- New York lost ski area Hickory Hill may return next winter.
- Snow King’s former Summit double could live on at Sleeping Giant, although Snow King is selling the chairs today. Also here are some new renderings of the gondola.
- A hearing is ordered to determine whether Wachusett management knew an employee falsified lift operator training records following an accident.
- Even before Virginia’s indoor ski resort breaks ground, developers explore more locations.
- Just like that, the cool new 2S gondola in Germany is open.
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania commits $10 million to revive Denton Hill but needs a private partner.
- Deer Mountain in South Dakota is sold and plans a reopening after four years shuttered.
- For the fourth time in its short history, the Sea to Sky Gondola receives a shipment of new cabins and will announce a reopening date soon. Finding criminal(s) who twice destroyed the lift remains the top investigative priority for Squamish police.
- Pictures of the Steamboat Gondola station move.
- A Loon Kanc 8 update.
- Canada’s first new gondola in three years will be named the Atlantic Gondola.
- The BC Ministry of Forests will choose between the Cascade Skyline Gondola and Bridal Veil Mountain Resort proposals, which have significant overlap.
- Leitner releases a third statement regarding the Stresa-Mottarone disaster. The manufacturer will join a civil lawsuit against the tramway’s operator and any compensation for damages will be donated to families of the victims.
Bridal Veil
News Roundup: So Long T-Bars
- Oak Mountain retires its last T-Bar, which may live on in Vermont.
- Nitehawk still doesn’t know how it will replace a chairlift destroyed by ground movement one year ago.
- KSL Resorts, owner of Camelback, will manage and invest in nearby Blue Mountain.
- A construction update from Great Bear.
- A company under fire for a bridge collapse which killed 26 people in Mexico City also oversees two Cablebús gondola lines.
- Poma inaugurates a new urban gondola in Belgium.
- Preliminary indications from the March incident at Camelback point toward a dynamic event involving speed changes.
- Bridal Veil Mountain Resort will hold a public information session via Zoom on Wednesday, May 19th at 7:00 pm. There’s also a new video tour of the proposed ski resort.
- Austin looks at tourist-focused gondola transportation.
- Steamboat Springs considers gondola transit.
- Sunridge disassembles its Yellow T-Bar.
- Howelsen Hill lift construction gets off to an exciting start as workers accidentally start a fire.
- Bluewood plans to upgrade or replace Skyline Express and build a lift servicing 200 acres of new terrain in the next three years.
- Poma’s exciting urban 3S project in France enters the home stretch.
- Work gets underway on the Squaw-Alpine gondola.
Major Mountain Resort Proposed Near Chilliwack, BC
British Columbia’s number of planned ski resorts grew by one today with the unveiling of Bridal Veil Mountain Resort. Unlike the remote Valemount Glacier, Zincton, Saddle Mountain and Jumbo Glacier proposals, this four season resort would serve the fast-growing Fraser Valley and surrounding region. Located along the Trans-Canada Highway, the site sits just 1.5 hours outside Vancouver and 2.5 hours north of Seattle.
The vision includes two 3,300′ vertical gondolas providing access to alpine villages and numerous skiing pods. “Upon arriving at the resort, the preliminary concept for Bridal Veil Mountain Resort will see guests travelling by gondola from the floor of the Fraser Valley to a vehicle-free mountain recreation area, where they could ski or snowboard, backcountry tour, hike, sightsee, mountain bike, and participate in year-round ecological and Indigenous cultural programs,” notes the project website. “These activities will effectively be separated and hidden from the valley, offering guests a remote mountain recreation experience with unparalleled views of the Fraser Valley and Cascade Mountain Range.” Downhill skiing would take place from approximately 1,000 meters above sea level (3,280 feet) to as high as 1,729 meters (5,673 feet) atop Mt. Archibald.
The study area typically receives plentiful snowfall, sitting just 18 miles as the crow flies from world record snowfall holder Mt. Baker Ski Area. Through multiple phases of buildout, the project could eventually encompass 11,500 acres. A preliminary economic impact analysis suggests that, as currently envisioned, BVMR could create more than 1,800 full-time equivalent jobs and generate more than one million visits each year. Based on that visitation, Bridal Veil would generate approximately CA$252 million in regional visitor spending and CA$35 million in tax revenue each year.
The project is being spearheaded by BC residents Norm Gaukel and Robert Wilson with assistance from mountain planner Brent Harley and market research firm RRC Associates. The proponents recently filed an Expression of Interest with the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. If the EOI is approved, the next phase would be the submission of a more detailed proposal, followed by the submission of a comprehensive Resort Master Plan. Any development remains years away but the concept deserves attention, especially considering nearby population growth and the shortage of destination skiing in neighboring Washington State.
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