Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Lift Rollback Causes Injuries, Damage in South Korea
Authorities in South Korea say a rollback at the Bears Town ski resort involved approximately 100 people. The mountain’s base-to-summit detachable quad went backward at approximately 3:00 pm today and at least 20 chairs stacked together in the bottom terminal. Some riders jumped or fell from the lift while others were pinned in the station. At one point, video of the incident shows guests grabbing on to chairs in an attempt to stop the lift. Police say numerous skiers jumped or fell while firefighters rope evacuated others after the ropeway stopped. At least one child was taken to the hospital.
Rollbacks of modern lifts are exceedingly rare and a detachable lift rollback is even more unusual. The quad where the incident occurred is called Challenge and appears to have been built by Poma some time around the early 1990s.
Bears Town opened in 1985 and is situated just 45 minutes from the South Korean capital of Seoul. “Our sincere apologies to the customers and their families who were affected by this accident,” the resort said in a statement. “Bears Town plans to immediately suspend all lift operations in the ski resort in addition to the lift that caused an accident, and to begin an immediate safety inspection,” the statement continued. “We will actively cooperate with the fire authorities and related agencies and take measures to prevent reoccurrence. Currently all employees in Bears Town are focused on rescue work and customer communication with the victims as a priority.”
News Roundup: Letters from the Top
- Vail removes the East and West doubles from the Attitash trail map, replacing them with the Progression Quad to be built this summer.
- Vail sends resources from California and Colorado to help open lifts at Stevens Pass.
- The Wall Street Journal interviews Kirsten Lynch about Vail’s challenging start to the season.
- Vail Resorts expects to save millions of kilowatt hours of electricity annually by installing heat controls on 40 Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek lifts.
- Doppelmayr will build Stowe’s Mountain six passenger lift at a cost of $5.2 million.
- Pine Knob says it will be without Chair 1 for a few weeks due to a mechanical issue.
- Berkshire East and Catamount owner Jon Schaefer apologizes for project delays including two used lifts which have yet to open.
- Mission Ridge continues to criticize the approval process for its long-sought expansion.
- A man falls from the new Peru Express at Keystone.
- Bighorn Sheep concerns may quash Grand Targhee’s expansion dreams.
- Mt. Rose retires the Lakeview triple early due to “maintenance items that can’t be rectified.”
- Jay Peak updates guests on a Bonaventure quad gearbox issue.
- The only MND lift in the western United States has been down since last weekend.
- The latest bold plan from Les Otten would see skiing return to The Balsams in late 2023.
- A letter to Loon Mountain passholders acknowledges challenges with the new Kancamagus 8 lift.
- A quad chairlift is rope evacuated by firefighters at Earl Bales Park, Ontario.
- Timberline President Jeff Kohnstamm says a Government Camp gondola is still a number of years out but would include a mid-station, direct drive and 10 passenger cabins.
Six Pack Coming to Holiday Valley
Holiday Valley Resort in Western New York plans to debut its first six place chairlift in 2023. The Doppelmayr detachable will be built over two years and replace the Mardi Gras Xpress, pictured above. The new flagship will transport up to 3,000 riders per hour, increasing the resort’s total uphill capacity to 25,650 people hourly.
“The Holiday Valley lift system has been recognized by our guests as one of the best in the East,” said Holiday Valley President and General Manager Dennis Eshbaugh announcing the new lift. “The Yodeler Quad Express lift built in 2021 raised the bar. The Mardi Gras 6-pack will give skiers and snowboarders an exciting new experience, with quicker access to the top of the mountain.” The project will be completed in two stages, starting with foundations for 11 new lift towers in summer 2022. The balance of construction will be completed in 2023.
