News – Page 44 – Lift Blog

Coronavirus Shutters Vail Resorts, All of Alterra and Many More

March 14, 2020March 15, 2020Peter Landsman29 Comments

Vail Resorts has made the difficult decision to suspend operations of all its North
American mountain resorts beginning March 15 through March 22. Please read this letter from our CEO Rob Katz. https://t.co/8082XVtCFr

— VailResorts (@VailResorts) March 14, 2020

North America’s ski industry is following in the unfortunate footsteps of its counterparts in Asia and Europe, forced to end winter operations early to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Among the first to pull the plug the past two days were Berkshire East, Jay Peak, Taos and Nub’s Nob.

Alterra Mountain Company to close 15 North American Resorts starting March 15. https://t.co/zeLwY89wZs pic.twitter.com/GEfRCIA4ep

— Crystal Mountain (@CrystalMt) March 15, 2020

What started as a trickle became a deluge Saturday. In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis issued an executive order compelling all resorts to close following outbreaks in Eagle, Pitkin, and Summit counties. Even before the order, the continent’s two largest resort companies almost simultaneously announced complete shutdowns effective tomorrow. The 37 Vail facilities will remain closed until at least March 22nd and will continue to pay scheduled employees. Many independent mountains are staying open for now.

Alta Ski Area will be suspending operations starting Sunday morning, March 15, until further notice to limit the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Lift operations, food service and retail and rental services will be closed.

More info—> https://t.co/VAIsMiZGyL pic.twitter.com/WJpsDofpI1

— Alta Ski Area (@AltaSkiArea) March 15, 2020

This is uncharted territory but I’m certain the ski business will be okay. Unlike other industries, we are used to doing this between seasons, albeit under very different circumstances. The United States government has promised help to small and mid-sized businesses along with hourly employees who are missing work and pay. Canada and governments around the world will likely do the same. Hopefully many full time, year rounders can keep working and get important maintenance done.

We are skiers at heart and understand the therapeutic nature of our shared passion. But, by order of the Governor of the State of CO, we are closing all ski operations immediately and ancillary businesses over the next week. Please view full details here: https://t.co/xj2Diz5rmg

— Aspen Snowmass (@AspenSnowmass) March 15, 2020

Normally March on this blog features announcement after announcement of exciting new projects from lift manufacturers and their customers. At this point, already formalized projects are pacing about the same as last year and none have been publicly canceled. Hopefully production can continue and this mess abates in time for construction to get going as snow melts. There are many unknowns, however.

Glacier Bowl Express yesterday at Alyeska Resort, my 417th ski area. Alyeska and most of Alaska’s ski resorts remain open.

Those of you on Instagram know I’m in one of the world’s most amazing places right now: Alaska. Operations at resorts were normal across the board the past few days and the weather was perfect in a state with only one confirmed case of COVID-19. Tomorrow I will attempt to fly home and reassess. As of this writing, Jackson Hole intends to stay open and I will be in on Monday if there is work to go to.

With so many resorts shut down and the global economy struggling, there may not be much lift news to report for awhile. When there is, I’ll write, and will get back to exploring as soon as I can.

