Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Angel Fire to Construct Two New Lifts
New Mexico’s Angel Fire Resort plans to bolster its lift fleet over the next two years. This coming summer, the resort plans to add a fixed grip quad on the back side of the mountain, travelling from the base of the Southwest Flyer to the bottom of Lift 3. Interestingly, a Riblet double called Lift 6 operated in roughly the same alignment from 1966 to 1998. Leitner-Poma will build the new quad, which will travel approximately 3,400 feet and rise roughly 950 feet. It will provide direct access to The Steeps and open for winter 2025-26.
By winter 2026-27, an even larger lift is planned. Leitner-Poma will install the first detachable six pack in New Mexico, servicing beginner and low intermediate terrain from the main base area. This sixer will effectively replace Lift 2 but on a much longer alignment, running 5,268 feet to mid-mountain. Work on the six place will also begin in April but is scheduled to span two summers. Neither lift has a name just yet.
Chair Falls from Lift at Attitash
A quad chair detached mid-line on Attitash’s Flying Bear lift this afternoon, injuring one person. A photo posted to the Ski the East Facebook page showed the chair and skier fell around tower 6 and he was conscious before being taken down the mountain in a toboggan. A Carroll County scanner alerts Facebook page reported the 49 year old male was transported by ambulance with a lower back injury. Attitash’s lift status page showed the lift closed for the day. In a late afternoon statement, Attitash General Manager Brandon Swartz said “We can confirm an incident occurred on our Flying Bear chairlift today, Sunday, February 2, 2025. The safety of our guests is our top priority, and we are investigating the incident.” Attitash acknowledged one patient was transported to Memorial Hospital in Conway.
Flying Bear is a Doppelmayr detachable quad constructed in 1995 and features DT-104 model grips. It runs nearly a mile with 82 chairs and 17 towers. In early December, Vail announced Attitash would share one general manager and an operations manager with Wildcat, a sister resort located 17 miles away which historically had its own GM. Attitash has been looking to hire experienced lift mechanic(s) since at least early January.
This is the latest mishap in a difficult season for Vail Resorts. On December 23rd, five people were hospitalized when two chairs collided at Heavenly. Four days later, the Park City ski patrol went on strike, causing major disruptions there over the holidays. Patrollers returned to work 12 days later and Vail offered guests 50 percent credits for next season as an apology. More recently, a number of lifts have suffered extended down time at Whistler Blackcomb, Wildcat, Seven Springs, Mount Snow, Keystone and Park City.
News Roundup: Shortest and Longest
- Vista Ridge, Alberta rope evacuates the Wilson quad.
- Lutsen rope evacuates the Caribou Express (*despite what the link says, customers did receive lift ticket vouchers)
- Summit Express at Keystone has been down since last Saturday.
- Both Snowcat and Bobcat are inoperable at Wildcat, New Hampshire.
- The problem with Blackcomb’s Glacier Express is gearbox-related; WB airlifts a new electric motor into the Big Red Express terminal by helicopter with minimal down time.
- A number of lifts are also inoperable at Seven Springs, PA.
- A minor holder of Vail stock calls for executive firings and publishes a detailed presentation why.
- A teenager is injured and airlifted after hitting a lift tower at Mohawk Mountain.
- Killington has looked at replacing Ramshead with a bubble lift.
- Burke Mountain removes its J-Bar from the snow report entirely.
- Sitzmark, Washington won’t open this season.
- The Forest Service green lights Brighton to replace Milly Express and shorten Explorer.
- Looming tariffs on both Canada and the European Union could impact both lift manufacturers and their customers.
- The world’s shortest T-Bar – with no towers and just five carriers – begins spinning tomorrow.
- The world’s longest gondola reaches 60 percent completion with 290 workers on site.
Instagram Tuesday: Hanging Out
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Short Films
- Homewood’s new gondola is finally approved.
- Eaglecrest receives a key gondola construction permit.
- The Wall Street Journal covers several challenges facing Vail Resorts.
- Unionized Crested Butte lift mechanics authorize a strike should they be unable to reach a contract agreement with Vail.