Instagram Tuesday: Glory Days
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
Sterling Vineyards to Debut New Gondola in 2023
The one-of-a-kind gondola at a California winery will not run again, Sterling Vineyards has announced. The 1972 Hall installation, which travels in a triangle alignment, was closed in 2020 due to Covid and subsequently damaged by a wildfire. In its place, Sterling and Doppelmayr USA will partner to construct a detachable eight place gondola running in a similar historic alignment. “Over the past twelve months, our team has been working diligently to safely assess and stabilize the property and fully scope this major project,” the company wrote. “We are excited to share that we are now moving into reconstructing the winery in preparation of a re-opening in Spring 2023.”
“After careful assessment, it was determined that our beloved and historic Aerial Tram must be replaced,” the statement continued. “The Aerial Tram has been, and will continue to be, central to our visitor experience, as well as an iconic feature of the winery. We anticipate a full year of hard work ahead of us, to bring this special property back to you safely and beautifully.”
The new lift will be as modern as the old one was quaint, becoming the first D-Line lift in California and featuring Omega V cabins from CWA. The one way journey will remain similar with three stations and drive/tensioning systems located at the valley station. There will of course still be a glass of wine waiting for each rider at the first angle station. “We welcome you to join us behind the scenes as we give you sneak peeks through photos and videos of the site during construction and watch Sterling Vineyards literally rise from the ashes, regaining its historic splendor, and bouncing back to once again be one of the most visited sites in the Napa Valley.”
News Roundup: Consolidation
- Doppelmayr USA’s Katharina Schmitz joins the Ski Utah podcast to talk lift technology, next year’s projects and more.
- According to Forest Service documents, Alta plans to replace Sunnyside and Albion this summer with a single six place chairlift.
- Sierra at Tahoe President John Rice takes SAM podcast listeners through the harrowing Caldor Fire disaster and recovery effort.
- White Pine, Wyoming is sold to new owners.
- Kimberley announces the Northstar Express will be inoperable for the entire season following last month’s fire.
- Vail Resorts says Stevens Pass faces its most acute staffing problems, replaces the General Manager the same day as a Seattle Times front page story comes out.
- Nine people successfully catch a child who fell from a chair at Mt. Washington.
- Big White seeks more parking at the Black Forest base in advance of two planned lift installations.
- Steamboat repairs the Sunshine Express; Storm Peak Express lives up to its name.
- Mt. Bachelor will be without the Skyliner Express for an indefinite period.
- Keystone closes the River Run Gondola for three days of maintenance (now back open).
- Redevelopment of the Meadows parking lot at Steamboat could include replacing the Wildhorse Gondola with a higher capacity detachable.
- BigRock Mountain’s quad chair fundraising gets off to a strong start.
- Vail Resorts and Park City ski patrollers reach a tentative contract agreement, likely avoiding a strike.
- Despite the headlines, Vail Resorts’ skier visits are actually down from the last two seasons as of January 2nd. Ski school, dining and retail/rental revenue are all up from last year but still down significantly from pre-Covid 2019-20.
Cascade Mountain to Add New Quad
Popular Wisconsin destination Cascade Mountain will replace its Mogul Monster triple this summer with a brand new Leitner-Poma quad. The outgoing lift is a 1987 Borvig utilizing towers from the mountain’s original chairlift first opened 60 years ago today.
“This offseason, we’ll be replacing our current Mogul Monster triple passenger lift with a brand-new fixed grip quadruple passenger chairlift,” Cascade Mountain said in an anniversary announcement. “Looking a lot like our B-Dub lift, this quad will help us improve our uphill capacity and clear up a little more congestion in the base area compared to the current Mogul Monster Lift. We’d like to thank both our customer base and staff for your continued support over the last 60 years and to the next 60+ to come!”
Powder Ridge, Minnesota to Build New Chairlift
A second quad chair will debut at Minnesota’s Powder Ridge next winter. The ski area today announced the Powder Puff double, originally built by Miner-Denver, will be retired at the end of the season and replaced with a modern Skytrac quad. It will be the mountain’s first new lift since 1992.
This is the first lift project announced in Minnesota for the 2022 construction season. Lift installations across North America are pacing about 50 percent higher than last year with 50 different projects already announced.
Instagram Tuesday: January Freeze
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
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