- Many big openings this weekend including Lenawee Express at Arapahoe Basin, Big Red at Whistler, Seven Brothers at Loon Mountain, North Bowl Express at Heavenly, Eagle Peak at Lookout Pass and Black Bear 6 at Camelback.
- Palisades Tahoe launches the Base to Base Gondola tomorrow but it will operate as two separate lifts and close Sunday for more work.
- Vail waits for a weather window to fly the pilot line for Sun Down Express, nears the finish line on Game Creek Express.
- Doppelmayr and Steamboat unwrap Wild Blue cabins.
- Kimberley load tests the Northstar Express following a year of repairs.
- New Sunnyside at Alta won’t be finished by Christmas; the Albion double will spin until it opens.
- The new high speed quad at Telluride won’t open until late January due to labor challenges.
- FourRunner goes down at Stowe and the nearby Sunrise Six isn’t finished yet. Lookout saves the week.
- A “series of setbacks to electrical infrastructure” delays opening of new lifts and the entire Big Boulder ski area.
- Cuchara won’t reopen lift-served skiing this year after all.
- Giants Ridge debuts a new VistaMap.
- Sun Valley launches a website dedicated to next summer’s lift projects.
- As the investigation continues into the Mont-Sainte-Anne gondola incident and the mountain remains closed this weekend, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies seeks a public-private partnership to renew its Quebec infrastructure. Quebec’s Premier isn’t sold on giving public money to RCR.
- The Governor of New Hampshire wants replacement of the Cannon Tram to be voted on by the legislature, a funding mechanism could be selected this year with the earliest possible opening in late 2024.
- Ski Utah previews the upcoming Burns Express at Deer Valley.
- Wisconsin approves a pared down master plan for Granite Peak with two expansion lifts, one on each side of existing terrain.
- Homewood forges ahead with plans to go private for homeowners only.
- The sightseeing gondola proposal in Vernon, British Columbia moves forward.
- An idea to connect Detroit with Windsor, Ontario by 3S gondola is back.
- Construction begins on the new D-Line gondola at a California vineyard.
Lift Blog 
Palisades: “[Base to Base] can also operate as two independent lifts … There are only five other lifts in North America with this feature.”
– Blackcomb Gondola at Whistler
– Skyeship at Killington
– Mountain Village Gondola at Telluride
– Excaliber and Village Gondolas at Whistler?
I’m assuming Wild Blue will also join this list next year.
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Revelation at Revelstoke also.
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Telluride Mountain Village Gondola operates in tandem but can and has operated in discrete mode.
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discrete mode? Please explain.
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Descrete mode means operating independently as two distinct machines. This might come in handy if there was a problem with, say, the gearbox on one of the legs; you could evacuate and shut down that machine while continuing to operate the other.
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Discrete Mode: Gondola segments operates as individual, separate entities.
Discreet Mode: Gondola operates very quietly, with no lights on, in the dead of night.
Descarte Mode: Gondola gains sentience, and therefore becomes aware of its own existence.
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Can’t the gondola at mammoth operate as 2 as well?
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Yeah, Mammoth routinely operates the lower half alone in the first few weeks of the season before they have enough snow to open the upper mountain.
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The old Sugarloaf gondola could be operated with or without its upper section, which was frequently shut down due to wind. In its last few years of operation, the lower section was decommissioned and the turnaround track in the midstation was, er, turned around so they could operate only the upper section, as it was the only lift that served the summit.
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It’s a matter of pride to see the old back up lifts saving the day, so to speak. Glad Alta was smart to not take down Albion.
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I’m glad I can ride it again. I didn’t get the chance when they ran it at the end of last season.
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I don’t buy that Homewood going private can save them from their financial troubles. They just don’t have the allure of something like the YC club, or even the Hermitage Club, in my opinion anyway. I imagine management hopes the infusion of cash can help them stay afloat for a bit and make some improvements. But right now I can only really see bankruptcy in their long – term future. And while this may just be me being a bit emotional / angry that’s also what I hope for.
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