- Sugarbush’s Slide Brook Express may remain closed for the entire season.
- More brand new trail maps pop up: Black Mountain, New Hampshire and Sunlight, Colorado.
- Camp 10 in Wisconsin rope evacuates its only chairlift.
- Approximately 170 people are roped down from the F quad at Elk Mountain, Pennsylvania.
- Another Elk Mountain lift is the subject of a viral video.
- Cedar Pass, California won’t open this season due to required haul rope replacement.
- Boyne Resorts considers changing Shawnee Peak’s name back to Pleasant Mountain.
- The four people arrested for damaging the San Diego Zoo Skyfari are United States Marines and have yet to be charged with any crimes.
- Fortress Mountain’s owners now aim for a December 2023 reopening.
- Lake Louise opens the Juniper expansion and high speed quad.
- MND Group reports half year results with revenue up 41 percent to €39.7 million and snowmaking/ropeway sales increasing 79 percent.
- Telluride seeks public input on the future of the gondola.
- Operations remain limited at three Vail-owned Ohio mountains while other regional areas report being 100 percent open.
- Two Park City media outlets cover residents’ frustration with Vail Resorts over closed lifts, crowding and traffic.
- The Sandia Peak Tramway is seeking a tram maintenance manager and aerial tram mechanic.
- Work begins on bike trails which could eventually be serviced by gondola in Idaho Springs, Colorado.
- Caberfae Peaks releases a rendering of where its new triple chair will go.
- Fourteen Doppelmayr lifts will support the Beijing Olympics including 9 at the brand new downhill venue.
- Stevens Pass aims to finally open all its lifts by the middle of February.
- A resident floats the idea of a gondola running from a ferry terminal to business district on Bowen Island, British Columbia.
- Citing crowding, Berkshire East institutes a reservation requirement for Indy Pass holders.
- Whaleback aims to have its chairlift back in action by Sunday.
Author: Peter Landsman
Gondola Coming to Moonlight Basin
Ultra-luxe hotel brand One&Only has announced plans to build its first United States property adjacent to Big Sky Resort. The development will include 73 hotel rooms, 19 villas and 62 private homes in the Lee’s Poole section of Moonlight Basin. A detachable gondola will link the One&Only ski lodge to the existing Madison base area on acreage owned by Lone Mountain Land Company. “One&Only Moonlight Basin will be connected by gondola to Big Sky’s world-class skiing with over 5,800 skiable acres, and will provide access to unparalleled mountain golf courses, and limitless outdoor opportunities,” said One&Only and Lone Mountain Land in a joint press release. “This new, secluded One&Only will showcase Montana’s mountains, unsurpassed scenery, and abundant wildlife, while providing every modern amenity, making the remote retreat a truly exclusive experience.”
The two-way gondola will span approximately 3,500 feet with a modest vertical rise of about 200 feet. Renderings suggest a Doppelmayr lift with Omega V cabins, though no supplier was specified.
Formed in 2014, Lone Mountain Land Company owns approximately 8,000 acres in Moonlight Basin as well as the Spanish Peaks development on the opposite side of Big Sky Resort. The Moonlight master plan includes up to seven additional lifts to the north and west of Lone Tree and Six Shooter.
Reservations for One&Only Moonlight Basin are expected to open in summer 2023 with the resort welcoming its first guests in 2024.
Sugar Mountain to Construct Third Detachable
The Oma’s Meadow zone at Sugar Mountain will sport a shiny Doppelmayr high speed quad next season. The upgrade from a double to quad will be Sugar Mountain’s fifth lift installation in seven years and ride time will improve from the current nine minutes to under three. The project caps off nearly $20 million in recent improvements. Last year Sugar Mountain and Doppelmayr partnered to install the Big Birch quad and the mountain’s two existing detachable lifts were built in 2015 and 2019. No other North Carolina ski resort operates even one detachable lift. “Not only is the speediness a welcome upgrade but the detachable feature of the chairs slowing upon entering the base and summit stations makes for an easy and gentle loading and unloading experience for all levels of skiers and riders,” said Sugar Mountain Resort owner Gunther Jochl.
The 2,225 foot long Oma’s express quad will carry 2,400 passengers per hour and increase the resort’s overall uphill capacity from 11,660 passengers per hour to 13,460.
Instagram Tuesday: Seeing Double
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Arrests Made Following Stoppage of San Diego Zoo Gondola
A fault which stopped the San Diego Zoo Skyfari for two hours today was no accident, police say. A witness told the San Diego Union-Tribune four patrons were “swinging their gondola from side to side and knocked it off a rail or cable, forcing an automatic shutdown.” The San Diego Fire Department responded just after 2:00 pm but no evacuation was needed and approximately 100 passengers were safely offloaded under the lift’s own power. “Some patrons may need medical evaluation,” the department said in a 4:30 pm tweet. The San Diego Police Department later said it arrested four men, ages 20 to 24, on suspicion of felony vandalism.
The Skyfari is a VonRoll Type 101 gondola built in 1969. Its 28 four passenger cabins circulate between two stations at either end of the zoo.
News Roundup: Ramping Up
- As of the January 3rd Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee meeting, Doppelmayr USA had sold approximately 30 lifts for 2022.
- Skytrac is already hiring construction employees for the upcoming build season.
- Sierra at Tahoe installs and splices a new rope on the fire-damaged Grandview Express, a key milestone toward reopening.
