Just three months after Mountain Capital Partners purchased Lee Canyon, Skytrac is already working to build a new lift to the east of existing terrain. The fixed grip quad, shown as Chair 5 on the above map, will service three new beginner trails with a capacity of 1,800 skiers per hour. The chairlift will span approximately 1,400 feet with a 310 foot vertical rise. The Forest Service approved the project last year when the resort was still owned by Powdr.
The project has not been formally announced but Skytrac posted photos on Instagram yesterday of its ninth and final line survey of the year at an unnamed mountain that looks a whole lot like Lee Canyon. Aerial imagery from the Sentinel satellite network taken this morning confirms the scope of work at Lee Canyon, the only ski resort in the Las Vegas region.
In addition to Chair 5, Lee Canyon also has Forest Service approval to build two new conveyors and a westward expansion with another fixed grip quad in the coming years.
The State of Utah has selected a 3S gondola as the winning alternative for Little Cottonwood Canyon mobility after a multi-year environmental impact study. The study considered roadway widening, enhanced bus service, rail and two different gondola options. UDOT received and analyzed some 50,000 public comments in the lead up to its decision.
The selected gondola alternative B will start with enhanced bus service in 2025 and other road improvements before the gondola is constructed and State Route 210 becomes tolled. The 3S system would be capable of carrying 1,050 passengers per hour from a base terminal at La Caille to stations at Snowbird and Alta. The innovative system would include four sections with 35 passenger cabins departing stations every two minutes.
“The gondola provides the highest travel reliability, as it can operate independently of State Route 210, avoiding delays related to adverse weather, crashes, slide offs, and slow moving traffic,” wrote UDOT in its Record of Decision. “While the gondola does have high visual impacts, it has low impacts to the watershed, wildlife movement and climbing boulders, along with low operations and maintenance costs.”
The gondola itself would cost $370 million to construct and would become the most expensive and capable lift system ever built in the United States. A new parking garage, tolling infrastructure and trailhead improvements would bring all-in capital cost to $729 million. However, because the gondola would cost less than $8 million per year to operate, it has the lowest 30 year lifecycle cost of all the options studied.
Once the gondola is complete, UDOT expects the Utah Transit Authority to discontinue bus service in Little Cottonwood with transit riders transferring to the gondola at the base of the canyon. Skiers and resort employees alike could reliably access Snowbird in 27 minutes and Alta in 37 minutes whenever the gondola is operating. The road would remain open for private vehicles with tolling in the upper canyon to help pay for improvements.
Although gondola alternative B is now officially the state’s selected alternative, lawmakers have not yet funded the project. As such, no timeline has been set for gondola construction to begin.
Visitors to Park City’s Canyons Village will soon have a third out-of-base lift option. Today the Canyons Village Management Association board voted to sign a joint funding agreement with Vail Resorts for construction of a new 10 passenger gondola linking the south end of Canyons Village to Red Pine Lodge. Canyons Village has seen immense growth in recent years with new hotels, commercial space and employee housing opening while lift investment lagged. Once the project is complete, Park City skiers will be able to choose between the new Sunrise Gondola, the existing 8 passenger Red Pine Gondola and four passenger Orange Bubble Express chairlift at Canyons Village. The new machine will provide a much-needed out-of-base capacity and create a second downloading option for end-of-day egress.
The 6,512 foot long gondola will replace the Sunrise double and run along an undulating alignment crossing the existing Over and Out quad. 10 passenger cabins will carry riders 1,103 vertical feet between the village and mid-mountain. The bottom terminal will be located near the new Pendry hotel and the top will sit near the Saddleback Express and High Meadow Express lifts.
No manufacturer has been announced but lift equipment is expected to cost $18 million with an additional $9 million non-lift costs. The Canyons Village Management Association will fund up to $9.24 million of the $27 million total, though Vail Resorts will own and operate the gondola. The agreement between the two parties stipulates the new lift is to be completed within 36 months. “Park City Mountain and CVMA are pleased to be moving forward together toward this important future investment,” the two parties said in a statement. “A future gondola will enhance the Canyons Village experience and contribute to the operation of a world-class resort. Today’s CVMA board vote was one step in a process we are excited to continue as we partner to reimagine Canyons Village as a world-class destination.”
