- A tram in Butte, Montana?
- The Utah Department of Transportation hosts a podcast all about the proposed Little Cottonwood Gondola.
- Saddleback passes its skier visit goal for the season, secures $1.5 million in new financing and orders another new lift to run up the Cupsuptic line.
- Pat Campbell steps down as President of Vail Resorts’ mountain division.
- The group proposing a West Seattle SkyLink embarks on a public education campaign.
- Keystone says goodbye to both Argentine and Peru Express.
- 461 US ski areas operated in 2020-21, down by 9 from 2019-20.
- Doppelmayr USA is hiring for lots of positions right now.
- Bartholet to build its first gondola in Austria.
- Bloomberg interviews Vail CEO Rob Katz.
- Doppelmayr will host a virtual event featuring product news and more on May 5th.
- Publicly-owned Spirit Mountain reports a 17 percent increase in revenue.
- Due to an electrical issue, the Sugarloaf SuperQuad will operate on a diesel engine for the rest of the season.
- The Forest Service green lights Arapahoe Basin’s Lenawee lift replacement project.
- This cool video explores how one Swiss T-Bar is able to turn sharply both left and right.
Arapahoe Basin
News Roundup: No Reservations
- The Forest Services releases its Environmental Assessment for a modified Purgatory Ice Creek expansion and seeks public comments.
- Bluewood closes for a weekend due to drive line issues with the Skyline Express triple (now back open).
- For the first time in 15 years, The Summit at Snoqualmie sends a cat to the top of Alpental to clear snow from the Edelweiss lift line and top terminal.
- A Canadian resort trains a very good dog to catch and hold Ts for skiers.
- One of only two chairlift operations in Kentucky goes up for sale (asking price $750,000).
- Aspen Snowmass visitation falls significantly.
- Another chairlift fall video, this time from China.
- Also in China, Poma nears completion of a world first: three interconnected 3S gondolas.
- There was a serious grip slip incident at Snowstar, Illinois a few weeks ago.
- A company called Towpro tries breaking into the surface lift business with a low cost rope tow.
- Ski Area Management and Leitner-Poma launch a contest to recognize top lift maintenance teams.
- Arapahoe Basin will continue limiting both season pass and day ticket sales next season.
- No reservations will be required for passholders across Vail Resorts next season.
- After a few weeks idled, Big Sky announces Dakota will remain closed for the remainder of the 20-21 season due to “mechanical challenges.”
- Warner Brothers abandons plans to build a Hollywood gondola, opting to focus on its core business.
- A wild Red Bull video features an athlete sliding down a six pack’s haul rope under a parachute.
- A maintenance worker is injured when the chair he was riding falls from a Bartholet lift in Luxembourg.
News Roundup: Ramping Up
- Northeast gems Saddleback and Waterville Valley join the Indy Pass coalition, effective immediately.
- Winter Park Resort looks for the Forest Service’s blessing to replace multiple lifts.
- The Forest Service fully approves Keystone’s Bergman Bowl project.
- Welch Village voluntarily withdraws the East Quad from service following an unspecified incident (now back open).
- Guests of Mission Ridge love the Wenatchee Express and here’s the final episode of On the Way Up.
- Spirit Mountain lends a hand to repair the chairlift at nearby Chester Bowl.
- A girl is okay after falling from a Mohawk Mountain chairlift.
- A child also falls from a lift at Saddleback.
- Skyline at Pebble Creek is partially rope evacuated.
- Lookout Pass eyes 2022 for new lifts servicing Eagle Peak.
- More reports of stellar seasons from Iowa, New York and Pennsylvania.
- Cabins return to the Sea to Sky Gondola with more on the way.
- Mt. Bohemia considers building a lift in the Haunted Valley.
- Timberline Lodge closes for three days following a messy ice storm.
- Once a cartel hub, Medellín is a city transformed in part by a modern gondola network.
- Waterville Valley President and General Manager Tim Smith discusses a future gondola, bubble six pack and other lift changes.
