Big Sky – Lift Blog

Towers Take Flight for Big Sky’s Swift Current 6

September 8, 2021September 8, 2021Peter Landsman31 Comments

North America’s fastest six passenger chairlift is on track to open this Thanksgiving at Big Sky Resort. For the past three days, teams from Big Sky, Timberline Helicopters and Doppelmayr placed 23 towers and removed another set from the previous Swift Current quad. The new, conical towers are so burly it took nearly 200 heli trips to complete installation.

Swift Current ranks among North America’s largest new lifts this year and will complement Ramcharger 8, the trailblazing eight place bubble chair on neighboring Andesite Mountain. Swifty 2.0 features the same three ring Doppelmayr Direct Drive motor and 125 Big Sky Blue bubble chairs with heated seats. The previous Swift Current detachable quad will be placed in storage for re-installation somewhere within the Boyne Resorts portfolio.

The nearly complete bottom terminal sits just uphill of the old loading point, freeing up space the base area. The bottom is also no longer the drive station, increasing efficiency and reducing noise in the village. Together with Ramcharger, two D-Line lifts will lift up to 6,600 skiers per hour out of Big Sky’s Mountain Village.

Like at Ramcharger, an indoor parking facility is taking shape adjacent to Swifty’s top terminal, which will will feature 90 degree unloading and totally reimagined flow. Skiers and snowboarders coming from Shedhorn will enjoy a wider skiway around the top terminal instead of dodging unloaders from Swift Current. Snowmaking will reach the top of Swifty for the first time ever this season, a welcome addition to a high traffic spot subject to sun and wind. Come summer, 38 bike carriers will come out of the parking facility and carry four mountain bikes apiece.

Big Sky will now feature four distinct bubble chairlifts on Andesite Mountain, Lone Peak and Spirit Mountain. Along with the Swift Current project, the Lewis & Clark high speed quad is in the process of receiving new blue bubbles and a capacity increase to coincide with the planned Christmas opening of Montage Big Sky.

With seven new lifts in five years, there’s always something exciting going on at Big Sky. As Swift Current 6 nears completion, I can’t help but wonder what this mecca for modern lifts will build next.

News Roundup: A Landslide

May 21, 2021May 22, 2021Peter Landsman5 Comments

After a year with no revenue, one Canadian resort resorts to GoFundMe to stay afloat.
SE Group will study the viability of a proposed hiking/biking chairlift near Park City.
97 percent of Bryce Resort homeowners vote to fund $2.5 million replacement of Chair 2.
Cape Smokey receives a CA$2.5 million construction loan from the Government of Canada, although travel restrictions may delay completion of a new gondola.
Doppelmayr’s 2021 Yearbook is out along with a new Wir magazine.
Poma’s latest Reference Book also drops.
Trails and the new lift line have been cleared on Sunday River’s Merrill Hill.
Skytrac is still recruiting construction employees in Crested Butte, Steamboat, Whiteface and Whitefish.
The first-of-its-kind Leitner 2S in Germany is complete, though Covid prevents public operation and a noise issue hinders full speed operation for now.
Doppelmayr and Sun Group mark 14 years of building record breaking ropeways in Vietnam.
Great Bear to raffle off retired Borvig quad chairs.
The story of how MND came to be through 15 acquisitions and a focus on emerging markets.
MND reports half year results with revenue declining 5 percent but snowmaking and ropeway revenue increasing by 6 percent.
Less than four years ago, new terminal equipment was shoehorned into the Steamboat Gondola building. Now it’s being used for fire training in advance of demolition.
Big Sky launches a Swift Current 6 update site.
Vidanta SkyDream claims to be the world’s first gondola transportation at a beach resort.
The Epcot Disney Skyliner line will close for a six day maintenance window in January.
For the second time in two months, a guest is injured falling from equipment at Camelback.
Berkshire East and Catamount Jon Schaefer owner talks expansion, says he came close to buying the Hermitage Club’s six pack and tells the story of re-pouring foundations for Bousquet’s new triple chair in January.
Montana’s shuttered Marshall Mountain sells to a new owner.
The proposed Los Angeles urban 3S releases its preferred alignment and will host two public meetings in June.
In an interview, Poma Chairman Jean Souchal laments losing 30 percent of business from Covid but he remains optimistic, especially about urban transport by rope.
Copper’s proposed Lumberjack replacement would be a detachable quad following a modified alignment.
One of the Jay Peak fraudsters faces three years in prison.
Icy Strait Point, home to two new gondolas stalled by the pandemic, will open this summer after all.