News Roundup: Viral

March 13, 2020March 13, 2020Peter Landsman24 Comments

The Mountain Collective adds four awesome resorts for 2020-21: Chamonix, Grand Targhee, Panorama and Sugarloaf.
Kicking Horse celebrates 20 years of operation on the site of the former Whitetooth Ski Area.
Sun Valley’s Cold Springs double is about to end a 50 year run but will live on at a resort in California.
Arizona Snowbowl’s Agassiz reopens for one last hurrah after being down since January 18th with a gear issue.
Hundreds of ski resorts in Austria, Italy and Switzerland are forced to close for the season due to coronavirus.
Berkshire East, Catamount, Middlebury Snow Bowl and Mt. Abram become the first US ski resorts to shut down due to the virus.
Belleayre, Gore, Whiteface and the Lake Placid Olympic Complex close gondolas for the season for the same reason. Snowbird’s tram is shut down until further notice. Aspen Snowmass will no longer load unrelated parties in the same gondola cabins.
Indiana Beach, one of only four venues with an aerial lift in the Hoosier State, closes permanently.
The two year old LST Ropeways detachable in France shuts down indefinitely again. Instead of the LST design, MND America will offer Bartholet detachables in the United States.
Vail Resorts reports financial results: skier visits are down 5.3 percent percent this season through March 1st but lift revenue is up 0.8 percent. On a conference call, CEO Rob Katz addresses coronavirus, lift lines at Vail and possible future acquisitions.
Timberline Mountain promises to make multiple big announcements at a media event Tuesday. All three existing lifts are in poor condition and being dismantled.
Arctaris Impact Fund doesn’t expect to realize a profit on its Saddleback investment until it sells the resort in 7-10 years.
An enterprising family is building the first Australian-designed and manufactured chairlift in 30 years for private use only.
Alterra Mountain Company CEO Rusty Gregory will deliver a keynote address on Monday in Park City covering the rise of Alterra, industry consolidation and multi-resort pass products.
For the second time in three weeks, a sudden stop on the Mont-Sainte-Anne gondola elicits an emergency response and the lift is once again closed indefinitely.

News Roundup: Sunshine

March 6, 2020Peter Landsman21 Comments

The Summit at Snoqualmie shuts Hidden Valley for the season due to an “unusual mechanical problem.”
Sugarloaf closes King Pine due to a sheave assembly issue.
Dave Brownlie, former head of Whistler Blackcomb and current Revelstoke President, weighs in on the state of the British Columbia ski industry and his company’s plans for Grouse Mountain.
The Colorado Sun interviews three Colorado resort pioneers about industry trends and challenges.
As the gondola at Mont-Sainte-Anne reopens, the resort says an external power issue caused last month’s sudden stop. A lawsuit has been filed and the power company denies responsibility.
Just the Leitner portion of Mexico City’s new urban gondola network will feature seven stations and 300 cabins.
Experienced resort executives Andy and Jace Wirth may take over operations at Granby Ranch.
Limited Ikon/Mountain Collective visits to Arapahoe Basin are 69 percent lower than unlimited Epic visits last year and the “experience is way up,” says Al Henceroth.
Another informative podcast from Stuart Winchester features an executive from Mountain Creek and Big Snow talking about the next new lift and a possible Big Snow Miami.
Smugglers’ Notch has no intentions of losing its independence or ditching its fleet of fixed grip double chairs.
Whitefish will begin work in Hellroaring Basin this summer and move the current Hellroaring triple to a new alignment in 2021.

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Jay Peak expects multiple parties to submit offers in a second round of bidding this spring.
The Epic Pass franchise keeps growing with added Northeast options and a new rewards program.
Wyoming’s Sleeping Giant changes its mind on closing after this season, citing an outpouring of community support.
Whaleback is closing early due to a lift problem.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee already has five scenic lift rides but an outfit called Pigeon Forge Snow plans to build a sixth.
A U.S. Department of Labor inspector finds 14 and 15 year old ski instructors riding chairlifts and lowering restraint bars constitutes “operating heavy machinery.”
Tremblant will announce its next major investments on March 10th, a day we may hear from other Alterra resorts as well.
Guests are responding well to a slate of recent improvements at Catamount.
Cuchara is on track to reopen one of three remaining chairlifts next winter.