- A rider who fell into a net along with another passenger and lift operator sues Snow King Mountain.
- Murray Ridge secures a six figure grant to rehabilitate one of the world’s longest T-Bars.
- MND reports revenue fell 5 percent in the second half of 2020 ($20.7 million in sales came from snowmaking and lifts.)
- Aspen will delay the Silver Queen Gondola‘s summer opening to complete big ticket maintenance items.
- Doppelmayr’s latest Wir magazine explores the Eiger Express.
- Saddleback closes for a day to shorten the haul rope on the new Rangeley quad.
- Poma will build an eight station urban gondola system in Madagascar with 274 cabins.
- Parent company Dream Unlimited says Arapahoe Basin is on track for its second best financial year ever despite opening four weeks late.
- Just two weeks to go until old lifts start coming down to make way for new ones.
- Squaw will experiment metering skiers at gates to avoid long lift lines at Silverado.
- The world’s largest urban gondola network might add four more lines.
- Big Squaw reopens tomorrow, two weeks after this deropement.
- A gondola is no longer a core component of the Oakland Athletics’ planned new stadium.
- There’s talk of building a 7,000 vertical foot gondola on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
News Roundup: Exceptional Ride
- Blue Mountain provides younger guests with a two minute introduction to how lifts work.
- Soldier Mountain’s major midseason repair is a success.
- Whaleback gets its summit lift operational for the season after replacing bullwheel bearings.
- A crowdfunding campaign seeks to purchase Big Tupper out of foreclosure.
- Drone video shows the damage to Eaglecrest’s Ptarmigan chair (now back open).
- Two class action lawsuits proceed regarding gondola incidents at Mont-Sainte-Anne last winter.
- The girl who fell from a Sugarloaf chairlift last week makes the network morning show rounds.
- Another video shows a perfect catch of a six year old who fell from a Crested Butte triple chair.
- A boy is also uninjured after landing in a net at Diamond Peak.
- Utah legislators weigh funding a Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola amid a long list of wish list projects.
- Speaking of LCC, proponent Chris McCandless joins the Ski Utah podcast to talk gondolas.
- North America’s largest city looks to build a fourth urban gondola line in 2022.
- Bousquet Mountain debuts the Yellow triple following a delay due to six towers needing to be moved.
- Doppelmayr prepares to ship 80 containers worth of lift components from Austria to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
- Italy’s ski reopening is postponed just hours before lifts were set to spin.
- In Wisconsin, a T-Bar ski area opens for the first time in 25 years.
- Aspen Skiing Company puts the Ajax Pandora’s expansion back on the front burner.
- The first riders ascend Mission Ridge on the Wenatchee Express.
- Developers at Moosehead Lake look for up to $135 million in financing.
- For the second time this winter, the Purgatory Express is down due to technical problems.
- Two more resorts get set to join the Indy Pass next week.
- The Forest Service seeks public comments on Arapahoe Basin’s proposal to replace Lenawee with a detachable quad or six pack in 2022.
- Snow Valley blogs about its lift history and claims the world’s fastest fixed grip quad.
- Magic Mountain provides the below update on progress towards opening a third chairlift.
On the Black Quad lift front, there always seems to be something. And, the engineering firm who designed the lift has come back with quite a few changes that need to be implemented by Pfister Mountain Services, including changing out some sheave assembly wheel combinations at a few towers and a major overhaul of tower 13 cross arm and uphill sheave assembly. None of this is a quick fix at this point in our construction phase and comes as unwelcome news. And, of course, tower 13 is in a very difficult spot to get to, especially for what equipment will be needed to execute the cross arm changes. No timetable or budget as been provided as of yet. We will continue to keep you posted as news warrants. Certainly frustrating after all this time as we’d like to see our money put to good use for you. All I can say is that the Quad will be a part of our future here at Magic so we can expand uphill capacity and lift redundancy as we grow.
News Roundup: So Close
- Soldier Mountain loses its only out of base lift for one weekend and possibly longer due to a mechanical issue.
- Grizzly at Montana Snowbowl gets rope evacuated following a power outage.
