- A gyrocopter crashes into a utility aerial tram at an Italian dam, killing two onboard the aircraft.
- A French aerial tramway strikes a construction crane, injuring 23 onboard the tram.
- In just nine months, an urban gondola in Paris becomes the most-ridden lift in Europe with over two million passengers.
- The Governor of Utah criticizes MIDA, a state entity started to support the military but now involved with Deer Valley East, Sundance expansion and a proposed data center.
- Vail Resorts faces a shareholder lawsuit.
- Doppelmayr Canada and Gondola Ventures sign a letter of intent to explore aerial gondola transport in Wasaga Beach, Ontario.
- Mt. Jefferson, Maine hits the market.
- Black Mountain to add a mid-station to the existing Triple Chair for beginners.
- Indy Pass teases “huge news” and new partners coming next week.
- Mission Ridge, Washington and Blacktail Mountain, Montana will not be part of the Indy Pass for 2026-27.
- Snow Partners adds seven new mountains to Snow Triple Play and introduces a new frequency product called Snow Pass with western resorts Monarch and Snow King.
- Maverick Mountain begins fundraising to replace its lift that burned down earlier this month.
- Attractions operator Pursuit shares plans to replace both the Jasper SkyTram and Banff Gondola by 2030.
- Tremblant begins preliminary work on the Timber expansion first announced in March 2020.
- A small wildfire closes Park City Mountain for a day.
News
News Roundup: Scotch Valley
- Skeetawk, Alaska begins cutting trails for a mid mountain lift.
- Sir Sam’s, Ontario seeks the public’s help to name a new quad chair.
- Aspen Mountain eyes 2029 for a replacement lift 1A.
- Several large gondola projects take shape in India with more to come.
- The Trump Administration moves to repeal the roadless rule, potentially boosting ski expansion opportunities in National Forests.
- Saudi Arabia’s mega ski resort project is dead.
- Reed Hastings talks about his continued buildout of private skiing at Powder.
- Bluewood, Washington receives more parts from Austria but not in time for a used high speed quad to be completed this summer.
- Building a multi-stage gondola from Main Street Park City to Deer Valley’s Snow Park Village and Richardson Flat Park & Ride could cost $73-95 million.
- BC filmmakers plan a documentary about the unsolved Sea to Sky Gondola cable cuts in 2019 and 2020.
- The current owner of closed Scotch Valley, New York to run the chairlift for the community one day only next week.
News Roundup: Dreamer
- Italian ski operators settle an antitrust probe with a €30 million compensation fund.
- Bartholet unveils its next generation detachable utilizing HTI’s Ropera technology with Arosa, Switzerland the launch customer.
- Alterra lays off employees in both corporate and destination roles.
- Voting opens for this year’s SAM Rise Up Challenge with six resorts in the running.
- A Leitner urban gondola stops and shakes but otherwise fares well during a severe earthquake in Cali, Colombia.
- A China-Russia tramway originally set to be built by Poma will finally be completed this year.
- The future longest monocable gondola goes vertical in Dominica.
- Photos show fire severed the haul rope on Maverick Mountain’s chairlift, scattering chairs everywhere.
- Eagle Point’s owner updates the public on the path path to fire recovery.
- Loon Mountain says goodbye to the Little Sister double.
- 49 Degrees North’s new quad to be named Dreamer.
- Thanks to readers Matt and Tyler for these photos of Sugar Bowl’s new gondola.
News Roundup: Ultra High Capacity
- Eagle Point, Utah won’t open this season due to extensive fire damage.
- Doppelmayr works to build the world’s highest capacity urban gondola system in Guatemala with two lines, 12 stations and 495 12 place cabins capable of moving 5,500 riders per hour/direction/line.
- An urban gondola in Africa closes after just a few weeks due to low ridership, high ticket prices, vandalism and resident fears.