Two of Vermont’s largest ski resorts could be connected by gondola under a plan uncovered by the Morrisville News and Citizen. Stowe Mountain Resort parent Vail Resorts and longtime Smugglers’ Notch owner Bill Stritzler have reportedly been in talks for several years but sought to keep initial work on the project confidential. Lawyers for the State of Vermont recently determined that documents could be released under public records law.
Under the proposal, a 9 tower gondola would link Spruce Peak at Stowe to Sterling Mountain at Smugglers’ Notch along a relatively flat area home to an alpine pond and the Long Trail. A ride across the 2,600 foot connector lift would take just over five minutes and link two very different mountains. Vail-owned Stowe currently operates a fleet of six high speed lifts while Hall doubles service narrow New England-style trails at Smuggs. One mountain accepts the hugely popular Epic Pass while the other shuns multi-mountain passes entirely and charges $85 for a peak day ticket. If connected, the two resorts would encompass six peaks, 17 lifts and 194 trails with 5.5 miles of distance separating Toll House at Stowe from Morse Highlands at Smuggs.
The gondola would only rise about 280 vertical feet and no new ski trails would be cut between the two mountains. The lift would be designed with only 26 cabins and a modest hourly capacity of 1,200 skiers per direction. As part of the project, Smugglers’ Notch would place 72 acres of private land under conservation easement and Stowe would protect another 92 acres to offset development of the gondola. A portion of the Long Trail could also be rerouted to reduce visual impacts. If approved by state regulators, the project would take two years to implement.
Construction has already begun on the only lift project in the state of Connecticut this year at Mt. Southington. The new Northstar triple, built by Partek Ski Lifts, will replace a Hall double of the same name and improve access to beginner terrain. Partek, based in Pine Island, New York, supplies economical fixed grip chairlifts exclusively to small and mid sized mountains. Mt. Southington already operates two Partek lifts called Avalanche and Thunderbolt. Partek is also building a new chairlift for Trollhaugen, Wisconsin this year.
Mt. Southington’s outgoing Hall double has been sold to another New England ski area and may be re-installed for the 2024-25 ski season. That mountain would be the lift’s third home following stints at Craigmeur, New Jersey from 1976 to 1997 and Mt. Southington from 2001 to 2023.
The Summit at Snoqualmie today announced plans to build three new lifts in two years at Alpental, following other recent lift projects at Summit East and Summit Central. Year one at will see construction of a new Sessel triple this summer with a replacement Edelweiss triple and new International triple to follow in 2024. The projects are all part of the Summit 2030 plan announced by The Summit and parent company Boyne Resorts last year.
Sessel will be realigned with a 1,790 foot slope length and 590 foot vertical drop. The existing Riblet lift, built in 1967, rises about 80 feet less. The new Doppelmayr Alpenstar will feature a loading conveyor, boosting rope speed to 500 feet per minute and capacity to 1,800 skiers per hour. The lift will look very similar to the new Hidden Valley triple which Snoqualmie opened this season at Summit East.
Doppelmayr will also commence foundation work for both a replacement Edelweiss chair and brand new International triple this spring. Both these lifts will service upper mountain terrain beginning in the 2024-25 season.
Due to construction, Alpental will close earlier than normal on April 23rd. Most of the ski area is roadless, necessitating over snow access to tower and terminal locations.
Construction has already begun on Sun Peaks Resort’s third new chairlift in six years, the West Bowl Express. The CA$12 million Doppelmayr detachable quad will replace the retired West Bowl T-Bar in a much longer alignment and open in late 2024. West Bowl Express will service approximately 1,000 vertical feet with nearly a mile of slope length in the high alpine. “Sun Peaks continues to evolve and this significant new lift infrastructure will diversify the experience in an important pod of terrain in the resort,” noted Darcy Alexander, Sun Peaks Resort Vice President and General Manager. “Guests will have additional trails and vertical to explore with the convenience and efficiency of detachable lift technology.”
