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.
A group opposed to the privatization of Homewood says the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has paused permitting for the project, set to include a new D-Line gondola.
A bill in the Florida legislature targets Walt Disney World’s monorail and gondola systems with new inspection requirements in possible retaliation for the company’s political statements.
If the last week and a half was quiet on the blog, it’s because I was skiing my way around Austria, Germany and Switzerland with a few lift factory visits along the way. The last stop on my journey was Interalpin, the world’s largest trade show for mountain technology which takes place in Innsbruck every two years. Thanks to Covid, this was the first Interalpin in four years with an estimated 35,000 people attending.
Doppelmayr
Doppelmayr made a splash the first day with the introduction of a new logo, the company’s first brand refresh in decades. For the first time Doppelmayr Group companies like CWA, Carvatech, Garaventa, Gassner and Frey all have logos matching the parent company’s identity. The new brand will be introduced to international subsidiaries over time.
Doppelmayr’s sprawling two story booth featured numerous cabins, chairs, grips and carriages from an 8 seat Carvatech gondola all the way up to a 32 passenger CWA Atria.
A 20 passenger cabin called Stella debuted for the first time. This cabin will be available for both Tri-Line 3S and 20 passenger monocable gondolas. Stella fills the gap between the ubiquitous Omega and much larger Atria model, which has only been used to two lifts to date. Future 20 passenger monocable gondolas will utilize a new D9000 carriage, which is built around two side by side D5000 grips.
Introduced last year, Tri-Line is a streamlined version of the 3S gondola with smaller stations requiring less concrete. The first Tri-Line is under development at Hoch-Ybrig, Switzerland. Both Tri-Line and 20-MGD are based off standard D-Line stations and can achieve up to 8,000 passengers per hour with Stella cabins that fit closely together and can open on two sides. On the three rope Tri-Line, Stella cabins will be capable of spanning longer distances between towers than monocable gondolas with high wind stability.
Doppelmayr also showcased a simplified surface lift product family called S-Line.
Doppelmayr had a full size mockup of an Auro autonomous gondola station which can be monitored remotely from a ropeway operations center. A chairlift version is also undergoing testing on two lifts in the region using artificial intelligence to monitor unloading. In both cases, large detachable lifts could be operated by just one person.
Also on the software front, Doppelmayr’s resort management software clair now integrates with other mountain technology providers such as Fatzer, Skidata and TechnoAlpin.
HTI Group
HTI group hosted another large booth shared between Prinoth, Leitner, Poma and DemacLenko. For the first time Bartholet was also part of the HTI area. With three different lift brands now under one umbrella, HTI showed off multiple Diamond cabins, a premium chair, Symphony gondolas and Bartholet chairs/cabins.
I got to experience both Leitner’s 2S and 3S gondolas in the surrounding mountains and was very impressed with their smooth ride and quality. The newest 2S design utilizes plastic carriage rollers and can span long distances between towers more economically than a 3S.
Bikes were a big focus with both chair and gondola loading solutions on display. The European industry has embraced vertical racks so passengers can ride on the same chairs as bikes without having to skip chairs with trays.
HTI is also getting into the software game with a resort management program called Skadii including digital logbooks to manage documentation.
Energy efficiency is a huge focus in Europe and HTI also showed off its Ecodrive program, which uses cameras to analyze lift queues and automatically adjust lift speed to save energy.
MND
MND Ropeways had a Waterville Valley style six place chair along with a gondola cabin on display. The company continues to push the benefits of providing lifts, snowmaking, avalanche control systems and summer attractions all from one supplier.
A new manufacturing and support base for HTI Group’s American lift brands is coming to Tooele, Utah. Located about 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, Tooele will become the new home for Skytrac and also serve as a satellite facility to Leitner-Poma’s headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. “This new Utah-based facility will allow us to continue to grow our American-made capabilities while expanding our existing headcount in Utah by up to 60 percent,” said Daren Cole, President of Leitner-Poma of America. “We’re proud to produce all Skytrac parts and nearly all LPOA parts in America,” he continued. Tooele will become the largest HTI facility in the United States at 130,000 square feet and represents an investment of $27 million.
In addition to state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, the 25 acre site will also include a 162 foot tall LEITWIND turbine capable of generating 100 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. Turbines from HTI subsidiary Leitwind utilize a DirectDrive generator similar to those used in the company’s detachable lifts.
The Tooele site is expected to increase Leitner-Poma’s Utah headcount to 120 employees. “We welcome Leitner-Poma of America’s expansion to Tooele,” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox. “Its new manufacturing facility will complement Utah’s thriving ski industry and give the company access to the diverse and talented workforce that exists in our great state.”
Skytrac’s move to a new plant comes on the heels of the company’s biggest sales year ever with 10 complete lifts in 2022. “New ropeway systems are rising at a record-setting pace worldwide,” noted Cole. “The output from this new campus, as well as our work to further onshore our supply chain, positions LPOA and Skytrac to better meet the growing demand throughout the country.”
