Lift Blog

From the new Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky to the longest and fastest gondola in North America at Steamboat to lift served expansions and eight seat chairlifts, 2023 was an exciting year in lifts. This year will go down in history not for the mere number of projects but the sheer size and variety of lifts resorts installed.

Sixty one new lifts were completed for this winter, five fewer than last year. A handful projects were announced but later postponed for various reasons, including a new gondola at Homewood, a real estate access lift at Tremblant and a high speed quad at Mt. Holly. If all contracted projects had come to fruition, the total would have been in line with 2022, the best year for lift construction since 1999.

The Rocky Mountain region accounted for the largest share of new lifts this winter, with the Steamboat and Sun Valley undertaking two of the largest projects ever in North America. At Steamboat, Doppelmayr constructed the record-breaking second section of the Wild Blue Gondola while Leitner-Poma simultaneously built a 6,300 foot detachable quad servicing the Mahogany Ridge expansion. Sun Valley and Doppelmayr partnered to build the largest chairlift in North America by vertical transport feet per hour, a six pack called Challenger rising 3,138 vertical feet. Sun Valley also built a high speed quad that would be the biggest lift of the year in a normal year. Winter Park’s new Wild Spur Express is also notable in the Rockies, featuring 105 six passenger chairs and three stations.

The Midwest also enjoyed a strong year with a dozen projects, primarily in the state of Michigan. Boyne Resorts built three new lifts at its Michigan resorts and two independent Lower Peninsula resorts added Skytrac fixed grip chairlifts. The Upper Peninsula gained its first-ever detachable lift, a Doppelmayr six pack called the Voyageur Express at Snowriver.

Canada bounced back nicely from an extended Covid slump with eight projects from coast to coast. The country’s first two eight place chairlifts debuted nearly simultaneously east and west at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Ontario and Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia. The Moonstone lift is the highest capacity lift ever installed in the US or Canada with a design throughput of 4,250 skiers per hour. A number of Canadian resorts poured concrete this summer for additional lifts set to debut in 2024-25 including at Grouse Mountain, Sunshine Village, Sun Peaks and Whistler Blackcomb.

The Pacific states saw a slight decline in lift construction after a strong 2022. Mammoth Mountain, Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Bachelor all debuted large six packs replacing first generation detachable quads.

The biggest decline was the east coast, where the number of new lifts fell 60 percent year over year. Berkshire East debuted its first-ever detachable lift and Vail-owned Attitash replaced one of the most hated lifts in the east – the Summit Triple. The New York Olympic Regional Development Authority added new lifts at all three of its mountains, including a unique high speed quad with angle station at Whiteface called The Notch.

The mix of lifts was very similar to 2022, with detachables slightly outpacing fixed grips. Only two gondolas opened this year, one at Sterling Vineyards in California and the other at Steamboat. More popular were bubble chairlifts, which joined fleets at The Highlands, Sunday River and Wasatch Peaks Ranch. At Big Sky, the new Lone Peak Tram became the first large aerial tram in North America in 15 years. Bottineau Winter Park in North Dakota built the lone T-Bar this year, replacing an old Hall T-Bar.

One exciting development this year was terrain expansions. In Colorado, Aspen Mountain, Keystone and Steamboat dropped ropes on a combined 1,350 acres of new terrain, all serviced by new detachable chairlifts from Leitner-Poma. Boyne Resorts also invested heavily to expand footprints in the east at Loon Mountain and Sugarloaf. Elsewhere, Trollhaugen, Wisconsin, Lee Canyon, Nevada and Whitewater, British Columbia constructed fixed grip quad chairs servicing new trail pods.

A number of resorts added infill lifts to boost capacity on existing terrain where there was no prior lift. Examples include the DeMoisy Express six pack at Snowbasin and a new beginner area at Wolf Creek, Colorado. There aren’t expansions per se but dramatically improve access to previously underutilized terrain.

The balance of projects, 47 to be exact, were simply new machines replacing old machines. 59 lifts were removed from service in 2023 at an average age of 40 years. A whopping 17 Riblets retired along with five Halls, four Yans and four Borvigs.

Doppelmayr and the HTI Group (Leitner-Poma and Skytrac parent) remain locked in a fiercely competitive duopoly, vying for business not only in North America but worldwide. Independent American manufacturer Partek did build two fixed grip lifts in Minnesota and Connecticut this year, continuing its history of serving small operators. France-based MND Group, which celebrated its first detachable lift in North America last year, did not install any aerial lifts in this part of the world this year, though they did supply a handful of conveyors. SkyTrans also didn’t build any lifts, leaving just three players in the aerial lift market in 2023. Overall Doppelmayr achieved 54 percent market share in North America while Leitner-Poma and Skytrac commanded 43 percent by number of projects.

On the fixed grip side of the business, Leitner-Poma’s Alpha and Skytrac’s Monarch combined for 50 percent market share, besting Doppelmayr’s 42 percent. Doppelmayr led the detachable side with 58 percent share. Doppelmayr’s detachable projects split 50-50 between premium D-Line and standard UNI-G models.

With 60 of 61 new lifts at ski resorts, Sterling Vineyards in California built the only non-ski lift in North America this year. Their new eight passenger gondola runs in a triangle alignment and carries riders to a hilltop tasting experience. Manufacturers completed zero urban projects this year in North America despite manufacturers’ best efforts and successes in other global markets.

Only three resorts opted to install used lifts this offseason, the lowest number in decades. Red Lodge reinstalled Alta’s former detachable triple, China Peak strung up Jackson Hole’s old Thunder chair and Sugarloaf refurbished a high speed quad from sister property Big Sky. Bringing old lifts up to current code is complex and many resorts don’t have the institutional knowledge and labor to install a used lift in house any more.

I like to end with a chart comparing all the year’s lifts by size, measured in vertical transport feet per hour. You can see just how huge Steamboat’s Wild Blue and Sun Valley’s Challenger projects were compared to others this season. At the other end of the spectrum, Wolf Creek built the smallest new lift of the year, rising just 97 vertical feet and moving 1,200 skiers per hour.

New this year I added a chart showing just how many lifts are being built by multi-resort conglomerates versus independents. Boyne Resorts led the pack with the new Big Sky tram, three six place D-Lines and five fixed grip chairlifts. Alterra completed major additions at six of its resorts while Vail Resorts added lifts at five of its mountains. Other multi-lift customers included Grand America Hotels & Resorts (parent company of Sun Valley and Snowbasin) and Midwest Family Ski Resorts. Still, almost half the customers for new lifts order just one.

Unlike last year on this day, nearly all new lifts are complete and load tested, a testament to hard work and an improved supply chain. For the few that aren’t open, the reason has nothing to do with shipping delays or labor shortages but a shortage of snow. The poor start this season across the industry may impact lift sales in future seasons. Despite winter’s absence, many operators have already committed to new lifts for next season. Big Sky just announced the longest eight seater in the world and Powder Mountain plans to build four new lifts in one summer. Dozens of other projects are in the pipeline and I hope you will follow along in 2024 as the lift business moves forward. Happy New Year.