Aspen Snowmass – Lift Blog

News Roundup: Firm Orders

August 13, 2021Peter Landsman18 Comments

Mexico’s Grupo Vidanta will build a second SkyDream gondola system, this time at Vidanta Riviera Maya.
Sundance auctions chairs from the former Arrowhead triple.
The team at Craigleith, Ontario wins the inaugural Ski Area Management/Leitner-Poma Rise Up Challenge.
Four Japanese resorts sign on to the Indy Pass.
Arizona Snowbowl’s new gondola has been down for two weeks and the ski area moves its entire summer operation to a different base area and the Grand Canyon Express.
Beaver Creek’s two new quads will be named McCoy Park Express and Reunion.
The sale price for Blue Mountain, PA is revealed as $31.9 million.
MND reports annual results with ropeway sales up 32 percent and a firm order backlog of €91.7 million.
A group continues to push for a West Seattle gondola as a planned rail project gets delayed.
Squaw Alpine and Leitner-Poma make great progress on the base to base gondola, though they aren’t publicly committing to a completion timeline.
Citing staffing and fire danger, Mt. Shasta ends its summer season early.
After missing a year, Searchmont plans to reopen this season with two new triple chairs.
Manitoba’s Holiday Mountain announces it won’t open in 2021-22.
Vail Resorts unveils a succession plan with CEO Rob Katz moving to an Executive Chairperson role and Chief Marketing Officer Kirsten Lynch becoming CEO November 1.
Icy Strait Point and Norwegian Cruise Line cut the ribbon on the Transporter gondola with another 8 passenger system set to open later this summer.
Jay Peak’s former President and CEO will plead guilty to a single charge of providing false statements and other charges are expected to be dropped.
Keystone posts a big update on the Peru Express replacement project.
Aspen Snowmass introduces a new brand and logo which is already on some gondola cabins.
Snowbasin’s Middle Bowl replacement project gets off to the races.

News Roundup: Chairless

June 11, 2021Peter Landsman3 Comments

Wildcat plans to replace the chairs on the Wildcat Express.
Jay Peak and Burke Mountain could receive more than $9 million under a proposed settlement with the law firm of former owner Ariel Quiros.
Here’s another chance to own a classic double chair.
Mayflower Mountain Resort secures up to $260 million in bond financing.
Catamount’s second new lift this year will replace the last SLI in the Northeast.
The United States tallies 59 million skier visits in 2020-21, 5th most in history.
Aspen Snowmass had a tough season with traffic 20 percent below average.
Digging into the unsolved Sea to Sky Gondola crimes.
Two Disney Skyliner cars bump into each other, causing some down time.
Vail Resorts reports strong earnings, continues to look at strategic acquisition opportunities and will be aggressive at reinvesting across its resorts post-pandemic.
Arizona Snowbowl converts the Arizona Gondola combination lift into a pure gondola for the summer.
The bike park at Purgatory will open many weeks late due to an unspecified problem with the Purgatory Village Express.
Doppelmayr releases a 30 page urban brochure.
France may provide the financing for a six station, 180 cabin urban gondola in the Filipino capital of Manila.

News Roundup: Watch Live

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021Peter Landsman35 Comments

Copper Mountain seeks Forest Service approval to replace Lumberjack.
More details emerge on the Argo Cable Car construction delay.
The Canadian Ski Council says resort revenues fell 35 to 40 percent this year but it varied by province.
Lots of jobs are available right now at Leitner-Poma and subsidiary Skytrac.
Aspen Skiing Company will spin lifts across three mountains for the first time ever this summer.
Another Gatlinburg tram update.
Wasatch Peaks Ranch launches a website, though not much is on it yet.
Squaw Alpine says its name change process is taking longer than expected but a historic announcement will come soon.
In case you missed Doppelmayr Insights, product announcements included modular aerial tramway technology called Peak Line, resort management software clair and a new rotating gondola bike carrier dubbed Bike Cab. The entire event can be replayed here.
Want to watch construction this summer? Great Bear, Seven Springs, Snow King and Sugar Mountain all have webcams pointed toward lift projects.
Doppelmayr Cable Car is one of four finalists to supply a new automated people mover to Newark Liberty International Airport.
Insurers appeal a NZ$12 million verdict against Christchurch Adventure Park for running a chairlift during a wildfire, allegedly spreading it.
Steel prices reach all time highs.
French ski resorts can finally reopen lifts May 19th.
Snow King’s Cougar triple moves uphill to make way for the new gondola.
Duluth, Minnesota looks to pump $25 million into Spirit Mountain.

