Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Month: November 2023
News Roundup: Gondola Gallery
- Troll, British Columbia secures a million dollar grant to double ski terrain with a new T-Bar next year.
- Snowbasin may not host events for a second Utah Olympics but Deer Valley and Park City are on board.
- Baltimore explores building a harbor crossing gondola.
- Big Sky’s stunning new tram will open December 19th.
- Vail Resorts debuts gondola cabin artwork by diverse artists at Park City and Stowe with Whistler Blackcomb up next.
- Vail brings lift mechanics from Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio to help finish the Mountaineer at Attitash.
- A rigging mishap sets back reopening of Chair 4 at Cuchara.
- Sugar Bowl replaces two damaged towers on the Crow’s Peak triple.
- Sierra at Tahoe modifies lift towers due to wind load changes from Caldor Fire tree removal.
- Discovery, Montana completes a solar power facility adjacent to the Anaconda triple capable of providing 65 to 70 percent of the lift’s energy needs.
California Mountain Resorts Company Acquires Bear Valley
Canadian-Israeli investment firm Skyline has sold Bear Valley, its last remaining ski resort holding. The buyer is Invision Capital-backed California Mountain Resorts Company, the group behind Mountain High, Dodge Ridge and China Peak. CMRC CEO Karl Kapuscinski and President Tim Cohee have been pursuing Bear Valley for some time because it adds to a compelling group of California resorts up and down the Sierra Nevada range. Bear Valley will immediately join the multi-mountain Cali Pass but not the Indy Pass, which other CMRC mountains participate in. Tim Schimke, whose grandfather helped develop Bear Valley, will remain General Manager.
Located in the central Sierra, Bear Valley spans 1,680 acres with a 1,900 foot vertical drop. The mountain’s seven chairlifts range in age and capacity from 1967 Riblet doubles to the Mokelumne Express, a 2017 Leitner-Poma six pack. California Mountain Resorts Company has been actively consolidating and upgrading lifts at Dodge Ridge and China Peak and will likely undertake similar efforts at Bear Valley. Perhaps the biggest capital opportunity lies on the backside of the mountain, where a long-envisioned detachable lift could connect Bear Valley Village with the mountain’s summit. This area is currently skiable but with no return lift service. A shuttle bus runs skiers back up the mountain but costs extra on top of a lift ticket.
CMRC already unveiled a new logo for Bear Valley and indicated more improvements are coming. “The journey ahead is riddled with challenges, but I am optimistic, noted CMRC president Tim Cohee in a press release. “With the dedication of our team and Tim’s unparalleled leadership, we are poised to meet and surpass these challenges. Our goal remains steadfast: to revive and amplify the Bear Valley legacy for one and all.”
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