- Tenney Mountain rope evacuates Hornet.
- Two people are injured falling from the Panorama Express at Gunstock.
- Hatley Pointe, North Carolina loses its main lift due to a mechanical issue.
- Cuchara successfully opens Chair 4 for the first time since 2000.
- Mt. Jefferson, Maine may close after this season.
- The publicly-owned ski hill in Des Moines, Iowa seeks a new chairlift.
- With a strike dragging on, Le Massif announces the end of ski season, then promptly reaches a deal to reopen tomorrow.
- With public and private funding secured, Mont-Sainte-Anne plans to sign a contract to replace three aging detachables in March.
- A mixed-use development near Park City could include a gondola connection to Deer Valley East Village.
- Vail CEO Rob Katz discusses unionization efforts in the ski industry and reflects on last season’s strike at Park City.
- A rider who died after falling from a chairlift at Cypress Mountain last week may have lost consciousness before falling.
- Elected officials are under investigation for meeting with the owner of Telluride about a sale during the patrol strike.
News
Instagram Tuesday: Supreme
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Beyond Snow
- Several rope evacs this week – Heavenly, Mt. Baker, Snoqualmie and Maple Ski Ridge, New York.
- Sadly also two fatal falls from lifts at Cypress Mountain, BC and Ski Apache, New Mexico.
- A death at Timberline Mountain, West Virginia last week is also revealed as a chairlift fall.
- Levi, Finland signs on to the Indy Pass.
- Facing a large insurance payment in a few weeks, Camp 10, Wisconsin could close without community support.
- An update on the soon-to-open new T-Bar at Waterville Valley.
- A Doppelmayr gondola is proposed in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
- Doppelmayr could also build a sightseeing gondola in Butte, Montana.
- Leitner-Poma is expected to supply the first lift for the Trails at Mena in Arkansas this summer.
- Doppelmayr and Leitner split an order for urban gondolas in Queenstown, New Zealand.
- Cannon Mountain continues structural analysis on the recently-retired aerial tram with a May target to solicit bids from manufacturers for replacement reusing tower and terminal structures (starts at 18:00.)
- A new map shows where the Showcase quad will run on Blackcomb Mountain.
- The brand new urban gondola in Paris is already carrying 12,500 riders per day, 14 percent more than forecast, and a second line is under consideration.
- During the Telluride strike, an entity controlled by local elected officials proposed buying a majority stake in Telski.
- Chris Cushing of SE Group discusses designing 100 new trails and 10 new lifts at Deer Valley.
- The North chair to reopen soon at Snow Ridge, NY after a year closed due to tornado damage.
- A look into the world of restoring gondola cabins instead of replacing them or an entire lift.
- Early season visits to Vail Resorts North American mountains declined 20 percent through January 4th compared to a year earlier.
- Update: An empty chair detached from Shedhorn 4 at Big Sky today. I’m told a grip did not attach properly leaving the bottom teminal. The empty chair ended up in the pit. Statement from Big Sky Resort: “Around 2:45pm today on Shedhorn 4 lift, a grip failed to reattach to the haul rope while exiting the bottom terminal. The chair was unoccupied at the time, and the lift’s automatic safety system immediately stopped operation. The team acted quickly to offload all remaining guests from the lift. Shedhorn 4 will remain closed while we thoroughly inspect every grip before reopening. We appreciate your patience as safety remains our top priority.“
News Roundup: 462 Cabins
- Telluride’s ski patrol strike ends after 13 days.
- Le Massif partially reopens with limited hours as a strike drags on.
- More than 500 people spend most of an overnight atop the Palm Springs Tramway following a technical issue, now resolved.
- Nearly 200 are rescued safely from Whitefish’s Big Mountain Express in a multi-hour rope evacuation.
- Sugarloaf’s SuperQuad goes down due to a gearbox issue.
- Leitner-Poma will build the new Canyons Village gondola at Park City.
- Anakeesta’s new LPOA gondola to be called Crystal Express.
- Doppelmayr wins the contract for Killington Snowdon with a total project cost of $7.04 million.
- Doppelmayr also will build the world’s longest urban gondola in Mexico City with 12 stations, 462 cabins and 114 towers over 9.4 miles.
- Wildcat reopens its beginner chair after a year-long closure.
- Castle Mountain’s new map shows lift expansion on Mt. Haig.
- A state evaluation following the Park City gondola mishap last week notes no mechanical malfunction but says “a gondola cabin leaving a terminal with a passenger being suspended by the foot is not acceptable and has the potential for extremely serious injuries.” During a Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee Meeting, Park City’s Director of Mountain Operations Nick Dana notes “we did have a loading incident on Red Pine Gondola last week so we’re continuing to look into that and work with the manufacturer to investigate into our door monitoring switches there at top of Red Pine Gondola.”