News Roundup: No Reservations

March 19, 2021Peter Landsman3 Comments

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: Busy Season

January 8, 2021Peter Landsman6 Comments

At Mont Sutton, an empty chair falls from one lift while the mountain’s lone detachable quad remains out of service due to a technical issue.
A Victoria, BC suburb considers building a transport gondola.
Purgatory loses its workhorse six pack over the busy holiday (now back open).
Ontario ski resorts, many of which are family businesses, try to stay optimistic during the provincial shutdown.
Royal Mountain, New York changes hands.
Italy postpones reopening ski resorts until January 18th.
Jay Peak and Burke Mountain are set to receive $5.2 million under a settlement between a law firm and investors.
Kimberley continues to spin two upper mountain lifts for hikers and skinners while repair work continues on the Northstar Express.
Wolf Creek has a new James Niehues trail map.
Open only one day before the pandemic, the SkyView gondola at Hard Rock Stadium gets set to reopen March 22nd.
The new T-Bar at Sugarbush is named KBRA (Kelly Brush Race Arena).
A fall and catch are caught on camera at Bristol Mountain.
A newspaper profiles how lift maintenance and operations teams work together at Snowmass.
Winter Park safely evacuates 143 people from the Pioneer Express. Public records show a component in the return terminal failed due to fatigue.
Testing finds further work is needed to make the Mont-Sainte-Anne gondola safe. It may not open for four to eight weeks and season passholders are being offered refunds.
Porkies, Michigan shuts down to complete a required chairlift inspection.
Bousquet Mountain will open tomorrow under new ownership with a new lift.
Hunter Mountain reopens today after a three day Covid-related closure.

News Roundup: Merry Christmas

December 25, 2020Peter Landsman10 Comments

Sunrise Park Resort considers building a combination lift.
Mont-Sainte-Anne works diligently toward reopening its gondola with a reduced capacity of 30 cabins at first.
A Vancouver developer scraps a gondola from its plans.
Ontario’s more than 40 ski areas are ordered to close as part of a multi-week lockdown beginning tomorrow.
The City of Sioux Falls orders a Skytrac quad for Great Bear Ski Valley.
Fashion designer Rachel Zoe shares the story of her son falling from a Buttermilk quad chair on social media.
Another fall at Sundance gets featured on Reddit.
An 8 year old raises $10,000 to support a struggling nonprofit ski area in North Dakota.
Snow King Mountain previews its gondola cabins which are being fabricated in France.
Michigan’s Blackjack and Indianhead are both for sale with a listing price of $3.49 million.
Blizzard Beach, chairlift and all, will reopen March 7th after a year-long closure.
A group proposes connecting West Seattle to the regional transit network with a four station gondola.
Steamboat creates a virtual gondola line powered by text message.
With Europe’s ski industry struggling particularly hard, MND Group focuses on international markets including North America.
The reimagined Bousquet Mountain opens with a new triple chair January 1st.
Mission Ridge’s new summit lift opening later this winter will be called the Wenatchee Express.
Lake Louise updates its trail map to show the West Bowl expansion, Summit lift and two future lift alignments.
The New York Times checks in with ski resorts across the country about business during the pandemic.

News Roundup: Olympics

November 6, 2020Peter Landsman4 Comments

The proposed Park City gondola system I wrote about last week could be tied to a 2030 or 2034 Salt Lake Olympic bid.
Another Mission Ridge bubble update.
Timberline Helicopters, the leader in ski lift flying for the Western United States, adds another Black Hawk to its fleet.
The State of Virginia proposes building a chairlift at Natural Bridge State Park near Lynchburg.
Vancouver explores another winter Olympic bid.
Vail Resorts retires some former Peak Resorts lifts: Mad River at Mad River Mountain, the Double Chair at Alpine Valley and Black Forest at Big Boulder (all Hall doubles).
One of Marble Mountain’s chairlifts will sit idle this season and the ski area won’t open until January.
Chairs are being sold off from three of six chairlifts at closed Sugar Loaf, Michigan.
TimberlineMountain.com goes live with a new trail map.
A late season fire scorches 60 acres near Tamarack’s Summit Express.
Receiver Douglas Wilson looks back at saving Tamarack during the 2008 financial crisis.
Wachusett adds new graphics to the Polar Express, which is named for sister company Polar Seltzer.
Sugarbush’s new chief discusses the future of Slide Brook Express, possible expansion and potential lift upgrades.
Poma’s business is down 30 percent but the French company will keep its 1,300 employees working.
One project keeping Poma busy: a showcase urban 3S in Toulouse.
The Jackson Hole Aerial Tram will carry 25 passengers at a time this winter.
This is how gondola Wi-Fi works.
Aspen Snowmass prepares to debut its first DirectDrive lift.
Sun Valley’s new lift, pictured below, gets named Broadway. Updated trail map here.

