- Blue Mountain and Camelback, Pennsylvania join the Ikon Pass.
- Willamette Pass converts its backside chairlift from diesel to electric.
- California’s newest gondola opens October 29th.
- Big Sky’s new trail map shows the new tram route.
- New Hampshire lost ski area Mt. Whittier goes up for sale.
- Vail Resorts resurrects plans for a new six pack at Perisher.
- Silverton Mountain is sold to new owners from Aspen.
- Revelstoke adds more chairs to The Ripper.
- Eaglecrest hopes to open its used pulse gondola in fall 2025.
- Doppelmayr wins a contract to build a six station, 94 cabin urban gondola in Uruapan, Mexico.
- Mt. Ashland plans to build a new chairlift in long lost terrain with $2.5 million from Lithia Motors.
News
Snowbird to Replace Wilbere Lift
Doppelmayr has been selected to install a new Wilbere Quad next summer at Snowbird, the second new lift announced by Powdr for 2024. The quad will load in a new location in the Creekside base area and terminate near the top of the current Wilbere double, which Doppelmayr built in 1971. The modern AlpenStar fixed grip will feature a loading conveyor and carry 1,800 skiers per hour.
“With a number of short- and long-term projects in the works, we are taking great strides to make our mountain more accessible, more efficient and more engaging for our passholders and our community,” noted Snowbird President and General Manager Dave Fields. Wilbere 2.0 is expected to open for the 2024-25 ski season.
North America Fuels Growth for Doppelmayr
The Doppelmayr Group reported annual financial results today, and for the first time ever, North America surpassed Austria as the firm’s largest market. Doppelmayr reported total revenue of €946 million (US$1.0 billion) in fiscal year 2022-23, an annual increase of 6.7 percent and near a record high for the 130 year old company. The United States and Canada accounted for 28 percent or approximately $280 million during the fiscal year, which ran from April 2022 through March 2023. The last year before Covid North America represented only 17 percent of global turnover while the domestic Austrian market comprised 24 percent of the business.
The group delivered 104 ropeways globally in 2022-23, 30 of which landed in North America. US ski resorts reported a record 64.7 million skier visits last season and have 31 more Doppelmayr lifts under construction for the coming winter. “One of the reasons for this market development is the continuing attractiveness of outdoor sports,” noted the Doppelmayr Group annual report. “Many ski resorts are replacing outdated installations with modern ropeways in order to offer their guests enhanced comfort. In addition, the new lifts feature higher capacity to provide the growing numbers of visitors with rapid access to the ski slopes.” Doppelmayr went from installing just one D-Line detachable in North America in 2018 to five last year and nine this year. Doppelmayr also increased its global employee headcount to 3,335 full time equivalents, an increase of 5.7 percent. Part of that growth was the group’s acquisition of cabin manufacturer Carvatech last October.
Doppelmayr also reported a strong order book despite some economic headwinds. “The investment strength of ski area operators in North America remains at a very high level,” the company noted. The Alps market is also strengthening with three AURO autonomous gondolas under construction. On the urban front, Doppelmayr is working to build expansive gondola systems in both Paris and Mexico City. Doppelmayr also expects revenue growth from new products, including its clair software platform, upcoming TRI-Line 3S system and new 20-MGD D-Line.
News Roundup: First Day of Fall
- A court finds zoning allowing Wasatch Peaks Ranch to continue as a private ski resort can be put to a public referendum. Three chairlifts already operate there with a fourth under construction.
- The Tennessee State Fair will build a chairlift next year.
- Gore Mountain’s new trail map shows the location of the new Bear Cub Quad.
- Lee Canyon recovers well from a hurricane-fueled flood this summer.
- A snowboarder who fell from Whistler Mountain’s Emerald Express sues Whistler Blackcomb.
- Echo Mountain sells to an investor with a bunch of non-ski businesses.
- Lifts are being removed at Marshall Mountain after 20 years idle.
News Roundup: Ten Figures
- Mont Sutton, Quebec becomes the latest resort to announce a loading conveyor addition this season.
- Mt. Bachelor says the new Skyliner Express is on track to open in December despite some shipping delays.
- Sunlight releases a fresh master plan with a series of lift upgrades and additions.