- Also from the UPRSC, the Forest Service notes several recent chair detachments on Riblet and Stadeli lifts in Montana.
News Roundup: Back Up
- Telluride plans to reopen Lift 1 Monday with non-union workers.
- Here’s some detailed on the ground reporting from the Telluride strike.
- Le Massif, Quebec also shuts down completely due to a strike.
- Mountain High, California temporarily closes due to rain damage.
- Mt. Waterman’s Chair 1 sustains severe damage from the same storm.
- Marquette Mountain, Michigan’s Rocket chair will miss this season due to a gearbox issue.
- Boyne Mountain, Michigan rope evacuates Disciples 8.
- Trollhaugen, Wisconsin rope evacs Chair 4.
- Sasquatch Mountain, BC’s Sasquatch chair remains out of service.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire loses its only two chairlifts over the holiday period; both are now back in action.
- Mont Farlagne, New Brunswick loses its only chairlift to a gearbox issue, considers buying a T-Bar for future redundancy.
- Burke Mountain’s 1965 J-Bar is back after missing a season.
- Norway Mountain, Michigan revives the Thor double after many years inoperable.
- Asessippi, Manitoba notes several carriers are unusable on the Porcupine triple but the lift will continue to run.
- Seven people are injured in Italy when an aerial tram fails to slow down properly when docking.
- A child dies after becoming entangled in a conveyor lift in Japan.
- A woman is uninjured after dangling upside down from the doors of a gondola cabin at Park City (video).
- Mount Snow shutters Ego Alley and Seasons for different reasons.
- The latest court filing over a delayed lift project at Bluewood, Washington alleges Steelhead Systems’ “experience in the sale and delivery of used chairlifts” has “been marred by disappointing results, delays and unexplained cost overruns.”
News Roundup: Boxing Day
- Another real estate access lift called Powdercrest is on the horizon at Big Sky.
- The Whitetail Express at Whitetail, PA goes down until further notice after just one day of operation this season.
- Wildcat’s Snowcat lift, which missed all of last season, won’t reopen for a bit longer.
- A viral video from Austria shows gondola cabins surging up and down, blamed on speed and changed drive parameters.
- A grip slip incident claims a life in Montenegro.
- A skier is hospitalized after falling from a lift at Sunshine Village.
- Powderhorn performs a rope evacuation of the Flat Top Flyer.
- Following Washington floods, Crystal Mountain reopens at full capacity and Stevens Pass will open Monday with a four hour detour from Seattle.
- Workers at Le Massif, Quebec reject a contract proposal and authorize a strike beginning January 2nd.
- Eaglecrest’s used gondola project will cost at least five times initial estimates.
- A worker is seriously injured in Italy when wind lifts a safety net into the path of a chair.
- The sale of Eldora is taking longer than expected.
Facing a Strike, Telluride Announces Complete Closure
Nearly all of Telluride’s unionized ski patrollers voted to strike last night after weeks working without a contract. In response, Telluride Ski Resort says it plans to close entirely as of Saturday. “Due to the Ski Patrol’s unfortunate choice to strike, we have made the difficult decision to dose the resort on Saturday, December 27th,” the resort said on its website. “Currently, we have no idea how long their strike will last so we will continue to work on a plan that allows us to safely open again as soon as possible.” In recent weeks, the ski resort has been advertising for temporary ski patrol positions in the event of a strike. It also tried recruiting healthcare workers from Montrose with an offer of free season passes.
The United Mountain Workers union says it opted to strike only after months of negotiations reached an impasse. The previous contract with Telluride expired on August 31st. “Tonight, after painful consideration, the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol has authorized a work stoppage to begin Dec 27 with a 99% yes vote,” the union said on Instagram. “Despite extensive effort and movement from TPSPA to avoid this outcome, the company continues to push a 2.5 week old Last, Best and Final Offer that does not address our concerns. The $65,000 gap between 3 year proposals reflects unwillingness from the company to fix a broken wage structure. We need a pathway to attract and retain, and the current proposal from Telski is simply a bandaid, not a long term solution.” Telluride Ski Resort says it offered an immediate 13 percent wage increase for the 2025/26 season and a guaranteed minimum Cost of Living Increase of 5 percent in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons.
Seven chairlifts were operating at Telluride as of this morning. The Telluride-Mountain Village Gondola is operated by the Town of Mountain Village and not expected to close. Telluride says all lift ticket and lesson products will be automatically refunded during the closure. Season passholders will also receive prorated refunds based on the number of days impacted. “We are actively working with our partners at Vail Resorts to develop a solution for guests who purchased Epic Pass products for their Telluride visit,” Telski noted.
