- Poma reveals a new gondola cabin called Pure mimicking “egg” cabins from the company’s past.
- In Turkey, eight people are sentenced to prison for negligence related to a deadly 2024 gondola crash.
- Parents in Pennsylvania face felony charges for allowing a five year old who fell off a lift to ride alone.
- Worldwide skier visits reached 399 million in 2024-25, a new record.
- Aspen comments on the status of both Nell Bell and 1A replacement projects.
- Colorado’s new sightseeing and biking gondola to open for public rides on May 9th.
- Doppelmayr reaches €500 million in sales in Vietnam with 32 installations and zero skiing.
- Casper, Wyoming to fund a new chairlift for Hogadon Basin with a mix of public and private money.
- Whaleback, New Hampshire seeks $350,000 in donations to replace a haul rope and perform offseason maintenance.
- A proposal to revive Brodie Mountain, Massachusetts includes four lifts.
- Vail Resorts visitation and revenue trended worse in March and April than earlier in the season; pass sales for next season are also trending down.
- Vail’s new Chief Revenue Officer signals a shift toward improving service and experience at existing resorts.
- A landowner opposes Vail’s efforts to get a lawsuit over Park City lift easments thrown out.
- Steelhead Systems opposes Bluewood, Washington’s efforts to force delivery of lift parts via an injunction.
News
News Roundup: Revival
- Americans flock to Canada to ski, particularly Banff.
- Jay Peak also proves popular; in a podcast episode, Jay President Steve Wright says “we will be adding more high speed detachable lifts” and is about to make a down payment on one.
- An update on the accelerating revival of Black Mountain, New Hampshire.
- Possible approval of a new sightseeing gondola in Georgia is delayed while traffic and sewer studies are prepared.
- The new bike park lift in Arkansas will be named OZ Express.
- Vail Resorts seeks dismissal of a lawsuit disputing Park City Mountain’s right to operate Iron Mountain Express and Timberline.
- Telluride’s proposed replacements for lifts 7 and 8 inch closer to approval.
- Sugarloaf is around halfway through approval for a Timberline replacement.
- Meetings continue regarding Loon Mountain’s proposed pulse gondola with no timeline for construction.
- Colorado Governor Jared Polis to help cut the ribbon of the Mighty Argo Cable Car April 24th.
- Le Massif reportedly remains interested in a merger with Mont-Sainte-Anne.
- Reed Hastings discusses the favorable economics of private ski areas like Powder Haven.
- Poma teases “a new icon for travel” to be revealed Tuesday.
- Leitner, Poma, Skytrac and Bartholet’s parent company reports record revenue – 60 percent from ropeways and nearly $500 million from North America.
- Homewood to auction chairs from the Madden triple with an unspecified portion going to charity.
- Utah Governor Spencer Cox visits Garaventa in Switzerland in advance of Doppelmayr opening a new facility in Salt Lake.
- Juneau set to formally cancel the Eaglecrest gondola agreement on May 18th and may try to resell the lift for $1.5-2.75 million.
- Following several recent postponements, 2026 lift construction will be down approximately 40 percent from the post-Covid high in 2022.
- As a legal dispute remains pending in a BC court, Ski Bluewood seeks an injunction to force shipment of four remaining containters to complete the Skyline Express project with a used lift from Austria. A hearing is scheduled for Monday and shipment would need to commence by May 1st in order for the lift to open next winter.
News Roundup: Fireside Chat
- Doppelmayr releases its 2026 Yearbook.
- Doppelmayr wins the contract to supply a 2,452′ long surface lift at Snowland, Utah.
- A haul rope snaps on a material ropeway in Switzerland, causing damage but no injuries.
- A cigarette thrown from a lift starts a spring wildfire in Italy.
- As a lawsuit with a used lift broker continues, Bluewood, Washington says it still hopes to complete the Skyline Express one year late but delays could continue.
- Blackcomb’s Crystal Ridge Express closes due to gearbox failure.
- Telluride shutters the Village Express for summer to complete an extensive systems modernization.
- Two proven and one unproven gondola manufacturer present their technologies for potential use in downtown Denver.
