- Copper Mountain seeks Forest Service approval to replace Lumberjack.
- More details emerge on the Argo Cable Car construction delay.
- The Canadian Ski Council says resort revenues fell 35 to 40 percent this year but it varied by province.
- Lots of jobs are available right now at Leitner-Poma and subsidiary Skytrac.
- Aspen Skiing Company will spin lifts across three mountains for the first time ever this summer.
- Another Gatlinburg tram update.
- Wasatch Peaks Ranch launches a website, though not much is on it yet.
- Squaw Alpine says its name change process is taking longer than expected but a historic announcement will come soon.
- In case you missed Doppelmayr Insights, product announcements included modular aerial tramway technology called Peak Line, resort management software clair and a new rotating gondola bike carrier dubbed Bike Cab. The entire event can be replayed here.
- Want to watch construction this summer? Great Bear, Seven Springs, Snow King and Sugar Mountain all have webcams pointed toward lift projects.
- Doppelmayr Cable Car is one of four finalists to supply a new automated people mover to Newark Liberty International Airport.
- Insurers appeal a NZ$12 million verdict against Christchurch Adventure Park for running a chairlift during a wildfire, allegedly spreading it.
- Steel prices reach all time highs.
- French ski resorts can finally reopen lifts May 19th.
- Snow King’s Cougar triple moves uphill to make way for the new gondola.
- Duluth, Minnesota looks to pump $25 million into Spirit Mountain.
Lift Blog 
Anyone confused why in the Forest Service Location Summary for Lumberjack Replacement it says within Arapahoe Basin Ski area’s special use permit area?
LikeLike
Interesting to see the Lumberjack replacement before Alpine. The terrain near Lumberjack is extremely underutilized and has some great beginner runs. I taught my wife to ski there.
The master plan calls for a detachable four pack which would be overkill for the current amount traffic there but would entice more people to use it. The master plan also calls to lengthen the lift slightly. Maybe eventually this could be a portal to whatever future lifts will go into the Jacques Peak terrain but it is very flat right above Lumberjack on the mid-section of the Roundabout run.
LikeLike
I think they are also planning to put a learning lift near the top in the future so that could be a reason why it would become a HSQ.
LikeLike
No. You’re thinking of our abandoned K-gondola project, of which we got as far as clearing out the liftlines and learning area before the project was cancelled.
LikeLike
Why was the project ever canceled? If Copper does indeed want to have a teaching area up there, which they still do according to their most recent master plan, it would definitely make it a lot easier to access. Plus, if anything ever does happen in Jacques Basin, the gondola would make that whole area a lot easier to access as well.
LikeLike
The teaching lift is still on the plan, yes, but it’s not *in* the plan, if that makes sense. As of this spring we’ve applied to replace L, but nothing else is happening with that lift-wise. We’re connecting the old gondola liftline (trail 47U) to the trail network as I type this, and we’ll be adding trails 49U and 45.25 (as noted on the 2011 MDP).
LikeLike
K-gondola and the on-hill learning centre were cancelled because of the oldest of reasons in the ski industry- money. Word had it that summer that Intrawest balked at the sticker price on the project once it got underway. This was in 2003, don’t forget- it wasn’t recent. And yes, we have things on our master plan but the bulk of them are not actually happening. Most ski areas’ plans are like that.
LikeLike
Makes sense. I find the master plans and lift planning interesting. Do you have an image of the K-Gondola plan? I don’t think I have seen a master plan with that as an option. I know it is out of date and not going to happen.
Regarding your other comments:
– Good to see Copper build out the other runs near Lumberjack based on the master plan. Should help with better progression and crowding. The greens off of Woodward are a little more difficult and can get more crowded.
– For “we’ve been spending much more time studying the other side of the peak adjacent to Copper Bowl.” Do you mean the peak next to Summit Stash / The Nacho run? It could be a decent spot for a lift to serve some intermediate/advanced bowl skiing near the bottom of Mountain Chief up to that peak. Is Copper still looking at providing cat skiing on the backside of Tucker?
LikeLike
I don’t think I ever saw a plan that year, but here’s my recollection of what it was going to look like.
https://earth.google.com/web/@39.49280416,-106.17336561,3178.35495225a,2632.46250759d,30y,0h,0t,0r/data=MicKJQojCiExR2hscnNIMFo4ZUJjTHBmLXhoMTY0ODlpWWc4UlltT3k
LikeLiked by 1 person
Still thinking of the cat skiing option, yes. Who knows when/if that will happen. There will be logistical issues for sure- the cat can only haul twelve people every trip, for example, but the lift-served access at the top of Tucker obviously will entice far more than that to drop in.
The area I was talking about. Again, who knows when or if anything will go there. https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=39.45645,-106.18106&z=14&b=t&o=f16a%2Cr&n=1,0.25
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wrong link. Try this.
https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=39.45406,-106.17977&z=14&b=mbt
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks pbropetech! The Google Earth link isn’t working but I see the caltopo locations for the Tucker location. I think the north facing slopes there could be lift served. It’s underutilized today as it requires a hike .