We are pleased to announce that a brand-new, high speed detachable quad chairlift will open in the West Bowl for the 2024-25 winter season! Read the full announcement: https://t.co/cgusCWljtXpic.twitter.com/z4LKDJ9m5I
Preliminary site work is already finalized and foundations will follow this summer with steel installation commencing in 2024. When the project is complete next November, Sun Peaks will operate a 100 percent Doppelmayr fleet with eight quad chairlifts and two surface platters.
Doppelmayr will build the first D-Line lift in Utah this summer, a six pack replacing the aging Crest Express at Brighton Resort. In typical Boyne Resorts fashion, the replacement lift will feature 90 degree loading with a conveyor and video screen. Riders will enjoy a 5.3 minute ride time with an hourly capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour. In the summer, Crest will serve mountain bikers with three Bike Clips on each chair. The lift won’t have bubbles or heated seats.
Brighton also announced construction of a new mid-mountain restaurant and implementation of a parking reservation system for next season.
Crest 6 is the 9th new lift project announced by Brighton owner Boyne Resorts for the 2023/24 ski season. Construction is expected to begin in May.
The parent company of the Ikon Pass plans to construct half a dozen new lifts for the 2023/24 ski season in addition to numerous other capital investments across 16 owned resorts. All Alterra lift projects for the upcoming 2023 construction season were previously announced but some details have changed slightly. Privately-held Alterra plans to invest a total of $400 million in resort infrastructure, $50 million for employee housing and $40 million toward technology upgrades to better connect and streamline the guest experience in the year ahead.
Today, @alterramtnco announces a nearly $500 million capital investment program focused on enhancing the guest and employee experience across its portfolio of destinations over the next year.
At Solitude, the previously announced Eagle Express replacement will now be a Doppelmayr six pack rather than a high speed quad. Solitude and the entire Wasatch have seen an extremely busy winter with plentiful snowfall and a growing Ikon passholder base in Utah.
Steamboat’s Full Steam Ahead initiative continues this summer with completion of the second section of the Wild Blue Gondola and debut of the Mahogany Ridge Express. The gondola will become the longest in North America with a 12 minute ride from base to summit. The first section of the D-Line gondola from Steamboat Square to Greenhorn Ranch debuted this winter and Doppelmayr has already completed tower foundations for phase 2 to Sunshine Peak.
Leitner-Poma of America will build Steamboat’s second new lift this summer, previously known as Pioneer Ridge but now dubbed Mahogany Ridge Express. The new detachable quad will service 655 acres of expert terrain in Mahogany Ridge and Fish Creek Canyon, making Steamboat the second largest mountain in Colorado.
Leitner-Poma will also build the new Pioneer Express at Winter Park, a six pack replacing a 1986 detachable quad. The new lift will feature a mid-loading station for easier access to return skiing.
At Snowshoe, Alterra affirmed the fixed grip triple Powder Monkey will be replaced with a fixed grip quad this summer from Skytrac.
At Mammoth Mountain the Canyon Express #16 will be replaced with a Doppelmayr D-Line detachable six place lift. Notably, the previously announced Broadway Express #1 replacement is no longer proceeding this summer. Mammoth and Alterra are currently working through approvals for redevelopment of the Main Lodge portal which may affect the alignment of a future Broadway Express.
“In our first five years, Alterra Mountain Company has established itself as a proven leader in the outdoor industry, and we intend to continue to innovate by investing in large-scale projects that will deliver differentiated guest experiences,” said Jared Smith, President & CEO of Alterra Mountain Company. “These projects, and our investments in the years ahead, demonstrate our unwavering commitment to evolving our destinations to better serve our guests and to improving the experience our employees can expect when living and working in our mountain communities.”
The ski area owned and operated by Vermont’s Middlebury College today announced the purchase of a Skytrac quad chair to replace its aging Sheehan lift. The existing Poma double dates back to 1984 and rises 415 vertical feet. The new lift will follow the same alignment and service beginner and low intermediate terrain.
This is the first new lift project announced in Vermont for the 2023 construction season and the sixth project confirmed to be built by Skytrac in the United States this year. Middlebury will commence construction this spring as soon as state permits are received.
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