- Homewood’s new gondola is finally approved.
- Eaglecrest receives a key gondola construction permit.
- The Wall Street Journal covers several challenges facing Vail Resorts.
- Unionized Crested Butte lift mechanics authorize a strike should they be unable to reach a contract agreement with Vail.
- Breckenridge lift staff stage a one day sick out in protest of employee housing conditions, closing several lifts on Wednesday.
- Pioneer at Park City hasn’t opened this season due to an offseason deropement still being repaired.
- Blackcomb’s Glacier Express to be closed a week or longer due to a possible gearbox issue.
- Mount Snow’s Challenger has been inoperative since January 13th.
- Mammut sponsors a short film exploring the transformation of Shames Mountain, British Columbia into a community co-op.
- British Columbia opens public consultation for the proposed Bridal Veil Mountain Resort.
- A gondola transit network in Oshawa, Ontario could cost CA$1.1 billion.
- Reed Hastings explains his sweeping changes at Powder Mountain including four new lifts in one summer and partial privatization.
- Chicopee, Ontario explains why its three new lifts aren’t spinning yet.
- Bristol Mountain partially rope evacuates the Comet Express.
- Ditto for the Mt. Hood Express at Mt. Hood Meadows.
- The Balsams extends approval for long-delayed redevelopment.
- Mont Farlagne, New Brunswick reopens its only chairlift after a month-long closure due to a bullwheel issue.
- Ischgl invites guests to help build a life size replica of a 3S gondola cabin with Lego bricks.
- The latest New Hampshire tram board minutes hint at a possible new lift for Bretton Woods.
- Mountain Village and Telluride begin planning their new gondola in earnest.
- Vermonters ask Why hasn’t Burke Mountain sold? as receivership fees surpass $12 million.
- Sugarbush gets all but one of its chairlifts going after a challenging start to the season.
- Several videos show the chaotic aftermath of the bullwheel detachment in Spain last week.
- Colorado releases the Winter Park gondola crack incident report, a full report of investigation remains in progress.
Lift Blog 
RE Mt. Hood Express – in an Instagram comment, Meadows said a 3’ deep chunk of solidified snow/ice slid off the roof of the chair parking structure next to the lower terminal. The snow was extremely dense from melt/refreeze and hit the side of the lower terminal and a carrier while it was detaching from the haul rope.
Long story short, that chair got stuck, and they were rope evac-ing until maintenance got it dislodged. The day it happened, the lift was on maintenance hold for 2 hours. Later that afternoon, the impacted carrier was parked on the lower parking rail. The carrier damage was visible via webcam (as were the lift maintenance members shoveling the rest of the snow off the roof of the parking structure).
There is still evidence today that this happened as the paneling of the terminal that was hit with the snow is significantly dented/crunched in. Hope this helps add some color.
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The linked (below) picture shows the lower terminal and the parking structure roof. The snow fell off at the far end, right near the carrier deceleration zone.
https://liftblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/img_5662.jpg
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Its odd that buildings in areas with snow and rain don’t have sloped roofs to avoid things getting stuck.
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Thank you Jimmy King. 50 years at Squaw Valley is an incredible run.
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I was a lift operator with Jimmy back in the ’70s. I spent 45 years in the ski industry and retired 7 years ago. Jimmy’s still at it. Drive on, Jimmy!
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I can’t in good conscience renew my Epic pass without a corporate leadership change at Vail Resorts. The employee housing conditions are just straight up immoral. No heat in the Rockies?! Plus the fact they’d rather disrupt guests’ once-a-year vacations peak season, just for a slim chance to avoid inevitable pay and benefit concessions (that peer resorts have already made).
There are many ways to increase shareholder value, and eeking out extra margin at the expense of your employees’ health and well-being is probably the dumbest and most short-sighted way to do it.
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good job to the Sugarbush team, it’s not been an easy season for them, but progress has been made. Stay safe.
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in other news… a groomer at Wildcat took out the top lift shack for the Bobcat Triple. Now they have no easy way down with their bunny lift Snowcat Triple broken all season.
wtf is wrong with Vail?!?
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Can you explain to me how it’s Vail’s fault if an individual cat driver accidently hits a building?
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How about the broken lift at WB?
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@JS, Glacier is an old lift and breakdowns happen, it’s not Vail’s fault, its just an isolated incident.
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Well between the Snowcat lift being out now for likely 2 months mid-season and now this incident with Bobcat, the entire looker’s right of the mountain is inaccessible to lower level skiers. Collectively, that very much is Vail’s fault, and they get zero grace from the public at this point b/c of their track record of failure since taking over Wildcat in the first place.
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So,
No one wants this stuff to ever happen, least of all the resort operations team, but it does. Just fix it as quick as you can and move on.
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I know they’re not spending enough because my resort hires their former employees for more $. They regularly fail to compete for employees. Having the budget and planning to be able to fix problems is good management.
I can tell you, but not specifically cuz I’m not allowed to, that Vail’s competition has identified their management and budget shortcomings as a competitive edge that has already been gained and now needs to be maintained.
Like I’m not claiming to know all of Vail’s internals… But when the competition is saying “you suck at this stuff, and we can sell skiing by showing we don’t”… Why would you defend Vail’s strategies? Or at a minimum not question them? Shorting Vail stock has been profitable since before the PCMR strike. Do you deny that, or just not understand why?
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https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/01/27/3015657/0/en/Late-Apex-Partners-Issues-Letter-to-Vail-Resorts-Inc-Board-of-Directors.html
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Some of their points, strictly from an investor’s perspective, are valid. However: 1) not convinced all changes would necessarily improve skier experience, and 2) it’s all just lip service unless this fund holds a controlling stake in MTN. “Late Apex Partners” does not appear to be a major institutional investor in MTN and as such I see them having little to no sway in changing MTN’s corporate governance or operating practices. They have no online footprint beyond a press release about their MTN position which makes it impossible to quantify their holding size. Beyond responding to some unwanted media attention (which there seems to be a lot of), MTN has no obligation to do anything about this release.
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