From the new Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky to the longest and fastest gondola in North America at Steamboat to lift served expansions and eight seat chairlifts, 2023 was an exciting year in lifts. This year will go down in history not for the mere number of projects but the sheer size and variety of lifts resorts installed.

Sixty one new lifts were completed for this winter, five fewer than last year. A handful projects were announced but later postponed for various reasons, including a new gondola at Homewood, a real estate access lift at Tremblant and a high speed quad at Mt. Holly. If all contracted projects had come to fruition, the total would have been in line with 2022, the best year for lift construction since 1999.

The Rocky Mountain region accounted for the largest share of new lifts this winter, with the Steamboat and Sun Valley undertaking two of the largest projects ever in North America. At Steamboat, Doppelmayr constructed the record-breaking second section of the Wild Blue Gondola while Leitner-Poma simultaneously built a 6,300 foot detachable quad servicing the Mahogany Ridge expansion. Sun Valley and Doppelmayr partnered to build the largest chairlift in North America by vertical transport feet per hour, a six pack called Challenger rising 3,138 vertical feet. Sun Valley also built a high speed quad that would be the biggest lift of the year in a normal year. Winter Park’s new Wild Spur Express is also notable in the Rockies, featuring 105 six passenger chairs and three stations.

The Midwest also enjoyed a strong year with a dozen projects, primarily in the state of Michigan. Boyne Resorts built three new lifts at its Michigan resorts and two independent Lower Peninsula resorts added Skytrac fixed grip chairlifts. The Upper Peninsula gained its first-ever detachable lift, a Doppelmayr six pack called the Voyageur Express at Snowriver.

Canada bounced back nicely from an extended Covid slump with eight projects from coast to coast. The country’s first two eight place chairlifts debuted nearly simultaneously east and west at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Ontario and Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia. The Moonstone lift is the highest capacity lift ever installed in the US or Canada with a design throughput of 4,250 skiers per hour. A number of Canadian resorts poured concrete this summer for additional lifts set to debut in 2024-25 including at Grouse Mountain, Sunshine Village, Sun Peaks and Whistler Blackcomb.

The Pacific states saw a slight decline in lift construction after a strong 2022. Mammoth Mountain, Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Bachelor all debuted large six packs replacing first generation detachable quads.

The biggest decline was the east coast, where the number of new lifts fell 60 percent year over year. Berkshire East debuted its first-ever detachable lift and Vail-owned Attitash replaced one of the most hated lifts in the east – the Summit Triple. The New York Olympic Regional Development Authority added new lifts at all three of its mountains, including a unique high speed quad with angle station at Whiteface called The Notch.

The mix of lifts was very similar to 2022, with detachables slightly outpacing fixed grips. Only two gondolas opened this year, one at Sterling Vineyards in California and the other at Steamboat. More popular were bubble chairlifts, which joined fleets at The Highlands, Sunday River and Wasatch Peaks Ranch. At Big Sky, the new Lone Peak Tram became the first large aerial tram in North America in 15 years. Bottineau Winter Park in North Dakota built the lone T-Bar this year, replacing an old Hall T-Bar.

One exciting development this year was terrain expansions. In Colorado, Aspen Mountain, Keystone and Steamboat dropped ropes on a combined 1,350 acres of new terrain, all serviced by new detachable chairlifts from Leitner-Poma. Boyne Resorts also invested heavily to expand footprints in the east at Loon Mountain and Sugarloaf. Elsewhere, Trollhaugen, Wisconsin, Lee Canyon, Nevada and Whitewater, British Columbia constructed fixed grip quad chairs servicing new trail pods.

A number of resorts added infill lifts to boost capacity on existing terrain where there was no prior lift. Examples include the DeMoisy Express six pack at Snowbasin and a new beginner area at Wolf Creek, Colorado. There aren’t expansions per se but dramatically improve access to previously underutilized terrain.

The balance of projects, 47 to be exact, were simply new machines replacing old machines. 59 lifts were removed from service in 2023 at an average age of 40 years. A whopping 17 Riblets retired along with five Halls, four Yans and four Borvigs.

Doppelmayr and the HTI Group (Leitner-Poma and Skytrac parent) remain locked in a fiercely competitive duopoly, vying for business not only in North America but worldwide. Independent American manufacturer Partek did build two fixed grip lifts in Minnesota and Connecticut this year, continuing its history of serving small operators. France-based MND Group, which celebrated its first detachable lift in North America last year, did not install any aerial lifts in this part of the world this year, though they did supply a handful of conveyors. SkyTrans also didn’t build any lifts, leaving just three players in the aerial lift market in 2023. Overall Doppelmayr achieved 54 percent market share in North America while Leitner-Poma and Skytrac commanded 43 percent by number of projects.

On the fixed grip side of the business, Leitner-Poma’s Alpha and Skytrac’s Monarch combined for 50 percent market share, besting Doppelmayr’s 42 percent. Doppelmayr led the detachable side with 58 percent share. Doppelmayr’s detachable projects split 50-50 between premium D-Line and standard UNI-G models.