- Mammoth rope evacuates the High Five Express.
- Owners of Mt. Norquay discuss future plans plus competing with American-owned sightseeing ropeways and why Parks Canada no longer approves of a Banff-Norquay gondola.
- Neither possible manufacturer for the new Telluride gondola may meet Buy America requirements, potentially procluding the project from receiving federal funding.
- Whitefish Mountain Resort reports 457,000 skier visits, the fifth highest ever despite warm weather.
- A gondola to Winter Park Resort could shift the Town of Winter Park’s downtown around a future station.
News Roundup: End of the Road
- Indy Pass adds Upper Midwest mountains Whitecap, Camp 10, Paul Bunyan and Coffee Mill.
- Ikon signs SilverStar, BC as a full partner and Giants Ridge, Minnesota to its bonus tier.
- Alaska’s capital city is poised to cancel installation of a used gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area after spending $8.3 million (this detailed presentation shows the project could be revived with private investment and would likely be profitable.)
- Pico retires the Outpost double with no immediate replacement.
- Lonesome Pine, Maine fundraises to replace its T-Bar.
- Also in Maine, Mt. Jefferson might install a used double from a larger resort.
- Germany’s Zugspitze blows up two glacier T-Bars due to melting.
- Switzerland opens a criminal investigation into last month’s Engelberg gondola detachment.
- Marquette Mountain, Michigan to install a new chairlift this summer, details TBA.
- Antelope Butte, Wyoming envisions a Westside intermediate lift.
- Colorado’s Mighty Argo Cable Car could open this month.
- The Boone’s Ridge wildlife center in Kentucky, which would include an MND gondola, to sell $70 million worth of bonds.
- Ski profiles the process to install new Elk Camp at Snowmass from factory to load test.
- After losing $1.6 million, the private operator of the Stone Mountain aerial tram will end its contract with the State of Georgia early and lay off staff. Aramark Destinations will take over operations June 1st.
- The Forest Service to close regional offices and relocate headquarters to Salt Lake City.
News Roundup: Skyway
- Berkshire East and Catamount to join Burke Mountain and Smugglers’ Notch under unified ownership.
- Quebec’s CMSQ takes over management of a fifth mountain, Belle Neige, and sets sights on a sixth.
- A private ski area with five chairlifts is approved in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains.
- Doppelmayr’s CEO highlights the importance of the United States market.
- In the wake of a fatal crash, Swiss media report Garaventa offered a voluntary retrofit for DT-108 grips on the Titlis Xpress several years ago.
- One person is killed and six injured when an aerial tram cable snaps in India.
- A law firm files an antitrust lawsuit against Alterra and Vail, claiming both “unlawfully inflated prices and suppressed competition through anticompetitive bundling practices tied to their multi‑mountain season passes.”
- Park City’s Cabriolet replacement to be called the Canyons Village Skyway.
- Park City officials get another chance to approve Eagle and Silverlode replacements.
- MND provides an update on its 10 lift project in Uzbekistan, including the first Orizon detachable.
- A Denver TV station looks back at the 1976 Vail gondola disaster with a multi-part series.
- Here’s a cool primer on how a splice comes together.
- Jackson Hole to debut a golden gondola in honor of Olympian Breezy Johnson.
- A tree falls on the Silver Mountain gondola.
- Alaska public radio explores how a gondola project supposed to cost under $10 million more than tripled in price.
- Big Sky will shorten Powder Seeker 6 this summer, slightly lowering the top terminal due to moving glacial rock.
- The Zincton proposal in BC faces local opposition.
- Nub’s Nob to replace the Orange triple with a Skytrac quad this summer.
- Skytrac will also build Lee Canyon’s expansion lift.
- Sponsored job: Electrical Lift Installer – Okanagan Project – Doppelmayr Canada
News Roundup: Spring Winds
- The Hermitage Club’s new detachable quad to cost $6.25 million and include a chair parking facility.
- Oregon ski areas celebrate passage of an outdoor recreation liability reform bill.
- Castle Mountain rope evacuates the new Stagecoach Express.
