Blue Mountain, Ontario Eyes New Gondola

Peter Landsman13 Comments

Alterra Mountain Company’s lift construction push continues. Fresh off projects at Mammoth, Schweitzer, Snowshoe, Solitude, Steamboat and Winter Park, the company plans to build a new gondola at its outpost in Ontario, Canada. Blue Mountain currently operates the Silver Bullet Express as an open air gondola in the summer months but lacks a truly accessible year-round lift attraction. The new scenic gondola will load near the Village at Blue Mountain, where a new base lodge is also planned. The top terminal will sit near the Southern Comfort six pack with the gondola running diagonally up the mountain.

Blue Mountain notes the 20 year old Silver Bullet will need to be taken out of service for an entire summer soon for refurbishment and the new gondola will better serve summer and winter guests going forward. Construction is expected to begin next year, subject to local approvals. No manufacturer was announced but Blue Mountain currently operates a 100 percent Leitner-Poma lift fleet.

News Roundup: The Stache

Peter Landsman12 Comments

Homewood Plans D-Line Gondola

Peter Landsman18 Comments

Lake Tahoe’s Homewood Mountain Resort has abandoned plans for a private club in favor of remaining open to the public alongside selling club memberships. Homewood hopes this hybrid model will pave the way for installation of a new gondola, which was postponed this summer due to public outcry over privatization. The new gondola is the second recent lift project for JMA Ventures, which just yesterday celebrated the completion of the new Stache Express at its resort in Red Lodge, Montana.

Under a new draft agreement sent to the Tahoe Regional Planning Authority (TRPA), Homewood will remain open to the public in both winter and summer via season passes and daily lift tickets. This should allow the TRPA to approve gondola construction under an existing 2011 master plan. In a statement, TRPA said it is “reviewing the information and is in consultation with Homewood Mountain Resort to understand how the earlier proposal to change the character of the resort’s operation is being revised. This information will help the agency determine if the resort will be required to amend the larger resort master plan. A determination on that will be made before action is taken on the gondola project or any other project application at the resort.”

The gondola, which was already ordered and partially delivered to Homewood, will be built by Doppelmayr and run from the North Lodge to mid-mountain, replacing the Madden triple. The gondola will feature eight place Omega V cabins and become the third D-Line lift in California. The gondola will rise approximately 1,000 vertical feet, making Homewood’s entire 1,840 foot vertical drop accessible via detachable lifts for the first time. Homewood plans to build a new mid-mountain facility at the top of the gondola, which will be open to the public alongside club members. Pending approval, the new lift could open as soon as the 2024-25 ski season.

News Roundup: City to Mountain

Peter Landsman15 Comments

Ski Santa Fe to Build High Speed Quad

Peter Landsman6 Comments

A detachable chairlift will join Ski Santa Fe, New Mexico’s lift fleet for the first time next year. The Forest Service recently completed analysis of the new lift, which will replace the 1988 Santa Fe Super Chief fixed grip quad. “The project is needed to upgrade declining infrastructure, ensuring efficient operations and improved user satisfaction,” the Forest Service wrote in an October 13th decision. Ride time will improve from 10 minutes to just over four minutes.

The new lift will be called Santa Fe Express and be built by Leitner-Poma, the manufacturer for most of Ski Santa Fe’s existing chairlifts. The high speed quad will run just over 4,000 linear feet and serve 865 vertical feet of beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain.

Construction will begin in April 2024 and is expected to be completed in time for the 2024-25 ski season.

News Roundup: Gondola Gallery

Peter Landsman22 Comments

California Mountain Resorts Company Acquires Bear Valley

Peter Landsman2 Comments

Canadian-Israeli investment firm Skyline has sold Bear Valley, its last remaining ski resort holding. The buyer is Invision Capital-backed California Mountain Resorts Company, the group behind Mountain High, Dodge Ridge and China Peak. CMRC CEO Karl Kapuscinski and President Tim Cohee have been pursuing Bear Valley for some time because it adds to a compelling group of California resorts up and down the Sierra Nevada range. Bear Valley will immediately join the multi-mountain Cali Pass but not the Indy Pass, which other CMRC mountains participate in. Tim Schimke, whose grandfather helped develop Bear Valley, will remain General Manager.

Located in the central Sierra, Bear Valley spans 1,680 acres with a 1,900 foot vertical drop. The mountain’s seven chairlifts range in age and capacity from 1967 Riblet doubles to the Mokelumne Express, a 2017 Leitner-Poma six pack. California Mountain Resorts Company has been actively consolidating and upgrading lifts at Dodge Ridge and China Peak and will likely undertake similar efforts at Bear Valley. Perhaps the biggest capital opportunity lies on the backside of the mountain, where a long-envisioned detachable lift could connect Bear Valley Village with the mountain’s summit. This area is currently skiable but with no return lift service. A shuttle bus runs skiers back up the mountain but costs extra on top of a lift ticket.

CMRC already unveiled a new logo for Bear Valley and indicated more improvements are coming. “The journey ahead is riddled with challenges, but I am optimistic, noted CMRC president Tim Cohee in a press release. “With the dedication of our team and Tim’s unparalleled leadership, we are poised to meet and surpass these challenges. Our goal remains steadfast: to revive and amplify the Bear Valley legacy for one and all.”