- Approaching a year without its gondola, Mont-Sainte-Anne says any new lift remains years away and the resort is not for sale.
- A unionization effort at Whistler Blackcomb suffers a setback.
- From Colorado to Ohio, Maine North Carolina and New Hampshire, skiing is booming.
- Green Mountain Valley School officially dedicates its new Leitner-Poma T-Bar.
- Most Ontario resorts are cleared to reopen.
- Searchmont won’t open this season but will complete an expansion for next winter.
- Italian ski resorts begin to reopen.
- With so many Colorado resort workers living in groups, communities consider whether to offer them vaccine priority.
- Showdown Montana passes from one generation to another.
- Yet another new haul rope arrives at the Sea to Sky Gondola.
- Tampa issues an RFP for a formal gondola study.
- A girl falls 20-25 feet from Snubber at Sugarloaf.
- Canada will invest billions per year on transit which could jump start the Burnaby Mountain 3S project.
- Steamboat announces what will replace the existing village gondola station.
- Chair 8 reopens at Dodge Ridge, one month after a crazy wind storm damaged it.
- The City of Edmonton recommends planning continues for a five station urban gondola.
- More than 50 entities formally oppose the Forest Service’s planned approval of the Snow King Mountain gondola and expansion.
- Arapahoe Basin looks to replace the Lenawee Mountain triple.
- Eaglecrest’s Ptarmigan chairlift is closed indefinitely after two chairs become caught in a tower on startup.
News Roundup: October Turns
- Skiing is open this weekend in Alberta, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey Ontario and Wisconsin!
- Garibaldi at Squamish releases new renderings of what could be a $3.5 billion project.
- Searchmont holds off on making snow, offering lodging or selling passes and will only install one of the two Skytrac lifts it ordered due to Coronavirus.
- In a rare interview, John Cumming tells the story of Powdr.
- Big Snow and American Dream post promising attendance numbers after reopening.
- The latest capacity management video from SAM and Snow Operating focuses on lift capacity math in the Covid era.
- With two operating and five more under construction, Mexico’s capital region considers building even more urban gondolas.
- The gondola network in Puerto Vallarta appears complete but surrounding theme parks and hotels have a long way to go.
- Skeetawk has a trail map and will open for the very first time December 5th.
- Only one of Shanty Creek Resorts’ two Michigan ski areas will open this winter.
- Following the death of its owner, Granite Gorge does not plan to operate this year.
- Frustrated at lack of investment, local business owners look into buying Mont-Sainte-Anne from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.
- A three gondola system connecting various points in Park City would cost an estimated $64 million to build with $3.5 million in annual operating costs.
- The Freedom Pass comes back but with fewer participating resorts than in years past.
- With revenue down eight figures, the Palm Springs Tramway takes out a $15 million loan.
- French President Emmanuel Macron orders the country’s ski resorts closed until at least December 1st due to rising coronavirus cases.
- Of 6,521 comments the Utah Department of Transportation received on Little Cottonwood Canyon options, 78 percent were pro-gondola.
- Granby Ranch will reopen under new management December 11th with more than $1 million invested in lift maintenance and snowmaking.
- Soldier Mountain gives another fire recovery update.
- Technical Safety BC releases an incident report and technical analysis from the latest Sea to Sky Gondola incident (both are heavily redacted so as not to impede the ongoing criminal investigation.)
- Camelback’s new Sunbowl Quad nears completion.
News Roundup: Investments
- A trial gets underway to decide whether a moving chairlift worsened the spread of a wildfire in New Zealand.
- BC’s hard-hit ski industry lobbies for government assistance.
- All five ski resorts located in Victoria, Australia are now closed thanks to Covid-19, including two operated by Vail Resorts.
- Here’s the latest update from Sun Valley’s Cold Springs expansion project.
- And another one from Arapahoe Basin’s summer of new lifts.
- The Hermitage Club gets back to basics as it looks to save money and focus on skiing.
- Liftopia stays out of bankruptcy for now.