News Roundup: Visit Numbers

April 9, 2021Peter Landsman25 Comments

Woods Valley takes delivery of a used CTEC quad, likely the former Kenny’s Parkway.
West Mountain considers adding a lift as part of a real estate play.
Big Snow is a bright spot at the otherwise struggling American Dream mall.
The Ever Vail project and related gondola plans are dead.
Mt. Spokane seeks state funding to replace Chair 1 and Chair 2, one of which could be done this summer.
Mark Brownlie is named Chief Operating Officer of Alterra’s resort portfolio.
MND wins a $21 million contract to build lifts at a new ski resort in Russia.
Starting next year, most Big Sky Resort lift tickets, season passes, Ikon and Mountain Collective passes will no longer include access to the Lone Peak Tram.
Cape Smokey provides an update on Canada’s only new gondola this year.
Schweitzer introduces a new logo and brand identity.
Despite losing a significant portion of the season, another Ontario ski area still plans to complete a new chairlift for next season.
Doppelmayr France is selected to build and maintain a five station urban gondola in Paris.
Doppelmayr also will build the first urban gondolas in Guatemala.
Retired cabins from Killington’s K-1 Gondola fan out across the country as dining venues.
Under new ownership, Sleeping Giant increases visits by 71 percent.
Vermont skier visits decline 40 percent.
New Mexico also reports a significant drop in visitation.
A company called Trident tried to buy Brundage Mountain last year with the intention of creating a much larger resort.
Here’s a preview of Snow King’s gondola cabins.
Leitner-Poma seeks employees to help build the new high speed quad at Breckenridge.
PyxisAI announces a successful beta test of technology designed to alert lift operators when slows or stops might be needed.
Whitefish Mountain Resort smashes its previous visit record by more than 20 percent.

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: Grab Bag

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021Peter Landsman58 Comments

Timberline Lodge evacuates 42 guests from the new Pucci detachable quad by rope.
Another late day evac happens on Castle Mountain’s Tamarack chair.
Mt. Spokane considers upgrading two 60 year old chairlifts.
The seemingly cursed Gold chair at Nakiska goes down for a week (now back in action).
Under new ownership, Sundance Resort eyes an out-of-base detachable.
Bogus Basin plans expansion and lift upgrades in a new master plan coming later this spring.
Dakota at Big Sky has been down since March 1st.
The first of its kind Leitner 2S gondola undergoes testing in Germany.
Ischgl, an early pandemic hot spot last year, gives up on opening this season.
Vancouver’s transit authority picks a preferred alignment for the Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
The Seattle Times profiles Washington’s first bubble chairlift.
A transportation bill which includes Little Cottonwood funding heads to the Utah Governor’s desk.
Once slated to close, Sleeping Giant now considers adding more lifts.
Zincton Mountain Village, a proposed resort in BC, announces the purchase of a late model Riblet quad.
Facing capacity challenges, Crystal Mountain eliminates unlimited access on the Ikon Base Pass.
Magic Mountain needs some mid-’80s vintage Poma sheave assemblies to complete the Black Line quad. Give them a shout if you can help!
Winter Park’s proposed lift replacements I mentioned last week are a Pioneer Express six place and Lariat conveyor.
On a podcast, Indy Pass creator Doug Fish says more resorts are coming, including in Canada (along with a price increase.)
During recent historic snow, the Portland Aerial Tram ran for 114 consecutive hours while other transit modes shut down.
When the Disney Skyliner stops for a bit, you better believe it will make the news.
Nitehawk looks for funding to replace its landslide-destroyed chairlift.

News Roundup: Four More Weeks

January 22, 2021January 22, 2021Peter Landsman7 Comments

I managed to completely miss an installation from last year – a used Doppelmayr quad at a publicly-owned hill in Lévis, Quebec.
Bousquet acknowledges engineering issues with its chairlift project and offers passholders privileges at nearby ski areas until its new triple is complete.
Ontario extends the closure of ski resorts another 28 days, forcing business like Mt. St. Louis Moonstone to make more difficult decisions.
France’s 250+ ski resorts may not open at all this season.
Austrian resorts expect business to plunge 75 percent this year, calling operating “philanthropic” rather than profitable.
One of British Columbia’s largest resorts provides a sobering look at business: lodging occupancy down 87.5 percent, midweek skier visits down 84 percent and ski school down 96 percent.
Here’s another 1A update from Aspen.
As it negotiates with Vail Resorts, the Park City ski patrol union weighs attempting to unionize other work groups such as lift operators.
Skeetawk remains closed for a second week following a lift malfunction.
Kimberley reopens the Northstar Express after a successful multi-continent repair effort.
Utah’s new Governor expresses support for a gondola in Little Cottonwood.
A new lift garners rave reviews at Lake Louise.
There’s tons of cool lift history in this feature on the legendary Lone Peak Tram.

