- The Forest Service approves issuance of a special use permit for Mountain Capital Partners to operate Elk Ridge.
- Another new ski resort opens in North Korea with more lifts that look like knockoffs of a certain European manufacturer.
- Arctaris plans to close on Saddleback December 23rd, but a last minute call for donations raises some questions. A detachable quad is no longer planned but rather fixed grip lift replacements.
- Disney’s Riviera Resort, the only hotel with its own dedicated Disney Skyliner station, opens Monday.
- Facing repeated annual losses and falling skier visits, Spirit Mountain gets a bailout from the City of Duluth.
- Sasquatch Mountain names its new Leitner-Poma quad Yeti Cruiser.
- The nonprofit which operates Sky Tavern receives a new lease despite objections from nearby Mt. Rose.
- New Sea to Sky Gondola cabins arrive in Squamish.
- The Forest Service begins review of Lutsen Mountains’ possible expansion onto public land.
- Crystal Mountain, BC may not reopen this season as hoped.
- Utah’s 15th ski area launches tomorrow.
Crystal Mountain BC
News Roundup: Changing of the Guard
- The developer behind Kicking Horse and Jumbo Glacier wants in on the Crystal Mountain reopening.
- Disney Skyliner staff will wear custom uniforms that mimic gondola cabins.
- The federal government looks to convert Timberline’s bankruptcy case to a Chapter 7 liquidation.
- Stevens Pass and Doppelmayr successfully move the Skyline Express bottom terminal to its new home.
- Steamboat’s gondola replacement project remains right on schedule.
- Aspen Skiing Company raises its minimum wage for all workers to $15 an hour.
- A chairlift is planned to be part of a new adventure park in Gilroy, California.
- The province of Nova Scotia sells Ski Cape Smokey to a private ownership group with plans to replace an inoperable chairlift.
- The former Intrawest executives who own the Sea to Sky Gondola aren’t sure when they will reopen and may delay a planned expansion.
- André Lamoureux is set to retire as President of Doppelmayr Canada in October and will be succeeded by Luc Guy.
News Roundup: Docs
- A former employee plans to reopen Crystal Mountain, BC in December with one of three lifts in operation.
- The Hermitage Club bankruptcy is now a Chapter 7 liquidation and the current receiver will be relieved of his duties.
- Grafton inches closer to opening the midwest’s only chondola.
- The Forest Service approves Mt. Bachelor’s upcoming lift project.
- The USFS also releases the Environmental Assessment for Arizona Snowbowl’s proposed Telemix, which would also include cabin parking.
- The Skyliner officially goes on Walt Disney World’s park map.
- Here’s the alignment for the proposed new lift on Breckenridge’s Peak 7.
- The number of U.S. ski resorts that operated last season jumped by four from 2017/18 to 476. New York still leads the pack with 51 areas followed by Colorado and Michigan.
- Arapahoe Basin becomes Ikon Pass destination number 40.
News Roundup: Nine Figures
- A wild wind video from South America makes the internet rounds. Anyone know why are there double and quad chairs on the same lift?
- A founding partner of the hugely successful Sea to Sky Gondola looks at building a similar lift along the Trans-Canada Highway near Chilliwack, BC.
- 9News checks in on Winter Park’s major gondola upgrade.
- Mexicable’s second gondola line could be a $105 million monster: 5.2 miles long with six stations carrying an estimated 35,000 riders each day.
- I usually write about lifts and not myself but Skytrac recently interviewed me.
- A BC court will hear the case of a skier injured when a Mueller lift de-roped four years ago. Crystal Mountain never reopened following the incident, which was blamed on multiple factors.
- A local photographer is posting weekly pictures of Killington’s three simultaneous lift installations.
- Fatzer releases more details on the US debut of Compacta at Big Sky.
- The Balsams withdraws its application for a $28 million state loan guarantee, effectively shelving redevelopment for now.
- LST’s American lift number two looks sharp at Waterville Valley.
- Another Blackcomb Gondola update courtesy of Rob at WB shows how giant UNI-G XXLs are.
News Roundup: Noteworthy
- Three people injured in a March 2014 de-ropement on a Mueller double chair at Crystal Mountain, BC have filed claims against the resort. The BC Safety Authority’s investigation found the cause to be low tension in the haul rope due to the lift’s counterweight resting on the ground. Crystal Mountain has been closed ever since.
- Wolf Creek’s owner still floating the idea of a low capacity jag-back tram on the backside of the mountain.
- Re-opening plan for Antelope Butte Ski Area moves forward with two Riblet doubles scheduled to be back in operation by December 2017.
- Another child falls from a chair, this time on the Glacier Express at Lake Louise.
- Saddleback is probably the largest ski resort ever to go out of business.
- A group has formed in opposition to Arapahoe Basin’s proposed Beavers expansion, which would include a new chairlift.
- Killington’s Skye Peak Express had to be rope evac’d Friday afternoon, possibly as a result of damage from a thunderstorm the day before.
News Roundup: Hauling to 12,000 Feet
- The US Forest Service denies much of Eldora’s proposed expansion in a surprise decision. Approved: six-person detachable replacements for Corona and Challenge/Cannonball. Rejected: new Jolly Jug and Placer lifts.
- Crystal Mountain, BC (not to be confused with resorts of the same name in Washington/Michigan) will stay closed for another season. The BC Safety Authority revoked the ski area’s operating permit on March 1st, 2014 when a Mueller double chair de-roped and sent four people to the hospital.
- Doppelmayr’s September 2015 customer magazine Wir is now available online with a huge focus on urban ropeways.
- The President of Austria visits La Paz, the city in Bolivia that bought 34 Uni-G terminals and 1,350 CWA cabins from Doppelmayr.
- Leitner-Poma assembling chairs for Powderhorn’s first detachable lift, the Flat Top Flyer.
- Doppelmayr begins 15 months of construction on a new $16 million gondola to Arthur’s Seat near Melbourne, Australia. As usual, not everyone is happy about a gondola in a public park.
- I hesitate to even post this silliness:
News Roundup: Paragliding Into a Tram Car
- Okemo Mountain Resort announces new fixed-grip quad and conversion of the Jackson Gore Express into a bubble quad called Quantum 4. Their press release (falsely) claims Okemo will be the first resort in North America with two bubble lifts.
- The last two victims of a 2010 de-ropement at Sugarloaf settle their lawsuit with Boyne Resorts, or more likely their insurance company. Next up: claims from the victims of this year’s rollback.
- Mont Cascades’ new TC quad lift will be a Doppelmayr Eco-Drive.
- Adanac Ski Hill in Ontario wants $1.8 million from taxpayers to replace their T-Bar.
- Lutsen Mountains breaks ground on the most expensive lift project ever at a Midwest ski area.
- Marshall Mountain, Montana is for sale for $2.95 million. Its lifts – a Thiokol triple and Poma T-Bar – haven’t spun since the 2002-03 season.
- The British Columbia Safety Authority releases its incident report on Crystal Mountain’s de-ropement and it’s not pretty. The ski area has been closed ever since the March 1, 2014 incident.
- Add San Diego to the growing list of cities that want to build a gondola. This one would have 8-passenger cabins and two mid-stations.
