Aspen Mountain – Lift Blog

News Roundup: Power Problems

December 5, 2025Peter Landsman10 Comments

Crescent Hill, Iowa to install a new (used) drive terminal on its double chair.
Approval of a new gondola in Hawaii may be rescinded.
The private ski resort planned near Steamboat faces a mix of public backlash and support.
Deer Valley President & COO Todd Bennett says several more lifts are planned for Deer Valley East, timeline TBA.
Megève, France joins the Ikon Pass.
Doppelmayr wins the tender to build a nine station urban gondola in Puebla, Mexico.
Val Bialas, New York to reopen after several years closed.
Lifts and ski trails return to Google Maps after a one year hiatus.
A power outage leads to a rope evacuation at Sunburst, Wisconsin.
Electric infrastructure problems will delay the start of Mont-Sainte-Anne’s season for at least another week.
Skeetawk, Alaska seeks public funding for a second lift, possibly a gondola.
Eaglecrest extends the bid deadline for a gondola general contractor, wants to open in 2028 but doesn’t have enough money to finish.
Lost Ontario ski area Talisman to be preserved as conservation land.
Aspen Mountain’s Nell Bell approval moves along.
The New York Times spends a day with Snowbird’s mountain operations team.
Holiday Mountain, New York sends a Poma bullwheel and gearbox to help Whaleback, New Hampshire revive its chairlift.
Welch Village, Minnesota’s new quad is named Joy Ride.
Spirit Mountain’s new trail map shows where the Highline Quad runs.
Toronto Zoo’s SkyPod to open in 2027.
Leitner-Poma and Skytrac celebrate completing 20 lifts on time or early.
Pico to auction 1965 Bonanza chairs for charity.
Bear Mountain, California purchases new Skytrac chairs for Lift 7.

News Roundup: Chinook

September 12, 2025September 14, 2025Peter Landsman10 Comments

Kicking Horse’s gondola reopens after a six month closure with new hanger arms.
Vail Resorts might announce new lift projects on Monday, September 29th with fiscal year end earnings.
Arizona Snowbowl to use gondola cabins as dining rooms for five course dinners on select nights.
Colorado Mountain College in Leadville to reinstall Steamboat’s former Rough Rider platter as a training lift.
Purgatory postpones construction of the Gelande lift to next summer, citing permit delays.
Mt. Bachelor will upgrade the Northwest Express next summer with new operator houses, controls, a night drive system and expanded parking.
Alterra outlines $400 million in improvements for this season.
A Doppelmayr gondola station is set on fire in Nepal as part of widespread protests.
Doppelmayr’s first vertical RopeCon material ropeway to be built somehwere in the Americas.
The bottom terminal for Alpental’s new Chair 2 is set by Chinook helicopter.
Aspen receives county approval to build the Nell Bell detachable quad next summer.
America’s first Bike Cab gondolas arrive in Colorado.
Two people are killed when a chairlift de-ropes on Russia’s Mt. Elbrus. Videos show challenging conditions for a rope evacuation.
Lake Louise’s Richardson’s Ridge expansion to open early spring 2026, eventually will include a surface lift from Temple Lodge.
Doppelmayr reports a 13 percent increase in revenue for fiscal 2024-25, completing 93 ropeways in 25 countries. Approximately 24 percent of €1.2 billion in turnover came from the US and Canada.
Doppelmayr also reveals a contract to replace a Poma-Otis automated people mover at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
The new gondola at Hawks Nest State Park in West Virginia nears completion.

News Roundup: A Long Time Coming

July 11, 2025Peter Landsman9 Comments

Powderhorn, Colorado formally proposes replacing West End.
Off-the-grid Mt. Baker to construct a central generation facility to power numerous chairlifts once driven by diesel prime movers.
The plan for Aspen Mountain’s Lift 1A replacement “continues to evolve.”
The Forest Service releases a map of the proposed Nell Bell high speed quad on Ajax, which would span 8,300 feet and 2,650′ vertical.
Over at Snowmass, crews work to build the new Elk Camp Express while the old lift continues spinning in nearly the same alignment for a few more weeks.
The WestJet Skyride in downtown Calgary may be shortened or removed to make way for a hotel.
Urban gondolas are catching on nearly everywhere. Why not the US and Canada?
Repairs to Kicking Horse’s Golden Eagle Express, closed since early March, will take longer than expected due to supply chain issues.
The Okanagan Gondola breaks ground in BC.
Towers go in for the Mighty Argo Cable Car, set to open in March 2026.
A soon-to-open 3S in Italy will feature automatic cabin washing, a heat recovery system and impressive 3,200 foot vertical rise.
Doppelmayr updates its Ropeway Configurator to include new products like Stella.
Analysis shows a new urban gondola in Norway will have lower lifecycle emissions per passenger kilometer than most other forms of transport.
Deer Valley invites the public to watch tower flying for the upper East Village Gondola and Pinyon Express.