- An Italian maintenance technician succumbs to injuries sustained from being hit by a gondola cabin.
- Whaleback closes its chairlift due to a motor issue.
- The New York Times explores why some resorts are experiencing more staff shortages than others, the Denver Post talks with Epic Pass customers from across the country about their experiences this season.
- A number of lifts haven’t opened at Park City this year due to staff shortages; one of Crotched Mountain’s four chairlifts has no chairs on it.
- Vail Resorts Executive Chairperson Rob Katz joins the Storm Skiing Podcast to talk about remarkable growth of the company and this season’s challenges.
- Passholders at Stevens Pass are offered $150 off next year’s pass or the same amount in resort credit as a result of operational difficulties.
- Vail offers $13.1 million to settle lawsuits alleging labor violations.
- Le Massif introduces a Kevin Mastin trail map showing its new lift and removal of a disused gondola.
- Poma provides an update on the world’s largest current 3S project.
- Another insightful podcast: Indy Pass founder Doug Fish on the growth of that product.
- Lake Louise says testing of the Juniper Express is underway with a delayed opening now planned for February.
- The agency operating three New York State ski areas proposes a $105 million capital budget for 2023.
- Gore Mountain unveils a $30 million redevelopment plan for the North Creek Ski Bowl including replacing the Hudson triple with a longer detachable quad.
- A Colorado county passes on partnering with Florida developers to reopen Cuchara.
- Big Snow American Dream still doesn’t know when it will reopen.
- The City of Burnaby, British Columbia officially endorses the Burnaby Mountain Gondola proposal.
- Alaska’s newest ski area will need at least $10 million to install its next lift.
Instagram Tuesday: Rescue Practice
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Lift Rollback Causes Injuries, Damage in South Korea
Authorities in South Korea say a rollback at the Bears Town ski resort involved approximately 100 people. The mountain’s base-to-summit detachable quad went backward at approximately 3:00 pm today and at least 20 chairs stacked together in the bottom terminal. Some riders jumped or fell from the lift while others were pinned in the station. At one point, video of the incident shows guests grabbing on to chairs in an attempt to stop the lift. Police say numerous skiers jumped or fell while firefighters rope evacuated others after the ropeway stopped. At least one child was taken to the hospital.
Rollbacks of modern lifts are exceedingly rare and a detachable lift rollback is even more unusual. The quad where the incident occurred is called Challenge and appears to have been built by Poma some time around the early 1990s.
Bears Town opened in 1985 and is situated just 45 minutes from the South Korean capital of Seoul. “Our sincere apologies to the customers and their families who were affected by this accident,” the resort said in a statement. “Bears Town plans to immediately suspend all lift operations in the ski resort in addition to the lift that caused an accident, and to begin an immediate safety inspection,” the statement continued. “We will actively cooperate with the fire authorities and related agencies and take measures to prevent reoccurrence. Currently all employees in Bears Town are focused on rescue work and customer communication with the victims as a priority.”
News Roundup: Letters from the Top
- Vail removes the East and West doubles from the Attitash trail map, replacing them with the Progression Quad to be built this summer.
- Vail sends resources from California and Colorado to help open lifts at Stevens Pass.
- The Wall Street Journal interviews Kirsten Lynch about Vail’s challenging start to the season.
- Vail Resorts expects to save millions of kilowatt hours of electricity annually by installing heat controls on 40 Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek lifts.
- Doppelmayr will build Stowe’s Mountain six passenger lift at a cost of $5.2 million.
- Pine Knob says it will be without Chair 1 for a few weeks due to a mechanical issue.
- Berkshire East and Catamount owner Jon Schaefer apologizes for project delays including two used lifts which have yet to open.
- Mission Ridge continues to criticize the approval process for its long-sought expansion.
- A man falls from the new Peru Express at Keystone.
- Bighorn Sheep concerns may quash Grand Targhee’s expansion dreams.
- Mt. Rose retires the Lakeview triple early due to “maintenance items that can’t be rectified.”
- Jay Peak updates guests on a Bonaventure quad gearbox issue.
- The only MND lift in the western United States has been down since last weekend.
- The latest bold plan from Les Otten would see skiing return to The Balsams in late 2023.
- A letter to Loon Mountain passholders acknowledges challenges with the new Kancamagus 8 lift.
- A quad chairlift is rope evacuated by firefighters at Earl Bales Park, Ontario.
- Timberline President Jeff Kohnstamm says a Government Camp gondola is still a number of years out but would include a mid-station, direct drive and 10 passenger cabins.
Six Pack Coming to Holiday Valley
Holiday Valley Resort in Western New York plans to debut its first six place chairlift in 2023. The Doppelmayr detachable will be built over two years and replace the Mardi Gras Xpress, pictured above. The new flagship will transport up to 3,000 riders per hour, increasing the resort’s total uphill capacity to 25,650 people hourly.
“The Holiday Valley lift system has been recognized by our guests as one of the best in the East,” said Holiday Valley President and General Manager Dennis Eshbaugh announcing the new lift. “The Yodeler Quad Express lift built in 2021 raised the bar. The Mardi Gras 6-pack will give skiers and snowboarders an exciting new experience, with quicker access to the top of the mountain.” The project will be completed in two stages, starting with foundations for 11 new lift towers in summer 2022. The balance of construction will be completed in 2023.
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