- Wasatch Peaks Ranch is ordered to temporarily halt construction and sales while a court considers a zoning dispute.
- Deer Valley Expanded Excellence lift construction is set to begin this summer.
- Park City Mountain’s proposed Sunrise Gondola project will go to a public hearing Tuesday night.
- Vail Resorts reports pass sales increases, plans to build the Sunrise Gondola in 2025.
- Nonprofits and individuals sue the Utah Department of Transportation seeking to stop the Little Cottonwood gondola.
- With numerous projects in the pipeline, Skytrac is hiring lift construction project managers.
- Red River proposes replacing the Copper double.
- Hatley Pointe, North Carolina teases new lifts over the next 3 to 5 years.
- Hickory to join Indy Pass, reopen lifts with funding from Indy Pass and Unofficial Networks.
- The cost of the proposed Dodgers Stadium Gondola in Los Angeles rises to an estimated $500 million.
- Mt. Spokane debuts a new trail map by VistaMap.
- A New York politician proposes exempting lift projects from state sales tax to match tax free purchasing enjoyed by state-owned resorts.
- James Coleman joins the Ski Utah podcast to talk about the rapid growth of Mountain Capital Partners.
- Montana Snowbowl lifts are certified to run again.
- Busch Gardens Tampa teases a reopening of its VonRoll gondola closed for four years.
Author: Peter Landsman
Instagram Tuesday: Goats
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Utah Olympics
- Vail Resorts agrees to acquire Crans-Montana Mountain Resort in Switzerland for $136 million.
- Hickory, New York needs to raise $38,000 to operate lifts this winter.
- The International Olympic Committee designates Salt Lake City its preferred host for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games. Gondola or not, Little Cottonwood Canyon won’t host any events.
- Skiers hike for opening day at Tyrol Basin, Wisconsin as a chairlift suffers “technical problems.”
- A new report recommends training and policy changes following a six year old’s death on a T-Bar in Quebec last winter.
- Montana Snowbowl, undergoing a safety review and still lacking permission to open this winter, issues a progress report.
- Scale model D-Line lifts are now available in the United States.
- Doppelmayr presents 10 possible routes for urban gondolas in New Zealand.
- Whiteface issues an RFP for modifications to Little Whiteface.
Deer Valley Plans Snow Park Gondola
Tonight Deer Valley Resort and Park City Municipal announced a public-private partnership to redevelop the Snow Park Base Area with a new gondola providing a key transportation link. Under the proposal, Deer Valley would reduce skier parking at Snow Park Village by 15 to 20 percent and devote $15 million to regional transportation and housing. A ten passenger gondola system would connect 1,200 new parking spaces on the Jordanelle side of the mountain to Snow Park, which will transform into a pedestrian-focused base village with lodging and dining. “We’ll have lift and gondola infrastructure that will connect from the new portal all the way to Snow Park, which we think is a really unique opportunity for transportation in the area,” Deer Valley President Todd Bennett told the City Council.
The newly-unveiled gondola would carry skiers and foot passengers year round between Snow Park Village and Silver Lake Village, likely replacing the Silver Lake Express. From Silver Lake, gondola cabins would continue to Park Peak, the 9,400 foot summit of Deer Valley’s upcoming Expanded Excellence expansion. The gondola would terminate just steps from another planned gondola rising from a new base portal along U.S. Route 40. Together a total of four gondola segments would link five points around Deer Valley and reduce the need for skiers to drive through Park City to park. Deer Valley notes that “several new chairlifts and the 10-passenger gondola will seamlessly connect our expanded terrain with the existing resort, ensuring a more balanced traffic flow and reducing congestion.”
The four gondola sections would span 5.4 miles and form one of the largest gondola systems in North America. A ride along the entire line from U.S. 40 to Snow Park would last approximately 25 minutes. The lift would be built and funded by Deer Valley on top of the $15 million Deer Valley is committing to fund other transportation and housing initiatives.
Park City’s City Council plans to hold a public hearing on the proposal next week with a potential vote to move forward before the end of the year. Deer Valley expects to open the first new ski terrain for the 2025/26 season, though Snow Park redevelopment will take the majority of this decade. The entire project is expected to be completed in advance of the potential 2034 Salt Lake Olympics.
Instagram Tuesday: Red Bubbles
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Happy Holidays
- Berkshire East names its new high speed quad T-Bar Express.