- Vail Resorts plans to wrap gondolas at multiple resorts with messages of diversity and inclusion.
- Breckenridge offers old Five chairs for sale.
- Park City says new, heavier cabins will require Red Pine Gondola towers to be reinforced, acknowledges the Sigma cabins list 2 degrees when empty.
- Aspen Mountain’s new Pandora’s lift will now be called Hero’s.
- Ikon Pass resorts invest over one billion dollars in improvements for this season.
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania names a new operator for closed Denton Hill.
- Multiple factors contributed to the deadly collision between a gondola cabin and drill rig at Tremblant this summer.
News Roundup: Coming Back
- Powder Mountain is likely to replace Timberline with a fixed quad next year and leave the Indy Pass.
- Mt. Crescent, Iowa also leaves Indy.
- Norway Mountain, Michigan plans to reopen in 2024-25.
- Closed Val Bialas, New York also intends to reopen with a new chairlift.
- Vail Resorts may announce 2024 lift projects the afternoon of September 28th.
- Attitash’s new Mountaineer quad won’t be ready for opening day.
- Winter Park’s new six pack will be named Wild Spur Express.
- Skytrac President Carl Skylling talks chairlifts with Park City’s public radio station.
- Massanutten opens the first new lift of the year.
- Fresh off building two new lifts, Utah Olympic Park bleeds cash, lays off staff.
- Willamette Pass will reactivate the long-closed Midway chair.
News Roundup: Von Rolls
- Wolf Ridge, North Carolina re-brands as Hatley Pointe.
- New tram cabins land in Big Sky after a journey from Switzerland.
- Steamboat advances construction of a parking lot transport gondola.
- The Forest Service explains why it rejected Lutsen’s expansion proposal.
- Snow Ridge will host another tornado cleanup this month.
- Cleanup begins after the epic flood at Lee Canyon.
- Massanutten plans to open the first brand new lift of 2023 next weekend.
- Holiday Valley will open its new six pack in October for pre-winter rides.
- MND reports a 27 percent revenue increase with €140.1 million in outstanding orders.
- The former Tulsa Skyride will live on at an Iraqi amusement park.
News Roundup: Timbertown
- For the third time in seven years a chair falls off a Doppelmayr detachable quad in high winds at Thredbo, Australia.
- Loon Mountain’s expansion lift will be called Timbertown.
- The Forest Service rejects Lutsen Mountains’ entire expansion proposal.
- Brighton plans to build a chondola to its new mid-mountain restaurant.
- Alterra closes its acquisition of Schweitzer, makes access unlimited on the Ikon Pass.
- Schweitzer to sell retired Riblet double chairs for charity.
- Snowriver previews its new trail map showing a transformation from nine lifts to five at Jackson Creek Summit.
- Big Sky nears completion of the new Lone Peak Tram.
- The British Columbia Supreme Court will determine possession of Powder King Mountain Resort following the owner’s death.
News Roundup: Enhancement
- Four years after the Sea to Sky Gondola’s haul rope was first cut, the criminal case remains open.
- Adventureland, Iowa decommissions its SLI double chair.
- An assessment finds extensive damage to lifts at Snow Ridge.
- Echo Mountain, Colorado appears to be for sale.
- Tremblant’s gondola reopens a month after a fatal accident.
- Fernie shifts hiking and biking operations from one side of the mountain to the other due to a mechanical issue with the Elk chair.
- Utah Governor Spencer Cox says the Little Cottonwood gondola should be a public-private partnership.
- Baghdad, Iraq plans an urban gondola.
News Roundup: Great Causes
- Alpine Ski Club, Ontario lists the Arrowhead Quad for sale with a replacement planned for 2024.
- Big Moose Mountain, Maine fundraises to revive trails abandoned since the summit double last ran in 2004.
- Snow Ridge, New York shares more photos of devastating tornado damage and fundraises for rebuilding. A volunteer cleanup day is scheduled for August 26th.
- Nonprofit Skiland, Alaska seeks donations to operate next season.
- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay teases a reopening of its gondola that has been closed since Covid.
- A power outage strands hundreds of guests overnight at the Banff Gondola.
- Seven Oaks leaves the Indy Pass.
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