- An investigation into the fatal Swiss gondola crash this week focuses on weather and operational factors, not a design issue. The lift was being unloaded at the time and the cabin involved likely hit a tower.
- A tree falls on the BreckConnect Gondola at Breckenridge.
- Red Lodge Mountain’s owner and an insurance company argue over coverage related to a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a man who died on a lift last season in high winds.
- Wind blows the roof off the Silver Fir Express at Snoqualmie, shuttering it until further notice.
- Alberta opens public consultation for the proposed Silvertip Gondola in Canmore.
- Aspen skiers struggle to ride the new T-Bar atop Snowmass.
- Holiday Mountain, New York to install new Partek chairs on Roman Candle this fall.
- A child is unharmed after falling from a lift and being caught at Pats Peak, New Hampshire (video)
- Oz Trails Bike Park to open June 12th.
- Sun Valley confirms construction of two new detachables this summer.
- Lee Canyon to construct the final lift from its master plan this summer, manufacturer TBA.
- Hogadon, Wyoming likely to construct a new chairlift next summer.
- Craigleith, Ontario addresses downtime on the Funnel chair.
- Last day riders of Killington’s Snowdon triple tomorrow will be entered to win a chair.
- Little Switzerland, Wisconsin give skiers the opportunity to own a Riblet chair.
- In an interview with the Vail newspaper, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz makes the case mega passes have kept crowds stable or even reduced crowding.
- Vail also releases an insightful investor presentation outlining shifting priorities.
News Roundup: Spring Debuts
- Whaleback’s chairlift is back in action after being closed all season.
- Angel Fire performs a mid-season splice on the Southwest Flyer, now back open.
- A child is okay after falling from a chairlift at Blue Knob, Pennsylvania.
- Another child falls from a chair and is airlifted from Sierra-at-Tahoe.
- Telluride sues several current and former elected officials seeking millions of damages incurred during the December patrol strike.
- The latest Eaglecrest gondola complication: cabins shipped on their side rather than upright.
- The Mighty Argo Cable Car in Colorado will soft open next month.
- OZ Trails Bike Park to open with Arkansas’ first detachable chairlift in June.
- BC’s Okanagan Gondola set to open in April 2027.
- Vail Resorts reports an 11.9 percent decline in North American skier visits and lowers financial guidance.
- Park City Billionaire Matthew Prince still wants to buy Park City Mountain from Vail.
- Alterra CEO Jared Smith steps down.
- Vermont considers regulating both lift operator breaks and staffing levels.
- Leitner to build the world’s first jig-back tramway with a direct drive in Italy.
- Both the Green Mountain Express and North Ridge Express go down at Sugarbush’s Mt. Ellen, leaving hiking as the only access to the summit.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire won’t become a co-op after all, will continue to be managed by Entabeni Systems.
- Mt. Sima, Yukon to reactivate its T-Bar after many years.
- A massive nearby rockslide closes Whistler’s Peak Chair indefinitely.
- Magic Mountain, Idaho won’t open this season.
News Roundup: Indy to Ikon
- Mountain Capital Partners may enter the Midwest with a deal to operate Spirit Mountain, Minnesota. Under the proposal, MCP would lease the mountain for a minimum of 20 years beginning in October.
- Vail raises Epic Pass prices approximately 3.5 percent, offers a discount to young adults 30 and under.
- Alterra raises Ikon prices roughly 5 percent, adds Tamarack, Idaho and Devil’s Head, Wisconsin to its bonus mountain tier while removing SilverStar, BC.
- Granite Peak, Wisconsin; Lutsen Mountains, Minnesota and Snowriver, Michigan switch from Indy Pass to Ikon Pass.
- Snowmass returns and Arapahoe Basin will go unlimited on the Ikon Base Pass.
- The Wall Street Journal visits Telluride owner Chuck Horning, who says he’s “never selling.”
- The BBC profiles lift operations at Whistler Blackcomb.
- The LA Times visits independent Mt. Baldy, surrounded by Alterra in Southern California.
- SAM digs into how a small Wisconsin ski area went from closed to buying two brand new Skytrac lifts.
- Snowbird will replace Chickadee this spring.
