Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Author: Peter Landsman
Leitner-Poma Breaks Ground on Utah Factory
Elected officials joined Leitner-Poma of America yesterday in Tooele, Utah to turn the first dirt for what will become the company’s largest North American facility. The 130,000 square foot campus will complement an existing 100,000 square foot factory in Grand Junction, Colorado opened in 2007. Leitner-Poma subsidiary Skytrac Lifts will move from leased space near the Salt Lake City airport to Tooele. The state-of-the-art facility will allow the firms, which are owned by HTI Group of Italy, to increase production and expand headcount up to 120 employees, with further growth possible in additional phases of the project. In addition to Skytrac and Leitner-Poma production, the building will also house a parts warehouse and offices for HTI snowmaking brand DemacLenko and HTI grooming brand Prinoth. All told HTI plans to invest $27 million in Tooele.
When the new facility opens in May 2024, LPOA and Skytrac will manufacture 85 to 90 percent of lift equipment for the North American market in the United States. “Today, we are thrilled to mark a new era of our company here in Tooele,” said Daren Cole, president of LPOA. “We are really invested in the State of Utah and the resort industry. We are focused on Made in America here in Utah and the U.S.” He noted Leitner-Poma’s primary competitor imports much of its equipment from Europe. Leitner-Poma is Italian-owned but offers a largely North American-designed and manufactured product line.
The Tooele facility will support not only the ski industry but also future projects for amusement parks and urban transit. “We want to welcome Leitner-Poma to the fastest growing county in the fastest growing state in the nation,” said Utah Lieutenant Governor Diedre Henderson. “Here in the heart of Utah’s industrial landscape our partnership with Leitner-Poma will pave the way for groundbreaking new developments in the transportation industry with its cutting edge new manufacturing facility.”
Leitner-Poma plans to install solar panels and a 250 kilowatt wind turbine from fellow HTI brand Leitwind to provide 100 percent of the factory’s energy needs.
Mountain Capital Partners to Reopen Sandia Peak
New Mexico’s Sandia Peak will become the 12th ski area in Mountain Capital Partners’ fast-growing resort collective. Closed since 2021 and located near Albuquerque, Sandia Peak features three double chairs operated by the Abruzzo Family for decades. Under a joint venture agreement announced today, the Abruzzos will continue to run the Sandia Peak Tramway and restaurant while MCP will operate the ski hill. “Skiing in the Southwest offers unique challenges that have been amplified over the last several years,” noted Sandia Peak General Manager Ben Abruzzo. “This partnership will help address those challenges and provide a future for skiing in Albuquerque,” Abruzzo continued. In addition to the tram, the Abruzzo family will continue to own and manage Ski Santa Fe in Northern New Mexico.
Sandia Peak is MCP’s fourth new mountain in two years. In April the company acquired Lee Canyon, Nevada from Powdr and quickly began work on a new chairlift. Earlier this year MCP acquired a majority stake and assumed operation of Valle Nevado in Chile. Prior to that, Mountain Capital Partners reached a joint venture to operate Oregon’s Willamette Pass Ski Area. MCP also operates two other New Mexico ski areas, resorts in Arizona, Colorado and Utah as well as a lift-served bike park near Austin, Texas. “The foundations of our company were built on the lessons we learned from skiers and snowboarders in New Mexico,” said James Coleman, managing partner of Mountain Capital Partners. “Sandia Peak presents an incredible opportunity for us to bring the best practices we’ve learned for the benefit of Albuquerque and visitors from around the region.”
The reopening timeline for Sandia Peak’s ski operations has not been determined. When it does welcome skiers back, Sandia will join the Power Pass family of season passes.
Sommet Morin Heights Announces New Quad
Quebec resort group Les Sommets will build its fourth new lift in six years next summer at Sommet Morin Heights. The group has been investing heavily of late with four of its five mountains receiving new chairlifts since 2019. The Sommet Express opened at Sommet Saint-Sauveur in 2019, La Laurentienne debuted at Sommet Gabriel in 2022 and Apollo will launch this season at Sommet Olympia. Next up will be Sommet Morin Heights.
Morin Heights’ new lift will be called Élévation with the exact alignment to be announced. The planned vertical of 525 feet suggests it will replace Dynastar, a 1980s quad which operated previously at Ski Wentworth, Nova Scota. Élévation will feature 91 chairs moving at 450 feet per minute and will open for the 2024-25 ski season.
News Roundup: Mineral Basin
- Snowbird proposes replacing both Mineral Basin and Gadzoom with six packs; Brighton plans a six passenger chondola in a new alignment.
- In Quebec, Mont Grand-Fonds plans a new lift for next year.
- Indy Pass adds 20 new North American downhill resorts including Big White, Montana Snowbowl and Shames Mountain.
- SilverStar buys 21 more cabins for the Summit Express Gondola.