- A new lawsuit alleges Alterra, Vail, Boyne, Powdr, NSAA and RRC Associates illegally colluded on destination resort pricing (full text here.)
- Oregon OSHA fines Mt. Hood Skibowl $43,000 over a fatal maintenance incident, alleging staff operated a work carrier beyond limitations after receiving no formal training on it (the area has appealed.)
- Doppelmayr to embark on a major expansion in Wolfurt.
- The sale of Eldora still hasn’t closed ten months after initially planned.
- A long-lost Indiana ski area with Riblet quad could reopen.
- Snowmass to move forward with a SkyCab replacement next fall.
- Cannon Mountain delays the due date for new tramway bids to September 2nd.
- Casper, Wyoming solicits bids for a new Hogadon chairlift, due August 28th.
- Doppelmayr submits the winning bid for a new quad at Glen Eden, Ontario.
- Camelback to sell hundreds of chairs from four retired lifts.
- Graffer finally nears completion of a unique gondola intended to open for last winter’s Olympics in Italy.
- An investigation finds parts improperly installed decades ago combined with a misload and unevenly loaded chair caused a deropement at Vail last winter.
- Blacktail Mountain’s founders describe creating the newest US ski area on Forest Service land.
- The National Park Service joins numerous other parties objecting to Grand Targhee’s proposed expansion.
- Lake Louise to complete a systems modernization and capacity upgrade on Top of the World.
- Skytrac completes Snowbird’s new Chickadee chair in just 76 days.
- Cape Smokey, Nova Scotia maps out three future lifts.
- The Summit at Snoqualmie drops Ikon Pass reservations, leaving just Deer Valley, Jackson Hole and Loon requiring them.
- From the classifieds: a Doppelmayr pulse gondola for sale.
- Leitner-Poma makes great strides on a 3,600 pph gondola in Canyons Village at Park City.
News Roundup: Powder
- Aspen Mountain retires Lift 1A with replacement plans uncertain.
- Bartholet completes its first tramway with Sigma Cabins and a new design utilizing tubular towers.
- Cape Smokey, Nova Scotia teases what looks like a major expansion with a new lift.
- An Eagle Point damage assessment shared with the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee finds one lift undamaged, another with light to moderate damage and three lifts heavily impacted by fire and heat. The resort might partially reopen this winter but faces a lengthy road to recovery.
- Telluride’s transit agency postpones selection of a new gondola manufacturer while officials clarify Buy America requirements with the Federal Transit Administration.
- A Poma Alpha quad briefly catches fire in Chile.
- Alterra could receive millions in public financing to relocate headquarters within Denver after considering a move to Salt Lake City.
- Park City’s Eagle and Silverlode replacement approvals are upheld, moving the projects closer.
- The Forest Service publishes the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Brian Head’s proposed expansion with several new alternatives.
- Whistler leaders receive a preliminary study into a valley gondola connecting Whistler Village, Creekside and Function Junction.
- Thanks to reader Roger for sharing shots of Powder Mountain’s four lifts under construction and reader Auston for flying me overhead yesterday.
News Roundup: Reinforced
- Red Lodge Mountain settles with the family of a man killed on a lift last year, clarifying in a joint statement his death was caused by a mechanical failure, derailment and collapse rather than a fall. As a result of the incident Red Lodge reinforced towers on the Triple Chair and added anemometers.
- Mountain Capital Partners’ purchase of El Colorado, Chile is called off over antitrust concerns.
- Teton County, Idaho and the State of Wyoming join others objecting to Grand Targhee’s nearly-approved expansion.
- Big Powderhorn, Michigan sells to new independent owners.
- Wachusett lists the former Polar Express for sale.
- The Sandia Peak Tram to receive new carriages and hangers in 2027.
- In addition to being damaged by wildfire, Eagle Point becomes inaccessible due to floods.
- As repairs continue, the Goldbelt Tram remains closed with another update expected in two weeks.