News Roundup: Gondola Mania

June 27, 2025Peter Landsman10 Comments

The Forest Service green lights Breckenridge to construct a Peak 9 gondola, remove A-Chair, replace C-Chair, remove Eldorado Platter and relocate Camelback Platter.
Aspen Mountain proposes replacing Little Nell and Bell Mountain with one new chairlift.
Another insightful Deer Valley East Village construction update.
Park City identifies specific gondola alignments for study between Old Town and Deer Valley.
Park City Municipal councilors and the new owner of Town Lift Plaza float replacing the existing Town triple chair with a gondola.
I got to tour Sunrise Gondola construction at Park City’s Canyons Village earlier today.

News Roundup: Ajax

May 30, 2025Peter Landsman16 Comments

Epic Pass adds one more Austrian partner – the mighty Sölden.
Kirsten Lynch resigns as CEO of Vail Resorts and is succeeded by former CEO Rob Katz.
Vail details the next phase of its Resource Efficiency Transformation Plan, including reorganizing resort divisions, combining snowmaking/grooming/terrain parks into one department and restructuring summer operations.
President Trump delays implementation of a new 50 percent tariff on the European Union to July 9th.
The 10 percent “Liberation Day” tariffs are briefly struck down then reimposed by different federal judges.
Entabeni Systems closes on its purchase of Black Mountain, New Hampshire.
Holiday Mountain, New York looks to fund a new chairlift in part by making the top station a billboard along NY-17/future Interstate 86.
A guest gets caught hanging from clothing on a Mammoth chairlift over Memorial Day Weekend.
Bartholet releases its 2025 Reference Book.
A new chairlift project pops up in the Forest Service NEPA system for Aspen Mountain.
No one bids on privatizing Marble Mountain; the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will continue operations.
A new aerial tramway in Texas gets $7 million closer to construction.
Deer Valley won’t break ground on Snow Park Redevelopment this summer after all.

News Roundup: Ever Optimistic

September 27, 2024September 27, 2024Peter Landsman8 Comments

Vail Resorts reports annual skier visits down 9.5 percent, net income down 14 percent, EBITDA down 1 percent and season pass sales down 3 percent in units but up 3 percent in dollars. The company announced no new 2025 lift projects and will lay off 14 percent of corporate staff along with limited operational staff.
Hatley Pointe, North Carolina retires the Laurel double, plans to build a new chairlift eventually.
County planners unanimously reject the Shadow Mountain Bike Park proposal in Colorado.
Sleeping Giant, Wyoming will hibernate again this winter.
Huff Hills, North Dakota reaches a one year agreement to operate this winter.
Aspen’s proposal to replace Lift 1A remains alive.
Whitetail, Pennsylvania to sell Hall chairs from Jib Junction.
Leitner to build a seven station urban gondola in Morella, Mexico for $100 million.
Mexico’s President and President-elect inaugurate a six station urban gondola line by Doppelmayr in Mexico City.
A Hezbollah rocket strikes a chairlift in Israel held territory.
Snowbird turns an old tram cabin into a bar.
Sandia Peak proposes replacing Chair 1.
Tamarack scales down expansion plans to seven new chairlifts and an extension of the Wildwood Express with no new gondola.
The under construction One&Only resort with a two station gondola connecting to Big Sky Resort catches fire.
Ever optimistic Les Otten still aims to re-open The Balsams with three new chairlifts in phase one.