- More Omega cabins show up at Homewood for the postponed Madden Gondola.
- Skytrac will build Mt. Ashland’s next new lift.
- Rabbit Hill, Alberta sells to new owners.
- Vail Resorts reportedly shops for another Swiss resort.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire won’t open this season.
- Sugarbush confirms new Heaven’s Gate for 2024.
- Alterra buys Mike Wiegele Heli Skiing.
- Snowriver’s new map shows several new and removed lifts.
- An Austrian ski resort says its 15 passenger pulse gondola was sold to a ski resort in Canada.
- Smugglers’ Notch will continue studying a gondola connection with Stowe.
- Buck Hill and Red Lodge announce public chair sales.
Instagram Tuesday: New Sixes
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Raven
- Smugglers’ Notch abandons plans for a gondola to Stowe.
- Marmot Basin removes the long-closed Caribou double.
- Whitewater names its new quad Raven, posts an expansion map.
- Boyne Mountain’s new map shows two new lifts.
- Ditto for Sun Valley.
- Winter Park’s 23-24 map shows the new mid-station for Wild Spur Express.
- Steamboat introduces a completely new map with Wild Blue and Mahogany Ridge.
- Steamboat begins testing Wild Blue II a.k.a. The Monster.
- Cooper and Mt. Shasta join the Powder Alliance.
- More than 50 new resorts will join the Indy Pass next week, including Great Bear, South Dakota.
- The No Boundaries Pass says Indy Pass banned its resorts from participating.
- Lost Colorado area St. Mary’s Glacier goes up for sale.
- Windham Mountain rebrands as Windham Mountain Club, will no longer sell single day tickets during peak periods.
- The Forest Service says it’s working with Montana Snowbowl to correct lift issues from last season before winter.
- Doppelmayr turns 130.
- An Ontario mountain needs a $100,000 lifeline to operate this winter.
- The Summit at Snoqualmie will sell chairs from the old Easy Rider triple.
- Rabbit Hill, Alberta moves lift towers due to ground movement.
- The Okanagan Gondola project continues to move forward in British Columbia.
Instagram Tuesday: Apollo
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Baldy
- Blue Mountain and Camelback, Pennsylvania join the Ikon Pass.
- Willamette Pass converts its backside chairlift from diesel to electric.
- California’s newest gondola opens October 29th.
- Big Sky’s new trail map shows the new tram route.
- New Hampshire lost ski area Mt. Whittier goes up for sale.
- Vail Resorts resurrects plans for a new six pack at Perisher.
- Silverton Mountain is sold to new owners from Aspen.
- Revelstoke adds more chairs to The Ripper.
- Eaglecrest hopes to open its used pulse gondola in fall 2025.
- Doppelmayr wins a contract to build a six station, 94 cabin urban gondola in Uruapan, Mexico.
- Mt. Ashland plans to build a new chairlift in long lost terrain with $2.5 million from Lithia Motors.
Vail Resorts Plans Lift Upgrades at Hunter Mountain and Blackcomb in 2024
Vail Resorts today announced its initial 2024 capital plan, which includes three new lifts. The largest project will be at Hunter Mountain, where Vail intends to replace the Broadway quad with a six seat detachable. The top terminal will be relocated near the bottom of Lower 42nd Street to improve access to Eisenhower and Gun Hill. Existing Broadway Limited equipment will be moved to replace Lift E, a Hall double dating back to 1968. E’s alignment will move east to the middle of the learning area. Vail says these new lifts will provide “a meaningful increase in uphill capacity and improved access to terrain that is key to the progressive learning experience for our guests.”
At Whistler Blackcomb, Vail will build its fourth new detachable in three years. The new Jersey Cream Six will utilize parts originally intended for Eagle Express at Park City before local approval was revoked in 2022. Vail then sought to replace the Jersey Cream quad in 2023 alongside the Fitzsimmons 8 project, but labor shortages only allowed one project to be finished this fall. Doppelmayr Canada did complete 11 of 15 tower bases for Jersey Cream over the summer and the UNI-G six pack will now open for the 2024-25 ski season.
Finally Vail announced its intention to complete the new Sunrise Gondola at Park City’s Canyons Village in 2025. The 10 passenger gondola will run from near the new Pendry Hotel to Red Pine Lodge. The third out-of-base lift will be funded in part by the Canyons Village Management Association.
The company reported season pass sales increased approximately 7 percent in units and 11 percent in sales dollars in dollars compared to the equivalent period last year. Vail Resorts also reported a decrease in net income from $347.9 million for fiscal year 2022 to $268.1 million for fiscal 2023. The decrease was primarily attributed to “a large gain on disposal of fixed assets in fiscal 2022 and an increase in fiscal 2023 expense associated with a change in the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration liability related to our Park City resort lease.” Vail also said higher employee wages, a poor winter in Australia and lower demand for summer mountain travel negatively impacted results.
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