- The President imposes new tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on the European Union, Switzerland, Canada and numerous other nations and says more EU tariffs are coming.
News Roundup: Long-Awaited
- Cherry Peak, Utah is listed for sale with an asking price of $22.5 million.
- Glen Eden, Ontario to replace the Ridge quad with a new one in 2027.
- Sommet Saint-Sauveur, Quebec will replace Côte 71 with a six pack in ’27.
- Rock City, Georgia continues making the case for a sightseeing gondola.
- Bluewood, Washington receives lift parts delayed over a year due to an ongoing lawsuit.
- A decision on Park City’s proposed Eagle and Silverlode replacements could come in the next few weeks after four years of limbo.
- The Chief of the Forest Service considers giving more control of National Forests to states (speaking at Deer Valley Resort, one of the few large western resorts not on Forest Service land.)
- The President threatens new tariffs on Canadian goods due to wildfire smoke.
- Vail Resorts vows to improve the guest experience at its resorts.
News Roundup: Breathtaking
- Four cabins pileup on a tall Poma gondola tower in Russia.
- Eagle Point posts another update including photos and videos of heavy fire damage.
- Lifts at Asessippi, Manitoba flood for a second time this summer.
- The WestJet Skyride at the Calgary Stampede reopens in a modified, shorter configuration.
- Alterra and Vail seek dismissal of a proposed season pass competition class action.
- Aspen auctions chairs from both Bell Mountain and Little Nell; Loveland to raffle Lift 5 chairs to employees and season passholders.
- 49 Degrees North will soon offer chairs from Payday.
- Both Leitner-Poma and Doppelmayr are listed as qualified bidders for the Cannon Tram replacement RFP with bids due August 5th.
- Whitecap Mountains emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under existing management.
- The Forest Service accepts a fresh Monarch Mountain master plan which includes five lift replacements, a base-to-ridge detachable quad and second lift in No Name Basin.
News Roundup: Ropeway Ban
- Eagle Point provides an initial fire assessment; four of five lifts sustained damage.
- Less than a month after a tower was bent on the Tamarack Express, Leitner-Poma and Tamarack install a whole new tower with the lift set to reopen tomorrow.
- The Goldbelt Tram remains closed following an April crash now reported to be caused by inexperienced staff mistakes.
- The story of how a small town in Arkansas got an $8.5 million detachable serving 280 vertical feet.
- Hawaii officially bans commercial chairlifts, gondolas and tramways statewide.
- The family of a child killed on a Quebec chairlift last winter speaks out.
- Deer Valley outlines the next two years of East Village development.
- Donner Ski Ranch offers free lift tickets to guests who photograph distracted lift operators.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne’s upcoming bubble six pack to be named L’Évolution Express.
- Several prominent Vail residents join Matthew Prince’s criticism of Vail Resorts infrastructure and trajectory.
- A filing reveals the precise alignment for Kicking Horse’s recently announced Pioneer Express.
- The Forest Service to host a Waterville Valley expansion open house on July 15th.
- OITAF’s Ropeway Innovations symposium to be held in Park City next June.
News Roundup: Owned & Operated
- Lost Trail, Montana/Idaho seeks permission to replace Chair 1, Chair 2 and Chair 4 with high speed quads and utilize retired equipment for a new beginner lift.
- Aerial footage shows Eagle Point’s lifts still standing after wildfire but with unknown heat damage.
- Vail Resorts vigorously defends its owned and operated network model.
- New York’s Governor forms an exploratory committee for hosting the 2042 Winter Olympics.
- The Getty Museum in Los Angeles announces a Doppelmayr automated people mover.
- Lutsen Mountains begins charging extra for private gondola cabins and priority boarding.
- Donner Ski Ranch asks guests to report lift operators distracted by cell phones.
- Leitner to reach more than 40 miles of urban gondolas throughout Mexico.
- The Forest Service approves Telluride’s proposed replacements for lifts 7 and 8.
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