The Jay Peak situation is an absolute mess, but it is a very strong acquisition candidate as Rusty mentioned. Whenever it finally sells, Alterra will submit a decently sized bid. North Castle Partners also apparently has some interesting plans for Windham in the next couple of years before they sell in ~2023-24, and Alterra is likely to be active there as well. The partnership is a great experiment for them there.
LikeLike
Cypress is already on the Ikon pass. Mission Ridge or Schweitzer would be the logical choices if they want to better serve the Seattle market (and both seem eager to grow).
LikeLike
Sorry, you are completely correct. I meant Mission Ridge, not sure how I completely confused and swapped the two. Schweitzer would also be a cool addition as well, although I do know they turned down the opportunity to join in the past.
LikeLike
Rusty was involved as a consultant in the development of Schweitzer’s master plan, so they talk, that’s for sure!
LikeLike
Whitefish seems like a prime target for Ikonization. Also SilverStar. Both of those are popular with Seattleites.
LikeLike
I agree. Sun Peaks and Big White get Seattle folks too (when the border is open). I kinda got the impression he was talking about something closer to Seattle, though. Mission seems like the obvious choice, and they’re looking to drive up skier days to help pay for their big plans.
LikeLike
So the Squaw Alpine Gondola is confirmed or no because that is the one in my area so I am most excited about that. With that going on Tahoe City is going to have a bunch of projects going on.
LikeLike
Rusty confirmed the gondola on a call with Park City residents last week.
LikeLike
I think the European Union WILL NOT pay French ski resorts. It is just allowing France to compensate them (something that in normal times would have been illegal under European laws).
LikeLike
How do I add a picture to my comments here on Liftblog? I’ve seen others do it, but I can’t seem to figure it out myself!
LikeLike
I think you just post a link in some type of image format and it should show.
LikeLike
I’m pretty sure the image has to be made public first.
LikeLike