- Sugarloaf explains how it rebuilt a high speed quad from Big Sky to be as wind resistant as possible.
- Belleayre and Mt. Hood Meadows introduce all new trail maps showing new lifts.
- China Peak’s latest map shows the new Canyon quad and upcoming Firebowl quad.
- Sunday River’s new map shows Barker 6 and Merrill Hill but not Merrill Hill II.
- Mount St. Louis Moonstone celebrates completion of its groundbreaking CA$14 million chairlift.
- Homewood’s new gondola is spotted in a vacant lot in downtown Reno.
- Leitner to build a ropeway for apples in Italy capable of carrying 150 tons per hour.
- Closed Brodie Mountain, Massachusetts is sold to Florida investors.
Blue Mountain, Ontario Eyes New Gondola
Alterra Mountain Company’s lift construction push continues. Fresh off projects at Mammoth, Schweitzer, Snowshoe, Solitude, Steamboat and Winter Park, the company plans to build a new gondola at its outpost in Ontario, Canada. Blue Mountain currently operates the Silver Bullet Express as an open air gondola in the summer months but lacks a truly accessible year-round lift attraction. The new scenic gondola will load near the Village at Blue Mountain, where a new base lodge is also planned. The top terminal will sit near the Southern Comfort six pack with the gondola running diagonally up the mountain.
Blue Mountain notes the 20 year old Silver Bullet will need to be taken out of service for an entire summer soon for refurbishment and the new gondola will better serve summer and winter guests going forward. Construction is expected to begin next year, subject to local approvals. No manufacturer was announced but Blue Mountain currently operates a 100 percent Leitner-Poma lift fleet.
Instagram Tuesday: Evac Practice
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: The Stache
- Two riders who claim they were injured in a Riblet clip ejection incident in 2020 sue Red Lodge Mountain.
- Red Lodge names its new detachable lift Stache Express in honor of longtime General Manager Jeff Schmidt.
- Texas Parks & Wildlife has raised most of the $36 million needed to build a new Wyler Aerial Tramway in El Paso.
- Doppelmayr works with a Utah adaptive organization to make D-Line chairs more accommodating to sit skiers.
- A judge upholds Park City’s decision to block Eagle and Silverlode replacement projects at Park City Mountain.
- Park City continues to look at gondolas as possible public transportation.
- Deer Valley applies for its first lift construction permit for eastward expansion.
- Lutsen Mountains new trail map shows the new Raptor Express.
- Sundance seeks information on chairlift vandals (update: caught).
- Alterra appoints Mammoth and Steamboat leaders to new regional positions overseeing multiple resorts.
- The world’s largest urban gondola network in Bolivia plans more expansion as it nears 500 million rides.
- County commissioners allow the nonprofit seeking to reopen Cuchara to resume work.
Homewood Plans D-Line Gondola
Lake Tahoe’s Homewood Mountain Resort has abandoned plans for a private club in favor of remaining open to the public alongside selling club memberships. Homewood hopes this hybrid model will pave the way for installation of a new gondola, which was postponed this summer due to public outcry over privatization. The new gondola is the second recent lift project for JMA Ventures, which just yesterday celebrated the completion of the new Stache Express at its resort in Red Lodge, Montana.
Under a new draft agreement sent to the Tahoe Regional Planning Authority (TRPA), Homewood will remain open to the public in both winter and summer via season passes and daily lift tickets. This should allow the TRPA to approve gondola construction under an existing 2011 master plan. In a statement, TRPA said it is “reviewing the information and is in consultation with Homewood Mountain Resort to understand how the earlier proposal to change the character of the resort’s operation is being revised. This information will help the agency determine if the resort will be required to amend the larger resort master plan. A determination on that will be made before action is taken on the gondola project or any other project application at the resort.”
The gondola, which was already ordered and partially delivered to Homewood, will be built by Doppelmayr and run from the North Lodge to mid-mountain, replacing the Madden triple. The gondola will feature eight place Omega V cabins and become the third D-Line lift in California. The gondola will rise approximately 1,000 vertical feet, making Homewood’s entire 1,840 foot vertical drop accessible via detachable lifts for the first time. Homewood plans to build a new mid-mountain facility at the top of the gondola, which will be open to the public alongside club members. Pending approval, the new lift could open as soon as the 2024-25 ski season.
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