News Roundup: Under Contract
- Challenger at Mount Snow is down due to mechanical.
- Two people are hospitalized after falling from the Mountaintop Express at Vail.
- Canyons Village Management Association says the outgoing Cabriolet will not move to replace Frostwood after all but it’s in talks to sell the Cab to another mountain.
- Lake Louise’s new map depicts the Richardson’s Ridge expansion.
- Quebec clears Mont-Sainte-Anne to reopen lifts ordered closed for inspection last week.
- Eaglecrest delays the opening of the summit Ptarmigan lift due to extended maintenance.
- Crystal Mountain, Washington will operate at limited capacity through January due to a road washout.
- British Columbia selects a new operator for closed Tabor Mountain.
- Telluride details where negotiations stand with its ski patrol union. Both sides plan to meet Saturday.
- The last segment of the first Bartholet Ropetaxi on demand gondola opened today.
- Also a remarkable new 3S in the Dolomites.
- Leitner opens its first Ropera next-gen detachable.
- MND’s first production Orizon detachable to be commissioned summer 2026 in Uzbekistan.
- ORDA may spend $3 million on a consultant to guide maintenance on more than $600 million in infrastructure.
- Loon Mountain formally seeks approval to build the Gateway pulse gondola.
- A new ownership group is under contract to purchase Hermon Mountain, Maine.
- The Royal Gorge, Colorado gondola to receive glass floors in 2026.
- Instead of replacing two lifts in 2026, Mt. Ashland will likely do Windsor in 2026 and Ariel for 2027.
News Roundup: Plan Maps
- Cuchara, Colorado plans to open a chairlift this season for the first time in 25 years.
- The New York Times check in on Killington’s efforts to modernize and compete with western resorts.
- Club Med to build on the Soleil side of Tremblant alongside “significant upgrades to the mountain.”
- Greater Paris joins the urban gondola club tomorrow.
- After millions of dollars and years of delays trying to install a gondola, Eaglecrest faces a $650,000 tariff bill and $450,000 cabin refurbishment bill amid questions whether the project should continue at all.
- Big White, BC amends its master plan to focus on the Backcountry expansion, Gem Lake 2 and infill lifts, shelving plans for East Peak and Gem Lake West.
- Telluride’s ski patrol votes down a contract proposal; could strike in the coming weeks. Telski owner Chuck Horning contends meeting the union’s demands would yield higher lift prices.
- Alberta designates Fortress, Castle and Nakiska its first designated all season resort areas targeted for development.
- Wachusett apologizes for another delay completing the new Polar Express.
- Ecosign’s Paul Mathews reflects on designing dozens of mountains and differences between the US and Canada.
- Big Sky is auctioning seats on Explorer Gondola’s first cabins for charity.
- Powder Mountain’s new trail map shows where the private Primetime detachable quad runs.
- Cache County approves Powder’s master plan for the northern half of the resort including two new lifts on James Peak and three near Cobabe Canyon.
News Roundup: Power Problems
- Crescent Hill, Iowa to install a new (used) drive terminal on its double chair.
- Approval of a new gondola in Hawaii may be rescinded.
- The private ski resort planned near Steamboat faces a mix of public backlash and support.
- Deer Valley President & COO Todd Bennett says several more lifts are planned for Deer Valley East, timeline TBA.
- Megève, France joins the Ikon Pass.
- Doppelmayr wins the tender to build a nine station urban gondola in Puebla, Mexico.
- Val Bialas, New York to reopen after several years closed.
- Lifts and ski trails return to Google Maps after a one year hiatus.
- A power outage leads to a rope evacuation at Sunburst, Wisconsin.
- Electric infrastructure problems will delay the start of Mont-Sainte-Anne’s season for at least another week.
- Skeetawk, Alaska seeks public funding for a second lift, possibly a gondola.
- Eaglecrest extends the bid deadline for a gondola general contractor, wants to open in 2028 but doesn’t have enough money to finish.
- Lost Ontario ski area Talisman to be preserved as conservation land.
- Aspen Mountain’s Nell Bell approval moves along.
- The New York Times spends a day with Snowbird’s mountain operations team.
- Holiday Mountain, New York sends a Poma bullwheel and gearbox to help Whaleback, New Hampshire revive its chairlift.
- Welch Village, Minnesota’s new quad is named Joy Ride.
- Spirit Mountain’s new trail map shows where the Highline Quad runs.
- Toronto Zoo’s SkyPod to open in 2027.
- Leitner-Poma and Skytrac celebrate completing 20 lifts on time or early.
- Pico to auction 1965 Bonanza chairs for charity.
- Bear Mountain, California purchases new Skytrac chairs for Lift 7.
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