Month: December 2024

A Solid Year of Lifts

Peter Landsman20 Comments

As 2024 draws to a close, most of the 57 lifts installed this year are spinning over the holidays, a testament to hard work across the industry. The sheer number of installations fell slightly from last year but remains elevated from pre-pandemic. The business split nearly evenly between fixed and detachable lifts in 2024 with major projects coast to coast in both the United States and Canada.

At Mont Grand-Fonds, new owner Compagnie des Montagnes de Ski du Quebec replaced an aging T-Bar with the most modern lift in the province, a Doppelmayr six place detachable.

As always, the Rocky Mountain states led the charge, with 24 ropeways completed across Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and New Mexico. Deer Valley added a whopping five chairlifts (three of which will open this season) and Powder Mountain added four. The Rockies comprised nearly half the total market, followed by Canada and the Eastern US. New lift construction reached its second highest level in decades across Canada, with projects in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. The midwestern states lagged, falling to just two new lifts on the heels of a bad snow year in 2023-24. The west coast was down modestly with zero projects in the Lake Tahoe region, three elsewhere in California, just one in Oregon and two in Washington.

Lake Louise, Alberta debuted one of two new six place bubbles in the Banff region, the Pipestone Express.

Four detachable gondolas opened in 2024 – at Legoland New York, Big Sky, Montana; Wasatch Peaks, Utah and Grouse Mountain, British Columbia. That’s about normal for the post-covid era with three of those built by Leitner-Poma. Four bubble chairlifts also opened, all of which were six or eight packs. The number of detachable chairlifts declined from 29 to 22 and fixed grip chairlifts declined from 25 to 21. Little Chapman Hill in Durango, Colorado, added a cool platter lift, the only major surface lift this year. We’ll probably need to wait another decade for a new aerial tram following last year’s debut of the Lone Peak Tram.

Skytrac installed a Leitner platter from Italy at the community-owned Chapman Hill in Durango, Colorado.

This year was the second best for expansion lifts since the 2008 financial crisis, signaling resorts are looking to grow operations rather than simply replacing old lifts. Part of that is of course the Deer Valley East Village megaproject, encompassing five projects this year and many more to come.

Deer Valley’s Keetley Express, left, opened today, to be followed by the Hoodoo Express in early 2025.

Doppelmayr installed slightly more lifts than competitors Leitner-Poma and Skytrac but the Austrians’ number of projects declined the most from 2023. Partek, MND and SkyTrans fabricated no aerial lifts, leaving customers with a true duopoly in 2024.

The Coney Express at Snowmass features Leitner-Poma comfort chairs and an angled mid-station.

Doppelmayr dominated the fixed grip market with 57 percent share while detachables were split exactly evenly between the two builders. Doppelmayr supplied fewer D-Line detaches this year, installing two big ones at Big Sky Resort and one each at Mammoth Mountain and Deer Valley. Signs point to more D-Lines in 2025.

The Sunrise Quad at BigRock Mountain, Maine, one of the first new lifts completed this fall.

Leitner-Poma built the only new lift of the year not at a ski resort – the Minifigure Skyflyer at Legoland New York, which opened in June. The short 10 passenger gondola features individually themed cabins and carries riders between the park entrance and the base of a hill.

The Minifigure Skyflyer at Legoland New York was the first new lift to open in 2024.

One segment that grew strongly was used lifts, which tripled from three installations in 2023 to nine in ’24. As the cost of new lifts continues to rise, more operators are looking to high quality used equipment. In some cases the original manufacturer refurbishes and reinstalls, such as at Pleasant Mountain, Maine and Hunter Mountain, New York, while other ski areas chose to install used lifts themselves or hire a contractor.

Leitner-Poma designed everything from the second largest lift by vertical transport feet per hour (Grouse Mountain gondola) to the smallest at Legoland. Doppelmayr also completed a broad range of projects from the world’s longest eight seat chairlift at Big Sky all the way down to the short Aurora quad at Deer Valley. Skytrac continued serving the middle of the market with fixed grip chairlifts ranging in size from the largest at Powder Mountain’s Raintree expansion to the smallest at Mt. Ashland, Oregon.

The Super Angel Express became Sunshine Village’s second heated bubble chair in early November.

Alterra bought the most new lifts this year – eight – followed by Boyne Resorts with six. Vail Resorts pulled back from 18 new lifts in 2022 to five in 2023 and just three in 2024, one of which was a relocation and another of which was manufactured in 2022 but not installed until ’24. The fourth largest operator of North American ski areas, Powdr, purchased just two lifts this year. Really the largest customer for lifts was independent ski areas, which collectively added dozens of lifts.

