Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Author: Peter Landsman
News Roundup: Moving Steel
- Eaglecrest packs its new gondola up in Austria; the lift may not open in Alaska until 2024.
- Snowbird now owns the land at the base of the proposed Little Cottonwood gondola.
- The Snowbird tram reopens tomorrow with one cabin operation.
- An Oklahoma county is criticized for seeking $300,000 in pandemic recovery funds to remove the Tulsa Skyride.
- Powder Ridge, Minnesota places retired chairs up for auction.
- A small wildfire on Aspen Mountain was likely started by a cigarette thrown from the Silver Queen Gondola.
- The Salt Lake Tribune talks with the Park City appellants and consultants about Comfortable Carrying Capacity.
- Parts continue to arrive in Park City’s parking lot despite construction being on hold.







- Suicide Six is now Saskadena Six.
- Kimberley and Leitner-Poma progress with repairs to the fire-damaged Northstar Express.
- Doppelmayr offers $29 million in financing for the Cascade Skyline Gondola.
- Lost Trail signs on to the Powder Alliance.
- A public comment period opens regarding one of Mayflower’s 15 proposed lifts which would cross federal land.
- A Thunder progress report from Jackson Hole:











Fire Damages Plattekill Mountain Chairlift
A lightning strike is believed to have started a lift shack fire at New York’s Plattekill Mountain Tuesday afternoon. The local fire department responded within 10 minutes and stopped flames from spreading to the double chair‘s drive terminal. “A special thanks to our first neighbor just below the mountain who saw the fire and called it in, and the swift response of the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department they were able to save our base terminal and ensure that we shall ride again this winter,” the mountain wrote on social media.



The Hall double was installed at Plattekill in 2002 but originated at nearby Belleayre in 1977. Fiercely independent Plattekill normally runs the lift in the summer for weddings but has already made plans to switch scheduled events to its other chairlift. “Efforts are already underway scouring the supply chain to source parts and rebuild,” the ski area said, noting the shack housed the lift’s DC drive and controls. Other resorts and a local lumber company have already offered to help. Specifics on what parts are needed can be found here. “The outpouring of support from friends and other ski areas is overwhelming and reminds us what is so amazing about our industry,” Plattekill said.
Instagram Tuesday: DirectDrive
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Bike Season
- Mt. Holiday, Michigan seeks $4 million for lift and mountain improvements.
- The Government of Venezuela reportedly owes Doppelmayr more than €100 million and now sources parts and service from Chinese companies.
- The Arizona Gondola misses Independence Day weekend and remains closed due to a mechanical issue.
- Doppelmayr will open a substantial parts and service facility in Mexico to serve the growing Latin American market.
- Bolton Valley opens late for summer due to a lift part supply issue.
- The Forest Service seeks a new operator for Spout Springs, Oregon.
- Grand Targhee and Doppelmayr fly towers for the Colter expansion.
- Critics allege the Little Cottonwood 3S gondola would cost more than a billion dollars.
- Mammoth Mountain seeks Forest Service approval for lift and trail development surrounding the Main Lodge.
- Sierra at Tahoe posts another fire recovery update.
- Thanks to Aidan Wilson for the below photos of Utah Olympic Park’s big expansion.







Instagram Tuesday: New Blue
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Succession
- As he prepares to relinquish day-to-day duties at Alterra, Rusty Gregory reflects on decades of ski industry changes.
- Poma names a new global President.
- One of the last US theme parks with a VonRoll skyride is sold to an e-commerce fulfillment developer and will close within the next decade.
- Pittsburgh will use $600,000 in federal grant money to study a possible gondola transit corridor.
- Vermont’s Suicide Six ski area will change its name in the coming weeks.
- The first gondola with 8 passenger Omega V cabins opens soon in Morocco.
- The Burnaby Mountain Gondola may really happen.
- Emirates ends its naming rights sponsorship of the London Cable Car after ten years.
- Sunday River provides an update on the massive Jordan 8 project.
- The Portland Tram finally reopens to the public.
- Hilltop Ski Area seeks $2.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to replace its aging triple chairlift with a modern fixed grip quad.
- Firefighters help evacuate a chairlift at a Massachusetts zoo.
- Thanks to Benjamin Bartz for these photos of now-halted Park City lift construction. I have asked Vail Resorts what the plan is for already-produced lift equipment and will update if I hear back.




Instagram Tuesday: Oz
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Funding Secured
- Les Otten remains “cautiously optimistic” The Balsams redevelopment will break ground this year.
- Big Snow looks to expand chairlift-served indoor skiing to more locations.
- Mountain Creek inches closer to replacing the Vernon Triple with a six or eight place detachable.
- With visitation up, Powderhorn would like to swap out the West End double in the “near future.”
- Indy Pass reaches 100 resorts with the additions of BigRock Mountain, Marquette Mountain, Mount Kato, Nub’s Nob and Treetops Resort.
- Arizona Snowbowl’s new master plan goes on hold while the Forest Service works to reach an agreement with indigenous groups.
- Amusement conglomerate Herschend Family Entertainment elects to stop operating the Stone Mountain tramway six years before its contract expires, citing “protests and division” at the Confederate monument. The sole bidder for a new operating contract with the State of Georgia will take over in August.
- A draft action letter outlines why the local planning commission prevented lift projects from moving forward at Park City Mountain.
- The same commission approves construction of Deer Valley’s Burns Express, which will be the nation’s shortest detachable at 999 feet.
- Alta, Sandy and Salt Lake County mayors rally against a Little Cottonwood Gondola.
- Panorama delays summer lift operations at least a week due to a gearbox issue on the Mile 1 Express.
- Steamboat shows off Greenhorn Ranch and gondola mid-station construction progress.
- Whitefish starts a blog dedicated to Snow Ghost Express construction updates.
- The Palm Springs Tramway closes for multiple days due to technical problems.
Instagram Tuesday: New Cabins
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.

