MND Introduces Orizon Detachable Line

Peter Landsman13 Comments

After years of dabbling in the detachable space, MND today unveiled its full range of next generation detachable lifts at Mountain Planet in Grenoble. The French firm known for its avalanche control and snowmaking products has invested more than €20 million developing the Orizon line, which includes both detachable chairlifts and gondolas. Orizon will offer all the premium features customers may want in a detachable lift including direct drives, bubbles, and modern gondola cabins seating 10, 16 or 20 passengers. More than 60 people worked on the development of Orizon and approximately 100 more will join MND in the coming year to support the new product line.

“With this innovating range of detachable, single-cable gondola lifts and chairlifts, MND is consolidating its position as a global player and aims to win new market share in a fast-growing sector,” the company noted in a press release. “The Orizon range equipment caters to the most demanding configurations: steep gradients, long distances, large vehicles and high flow rates.”

This is not the first time MND has dipped its toes in the detachable space dominated by Austria’s Doppelmayr and Italy’s HTI Group, owner of Leitner and Poma. In 2017, MND completed its first detachable lift at La Plagne, France. The Envers chairlift suffered problems from day one and was never duplicated but gave the company valuable experience to learn from. Later, MND pivoted to partner with Bartholet of Switzerland for detachable technology, building lifts around the world including at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. That partnership proved successful but ended last year when HTI acquired a majority stake in Bartholet. With MND coming back to the market with its own product, three large European conglomerates will offer detachable lifts on a global scale.

MND’s chairs, gondolas and stations were crafted in partnership with the Stellantis Design Group. Americans know Stellantis for its car brands – Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram – but the company’s design arm also partners to develop products for other applications. The MND Orizon range is decidedly modern and designed to fit in both alpine and urban spaces. Orizon lifts will be geared toward demanding applications, capable of seven meters per second and up to 8,000 passengers per hour per direction. Two grips, P10 and P20, can accommodate up to 66 millimeter haul ropes.

The Orizon line will be produced in a new €10 million plant in Sainte-Hélène-du-Lac, France. MND did not reveal when or where the first Orizon lift may launch.

Gondola Tower Collapse Kills One in Turkey

Peter Landsman9 Comments

A tripod style tower collapsed on a Turkish gondola lift yesterday evening, leading to a delicate overnight rescue operation. The scenic lift was fully loaded with approximately 180 passengers, eight of whom fell to the ground when their cabin was hit by the falling tower around 6:00 pm. A 54 year old Turkish man was killed and seven others were injured. Helicopters and hundreds of first responders worked all night to evacuate remaining stranded passengers. The Antalya municipality which owns the lift said it may take 24 hours for the last riders to be rescued from the steep, rocky lift line.

Opened in 2017, the Tünektepe Teleferik carries up to 1,200 riders per hour on 1,967 vertical foot scenic ride. The detachable gondola was likely built by STM, a Turkish manufacturer using Carvatech cabins. The lift’s 36 cabins travel at 5 meters per second to reach a mountaintop restaurant.

Update 4/13: Nearly 24 hours after the incident, the line was cleared of all passengers. Turkey’s Minister of Justice said 17 people were injured, some a result of the evacuation rather than the initial crash. Preliminary indications are the “incident occurred due to the insufficiency/corrosion of fasteners at the connection points of the cable car’s poles and damaged pulley systems on the poles.” The operator of the cable car apparently did not have an adequate evacuation/emergency action plan in place. A criminal investigation has been opened and a detention order issued for 13 employees.

News Roundup: New Double Chair

Peter Landsman12 Comments

Deer Valley East Village to Open Next Season with Bubble Six Pack

Peter Landsman9 Comments

Both destination and day skiers will gain a new option to access Deer Valley Resort next winter with the addition of a Doppelmayr bubble chairlift. The yet-to-be-named six pack will connect the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in the new East Village to a knob above the existing Sultan Express and Mayflower lifts. The 5,800 foot long bubble lift will service both the slopeside hotel and 500 new day skier parking spaces at opening. After riding 1,240 vertical feet on the D-Line bubble chair, guests can access the rest of Deer Valley via Sultan without needing to park at Snow Park Village.

Known for now as Lift 3, the Doppelmayr six place will be the first of nine lifts to open as part of Expanded Excellence phase one. This bubble chair is distinct from Lift 7, another bubble six place under consideration by the Park City Planning Commission tomorrow evening. Lift 3 and perhaps a couple small access lifts will be completed by December 2024 with Lift 7 with the rest of the 2,900 acre phase one expansion opening for the 2025-26 season.

Deer Valley Plans Park Peak Bubble Chair

Peter Landsman12 Comments

The Park City Planning Commission is set to consider one of the first lift projects in Deer Valley’s Expanded Excellence expansion next week. The new Lift 7 would become not only become Deer Valley’s first six pack but also its first bubble chair and first D-Line lift. Though relatively short, Lift 7 will form a key link between existing terrain on Bald and Flagstaff mountains and Park Peak, the summit of Expanded Excellence terrain. In the below map, Lift 7 is the uppermost red alignment surrounded by green runs. It will be accessed from existing Ontario and Trump ski runs and carry 3,000 skiers per hour. Guests will unload near the top of the future East Village gondola and Lift 6 six pack on Park Peak.

The project currently under review includes 4.62 miles of beginner ski runs that will be among the highest elevation trails at Deer Valley, topping out at 9,285 feet. Lift 7 will include 58 bubble chairs both for guest comfort and wind protection. The top drive, bottom tension machine will ascend 624 vertical feet in just 3.5 minutes at 1,000 feet per minute. Half the chairs can be parked in the bottom terminal with the rest in an adjacent 8,500 square foot storage facility. Deer Valley proposes to install 10 lift towers ranging in height from 19 to 53 feet.

Lift 7 is one of ten lifts set to be built over the next two summers as part of Expanded Excellence, set to open in winter 2025/26. If approved, Lift 7 and perhaps other lifts could open as early as next winter. Alterra typically announces specific capital plans for all its resorts in March but has not yet done so for 2024 (the only reason we know these details about Lift 7 is because it falls within the purview of the Park City municipal Planning Commission. The rest of the expansion is outside Park City boundaries in Wasatch County.) The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is slated to open next season and in order to be ski in, ski out, the out-of-base Lift 3 would need to be constructed this summer to connect to Sultan Express. That project would likely also be a Doppelmayr bubble six place. Other real estate access chairlifts may be constructed this summer as well. I have reached out to Deer Valley for more information on 2024 lift plans and will update if I hear back.

News Roundup: Eclipse Weekend

Peter Landsman2 Comments

News Roundup: Bonnie

Peter Landsman26 Comments