With 60 of 61 new lifts at ski resorts, Sterling Vineyards in California built the only non-ski lift in North America this year. Their new eight passenger gondola runs in a triangle alignment and carries riders to a hilltop tasting experience. Manufacturers completed zero urban projects this year in North America despite manufacturers’ best efforts and successes in other global markets.

Only three resorts opted to install used lifts this offseason, the lowest number in decades. Red Lodge reinstalled Alta’s former detachable triple, China Peak strung up Jackson Hole’s old Thunder chair and Sugarloaf refurbished a high speed quad from sister property Big Sky. Bringing old lifts up to current code is complex and many resorts don’t have the institutional knowledge and labor to install a used lift in house any more.

I like to end with a chart comparing all the year’s lifts by size, measured in vertical transport feet per hour. You can see just how huge Steamboat’s Wild Blue and Sun Valley’s Challenger projects were compared to others this season. At the other end of the spectrum, Wolf Creek built the smallest new lift of the year, rising just 97 vertical feet and moving 1,200 skiers per hour.

New this year I added a chart showing just how many lifts are being built by multi-resort conglomerates versus independents. Boyne Resorts led the pack with the new Big Sky tram, three six place D-Lines and five fixed grip chairlifts. Alterra completed major additions at six of its resorts while Vail Resorts added lifts at five of its mountains. Other multi-lift customers included Grand America Hotels & Resorts (parent company of Sun Valley and Snowbasin) and Midwest Family Ski Resorts. Still, almost half the customers for new lifts order just one.

Unlike last year on this day, nearly all new lifts are complete and load tested, a testament to hard work and an improved supply chain. For the few that aren’t open, the reason has nothing to do with shipping delays or labor shortages but a shortage of snow. The poor start this season across the industry may impact lift sales in future seasons. Despite winter’s absence, many operators have already committed to new lifts for next season. Big Sky just announced the longest eight seater in the world and Powder Mountain plans to build four new lifts in one summer. Dozens of other projects are in the pipeline and I hope you will follow along in 2024 as the lift business moves forward. Happy New Year.

North American lift construction reached a 23 year high in 2023 with 66 installations from California to Maine and British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Not only did 2022 see the largest number of projects since 1999, it was likely the biggest lift investment year ever in dollars. While there’s no way to know exactly how much all the lifts cost, it’s safe to say the new gondolas, bubble chairs and fixed grip quads built this year total hundreds of millions. Amazingly, this feat was accomplished amid immense supply chain and labor challenges and without three large projects postponed at Park City and Keystone. A few lifts remain in final stages of construction this New Year’s Eve but will be completed in the first weeks of 2023 and spin for decades to come.

Vail Resorts realized an incredible 18 new lifts at 12 resorts for the 2022-23 season, the largest-ever investment by the firm and probably any company in North American ski history. Boyne Resorts also went big with multiple eight place installations and a half dozen projects total as it continued renewing lift fleets across its ten resort portfolio. Five year old Alterra Mountain Company launched giant new gondolas at Palisades Tahoe and Steamboat with more big projects in the pipeline for 2023.

While this year’s class spans coast to coast, a few geographic hot spots accounted for the bulk of new lifts. I have already travelled to Lake Tahoe four times this season thanks to new lift openings at five different resorts (and plentiful snow!) Five different resorts in the Wasatch also added new lifts, a number lower than originally planned due to the unfortunate cancellation of Park City’s two projects. As always, Colorado was an epicenter with not one but two new lifts at both Steamboat and Vail plus one offs at Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Telluride.

In the Midwest, the big story was Michigan where Boyne Mountain debuted the region’s first eight place detachable, Caberfae expanded onto South Peak and Bittersweet debuted a second high speed quad. In the east, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania nearly matched Colorado’s number of new lifts, a whopping five of which went in at Vail-owned Jack Frost and Big Boulder. Camelback Resort and Blue Mountain nearly doubled the state’s number of six packs overnight. Four of six New England states saw new construction with three new lifts each in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Canada had a relatively quiet year aside from Whistler, where Vail Resorts and Doppelmayr built the two largest lifts of the year by vertical transport feet per hour.

There weren’t just a lot of lifts this year but a lot of big lifts. 2022 saw the highest percentage of detachable equipment since at least 1999, when four different companies competed in the space. After decades with only Doppelmayr and Leitner-Poma in the North American detachable market, MND Ropeways completed its first North American detachable at Waterville Valley this year in partnership with Bartholet. With a capacity of 3,000 skiers per hour and 1,600 foot vertical rise, the Tecumseh Express is one of the largest installations of the year by any manufacturer.

Fixed grip triples and quads remained popular this year with a solid 26 installations. Gondolas also reached a Covid-era high while surface lifts and trams took a back seat.