- Breckenridge lift staff stage a one day sick out in protest of employee housing conditions, closing several lifts on Wednesday.
- Pioneer at Park City hasn’t opened this season due to an offseason deropement still being repaired.
- Blackcomb’s Glacier Express to be closed a week or longer due to a possible gearbox issue.
- Mount Snow’s Challenger has been inoperative since January 13th.
- Mammut sponsors a short film exploring the transformation of Shames Mountain, British Columbia into a community co-op.
- British Columbia opens public consultation for the proposed Bridal Veil Mountain Resort.
- A gondola transit network in Oshawa, Ontario could cost CA$1.1 billion.
- Reed Hastings explains his sweeping changes at Powder Mountain including four new lifts in one summer and partial privatization.
- Chicopee, Ontario explains why its three new lifts aren’t spinning yet.
- Bristol Mountain partially rope evacuates the Comet Express.
- Ditto for the Mt. Hood Express at Mt. Hood Meadows.
- The Balsams extends approval for long-delayed redevelopment.
- Mont Farlagne, New Brunswick reopens its only chairlift after a month-long closure due to a bullwheel issue.
- Ischgl invites guests to help build a life size replica of a 3S gondola cabin with Lego bricks.
- The latest New Hampshire tram board minutes hint at a possible new lift for Bretton Woods.
- Mountain Village and Telluride begin planning their new gondola in earnest.
- Vermonters ask Why hasn’t Burke Mountain sold? as receivership fees surpass $12 million.
- Sugarbush gets all but one of its chairlifts going after a challenging start to the season.
- Several videos show the chaotic aftermath of the bullwheel detachment in Spain last week.
- Colorado releases the Winter Park gondola crack incident report, a full report of investigation remains in progress.
Instagram Tuesday: Red Sky
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Bullwheel Failure Injures 15 in Spain
The top bullwheel detached from a chairlift in Spain this morning, injuring more than 15 people. The incident happened at Astún, a resort with 15 lifts located in the Pyrenees. Without a bullwheel retention device, the bullwheel came to rest vertically and the lift rapidly lost tension, causing chairs to contact the ground along the line. The lift de-roped on numerous towers and chairs could be seen mangled with an evacuation underway. The government said three people were seriously injured with helicopters shuttling people to hospitals. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, posted on X that he was “shocked by the news of the accident at the Astún station” and offered full support to local authorities and the victims.
The lift that failed is a 1989 fixed grip quad called Canal Roya. It was constructed by Spanish manufacturer REAC, which does not have any installations in the United States or Canada.
The incident appears similar to the 1985 Teller lift accident at Keystone, which killed two people and seriously injured 49. That lift was constructed by Yan and an investigation revealed a faulty weld caused the top bullwheel to detach.
News Roundup: The Bar
- Vail Resorts reports a 0.3% decline in North American skier visits through 1/5 with revenue up 4.5%, ski school up 1.1%, dining up 6.6% and retail/rental down 5.4%.
- Park City offers guests who visited during the patrol strike partial credit toward a season pass next year.
- Park City businesses report a drop in business following the patrol strike.
- Kimberley, BC’s Tamarack chair goes down for awhile.
- Another snowboarder falls from a lift in Colorado – this time at Copper.
- A man who fell from Willamette Pass’ Peak 2 triple in high winds seeks $3.6 million in damages.
- Europeans poke fun at the lack of bars on lifts and Americans’ refusal to use them on lifts that are equipped.
- A trial in British Columbia finds proper signage increases bar use dramatically.
- The Atlantic runs a story on ski industry consolidation, labor relations and cheap season passes.
- Mt. Hood Meadows provides an update on Heather Canyon, which has yet to open this season.
- An Alaska windstorm blows a lift shack over on one lift and sends a chair into the bullwheel on another at Arctic Valley.
- Sugarbush apologizes for not having Castlerock and Slide Brook operable at this point in the season.
- Leaders approve a large development at Nordic Valley, Utah; likely to coincide with a new out-of-base lift.
- The municipality of Whistler to study a valley gondola transit line.
- Castle Mountain seeks a name for its first high speed quad.
Instagram Tuesday: Paradise
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
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