News Roundup: Changing Hands

News Roundup: Suits

News Roundup: Bailout

  • 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.

News Roundup: Changing of the Guard

News Roundup: Docs

News Roundup: Nine Figures

  • 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

News Roundup: Hauling to 12,000 Feet

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.