This direct drive at Copper Mountain is one of five new direct drives installed in 2024.

As we wave goodbye to 2024, we also say goodbye to 50 lifts that were retired. The average age of a lift removed from service in 2024 was 41 years old. The industry retired 11 Poma lifts, nine Riblets and seven Halls over the past year.

Announced installations for 2025 are pacing about 15 percent below the same time last year. That could be a sign of actual pullback or resorts are waiting longer to make announcements. Of course Deer Valley is an exception, where an additional eight-ish lifts are planned for 2025 with more to follow. Some ’25 installs are already under construction, including Big Sky’s Explorer Gondola and Alpental’s Chair 2. One strong area for 2025 is non-ski lifts, with projects announced in Colorado, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia that have nothing to do with sliding downhill.

Red River, New Mexico continued its fleet modernization with a Doppelmayr triple called Copper replacing an aging Riblet double.

2024 marked a milestone for me, as I finished visiting every public ski area in the United States and Canada. The 752nd and final spot was Moose Mountain, Yukon, which took thousands of miles and multiple days to reach in June. Many industry friends surprised me at the Salt Lake City airport on my way home and we celebrated in the terminal. I’ll continue documenting lifts in 2025, writing about project announcements and industry news. Thanks as always for reading Lift Blog and Happy New Year!

News Roundup: Auxiliary

Peter Landsman7 Comments

Park City Ski Patrol Goes on Strike

Peter Landsman22 Comments
https://twitter.com/bmullahy2news/status/1872733768815096034

Nearly 200 unionized ski patrollers and mountain safety staff walked off the job at Park City Mountain this morning after months working without a contract. The escalation comes a day after mediation between Vail Resorts and the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association failed to produce an agreement. “We are deeply disappointed the patrol union has walked out of mediation and chosen drastic action that attempts to disrupt mountain operations in the middle of the holiday season, given we invested significantly in patrol with their wages increasing more than 50% over the past four seasons, and we have reached agreements on 24 of the 27 current contract terms,” said Deirdra Walsh, VP & COO for Park City Mountain. “We want to reassure skiers and snowboarders, our employees, and this community that despite the union’s actions, Park City Mountain will remain open with safety as our top priority, and all planned terrain will be open thanks to experienced patrol leaders from Park City Mountain and our other mountain resorts,” she continued.

After hanging up their jackets, the union and supporters spent the day picketing at both Canyons Village and Mountain Village in full view of guests. The union stopped short of telling the public not to ski but urged the public not to patronize Vail Resorts restaurants, retail stores, rental shops and ski schools. “Vail Resorts forced this walkout by bargaining in bad faith and repeatedly violating the National Labor Relations Act,” said the union, which is part of United Mountain Workers, itself a unit of the Communications Workers of America. “Consistent with Vail’s bad faith tactics, after yesterday’s seven hour negotiation session with a mediator present, the company continued to refuse to give a counteroffer on wages or benefits. They have had two weeks to prepare a counter proposal,” the union said.

Patrollers are seeking a $2 wage increase for new hires from $21 to $23 per hour with an annual cost of living adjustment. They are also calling for improved wages for senior patrollers and an equipment allowance for all members, among other benefits. In addition to the strike in Park City, the union organized an informational picket tonight in front of Vail-owned Epic Mountain Gear in Frisco, Colorado. The majority of United Mountain Workers’ roughly 1,100 members work in Colorado. The union represents patrollers, lift mechanics and electricians at 13 resorts in four states.

Vail Resorts prepared for a strike in Park City, making clear in advance the mountain would continue operating and flying in patrollers from across the company to stand in for workers who walked out. Park City patrol managers and supervisors are not part of the union and remain working alongside colleagues from other states. The company calls this the “Patrol Support Team” with the union preferring the term “scab.” Vail also created a website outlining the company’s position, including recent compensation increases and contract proposals.

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Strike-related impacts on mountain operations were not entirely clear. Today was a powder day on the heels of historically low snowfall, resulting in limited terrain open before the strike started. High winds also impacted lift operations and this holiday week is always crowded. Still, many lifts opened hours late, frustrating guests. One employee who wished to remain anonymous said, “As a long time Park City skier and employee this definitely feels abnormal. Tombstone not opening is very, very unusual.” More than 20 lifts did open, however, a number similar to yesterday. The employee said a lack of normal on-snow signage was noticeable. “Generally the vibe here is that guests are mad,” they said. “In my experience about 50% are mad at Vail and 50% are mad at patrol.”

