- Doppelmayr/Garaventa submits the apparent low bid to rebuild the Cannon Mountain tram for $44.6 million, 36 percent above the state’s estimate. Leitner-Poma’s $49.5 million bid comes in 50 percent higher than estimated.
- Bromley to replace the Plaza double with a rope tow.
- Park City’s twice approved Eagle and Silverlode replacements face yet another lawsuit.
- Indy Pass adds Ski Land and Skeetawk, Alaska; Showdown, Montana; Kendall Mountain, Colorado; Frost Fire, North Dakota; King Pine, New Hampshire; Powder Ridge, Connecticut and Mont Kanasuta, Quebec plus international partners with more to come next week.
- Indy loses Midwest mountains Caberfae Peaks, Michigan and Crystal Ridge, Little Switzerland & Nordic Mountain, Wisconsin.
- Telluride’s planned gondola replacement may not receive federal transit funding due to political optics, Buy America requirements and flat ridership on the current system.
- An update on the Stagecoach Mountain Ranch private ski area approval process.
- Several riders fall from the beach chairlift at Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
- Loon Mountain unveils a 272 acre, lift free expansion and new trail map.
- Brundage ends summer early due to a lift issue.
- Alterra will move to downtown Denver.
- Two of Vail Resorts’ three Australia mountains close weeks early due to snowmelt.
Sad potential news about the Telluride Gondola. Wondering if they might have to reduce operational hours and days on it
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What’s fascinating to me about the constant PCMR lawsuits is that they fundamentally misunderstand the argument about comfortable carrying capacity.
These plaintiffs constantly argue that increased uphill capacity will lead to more crowding and thus “unsafe” conditions on the slopes, but a capacity increase (and frankly a third out-of-base route) would improve circulation as a whole across the ski area, perhaps at the cost of a run or two being busier than before. PCMR suffers from a circulation problem more than anything, it takes time for guests to spread out, reducing bottlenecks is something these people ought to get behind…
Will the base area still have a horde of people Saturday morning, even with an upgraded chair? Obviously yes, but more uphill capacity in different directions will still be a net positive for circulation, which, in turn, improves “safety”.
I think it also speaks to the heaping dose of anxiety longtime residents have about the state of Utah skiing. These people, more than anything else, want a return to 2000s Utah skiing, where annual visitation never went over 5 million skier visits, no multi-mountain passes, and basically the same amount of skiable acreage as today. I can appreciate the nostalgia goggles, but that is also completely unrealistic with the amount of population growth (and transplants who moved here *explicitly* for the proximity to a dozen large ski areas). That’s where the NIMBYism comes in, and that’s where these people lose me because being here first doesn’t make you right.
PCMR is gargantuan and that requires millions of dollars in CapEx to be competitive. The town lives and dies by both ski areas (hat tip to DV) continually reinvesting to keep it competitive, otherwise the tourists who pay for the whole party will go someplace else.
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I think it has more to do with people being pissed at how vail is running the mountain more than anything. You make great points too.
But as a Utahn, it is sad to see what PCMR has become. People are just trying to give vail the middle finger.
I can’t prove it but I really think if PCMR was owned by someone else who had a good relationship with the community, you wouldn’t see these lawsuits.
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I agree. Most of these lawsuits are b/c people just hate Vail and are doing everything they can to annoy them to the point where Vail sells on one condition: keeping PC on the Epic Pass for X # of years. It’s only a matter of time.
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Huh?
Normal people don’t casually keep lawyers on payroll for ongoing lawsuits and litigation.
The people suing Vail have a monetary interest and motivation to remove Vail as an operator. The lawsuits are cents on the dollar to them for what they potentially stand to gain in return.
Face it, it’s a big club and you’re not part of it.
But then again it’s not surprising, most people who have never worked for Vail or other major ski companies tend to blame them for issues that are bigger than just who owns their local mountain. Smart people with money know how take advantage of low quality information folk and push them towards decisions that greatly help them.
Of all the people who work for Vail Resorts, only those with premeditated intent actually hate all the capital Vail invests into their properties.
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They’ve also caused difficulty for Deer Valley to some degree.
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In what ways?
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As a local; what is your view on the idea of Matthew Prince taking over?
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Well said; big mountain resorts could solve most of their problems with getting rid of the bottle necks and spreading people out on the mountain. Several bottom-to-top lifts with several bases (village, parking etc) would help alot.
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PCMR suffers from a circulation problem more than anything, it takes time for guests to spread out, reducing bottlenecks is something these people ought to get behind…
Which is the thing these lifts are being built to solve. Eagle 6 to take traffic off Payday, Bonanza and Crescent; Silverlode 8 to improve traffic flow out of Miners Camp.
These plaintiffs clearly don’t get what they’re talking about or they are not that good at risk assessment to understand the benefits.
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