LikeLike
Lumberjack is so slow, this is a good move. Though yeah Alpine upgrade would make the regulars happier with less lines.
LikeLike
When I rode Lumber, she was turning at 500 FPM.. what’s so slow about that?
LikeLike
500 fpm for a 4300-foot lift is a ride time of about 8.5 minutes. A bit much for a beginner chairlift.
LikeLike
When was that? L-lift hasn’t run at full speed for years except to get the top operator up in the morning. Beginners can’t load it at 500. We run it at around 400.
LikeLike
I think the point about this being important for future Jacques Peak access is spot on, though I guess we’ll know depending on whether they extend this lift uphill a bit or not. Any lifts into Jacques Peak area will likely start by filling the gap to Union Meadows, and it’s a looong way from there to the top of Lumberjack rt now. Extending uphill closer to the 11,000′ elevation gives you reasonable options to both the west and the east.
LikeLike
I made this a while back for what I think Jacques basin should be.
Now with lumberjack extension the bottom terminal of the lift 3 I proposed would have to be moved.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Do you have the KML for that?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think I do have a KML for it but if you can click on the post on Imgur the description should tell you lengths of every lift. I don’t remember if I put verticals in for each lift.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Actually, looking more closely, that layout makes no sense. You can’t even lap lifts 2 and 3 because you made them cross the gulch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was going to mention the same thing. Only your lift #1 makes sense when you look at the topography. Even then, not sure a lift to the ridge line will work given the winds.
Lift #2 would basically be side hill.
Lift #3 goes down a few hundred feet then up. Lots of potential alignments there but this ain’t it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t realize lifts 2 and 3 wouldn’t work because Google earth does not give enough variation in terrain. I think lift 1 would be possible if it were to be a Doppelmayr six pack with the upcoming anti sway technology. Lift 4 would be possible too but lifts 2 and 3 would need different alignments.
LikeLike
It’s not a bad idea, not definitely not worth 25 million + for lifts only. Does Copper really need more bowl terrain? Eliminating that right there would get you to about 15 million with lifts 1 and 3. I think 3 should be realigned to serve more terrain if the bowl is eliminated.
LikeLike
A redesign of my Jacques Basin idea at Copper Mountain, Colorado
Purple lifts would be built as a phase 1 and Blue lifts are optional or would be built as a phase 2. You could probably also get away without building the platter lift, it may be too steep for it anyways.
Lift 2 would be two ways allowing you to get out of the ditch and if you are coming from existing terrain you would not have to traverse over flat terrain.
All of the lifts are numbered 1 through 7.
Orange Lines are potential ski runs.
LikeLike
There would also be a ski run from top of lift 3 to bottom of lift 7 just forgot to put it on map.
LikeLike
I like the pod setup, it makes more sense. I think lift 1 should be extended down to lift 3 so you can lap 100% of the runs off the top. The plan is still $25 million+ for lifts only. Does lift 6 need to be detachable for only 3 runs? Also, the two way lift doesn’t need to be detachable, or even new. Ray’s from Sundance is still for sale and it’s for a good price. It would be a good lift for going in two directions.
LikeLike
Considering this concept and the modified one proposed below, I think this is a ridiculous expense and unnecessarily impactful. You’ve got lifts everywhere! Throw in a wind-protected HSQ, maybe one fixed grip somewhere on another orientation, and a surface lift to the highest exposed ridge. Much less money, and appropriate for skier demand and utility.
LikeLike
The reason there are so many lifts is because there is almost 1,600 acres of terrain to service. Also I don’t think lift 6 is necessary and lift 7 is optional bowl service terrain.
As a reply to Utah Powder Skier do you mean lift 4 being extended down to the base of lift 3? It would make more sense then extending lift 1 down as lift 1 is the main access point of the area.
LikeLike
Yes, I meant lift 4.
LikeLike
You guys are entertaining. Unless you’re somehow privy to knowledge I’m not aware of, there haven’t been any plans to move into the Guller Creek drainage since 1986. A lengthened L-lift will merely gain a bit more vertical for the runs off the lift.
Try that one.
LikeLike
You know more about Copper than I do, but Jacques Basin does appear on the 2011 master plan. That is of course the publicly available master plan, which more often than not doesn’t resemble the real master plan. It also looks like some of that land is in Copper’s permit.
LikeLike
Yes, it’s in the permit area. You’ll notice the phrase ‘potential lift-served terrain’ stamped on it- at the moment that’s all it is. We’ve been spending much more time studying the other side of the peak adjacent to Copper Bowl. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but that’s where all the effort has been lately.
LikeLike
Rode my bike through Keystone today. Argentine Lift has been removed. Cables and chairs are gone on Peru. All of the chairs from both are sitting in the parking lot. John Fritz
LikeLike
So what’s new with the Peak Line technology? Is it just a new tram design?
LikeLiked by 1 person