News Roundup: Season Pass Season

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020Peter Landsman12 Comments

The man who died on a Vail chairlift two weeks ago did not fall through a flipped up seat as initially believed.
A key parcel between Deer Valley’s Snow Park and Silver Lake villages won’t include a gondola.
The multi-stage gondola taking shape near Puerto Vallarta will feature angle stations and very tall towers in a tropical paradise.
A ski area on Prince Edward Island closes due to lift problems.
The Ascutney Outdoors model proves promising where a for-profit, high speed quad model failed.
Arizona Snowbowl inches closer to reopening its summit lift.
Alaska’s new ski area trying to get off the ground needs more money.
The chairlift at Great Bear derails and gets rope evacuated.
There was an evac at Swiss Valley the same day.
Here are details on the upcoming Hermitage auction including removal deadlines, the proposed asset purchase agreement with Boyne and the original lift quote.
Sugarloaf’s General Manager and VP of Mountain Operations join WSKI TV to break down Sugarloaf 2030 and plans for a D-Line lift.
The Payette Lakes Ski Club begins fundraising to replace a 50 year old T-Bar.
Woodward Park City visitation has been about as expected during the inaugural season.
A child is injured in a fall from Northstar’s Vista Express.
The City of Steamboat plans to sign with Doppelmayr for the new Barrows quad at Howelsen Hill.
Wisconsin’s Christie Mountain is for sale.
Inc. profiles two entrepreneurial owners pressing on independently at Wyoming’s two largest ski resorts.
The Forest Service releases its Draft Environmental Assessment for Mission Ridge’s proposed expansion, which would include two two new quad chairs and two pulse gondolas.
Jägerndorfer’s 2020 collection features the largest number of lift models ever.
A man is critically injured in a fall from the Purgatory Village Express.
Testing and analysis continues at Mont-Sainte-Anne. One of those injured last week tells his story.
Two new products join the Ikon Pass lineup for 20/21. Stratton and Sugarbush will go unlimited while Aspen and Jackson Hole will be more restricted.

News Roundup: Upper Peninsula

February 21, 2020February 22, 2020Peter Landsman4 Comments

Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort is for sale with an asking price of $2.4 million.
Marquette Mountain finds a new owner.
Arizona Snowbowl plans to reopen Agassiz in early March.
A girl was lucky to fall from Park City’s Town lift where it crosses Park Avenue and has catch netting.
Crystal Mountain, BC won’t reopen this winter but may add a new lift this summer in addition to reactivating a T-Bar for next year.
Doppelmayr will build Saddleback a new detachable quad, which will have a ride time under five minutes and run in the same alignment as Rangeley.
A real estate brokerage is hired to market the Hermitage properties in advance of next month’s auction.
Three Whistler Blackcomb leaders respond to the Make Whistler Great Again petition with a video about what it takes to run such a massive ski area.
French lift staff go on strike.
Nonprofit Ski Cooper has become quite profitable in recent years, allowing it to make significant upgrades.
Despite late deliveries and winter work, Skeetawk lift construction chugs along.
Reopening day at the Sea to Sky Gondola sets a new visitation record.
Nordic Valley wants to build its new lift as soon as this summer.
With two prominent new gondola systems recently opened at private venues in Florida, Miami area leaders look to gondola transit.
Last week’s death was not the first time someone fell through chair with a flipped up seat at Vail and Beaver Creek. It also happened on the very same lift in 2009.
Removal of a second lift begins at Timberline in preparation for this summer’s new construction.
In a letter to passholders, Nub’s Nob announces the retirement of Blue effective at the end of this season.
The Berry Family tells the inside story of why it took so long to sell Saddleback and reveals another ski area offered $3 million for the lifts.

News Roundup: Millions

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020Peter Landsman16 Comments

