- Lake Louise reopens a week after an intentionally-set fire displaced hundreds of employees.
- Okemo temporarily closes due to Vermont flooding.
- Lift-free Colorado resort Bluebird Backcountry fails after three seasons.
- Sterling Vineyards load tests its new D-Line gondola, with wine of course.
- Both Solitude and Brighton offer old high speed quad chairs for sale.
- Summer operations at Brundage remain paused due to issues with the Bluebird Express.
News
News Roundup: The Desert
- Matterhorn Glacier Ride II opens, connecting Switzerland and Italy via 3S gondola.
- A fire destroys Lake Louise’s main employee housing complex, displacing 165 workers and closing the resort temporarily. Emergency relief fund here.
- The State of Vermont agrees to pay $16.5 million to settle claims over its role in fraud at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain.
- Vail Mountain to auction 65 retired triple and quad chairs for charity.
- Lots of ski terrain gets sculpted at Mayflower next to Deer Valley.
News Roundup: 7-3
- Sugarbush affirms plans to build both a detachable and fixed grip chairlift next summer.
- Jackson Hole applies to replace Sublette with a detachable quad.
- Alterra partners with Colorado Mountain College on an intensive four week lift maintenance training course at Steamboat.
- Breck’s new high speed quad will be named FIVE SuperChair.
- Whiteface’s will be called The Notch.
- Park City puts more old gondola cabins on sale, new Red Pine cabins debut.
- Crested Butte mechanics and electricians vote 7-3 to unionize.
- Aspen Skiing Company managing partner and Alterra part owner Jim Crown dies unexpectedly.
- Brundage loses its only summer lift until further notice due to a mechanical issue.
News Roundup: Public Dollars
- California Mountain Resort Company (owner of China Peak/Dodge Ridge/Mountain High) buys Taos’ outgoing Lift 4 for reinstallation next summer.
- One of New Zealand’s largest ski resorts faces liquidation right before ski season.
- Solitude’s next three lift replacement priorities, in order, are Link, Sunrise and Powderhorn II.
- Buck Hill holds a chair sale. Middlebury Snowbowl too.
- Gatlinburg SkyLift Park simplifies its name to SkyPark.
- A New York public broadcaster highlights the Olympic Regional Development Authority’s $700 million in recent spending subsidized by taxpayers.
- A one year delay over sewer issues increases the cost of Gore Mountain’s new Ski Bowl detachable quad by $681,000, will now be built next year.
- New Hampshire commits $18 million to a major overhaul of the Cannon Mountain tramway.
- The Forest Service approves the replacement of Wilbere at Snowbird with a fixed grip quad.
- Leitner releases its 2022 annual report showcasing installations across Europe.
- Loon Mountain shares a South Peak construction update.
- Big Sky’s new tram cabins are complete and ready for shipping.
Snowbird Debuts Tram Rooftop Balconies
Starting today, anyone over 42 inches tall can ride on the roof of the legendary Snowbird Tram and enjoy unobstructed views of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The first-of-its-kind experience in the United States will cost $20 on top of a tram ticket, which currently runs between $37 and $42. I took a preview ride last night and enjoyed the open views of the carriage, towers and mountains during the trip. In addition to hosting the first public riders on the balconies today, the tram is also carrying the last skiers of the season up Hidden Peak this weekend.
Grouse Mountain in Canada debuted a similar rooftop option on its Garaventa tram in 2016 but it has been closed since Covid. At Snowbird, balconies are certified for up to 14 people but Snowbird plans to start with no more than 11 guests per trip. Riders ascend a staircase within the tram cabin during boarding and stand in a designated L-shaped area while the tram is in motion. Speed and capacity of the tram are limited when the system is in balcony mode. CWA and Garaventa designed a safety gate that is tied into the lift control system to prevent passengers from ascending or descending the staircase while the trip is underway. Cabin operators also have live video feed of the rooftop and Snowbird plans to have an additional operator on the balcony during each trip.
The new balconies, along with glass floor sections, are a summer-only offering and will be removed each winter season. This summer the tram is open 11:00 am to 8:00 pm daily, weather permitting.
News Roundup: No Refunds
- Bogus Basin proposes replacing Coach with a quad servicing a new, longer alignment.
