- Sun Peaks joins the Ikon Pass.
- Alterra settles multiple class action lawsuits over 2020 Covid closures, offering credits toward future purchases.
- Vail Resorts and Telluride renew their multi-year Epic Pass partnership.
- Telluride aims to send a gondola replacement proposal to voters in 2024 and begin construction in 2028.
- Snowbird’s new red tram ships again from Switzerland.
- A group continues efforts to save the Tulsa State Fair Skyride.
- Cuchara remains on track to reopen one of its Riblet chairlifts this winter and is still seeking donations.
- An awesome one hour documentary chronicles the history of Riblet Tramway Company.
- There’s also a new book about Byron Riblet.
- The Salt Lake County Council narrowly passes a non-binding resolution against a Little Cottonwood gondola.
- A Hall double goes up for sale in Connecticut, likely from the closed Woodbury Ski Area.
- Analysis is complete on Lutsen Mountains’ expansion proposal and a new Forest Supervisor expects to make his decision public around the beginning of ski season.
- The head of Whistler Blackcomb offers more details on the decision to move forward Fitzsimmons and Jersey Cream projects with lifts from Park City.
- Cascade Mountain names its new quad chair in memory of two locals who died in a 2014 avalanche.
- The Sugarloaf 2030 timeline is updated to reflect Double Runner being replaced in 2023 or 2024.
News
Mountain Capital Partners to Operate Willamette Pass
Durango, Colorado-based Mountain Capital Partners today announced Willamette Pass, Oregon will join its collective of Western ski resorts through a joint venture with current owner Tim Wiper. Willamette Pass becomes the eighth ski resort to join MCP and its first in the Northwest. The company currently operates resorts in four Southwestern states as as well as a lift-served bike park in Texas. “For more than two decades, MCP has strengthened its position in the Southwest, acquiring, building, developing and successfully growing nine resorts in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Texas,” said MCP managing partner James Coleman. “While Willamette Pass Resort’s location introduces a new geographical region to the company, the skiing is fantastic and the opportunity to carry on the tradition of Willamette Pass made the decision an obvious one,” he continued. Willamette Pass will join the Power Pass family of season pass products and current resort leadership is expected to remain in place.
Willamette Pass features a fleet of four Riblet and CTEC chairlifts including Oregon’s first six pack. The mountain also has significant expansion potential in the fast-growing Pacific Northwest ski market. Mountain Capital Partners specializes in building and improving resorts through targeted capital improvements including new lifts and snowmaking. “MCP expects to bring meaningful upgrades to resort operations starting this winter,” said the company’s press release.
Founded in 1941, Willamette Pass offers guests access to 29 trails across 555 skiable acres. “Since this resort’s founding, this has been a family business and, together with our incredible staff, we’ve put in this work for one reason: our love for skiing,” said Tim Wiper, who has owned the resort with his family since 1982. “Mountain Capital Partners clearly shares our undeniable passion for this sport, and they are the right partner to not only lead Willamette Pass Resort into the future but also work together with us to carry on our remarkable legacy.”
News Roundup: Falling Trees
- Doppelmayr wins the contract to build Cablebus Line 3, a six station/40 tower gondola in Mexico City with a bid $19 million under Leitner.
- Steamboat’s new gondola won’t open until mid to late December.
- A falling tree de-ropes the Busch Gardens Williamsburg gondola off multiple towers.
- NSAA reports the number of US ski areas operating last season increased by 11 to 473.
- A brand new chairlift at Ski Wentworth gets battered by wind and falling trees from Hurricane Fiona but is believed to be undamaged.
- Lake Louise says both Upper Juniper and Sunnyside high speed quads could be constructed as early as 2023 (map here).
- A new map shows the location of Vail’s upcoming Chair 17 in Sun Down Bowl.
- Deer Valley’s new map shows where the new Burns Express goes.
- Apex Mountain uses video footage and social media to identify a group who tampered with the resort’s detachable quad.
- The Los Angeles transit authority expects to release the draft Environmental Impact Report for the Dodger Stadium gondola October 17th.
News Roundup: Changing Hands
- Vancouver’s transit authority begins the station design process for the Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
- Three Park City residents who own Pacific Group Resorts expect to close on Jay Peak next month.
- Burke Mountain may also soon be sold.
- Arapahoe Basin creates a podcast episode all about Lenawee Express construction.
- A Basin also explains why a big drop in skier visits is a good thing.
- Energy prices where many of the world’s lifts are operated and manufactured could spike eight fold this winter.
- Eaglecrest’s new gondola arrives in Alaska.