- Pomerelle, Idaho’s General Manager buys the mountain with his wife.
- Shanty Creek, Michigan also sells to new owners.
- The cost of used gondola installation at Eaglecrest balloons from under $9 million to as much as $37 million. A report finds the gondola would make the ski area profitble on an operating basis and canceling the project would cost taxpayers $10.9 million.
- In Iowa, a government-owned ski area fundraises for a brand new chairlift.
- Revelstoke’s Stoke chair to be out of service at least three days for gearbox repair.
- Stagecoach Mountain Ranch inches toward approval near Steamboat.
- The top operator house on Chair 1 at Titus Mountain, New York burns down, rendering the lift inoperable.
News Roundup: Horsetrac
- Alta Sierra, California reopens for the first time in several years but has to rope evacuate a lift on day one.
- Indy Pass raises its base pass price, lowers the full pass price and adds Thrill Hills, ND; Pebble Creek, ID and Murray Ridge, BC plus several international and cross country outposts.
- Lost Valley, Maine would like to expand onto the opposite side of its access road with several lifts.
- Aspen Highlands looks to build a year-round gondola, replace Thunderbowl with a detachable and add an Apple Strudel lift.
- Doppelmayr USA partners with Ski Utah.
- Powder Mountain proposes replacing one carrier on Lightning Ridge with a carousel horse. Automated gates will prevent skiers from riding the horse.
- Two empty gondola cabins collide in Austria.
- Another avalanche takes out a lift tower in France.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne runs its gondola on diesel at reduced speed with less than 40 cabins out of 90 operational.
- McConkey’s at Park City has been down this week.
- Sugarbush pulls both Green Mountain Express and Super Bravo Express for a few days to complete repairs.
- Opposition emerges to the proposed gondola in Rock City, Georgia.
- An unseated passenger makes it all the way to the top of Bear Mountain’s longest detachable quad.
- Royal Gorge, Colorado debuts new glass floor gondolas tomorrow.
News Roundup: Wild Europe Weather
- In a real estate sales presentation, Red Mountain leaders say expansion lifts on Mt. Kirkup and White Wolf Ridge are a higher priority than replacing existing lifts.
- Sasquatch Mountain, BC provides an update on the Green Chair, which hasn’t spun all season.
- An avalanche strikes a closed detachable lift in France.
- Another French avalanche takes out a tower and hits a terminal.
- Rime ice topples a lift tower in Spain.
- A double chair rolls back during operation in China (likely a lift from BHMRI, not a western manufacturer.)
- Also in Asia, a viral video shows a gondola cabin dragging through deep snow.
- Bluewood, Washington upgrades Triple Nickel with Partek carriers, will sell old Borvig ones.
- Anakeesta offers up chairs from its former Chondola but not the gondola cabins.
- The 13 year-old critically injured in an unloading incident at Ski Vorlage, Quebec last week died four days later, her family says. Quebec’s ropeway regulator inspected the lift post-accident and identified several unspecified corrective actions, now completed.
- A five year old is hospitalized after falling from Sunday River’s Jordan Mountain double.
- Groundbreaking could come soon for the Aspen development that includes a new Lift 1A.
- Skytrac to construct both new lifts at Little Switzerland, Wisconsin.
- Five people board a quad chair on the Sourdough Express at Vail, one later jumps off after the lift stops (unclear if they were directed to do so by Vail Resorts staff.)
- Wisp temporarily closes two lifts for separate repairs.
- Tye Mill at Stevens Pass goes out of service.
- Also two lifts at Pico.
- Stratton’s gondola to remain closed into next week due to a maintenance issue.
- Sundance Express at Sun Peaks to be closed this weekend for maintenance.
- Castle Mountain, Alberta temporarily closes the new Stagecoach Express to swap a motor.
- At Marquette Mountain, Michigan, a misload bends apart a Riblet chair (quickly replaced without incident.)
- The Supreme Court strikes down some of President Trump’s import tariffs but not Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs most affecting lift manufacturers. In response to the decision, the President orders a 10 percent global tariff to last 150 days (USMCA compliant goods and items already subjected to Section 232 tariffs are exempted).
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