Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Year: 2024
Alta Plans to Rebuild Supreme Lift
The experiment to build a detachable quad with an eight degree turn and no angle station may be coming to an end. This week Alta Ski Area General Manager Mike Maughan revealed the Supreme lift is suffering from accelerated metal fatigue, requiring the ski area to look at major modifications. Specifically the lift’s chairs have become damaged over time as they pass through numerous canted sheave assemblies. “Every one of those [chair pans] is cracked significantly,” Maughan told the Alta Town Council Thursday. “An investigation by engineers said we’re accelerating fatigue on the chairs, the grips and the bend itself.”
Supreme was constructed in 2017 to replace two separate lifts – Cecret and Supreme – which ran consecutively in different alignments. A new high speed quad was envisioned to include an angle station near the top of the old Cecret chair where beginners could unload. Chairs would detach, turn and continue to the Supreme summit. That plan proved expensive so Alta pivoted to a unique bend design that kept chairs moving at full speed through a line turn. By following both old lift lines with a bend, Alta would cut fewer trees and avoid significant ground disturbance. Doppelmayr reportedly declined to bid on the bend design and would only supply the lift with an angle station (like they did on nearby Collins.) Alta went ahead with Leitner-Poma and the new Supreme opened for the 2017-18 season. From the beginning skiers noticed the ride through the bend was quite bumpy and jarring. Last winter, Alta experimented with a different Leitner chair design in an attempt to mitigate the rough ride through the bend.
Fast forward to today and Alta sees two possible paths forward. The first is to rebuild the lift in a straight path between the top and bottom terminals. This would require every tower and terminal foundation to be replaced. “All the equipment would be re-used with maybe a few new towers added to the mix,” said Maughan. A second, less likely option is to keep both terminals in place and build a full angle station where the bend stands today. Analysis is underway to determine the best solution. “We approached the Forest Service and they are open to the realignment approach which would end up with a simpler lift with fewer moving parts and less wear and tear,” noted Maughan. Either way, the project will be a major undertaking targeted for summer 2025. “We’re waiting for numbers back from Poma to understand the cost of both options.”
For the upcoming 2024-25 season, the lift is expected to continue operating with chairs either repaired or replaced as necessary. It’s important to remember Supreme has operated safely for seven years and thorough inspections caught the issue before any incident. Now that the problem is known, Alta will work closely with the Forest Service, Leitner-Poma and the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee on safe interim and long term solutions.
News Roundup: 750
- Leitner plans to offer the ConnX multi-model gondola system from 2025 after passing tests in Hungary.
- A progress report on the first Doppelmayr TRI-Line in Switzerland.
- Also on the first MND Orizon detachable in France.
- MND inaugurates a new production facility to support the Orizon line.
Skytrac celebrates its new facility in Tooele, Utah.
Bartholet releases its 2024 reference book. - Alta clarifies it supports a Little Cottonwood gondola.
- White Pass adds chairs to boost capacity on the Great White Express.
- A viral video shows a lift being jostled by a small tornado.
- Homewood now plans to build its already-delivered D-Line gondola in 2025 and upgrade Ellis in 2030.
- Burke Mountain delays summer opening to mid-July due to a mechanical issue with the Sherburne Express.
- Marmot Basin to sell chairs from the Knob double.
- Jackson Hole to auction Sublette chairs.
- Beartooth Basin is for sale.
- I visited my 750th ski area this week, marking the completion the Canada Lift Database.
Sunlight to Replace Two Lifts in 2025
Two of Colorado’s oldest chairlifts will be replaced simultaneously in 2025, Sunlight Mountain Resort has announced. Primo, a 1966 Riblet double, will be replaced by a Leitner-Poma Alpha fixed grip quad. Segundo, a 1954 Heron with Riblet upgrades, will be replaced by a 2001 Leitner-Poma triple from Arapahoe Basin. The project will be the largest capital undertaking in the history of Sunlight.
“The replacement of Primo and Segundo signifies a new era for our resort,” Sunlight said in a release. “We are excited about the increased capacity and efficiency these new lifts will bring, while also honoring the legacy of Segundo, a beloved fixture of our mountain for over 50 years. Our goal is to offer an incredible and personalized experience, ensuring that while our infrastructure evolves, the essence of Sunlight remains unchanged.” Construction is set to begin this summer with the bulk of work taking place in summer 2025. Existing lifts will continue to operate for the 2024-25 winter season and both new lifts will be completed for 2025-26.
Bluewood to Install Detachable Quad
Bluewood Mountain Resort will build its first high speed lift in 2025, replacing the aging Skyline Express. The outgoing Borvig triple has served as Bluewood’s primary lift since 1978. “We couldn’t be more excited about the purchase of a high-speed quad for Bluewood,” Said Buck Lewis, Vice President and spokesperson for Bluewood’s ownership group. “This new chair will greatly decrease seat time and increase ride time on the hill, providing a much more enjoyable day on the mountain. This is a fantastic milestone for our resort and community.” As part of the project, Bluewood also intends to install a snowmaking system at the base of the mountain to improve early season coverage.
Bluewood says it’s under contract for the new lift though a manufacturer was not specified. A rendering suggests the lift may be a pre-owned 1990s Doppelmayr model out of Europe. A number of mid-sized resorts including Mission Ridge, Washington; Castle Mountain, Alberta and Pleasant Mountain, Maine have recently opted to install used detachable quads due to the rising costs of new equipment. Bluewood expects to break ground next April and become Washington State’s seventh ski area with a detachable for the 2025-26 ski season.
Instagram Tuesday: Gore Range
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Act 2
- Sundance plans to build a detachable from the base of Wildwood to the summit of Red’s in 2026.
- Snowmass proposes replacing both Alpine Springs and Elk Camp.
- Park City breaks ground on the Sunrise Gondola.
- The appeal of Deer Valley’s Lift 7 approval is dropped.
- Angel Fire faces an extended closure of the Chile Express due to gearbox failure.
- A former Eaglecrest manager questions the installation of a used pulse gondola.
- Eaglecrest may not complete the gondola until 2026 or 2027, five years after it arrived in Alaska.
- Vermont reports 4.1 million skier visits, down less than half a percent from last year.
- A team from the University of Utah works to develop a better adaptive bike carrier.
Instagram Tuesday: Over Snow
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite lift photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Metrics
- Aspen Mountain’s Lift One project inches closer to reality.
- Aspen Skiing Company reports skier visits declined 2.3 percent last season.
- Colorado as a whole reports its second best season ever, down five percent from last year’s record.
- New Hampshire was down four percent.
- Vail Resorts reports a 5 percent increase in lift revenue but a 7.7 percent decline in visits with season pass unit sales down 5 percent for next season.
- Colorado’s Estes Park Tram reopens after an extended closure.
- Nordic Valley works to reactivate Apollo, which missed last season.
- Legoland New York’s new 10 passenger gondola to open June 24th.
- A Park City resident files an appeal of Deer Valley’s Lift 7 approval.
- Sun Peaks flies towers for the new West Bowl Express.
- Leitner’s 2023 annual report is out highlighting global projects.
Instagram Tuesday: Angel
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.