- Maine reaches its second highest skier visit total ever.
- Vermont also reports strong results with visits up 10 percent over last year.
- The new owner of Holiday Mountain intends to install not one but two used chairlifts next summer.
- West Mountain looks toward building a detachable in 2025.
- Stevens Pass to sell center pole chairs from Kehr’s.
- A court decides Vail Resorts doesn’t owe Epic Pass holders refunds for the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
- Burke Mountain gets a purchase offer.
- Mechanics and electricians at Crested Butte will vote whether to unionize on June 30th.
- Two new lifts for next winter are already nearing completion at Loon Mountain and Massanutten.
- Deer Valley-Mayflower talks continue.
- Le Massif gives up trying to purchase struggling Mont-Sainte-Anne.
News Roundup: Reimagining
- The Canyons Village Management Association budgets $8 million for a Cabriolet replacement and $9.24 million toward a new gondola on the Canyons side of Park City Mountain.
- The Summit at Snoqualmie adds more chairs to Armstrong Express at Alpental.
- Mt. Bachelor offers Skyliner Express chairs for sale.
- Keystone releases an all new trail map showing the Bergman expansion.
- New owners of Holiday Mountain, New York will host a stakeholder meeting tomorrow to outline rebuilding plans.
- The Whistler Blackcomb Peak 2 Peak Gondola may open late for the summer due to an issue related to ice buildup.
- A former employee who fell 30 feet from a Riblet double without a safety bar while downloading accuses Stevens Pass of negligently operating an old, unsafe chairlift.
- Colorado reports a record 14.8 million skier visits.
- New Hampshire also reports strong results from last season.
- Vail Resorts says season pass sales are trending up 6 percent in units and 11 percent in dollars for next season.
- Le Massif will operate two of its longest lifts for a unique night time sound and light show this summer.
- Highland Mountain Bike Park to close its chairlift for a week to replace the communications line.
- Snowmass receives approval to replace Coney Glade with a realigned and extended detachable quad in 2024.
- Five years after closing, Deer Mountain, South Dakota will reopen as a private club.
Instagram Tuesday: Up and Down
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Big Numbers
- Vail Resorts declines to voluntarily recognize the Crested Butte lift maintenance/electrical union, triggering a National Labor Relations Board election process.
- Eaglecrest offers an updated pulse gondola construction timeline with opening targeted for summer 2025.
- Magic Mountain plans to finish the Black Line Quad this summer after four years of trying.
- Utah skier visits rose a whopping 22 percent this season to 7.1 million.
- Quebec reports its strongest season in 16 years with 6.6 million skier visits.
- A single round trip ride on Europe’s newest 3S gondola will cost a whopping $265.
- Big Sky posts more photos of its new tram cabins taking shape in Switzerland.
- Smugglers’ Notch adds a section to its website about the proposed Stowe connector gondola.
- Holiday Mountain, New York sells to a new owner with plans to revive lost ski terrain.
- Park City begins loading new Sigma cabins on the Red Pine Gondola.
Alterra Buys Schweitzer
Alterrra Mountain Company today announced an agreement to acquire Schweitzer Mountain Resort, the largest ski mountain in Idaho. Already an Ikon Pass partner, Schweitzer features a fleet of nine chairlifts on 2,900 acres of private land near Sandpoint. The mountain will become the 17th owned destination for Alterra across the United States and Canada. “With an incredible mountain in one of the most beautiful settings in the country and a world-class operating team, Schweitzer has everything we look for in a destination,” said Jared Smith, President and CEO of Alterra Mountain Company. “The mountain has been a valued partner on the Ikon Pass for several seasons, so we’ve been able to see the exceptional team, community, and opportunities for continued investment up close.”
Tom Chasse, who has been with Schweitzer since 2006, will stay on as President and CEO under Alterra. He will oversee Schweitzer’s continued growth, which includes development of a new base area called Schweitzer Creek Village. A new Leitner-Poma high speed quad is already under construction and will debut on that part of the mountain next winter.
MKM Trust, which has been the owner and developer of Schweitzer for the past 18 years, will retain non-ski operations and will continue to lead future real estate development. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
Lift Blog 