Crystal Mountain reopens after being closed nearly a week. Mudslides along its access road cost the resort more than $1 million in business.
Dave McCoy, the visionary founder of Mammoth Mountain, dies at 104.
Great job Elk Mountain staff for this rescue of a dangling young skier.
You can also watch a heroic Mt. Hood Meadows employee remove seven inches of ice from Vista Express towers this week.
The Sea to Sky Gondola finally reopens, six months after a crime which cost nearly $4 million dollars in damage and lost revenue.
Chair 5 at Greek Peak breaks down and gets rope evacuated.
Highland Mountain Bike Park will add 40 chairs to its chairlift, increasing uphill capacity by 50 percent.
Vail Mountain COO Beth Howard explains the circumstances behind last weekend’s epic lift lines.
The Balsams may be closed but Les Otten opens the doors for himself and four others to cast first in the nation presidential votes.
Swiss manufacturer Bartholet launches a fresh website.
The Little Mountain that Could is a short film by L.L.Bean exploring the rebirth of Whaleback as a nonprofit.
Locals frustrated with Whistler Blackcomb operations and staffing petition Vail Resorts to do better.
One of those involved in the Stoos chair accident succumbs to his injuries. Two others have been released from the hospital.
Stevens Pass reopens Seventh Heaven 11 days after this incident.
A man dies in a terrible accident involving the Skyline Express at Vail. A preliminary investigation suggests he slipped through a chair’s seat, was caught by his jacket and asphyxiated.
Former Vail Resorts mountain division head Chris Jarnot becomes a consultant for the upcoming Mayflower Mountain Resort in Park City.
Sunday River President Dana Bullen talks about the Merrill Hill expansion, future lift projects and which lifts are staying put.
Al Henceroth confirms the Pallavicini double will be replaced by a Leitner-Poma double this summer.
Utah Business magazine makes the case for One Wasatch.

News Roundup: Big Game

February 7, 2020Peter Landsman24 Comments

Did you catch a glimpse of gondolas flying during the Super Bowl? The lift is called the Bud Light Seltzer SkyView and is expected to be open around 50 event days per year at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Bridger-Teton National Forest releases a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Snow King with a preferred alternative including a new gondola, backside fixed grip quad and access platter or T-Bar.
Arctaris officially owns Saddleback and plans to order at least a detachable quad.
With its longest chairlift out of service for weeks, Arizona Snowbowl opens its summit to hiking access.
An Austrian newspaper interviews Anton Seeber, head of the Leitner Group, about the company’s growing presence in that country and worldwide.
Sasquatch Mountain’s access road washes out, trapping guests at the resort for days and closing the mountain for a week.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota budgets $1.6 million for a new chairlift at Great Bear.
Donner Ski Ranch finds success as a family business despite being surrounded by larger resorts.
Two more individuals bid on Hermitage Club assets with an auction now scheduled for March 20th.
Bartholet and MND Group/LST Ropeways expand their ropeway partnership to include unified sales, service, production and products.
The Australian resort hit hardest by this year’s wildfires won’t open next season.
Wynn Resorts considers building a gondola from a casino in Everett, Massachusetts to a nearby transit station.
Loon Mountain GM Jay Scambio talks extensively about Kanc 8 and Flight Path 2030.
Keystone plans to remove Argentine as part of the Peru Express replacement project.
New Hampshire’s largest newspaper visits Cannon Mountain and highlights the lift maintenance profession.
A lift operator born deaf blazes trail for people with disabilities at Breckenridge.
Struggling White Pine, Wyoming goes up for sale.
A small Minnesota ski area closes due to chairlift problems but another local resort steps in to help.
Three different lifts are under construction this winter in Alaska including one at the new Skeetawk ski area.

News Roundup: Bidding War

January 31, 2020Peter Landsman33 Comments

Public comment opens for the proposed East Ridge expansion at Sunlight, which would occupy both public and private land.
Frank DeBerry, head of Crystal Mountain, provides context on the decision to limit weekend ticket sales.
Tourist attractions in China shut down due to coronavirus, including the iconic Ngong Ping 360 gondola.
At Sugarbush, Inverness will run in place of the Green Mountain Express some days as a result of a lightning strike and prolonged diesel operations.
In New Zealand, volcanic mud flow risk may require towers to be reinforced on the new Whakapapa gondola.
The City of Oakland says an A’s stadium gondola is far from a done deal.
Baldy Mountain Resort closes Sugarlump for days following alleged sabotage by a former employee. It reopened yesterday.
The State of Maine approves financing for the sale of Saddleback.
A judge okays the sale of Hermitage Club assets, including its six pack. Two more bidders emerge, including a group of former members. If Boyne wins the lift, it would be relocated to a New England mountain.
Homewood acknowledges multiple mechanical issues will prevent operation of its longest and tallest lift for the remainder of the season.
Ikon Pass crowding concerns make the New York Times.
Gondola transit in Pittsburgh?
Promoters of a Staten Island gondola seek public support.
In Steamboat, leaders talk about challenges facing the industry.
A skier dies after colliding with lift-related infrastructure at Snow Summit.
Valemount Glacier Resort is still a possibility.
Forbes profiles recent developments in fast-growing Big Sky.
Win Smith explains why Sugarbush doesn’t need any new lifts, what Les Otten got right and more.
Towers and terminals are rising in Puerto Vallarta, where a five station gondola will service a new theme park.