- Sugar Bowl joins the Mountain Collective.
- Hunter Mountain will sell chairs from the Z Lift next week.
- A thousand page report outlines negligence and poor management leading to deaths of 14 people on an Italian tramway last year.
- Dry Hill, New York gets new owners.
- The top station building for a 125 passenger aerial tramway partially burns in Switzerland.
- The Forest Service seeks public comments on Copper Mountain’s proposed Timberline six pack.
- The General Manager of Whitecap Mountains, Wisconsin assumes full ownership.
- A new neighborhood adjacent to Mayflower Mountain Resort will feature its own chairlift.
- Mt. Bachelor’s new Skyliner six pack will be D-Line.
- Loveland and Lookout Pass fly lift towers into place.
- British Columbia determines a volunteer ski patroller injured in a chairlift de-ropement is eligible for worker’s compensation.
- Leitner wins a four station urban gondola contract in Colombia.
- Here are some official and unofficial updates on the Palisades Tahoe Base-to-Base Gondola.
- Also an update on Thunder from Jackson Hole:
News Roundup: Teaser
- Copper Mountain proposes replacing the Timberline Express although a representative says there’s no timeline or model selected yet.
- An empty cabin falls from a gondola in South America.
- Palisades Tahoe tells the story of declining to purchase the White Wolf property for $400,000 and now paying the landowner rent where much of the Base to Base Gondola runs.
- A new book about prolific lift builder Hans Burkhart will be released this fall.
- The Highlands, Michigan teases something faster, quieter and warmer coming soon.
- Plattekill says the lightning-damaged Northface Express will be repaired before ski season.
- Someone allegedly gets left on the Icy Strait Point gondola system, is offloaded unharmed.
- Doppelmayr will build the new Skyliner Express at Mt. Bachelor.
- Big White offers the rare opportunity to own a gondola cabin as Lara’s Gondola transitions to all Sigma cabins.
- Idaho surpasses 2 million skier visits for the first time.
- Shawnee Peak, Maine reverts back to Pleasant Mountain.
- On the second anniversary of the second cable cut, Sea to Sky Gondola doubles the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of a suspect to CA$500,000. Police also release a video of the incident and photo of the saboteur.
- Sea to Sky also sues the company that installed a security system between the two vandalism incidents, alleging it did not work reliably and allowed the cable to be cut the second time.
- Maine conditionally approves redevelopment of the ski area on Big Moose Mountain.
- Mayflower reaches 300 acres of ski run cleared, still plans lift service in late 2024.
- Lift mechanics at Nordic Valley put out a fire which may have been intentionally set.
- The newest lift in Tennessee will be called the Horizon Skyride and open soon.
- Indy Pass sales are up 52 percent in units and 67 percent in dollars over 2021-22 with more resorts to be added in the coming weeks.
News Roundup: Thank You Firefighters
- Indy Pass signs two more ski areas – Chestnut Mountain, Illinois and Snowriver Mountain Resort, Michigan.
- Snowriver plans to replace multiple fixed grip lifts with one detachable at Jackson Creek Summit (formerly Indianhead)
- Searchmont takes delivery of a Skytrac drive terminal as a retrofit to a Blue Mountain triple chair and will complete another Skytrac triple in the beginner area.
- The Emirates Air Line in London will be named the IFS Cloud Cable Car from October as part of a two year sponsorship deal.
- A nonprofit takes over development of the Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium gondola.
- Ukraine-related sanctions halt a Poma 3S gondola project on the China-Russia border.
- Steamboat posts an update on the new longest gondola in North America.
- Vail Resorts will report earnings and possible new capital plans on September 28th.
- Gallix, Quebec seeks to raise $1.2 million to pay for ongoing chairlift repairs.
- Big Bear, Brundage and Nordic Valley all escape unscathed from wildfires this week.
- Mont Farlagne says goodbye to its T-Bar.
- The Heineken Highline gondola at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will be open to all on game days this football season.
Pacific Group Resorts Wins Jay Peak Auction
Park City based Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. placed the highest bid – $76 million – at an auction yesterday for Jay Peak Resort. Subject to court approval, Jay will join PGRI’s group of five ski resorts located across the United States and Canada. “With the success of this auction, we are one step closer to concluding the receivership of Jay Peak Resort,” said Jay Peak receiver Michael Goldberg. “It has been six long years during which the resort has made tremendous progress under the leadership of general manager Steve Wright and his team and the guidance of Leisure Hotels. The time had come to put the resort back into private hands, and our investment bank, Houlihan Lokey, ran a strong sale process for us culminating in a very competitive auction. We are pleased an experienced operating company like Pacific Group Resorts ended up with this great asset.” The sale price of $76 million is $18 million over the auction’s opening bid. The identities of other bidder(s) were not disclosed.