Exciting lift-served expansions opened across the West as 2022 came to a close. A D-Line six pack at Grand Targhee unlocked 500 new acres on Peaked Mountain and a quad chair at Lookout Pass opened another 500 acres on Eagle Peak. A new quad at Mt. Shasta services 250 new acres on Gray Butte and another fixed quad accesses 40 acres of new terrain at at Sundance Resort. Utah Olympic Park also completed a major expansion to its training facilities with a high speed quad on West Peak.

Despite the entrance of MND and niche installations by Partek and SkyTrans, the HTI Group and Doppelmayr remain locked in a fierce duopoly in North America, mirroring their positions globally. HTI’s Leitner-Poma and Skytrac constructed a combined 26 lifts in this corner of the world while Doppelmayr managed 30. Together those represent 95 percent market share.

Interestingly HTI continues to offer two different fixed grip product lines (Skytrac Monarch and Leitner-Poma Alpha) while Doppelmayr has two detachable families with D-Line and UNI G. This was the largest year ever for D-Line with five installations and more planned for next year.

Covid turned into a boon for the ski industry and 65 of 66 projects were at ski resorts. For all the talk of urban gondolas and point of interest projects, skiing remains nearly synonymous with the lift business. An outfit called SkyLand Ranch near Gatlinburg, Tennessee saw the lone non-skiing installation for 2022. So far only one of next year’s project is non-skiing at a California winery.

Lift Blog also enjoyed a growth year with more than 800,000 unique visitors viewing 4.3 million pages – an average of 12,000 per day. As great as 2022 was, 2023 will be even better. With early orders in hand, manufacturers are ramping up to build at least 60 projects ranging from the first D-Lines in Canada to a large aerial tramway and the longest gondola in North America. Keystone’s Bergman Bowl expansion will finally be realized along with expansions at Aspen Mountain, Schweitzer, Steamboat, Loon Mountain and Sugarloaf. There are also a number of big lifts on order which have not been publicly announced yet. You can bet I will cover them all and hope you will join me. Happy New Year.

At this time last year, 2020 was destined to be busy in North America with more than 30 ropeways already scheduled for construction. As the 2019/20 winter went on, more announcements came seemingly each week. Vail Resorts, Alterra and Boyne all unveiled ambitious plans including multi-lift projects at Beaver Creek, Mammoth and Okemo. Yet in the background, the Coronavirus was advancing around the world. The situation came to a head the weekend of March 14th, when hundreds of North American resorts closed in order to protect public health. Facing uncertainty about summer and beyond, many businesses decided to postpone expansion capital entirely.

Despite immense challenges, US and Canadian resorts did add a total of 28 new lifts in 2020. Most companies which went ahead were small- to medium-sized, ones often forgotten in this era of consolidation. In Maine and West Virginia, mountains which had sat idle for years revved back to life with brand new lifts to welcome back guests.

Almost all this year’s lifts directly replaced older machines. The average age of a lift retired in 2020 was 40 years as resorts said goodbye to Halls, Riblets, Borvigs and more. Some replacement projects simply couldn’t wait for the pandemic to be over.

Expansion lifts make up about 40 percent of the total most years but in 2020 they were just 20 percent. Sun Valley forged ahead with Sunrise, a 380 acre addition near Seattle Ridge. After skiing the new terrain, guests will enjoy a high speed ride back to the Roundhouse on a new Doppelmayr quad. Other expansions include Lake Louise’s West Bowl project and Nordic Valley’s yet-to-be-named southward expansion.

Arapahoe Basin replaced not one but two Yan fixed grips with modern Alpha models, including the legendary Pallavicini double with a new double. Aspen Skiing Company purchased its first direct drive lift from Leitner-Poma, a replacement for Big Burn at Snowmass. The State of New York committed millions to upgrade three fixed grip chairlifts at two mountains.

With 52 new ropeways servicing ski slopes, fairgrounds and theme parks, 2018 marks the fifth straight year of lift construction growth that began in 2014.  All manufacturers did well this year and numbers were particularly strong in the Eastern United States and Canada.  With North America’s first eight passenger chairlift, pioneering double loading gondolas, the first direct drives from two manufacturers and the first D-Line detachables, 2018 will be remembered as a pivotal year for North American lift building.

Forty three lifts were brand new this year while nine were relocated.  Killington moved two lifts to new spots on the mountain, Doppelmayr relocated high speed quads at Whistler Blackcomb and Big Sky while Skytrac reinstalled Poma fixed grips at Catamount, New York and Spider Mountain, Texas.

Months ago I nicknamed 2018 the year of the gondola with a record ten new installations including combination chair/gondola lifts at Bromont, Quebec and Copper, Colorado.  New gondolas sprouted coast to coast in both the United States and Canada in a year that won’t soon be repeated.

Bubble chairlift construction also surged with big installations this winter at Big Sky, Copper Mountain and Killington.  The new American Flyer is the longest bubble lift in the world with 182 six place chairs set to carry skiers and snowboarders very soon.  Copper, Winter Park and Big Sky’s new lifts are the first in North America with direct drives that cut gearboxes out of the equation for increased reliability.

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