News Roundup: Across Canada

January 24, 2020January 24, 2020Peter Landsman8 Comments

Skier visits at Vail Resorts are down 7.8 percent for the season through January 5th, attributed to slow starts at Whistler Blackcomb and Stevens Pass.
Agassiz at Arizona Snowbowl was evacuated over MLK weekend and remains down.
Visits and revenue continue to decline at the publicly-owned mountain in Newfoundland called Marble Mountain.
It takes a ton of work to reopen lifts, particularly detachable ones, at Mt. Snow after an ice storm.
By building a T-Bar instead of a chairlift, Ski Cooper was able to implement a major expansion this season for around $2 million.
Mont St. Mathieu opens another $2 million T-Bar expansion, noting a chairlift would have cost more and moved skiers less quickly.
The Snowpark expansion at Montana Snowbowl is a hit and LaValle is back open.
Software problems lead to the closure of the new Morning Star Express at Bogus Basin (now back open.)
BC’s Jumbo Glacier becomes an indigenous protected area, ending plans for a new ski resort there.
Vail Resorts will pay out $200 bonuses to employees who refer new applicants to become lift operators at 14 resorts.
The State of Illinois shuts down a ski resort, alleging required inspections weren’t completed prior to opening. In a statement, Snowstar apologizes to season passholders and says an inspector failed to show up. At least one lift will reopen today.
Parks Canada axes plans for a Mt. Norquay gondola.
Josh Elliott, the teen who jumped after becoming stranded on a Sugar Mountain chairlift in 2016, tells his harrowing story on the Outside podcast.
Mt. Jefferson, Maine won’t open this season.
New York State plans to spend $147 million to improve its ski areas.
Bromont ropes down more than 200 people from the Express du Village, some after being stuck four and a half hours.
Edmonton releases the preliminary economic and technical assessment for the Prairie Sky urban gondola.
Siemens highlights a design software partnership with Doppelmayr.

Sleeping Giant to End Skiing Operations

January 21, 2020January 21, 2020Peter Landsman12 Comments

The closest ski area to Yellowstone National Park will shut down after this season. Ten years after reviving Sleeping Giant and building a new chairlift, the mountain’s nonprofit operator is throwing in the towel. “It is with tremendous sadness and sorrow that the board of directors for Yellowstone Recreations Foundation announces the suspension of winter operations beginning in 2020-2021,” reads a statement. Lifts will spin through the end of the season.

Sleeping Giant operates under a special use permit from the Shoshone National Forest. It first opened in 1937, serving the community of Cody, Wyoming and nearby towns with a 2,100 foot T-Bar. A used Heron-Poma double was added in 1993 to service more terrain. The area closed in 2004 and was revived in 2009 with the T-Bar being replaced by a Yan triple chair from Mammoth.

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“The decision is agonizing but necessary,” noted YRF, citing losses of more than $200,000 each winter. Profitable summer zip line operations will continue with the Bighorn double accessing five different spans. The longer Sheepeater lift only runs in winter and will no longer be needed.

“Words cannot express our gratitude to the community,” the foundation’s statement continued. “The board of directors would like to especially thank the staff over the past 10 years who have dedicated themselves to making Sleeping Giant the finest and most friendly ski hill in the country.”

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