News Roundup: Hello 2021

January 1, 2021Peter Landsman18 Comments

Telluride renames the Coonskin double Lift 7.
Welch Village partners with Superior Tramway to install improved quad chairs on two lifts.
For sale: Snow King’s Summit double.
Doppelmayr Canada is looking for an Electrical Service Technician based out of Kelowna, BC.
Cockaigne, New York finally reopens after nine years idle.
A new summit lift may be not quite finished but Mission Ridge sure has done a great job posting construction updates.
Citing health concerns and limited resources, Tenney Mountain suspends operations for the 2020-21 season.
South Korea closes all its ski resorts temporarily.
49 Degrees North loses another lift to technical problems, this time Chair 5.

News Roundup: New Names

November 13, 2020Peter Landsman14 Comments

A new ownership group takes over Brundage Mountain Resort.
Commuters in the Vancouver region overwhelmingly support a Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
The Sea to Sky Gondola team and partners splice together multiple haul rope sections to run cabins off the line, completing cleanup.
The Ropeway Center at Colorado School of Mines presents a new video series.
Doppelmayr will build the Yodeler detachable quad at Holiday Valley.
The Forest Service says yes to two future chairlifts at Lee Canyon.
Ditto for Sunlight’s East Ridge project.
With its high speed quad nearing completion, Saddleback is poised to reopen in mid-December.
Windham Mountain renames the Wheelchair lift Baker in honor of a former ski patroller.
Arizona Snowbowl publishes a new trail map painted by Kevin Mastin.
Big Sky’s new map shows Madison is now called Jayhawk.
The Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region will spend six figures to study gondola transit.
Without an operator, the only lift in Oklahoma faces an uncertain future.

News Roundup: Cold Front

October 23, 2020October 30, 2020Peter Landsman8 Comments

Sunday River releases maps of the upcoming Merrill Hill project.
Updated stats from NSAA show how many ski areas operated in each state last winter.
Las Vegas’ decision to go with Teslas in a tunnel rather than a Doppelmayr automated people mover may have been short sighted.
Jay Peak President Steve Wright discusses joining the Indy Pass, limited winter tram operations and potential future lift upgrades.
Mission Ridge begins erecting terminals for the new Liberator Express, which load and unload inside buildings.
Whiteface’s new beginner quad will be called Owl Express.
A new lift at Sun Valley will also get a fresh name, to be announced soon.
Gunstock burns down an old T-Bar station for firefighter training.
An Ontario ski area worries about lift safety following a rash of vandalism.
With the launch of a gondola up Hoonah Mountain next year, an Alaska Native corporation sees new opportunities for development.
Despite a 30 percent drop in business last winter, at least two New Zealand resorts plan to build new lifts this offseason.
As Smartwool moves headquarters from Steamboat to Denver, the company gifts $1.5 million to Howelsen Hill for a new Barrows chairlift, to be built by Skytrac.
A Michigan ski area with 12 lifts won’t make snow and will operate weekends only due to Coronavirus.
Mont-Sainte-Anne is no longer certain its base-to-summit gondola will be functional by December.
Big Sky wraps up a busy season of preparation for the Swift Current 6 top terminal and carrier storage facility.

News Roundup: Good Things

October 9, 2020Peter Landsman11 Comments

A developer looks to build a new sightseeing/biking/hiking chairlift near Park City.
Soldier Mountain, rebuilding from a summer wildfire, vows to open on time in December.
The Sea to Sky Gondola turns its (re)construction fence into a fundraiser for local charities.
More than 10,000 people weighed in on Burnaby Mountain Gondola routes.
Here’s the latest on Aspen’s new Lift One in video form.
Mad River Glen gets a James Niehues trail map. For a limited time a portion of all purchases on James’ website via this link will benefit Lift Blog.
A landslide makes a mess of a chairlift in Italy.
Check out progress on the Doppelmayr and Leitner sections of North America’s largest lift construction project.
Bear’s Den Mountain, now Thrill Hills, hopes to reopen this winter after five years shuttered.
Nordic Valley is a busy place with six pack construction underway.
Home to Alaska’s first two gondolas, Icy Strait Point is Seatrade’s Global Cruise Port of the Year for 2020.
Sky Tavern will replace its platter lifts with carpets.
Arizona Snowbowl’s huge new Telemix will be called the Arizona Gondola.
Alterra reorganizes with three divisions: Mountain, Hospitality and Real Estate.
Big Sky aims to launch Swift Current 6 by Thanksgiving 2021 and now envisions three gondola sections rising from Mountain Village to the Tram.
Fire crews work to contain a small blaze at Purgatory Resort.
The Forest Service approves construction of a gondola and backside expansion at Snow King Mountain, subject to a customary objection period.

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