Instagram Tuesday: Christmas Eve

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Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.

Chairs Collide on Comet Express at Heavenly

Peter Landsman55 Comments
Photo credt: TGIFaanes via Reddit

A lift incident occurred on the Comet Express at Heavenly this morning, injuring five people. Two quad chairs could be seen stacked together near the base of the lift with several guests on the ground below being assisted by ski patrol and one guest pinned between the chairs. “Chair slid backwards with people on it into the chair behind it,” wrote a witness on Reddit. “The people in the front chair fell off,” the person said. The lift was closed for the day and remains closed. “Heavenly Mountain Resort can confirm an incident occurred on its Comet Express chairlift today, Monday, December 23, 2024,” the resort said in a statement. “The safety of our guests is our top priority and the resort is investigating the incident.” A flight tracking website showed a medevac helicopter landed in one of Heavenly’s parking lots before continuing to a Reno hospital.

Comet Express was built by Doppelmayr and opened in 1988. It is the oldest detachable lift at Heavenly and features DS series grips.

Photo credit: xamfed via Reddit

Winter Park Gondola Closed Following Incident

Peter Landsman55 Comments

A tower component failed on The Gondola at Winter Park Resort today, leading to a five hour rope evacuation. Photos show a rocker arm that connects two sections of a 16 sheave assembly cracked nearly in half. The affected assembly is located on tower 1 and holds the haul rope down on the heavy side of the lift, adjacent to the bottom terminal. A total of 174 guests were roped down by ski patrol, concluding at 6:00 pm. “At 12:15pm on December 21, 2024, the Gondola had a mechanical issue and immediately shut down as the system is designed to do so for guest safety,” said Winter Park in a statement. “At this time the Gondola is closed for repair and further inspection. All guests were safely evacuated thanks to our Patrol team.”

Leitner-Poma constructed The Gondola in 2018, providing a high capacity link between the Village at Winter Park and Sunspot. The lift is a workhorse, operating both day and night throughout the year. Each of the system’s 75 cabins can carry up to 10 passengers.

Stock photo of tower 1 prior to this incident.

“A replacement part and crane have arrived, and repairs are underway,” Winter Park said on 12/22. “Once the repair is complete, the Colorado Tramway Safety Board will complete a thorough inspection process. Once we have approval from the Tram Board we will be able to re-open the Gondola. We do not currently have a timeframe for when that will be but are working to complete the repair and inspection as soon as possible while prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of our guests.” Both Arrow and Gemini also provide access out of the Village.

News Roundup: Deer Valley Green

Peter Landsman13 Comments

Quebec to Inject $50 Million at Mont-Sainte-Anne

Peter Landsman12 Comments

The Government of Quebec today announced a CA$50 million investment in Mont-Sainte-Anne, the crown jewel of Resorts of the Canadian Rockies eastern operations located near Quebec City. Under the deal, RCR will be required to invest an equal amount of private capital over the next five years. Half the government’s contribution will come as a forgiveable loan while the other half must be paid back with future revenue.

Mont-Sainte-Anne operates on provincial land under a 99 year lease inked in 1994. Since that time, Alberta-based RCR has installed just one new lift, the Panorama Express in 2013. The mountain suffered several lift incidents in recent years and many called on the province to terminate its lease and partner with a different operator. Groupe Le Massif and Compagnie des Montagnes de Ski du Quebec both expressed interest but the province concluded the current lease with Resorts of the Canadian Rockies should continue. One condition of the loan to RCR is periodic, independent safety audits.

A large chunk of the infusion is earmarked for new lifts characterized as “ultra modern.” Newspaper La Presse reported that the mountain’s 1989 Doppelmayr gondola, 1987 Doppelmayr detachable quad L’Express du Nord and 1986 Samson quad La Tortue will all be replaced. No specific timelines or lift types were shared but anything new will be a welcome upgrade. The main lodges and snowmaking system will be modernized and a mountain coaster installed. “Our government has chosen the best option to ensure the sustainability of the mountain, ensure safety for users and make this jewel of the Côte-de-Beaupré region once again,” said Kariane Bourassa, Member of Parliament for Charlevoix-Côte-de-Beaupré. “The $50 million invested by the Government of Quebec comes with clear conditions that RCR must respect. These investments will help restore the reputation of the resort, with new ski lifts and modernized infrastructure that will improve the customer experience while reducing energy consumption.”