“We began pursuing this acquisition over three years ago and couldn’t be more pleased with the auction’s outcome which paves the way to add Jay Peak to our growing family of resorts,” said Pacific Group Resorts President and CEO Vern Greco. “Jay has a high quality team of dedicated employees who have weathered the uncertainty of the receivership for a long time. We look forward to bringing renewed stability to the property and its staff, we’re enthusiastic about the prospects for the resort, and we are delighted to be in Vermont which is an important market for any mountain resort operator.”
A court hearing to approve the sale is scheduled for next Friday and the transaction is expected to close prior to the start of the 2022-23 ski season. There will be no changes to season passes or Indy Pass participation for this season. Burke Mountain, which is also under receivership, will be marketed separately at a later date.
Doppelmayr Introduces TRI-Line Three Cable System
A Swiss ski resort will become the launch customer for a new hybrid ropeway design by Doppelmayr. TRI-Line (pronouned “treeline”) will combine the benefits of a tri-cable 3S ropeway with Doppelmayr’s D-Line detachable generation. The new system offers throughput of up to 8,000 passengers per hour with a smaller footprint and lower cost than a 3S. “The TRI-Line is a detachable continuous-movement system and a compact further development based on two proven ropeway systems,” explains Peter Luger, head of TRI-Line development in Wolfurt. “It combines the benefits of the D-Line with those of the high-capacity 3S system.” The concept is similar to Leitner’s new 2S system but utilizes two track ropes rather than one. Doppelmayr notes two track ropes provide a stable running surface and the highest wind stability. Multiple ropes allow for very long spans between towers, a hallmark of 3S systems.
TRI-Line cabins will combine elements of CWA’s newest Omega V gondolas with those of Atria 3S cabins. The new cabins will accommodate up to 20 passengers in a 12 seated, 8 standing configuration. The carriage will utilize two D-Line detachable grips and eight running wheels. Cabins can be ordered with electronic sliding doors on two sides for high capacity and urban applications.
TRI-Line will utilize D-Line stations modified to accommodate track ropes and larger carriages. The new system will feature tubular towers rather than lattice towers. In addition to reducing tower footprints, this brings advantages in the construction phase such as the suitability of the components for air transport. Direct Drive gearless technology, Doppelmayr Connect controls and AURO autonomous operation are all compatible with TRI-Line.
The first TRI-Line installation is already underway at Hoch-Ybrig, Switzerland replacing a 55 year old reversible tramway. “With the TRI-Line, we’ve found a ropeway system that meets all our requirements – and does so for a reasonable price,” said Urs Keller, CEO of Hoch-Ybrig. “While a monocable gondola would have been an option from a technical point of view, it would have entailed various challenges with our particular terrain and therefore been difficult to build. The 3S lift, as an alternative, was beyond our budget. The TRI-Line is compact and can cope with our wind conditions thanks to the 3S benefits, which is a decisive criterion for our important feeder lift. Thanks to the new cabins with their comfortable seats and the generously proportioned glazing, we can now offer our guests a far higher level of comfort.”
News Roundup: Preferred Alternative
- The Utah Department of Transportation selects a 3S gondola as the preferred alternative in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
- The Salt Lake Tribune looks at who’s funding the pro- and anti-gondola camps.
- More Epic chair sales are coming at Jack Frost and Big Boulder.
- Sierra at Tahoe nears completion of West Bowl fire recovery work with more than five million board-feet of timber removed.
- The Edmonton Ski Club receives $800,000 in public funds to stay afloat.
- Midwest Family Ski Resorts completes its acquisition of Big Snow, Michigan, will re-brand as Snowriver Mountain Resort and retire the Blackjack/Indianhead names.
- The Tulsa gondola showdown continues.
- A dedicated lift-served bike park may still be coming to the Colorado foothills.
- The Idaho Springs gondola project wins an $8.7 million lawsuit judgment, vows to move forward despite years of setbacks.
- Sandia Peak again won’t offer skiing in 2022-23.
- Ikon Pass adds Panorama, BC and another Japanese resort.
- British Columbia approves construction of a new T-Bar at Troll.
- Mt. Holly, Michigan announces a new detachable quad for 2023.
- Doppelmayr pieces back together the lift which was swallowed by a sinkhole last year in Northern Quebec.
- Kirkwood’s old beginner double goes up for sale.
Instagram Tuesday: High Ropes
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
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