News Roundup: California Dreaming

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020Peter Landsman10 Comments

The Town of Jackson, Wyoming inches closer to approving the Snow King Gondola five years after it was first proposed.
Aspen Skiing Company eliminates nearly 50 positions citing the “ever shifting Covid landscape.”
The Miami Dolphins won’t operate their SkyView stadium gondola this NFL season.
In New Zealand, ski resorts say they are not the mask police.
Alps resorts prepare to reopen this month.
The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board grants a variance for a new Telemix on Aspen Mountain.
Ikon Pass holders will need a reservation to visit certain resorts this season while other mountains will not require reservations and more are still deciding.
Big Sky’s Lone Peak Tram will be open this winter but guests may be allowed to boot pack to the summit as an alternative.
A second indoor ski resort for the United States moves ahead near DC.
Aspen Snowmass and other creditors will appeal a judge’s decision to keep Liftopia out of bankruptcy.
Some Canadians aren’t happy with Vail’s pandemic-era customer service.
Magic Mountain, Idaho is threatened by a wildfire.
A study finds the proposed Oakland Athletics gondola would carry a million riders a year and generate $685 million in economic activity.
This summer’s construction projects are just the beginning for the new Saddleback Mountain.
A planned urban gondola in Los Angeles get a fresh name and website as it prepares for environmental review.
Leitner Ropeways will build New Zealand’s first eight passenger chairlift.
The Utah Department of Transportation continues to refine alternatives for Little Cottonwood Canyon and will release a report this fall.
Great Bear solicits bids for a new chairlift.

News Roundup: Transitions

August 14, 2020Peter Landsman7 Comments

Both Mountain Capital Partners and the owners of Silverton Mountain are interested in turning Colorado’s Kendall Mountain into larger resort with more lifts.
Ariel Quiros pleads guilty to three felonies related to his ownership of Burke Mountain and Jay Peak.
Separately, an employee is accused of embezzling more than $125,000 from Jay.
Sunlight pauses financial planning for the new East Ridge lift, which remains under Forest Service review.
Another lost ski area gets on the road to reopening: Paul Bunyan near Lakewood, Wisconsin.
There’s more trouble at Spirit Mountain as two top executives resign.
Arctic Valley secures a new 20 year lease to operate in the mountains above Anchorage.
The home of Big Snow remains in big financial trouble.
One year since the Sea to Sky Gondola haul rope was brazenly cut, the culprit(s) still have not been caught.
Aspen Skiing Company makes tough cuts to benefits and compensation for year round employees.
It turns out Soldier Mountain sold to a new owner just one day before last week’s fire.
You’ve heard of a chair sale but how about a T sale?
Titans of industry Win Smith and Bill Jensen end their runs atop Sugarbush and Telluride, respectively.
Glenwood Caverns temporarily closes to conduct fire mitigation.

News Roundup: Mask Up

June 19, 2020Peter Landsman9 Comments

Nitehawk removes three lift towers which were carried away from their original locations by a landslide.
Walt Disney World hasn’t set a Skyliner reopening date but cabins were back on the Epcot line last week.
The Telluride’s Mountain Village public transit gondola returns to service.
LST Ropeways and Bartholet will partner to build a 50 passenger urban aerial tramway on the island of Réunion.
Dodge Ridge begins removing Chair 6 for an upgrade project.
A fire threatens America’s southernmost ski area.
When it opens later this year, Medellín’s sixth Metrocable line will become the world’s first urban gondola with 12 passenger cabins.
The Juneau Tram will not operate at any point in 2020.
Timberline’s Palmer Express opens for summer glacier skiing.
Aspen Skiing Company says hiring a lawyer was a last resort in an ongoing dispute between Liftopia and Mountain Collective resorts.
Aspen Snowmass skier visits fell 20 percent last season.
Many Vail Resorts properties will reopen over the next few weeks but most of the company’s bike parks will remain closed.
Mt. Sunapee and Stevens Pass are suspending summer operations entirely.
On all Vail Resorts lifts, face coverings will be required when loading/unloading and at all times while on gondolas and bubble chairs.
Authorities seek information on a vandal who damaged lift sensors and other property at Pine Knob.
Pajarito cancels summer operations.

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