Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Author: Peter Landsman
News Roundup: Short Films
- 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.
Instagram Tuesday: Red Sky
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Bullwheel Failure Injures 15 in Spain
The top bullwheel detached from a chairlift in Spain this morning, injuring more than 15 people. The incident happened at Astún, a resort with 15 lifts located in the Pyrenees. Without a bullwheel retention device, the bullwheel came to rest vertically and the lift rapidly lost tension, causing chairs to contact the ground along the line. The lift de-roped on numerous towers and chairs could be seen mangled with an evacuation underway. The government said three people were seriously injured with helicopters shuttling people to hospitals. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, posted on X that he was “shocked by the news of the accident at the Astún station” and offered full support to local authorities and the victims.
The lift that failed is a 1989 fixed grip quad called Canal Roya. It was constructed by Spanish manufacturer REAC, which does not have any installations in the United States or Canada.
The incident appears similar to the 1985 Teller lift accident at Keystone, which killed two people and seriously injured 49. That lift was constructed by Yan and an investigation revealed a faulty weld caused the top bullwheel to detach.
News Roundup: The Bar
- Vail Resorts reports a 0.3% decline in North American skier visits through 1/5 with revenue up 4.5%, ski school up 1.1%, dining up 6.6% and retail/rental down 5.4%.
- Park City offers guests who visited during the patrol strike partial credit toward a season pass next year.
- Park City businesses report a drop in business following the patrol strike.
- Kimberley, BC’s Tamarack chair goes down for awhile.
- Another snowboarder falls from a lift in Colorado – this time at Copper.
- A man who fell from Willamette Pass’ Peak 2 triple in high winds seeks $3.6 million in damages.
- Europeans poke fun at the lack of bars on lifts and Americans’ refusal to use them on lifts that are equipped.
- A trial in British Columbia finds proper signage increases bar use dramatically.
- The Atlantic runs a story on ski industry consolidation, labor relations and cheap season passes.
- Mt. Hood Meadows provides an update on Heather Canyon, which has yet to open this season.
- An Alaska windstorm blows a lift shack over on one lift and sends a chair into the bullwheel on another at Arctic Valley.
- Sugarbush apologizes for not having Castlerock and Slide Brook operable at this point in the season.
- Leaders approve a large development at Nordic Valley, Utah; likely to coincide with a new out-of-base lift.
- The municipality of Whistler to study a valley gondola transit line.
- Castle Mountain seeks a name for its first high speed quad.
Instagram Tuesday: Paradise
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Strike Over
- Park City’s patrol strike ends after 12 days; Vail apologizes to guests and a class action lawsuit is filed.
- Spirit Mountain, Minnesota solicits bids to replace Gandy with a quad this summer.
- Bald Mountain, Idaho may not open this season due to inability to secure insurance.
- Leitner-Poma President Daren Cole joins Banff Sunshine’s podcast to discuss the Super Angel Express and lift business more broadly.
- A sit skier who fell from Winter Park’s Explorer Express and was seriously injured files suit.
- Pursuit completes its acquisition of the Jasper SkyTram.
- Saskadena Six, Vermont will not operate Chair Two this season, looks at a replacement.
- Eaglecrest, Alaska continues to look toward a sightseeing gondola to subsidize its money-losing ski operation.
- Killington’s Superstar six pack will cost $12.16 million,
- Mt. Bachelor plans several enhancements to the Northwest Express.
- Sugarbush to bring in additional staff from across Alterra to try and get non-functional lifts open.
- Four Seasons, New York is listed for sale.
- Sandia Peak proposes replacing Chair 1.
Instagram Tuesday: Rime
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Cataloochee Announces New Quad Chair
North Carolina’s Cataloochee Ski Area will construct a base-to-summit chairlift this summer, replacing the Omigosh double. Doppelmayr USA will manufacture the lift, which will feature a 740 foot vertical rise and Alpenstar drive terminal. As with the current lift, the new Omigosh will include an intermediate station for internediate level skiers to unload part way up the mountain.
Omigosh is the oldest lift at Cataloochee, constructed by Hall in 1968. Though it has been upgraded over the years, it moves limited skiers to the summit. The new quad will boost capacity and improve the guest experience. Construction is set to begin in May and conclude in advance of the 2025-26 season.
Ski Butternut to Build New Quad Chair
Family-owned Ski Butternut plans to build its second Skytrac in five years this coming summer. The new lift, to be called Jane’s Quad, will replace the 50 year old Overbrook triple. The quad will load lower on the mountain and unload higher, following a modified alignment. The lift will be named for Jane Murdock, who founded the ski area with her husband Channing in 1963 and passed away last winter. Jane’s will be quite large, spanning 3,633 feet with 125 chairs and 15 towers. Vertical rise will increase from 721 feet on the current Thiokol lift to 757 feet.
Site preparation began last spring in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation. “After a multi-year planning, engineering, and permitting phases, we are excited to bring this modernization to Ski Butternut,” said Dillon Mahon, Marketing Director of Ski Butternut. “This area of the mountain is a favorite among our guests, and this new lift will enhance the overall experience. It’s a long term investment in the future of Ski Butternut and in the enjoyment of our skiers and snowboarders,” he continued.
Jane’s will be the second Skytrac constructed at Butternut following Paddy Wagon in 2021. The area also operates three CTEC quads and will become a 100% fixed grip quad mountain for the 2025-26 season.
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