News Roundup: Ikon Addition

August 30, 2024Peter Landsman8 Comments

Sierra-at-Tahoe joins the Ikon Pass, Taos returns to the Ikon Base Pass.
Owners of Mt. Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine Village express dismay at an American company’s proposed purchase of the Jasper SkyTram.
Elk Mountain, Pennsylvania is for sale.
A local group considers bidding for Mt. Bachelor.
Copper thieves damage the only lift at Blizzard Mountain, Idaho.
Killington’s future owners promise a massive capital improvement push and numerous lift upgrades, reveal Powdr considered closing the Skyeship Gondola.
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador tries again to sell money losing Marble Mountain.
The proposed Shadow Mountain Bike Park in Colorado would include a detachable six pack.
Mountain Capital Partners seeks a Director of Lifts to oversee maintenance, new installations, used lift sourcing and more.
Steamboat removes Priest Creek‘s old towers and repairs damage on the Christie Peak Express.
Aspen Mountain to remove Gent’s Ridge this fall.
Gent’s Ridge and Jackson Hole’s old Sublette parts will head to Maverick Mountain, Montana.

News Roundup: Metrics

June 7, 2024Peter Landsman25 Comments

Aspen Mountain’s Lift One project inches closer to reality.
Aspen Skiing Company reports skier visits declined 2.3 percent last season.
Colorado as a whole reports its second best season ever, down five percent from last year’s record.
New Hampshire was down four percent.
Vail Resorts reports a 5 percent increase in lift revenue but a 7.7 percent decline in visits with season pass unit sales down 5 percent for next season.
Colorado’s Estes Park Tram reopens after an extended closure.
Nordic Valley works to reactivate Apollo, which missed last season.
Legoland New York’s new 10 passenger gondola to open June 24th.
A Park City resident files an appeal of Deer Valley’s Lift 7 approval.
Sun Peaks flies towers for the new West Bowl Express.
Leitner’s 2023 annual report is out highlighting global projects.

News Roundup: Ten Figures

September 15, 2023Peter Landsman8 Comments

Mont Sutton, Quebec becomes the latest resort to announce a loading conveyor addition this season.
Mt. Bachelor says the new Skyliner Express is on track to open in December despite some shipping delays.
Sunlight releases a fresh master plan with a series of lift upgrades and additions.
Vail Resorts plans to wrap gondolas at multiple resorts with messages of diversity and inclusion.
Breckenridge offers old Five chairs for sale.
Park City says new, heavier cabins will require Red Pine Gondola towers to be reinforced, acknowledges the Sigma cabins list 2 degrees when empty.
Aspen Mountain’s new Pandora’s lift will now be called Hero’s.
Ikon Pass resorts invest over one billion dollars in improvements for this season.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania names a new operator for closed Denton Hill.
Multiple factors contributed to the deadly collision between a gondola cabin and drill rig at Tremblant this summer.

News Roundup: Busy Busy

February 3, 2023February 4, 2023Peter Landsman13 Comments

Ski Wentworth in Nova Scotia names its new Quad Cobequid after the local mountain range.
The Seattle Times profiles this year’s turnaround at Stevens Pass.
The Merrill Hill expansion opens at Sunday River after two years of construction.
Bear Valley’s Grizzly chair is closed due to a deropement and four chairs being ejected from the haul rope (note: the description in the Instagram post is not accurate but the resort comments below the post.)
A child is hospitalized after falling from a lift at Ski Sundown.
Storm damage forces more comm line replacements at Sierra at Tahoe.
Tenney Mountain to open next weekend for the first time since 2020.
Big Squaw goes back up for sale.
The oldest lift in Colorado will cease operations unless a new owner comes along.
The Forest Service approves Waterville Valley’s World Cup/Exhibition T-Bar, though no construction timeline has been set.
Former Big Sky/Crystal Mountain General Manager and prolific lift builder John Kircher dies at 64.
Whitewater returns Silver King to service after a bullwheel bearing replacement.
Crystal Mountain and Leitner-Poma work to reopen the Crystal Clipper this weekend.
Deer Valley to launch Burns Express this afternoon.
Doppelmayr pulls the haul rope for the new quad at Belle Neige (note: this lift was contracted with a February completion date.)
Doppelmayr and Telluride still aren’t sure when Plunge Express will open.
A misload causes a chair to get tangled in a terminal at Wolf Creek.
A deropement leads to a rope evacuation at Crested Butte.
Similar story at Brimacombe, Ontario.
Whitefish rope evacuates the brand new Snow Ghost Express, says it had safety concerns that Leitner-Poma engineers are working to address.
Palisades re-splices and reopens the new Red Dog Express.
I’m told Bridger at Nordic Valley will miss the entire season due to a planned haul rope replacement.
Aspen’s Silver Queen Gondola goes down due to a gearbox issue.

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