- Hilltop Ski Area seeks a used chairlift for its beginner slope.
- After numerous employees test positive for Covid-19, the world’s largest gondola system shuts down again.
- MND Group secures $45 million in new financing from the French government and a private investment firm.
- Jackson Hole announces plans to operate its aerial tram this winter, which has been closed since March 14th.
- Fitsimmons Express, the major access lift for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, suffers multiple days of downtime.
News Roundup: Suits
- Skeetawk secures a 40 year lease to operate on public land in Alaska.
- The Salt Lake Tribune features a pro-Little Cottonwood Gondola op-ed by Ski Utah CEO Nathan Rafferty.
- D-Line stations, cabins and chairs and are now available as HO scale models.
- A disabled skier sues Aspen Snowmass over a 2019 lift fall.
- The haul rope is on North America’s third D-Line lift system.
- A helicopter flies concrete for tower foundations at Saddleback.
- The ever-growing Indy Pass adds Snow King Mountain, White Pine and Winterplace.
- Closed Crystal Mountain, BC still faces lawsuits more than six years after a lift deropement.
- Arapahoe Basin presses ahead with new lift projects despite taking a big Covid hit.
- China Peak bids farewell to the mighty Chair 3.
- Gore Mountain formally announces construction of two new quads.
- Court documents reveal more details on the Liftopia-Mountain Collective dispute.
- All new Whiteface gondola cabins arrive stateside.
News Roundup: Wild Times
- Arapahoe Basin becomes the fourth US resort to reopen for skiing during coronavirus, including the soon-to-be-replaced Pallavicini chair for one final run.
- Washington’s Crystal Mountain will host two weeks of socially distanced spring skiing beginning Monday.
- While open for skiing with two high speed quads, Timberline Lodge works to replace the rope on a third and starts building the new Pucci Express all at the same time.
- The only amusement park with a chairlift in Indiana isn’t going out of business after all.
- Many state fair lifts won’t run at all this year: the California State Fair, Minnesota State Fair, Ohio State Fair and Wisconsin State Fair have all been canceled.
- Mt. Roberts Tramway rebrands as Juneau Tram.
- Sunshine Village cancels its entire summer season.
- A local resident continues to push for a San Diego urban gondola.
- One of the only people allowed to enter New Zealand recently is an expert helping to complete The Remarkables’ new D-Line six pack.
- Homewood announces a two year upgrade of Ellis: Skytrac line gear in 2020 and a fresh haul rope, drive terminal and chairs in 2021.
- Coronavirus hurts the bottom line and sale prospects for Jay Peak.
News Roundup: Graduation Season
- A member group officially owns the Hermitage Club property and will consult with leaders at Berkshire East and Catamount to get back up and running.
- Publicly-owned Gunstock Mountain Resort lost 9 percent of expected skier visits due to the pandemic but still turned a profit this season.
- Another publicly-owned ski area, Eaglecrest, has been placed near the top of the list for municipal budget cuts.
- Disney Parks Monopoly now includes the Disney Skyliner.
- CEO Rob Katz tells the Vail Resorts COVID story in a three part podcast.
- Two new gondolas at Icy Strait Point are really coming along.
- Timberline Lodge reopens for skiing and snowboarding today.
- Mt. Bachelor plans to operate starting Saturday with two lifts for season pass holders only.
- Beartooth Basin will open for skiing May 30th.
- Urban gondolas in Bolivia’s capital will only carry no more than four passengers per cabin upon reopening.
- Cranmore’s Skimobile Express will host a unique high school graduation ceremony in June, with graduates receiving their diplomas individually at the top of the lift.
- Same goes for Telluride High School and the Mountain Village Gondola.
- Work resumes on Sun Peaks’ new quad chair but the old Crystal triple will remain in place as long as possible in case stay-at-home orders return.
- At Arapahoe Basin, Molly Hogan is no more but Pallavicini will remain for a few more weeks. Chairs are being sold for $2,550 apiece.
- Doppelmayr releases its 2020 yearbook.
