- Powderhorn, Colorado formally proposes replacing West End.
- Off-the-grid Mt. Baker to construct a central generation facility to power numerous chairlifts once driven by diesel prime movers.
- The plan for Aspen Mountain’s Lift 1A replacement “continues to evolve.”
- The Forest Service releases a map of the proposed Nell Bell high speed quad on Ajax, which would span 8,300 feet and 2,650′ vertical.
- Over at Snowmass, crews work to build the new Elk Camp Express while the old lift continues spinning in nearly the same alignment for a few more weeks.
- The WestJet Skyride in downtown Calgary may be shortened or removed to make way for a hotel.
- Urban gondolas are catching on nearly everywhere. Why not the US and Canada?
- Repairs to Kicking Horse’s Golden Eagle Express, closed since early March, will take longer than expected due to supply chain issues.
- The Okanagan Gondola breaks ground in BC.
- Towers go in for the Mighty Argo Cable Car, set to open in March 2026.
- A soon-to-open 3S in Italy will feature automatic cabin washing, a heat recovery system and impressive 3,200 foot vertical rise.
- Doppelmayr updates its Ropeway Configurator to include new products like Stella.
- Analysis shows a new urban gondola in Norway will have lower lifecycle emissions per passenger kilometer than most other forms of transport.
- Deer Valley invites the public to watch tower flying for the upper East Village Gondola and Pinyon Express.
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News Roundup: Gondola Mania
- The Forest Service green lights Breckenridge to construct a Peak 9 gondola, remove A-Chair, replace C-Chair, remove Eldorado Platter and relocate Camelback Platter.
- Aspen Mountain proposes replacing Little Nell and Bell Mountain with one new chairlift.
- Another insightful Deer Valley East Village construction update.
- Park City identifies specific gondola alignments for study between Old Town and Deer Valley.
- Park City Municipal councilors and the new owner of Town Lift Plaza float replacing the existing Town triple chair with a gondola.
- I got to tour Sunrise Gondola construction at Park City’s Canyons Village earlier today.
Sugar Bowl to Build New Gondola
Seventy three years after building the West Coast’s first gondola, Sugar Bowl will invest in a brand new gondola for 2026. The eight passenger, Doppelmayr D-Line system will anchor a major revitalization encompassing multiple lodges and facilities. The new gondola will run from an overhauled parking garage along Donner Pass Road to North America’s only snowbound village at the base of the Disney Express.
CTEC manufactured the current Village Gondola in 1983, carrying four passengers at a time between the parking area and village. The low angle gondola traverses over several roads, past several railroad tracks and under high voltage power lines. Historically the system ran 24 hours a day during the winter season. Recently it has operated less and become subject to frequent maintenance closures. The new lift will be more reliable and one of two new D-Line gondolas in Tahoe next year, the other being at Homewood Mountain Resort.
The new Sugar Bowl gondola is expected to be completed in November 2026.
Doppelmayr to Grow Canadian Headquarters
Doppelmayr Canada will dramatically expand its base in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, situated between Montreal and the Laurentian Mountains. The new facility will feature approximately 120,000 square feet of indoor production, service and warehouse space; 31,000 square feet of covered outdoor space; and a 34,000 square foot office and training facility. The news comes just a few weeks after Doppelmayr broke ground on a similar expansion in Salt Lake City. “The new facility will be a state-of-the art manufacturing facility where we will continue to design and produce the highest quality ropeway systems in North America,” noted Luc Guy, CEO of Doppelmayr Canada. “We are excited to expand our production capabilities and our workforce and continue Doppelmayr’s legacy of building ropeways in Saint-Jérôme.”
The existing Saint-Jérôme plant opened in 1978 and today specializes in building UNI-G detachable equipment for Canada and the United States. The new headquarters will rise alongside the existing building and allow Doppelmayr to better serve the growing North American market. “Our employees do an outstanding job completing all our ropeways on time and to the highest standards,” said Gerhard Gassner, Doppelmayr Group Managing Director. “However, due to growing market volume, the new building has become essential to continue meeting these expectations,” he continued. The United States and Canada comprised 29 percent of the Group’s revenue last year, eclipsing €300 million.
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) granted Doppelmayr Canada a repayable financial contribution of $3 million for the project. Construction is anticipated to start at the end of May with production set to begin at the new facility by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Sundance Resort Announces Upper Mountain Expansion
Sundance, Utah today revealed plans for its fifth new lift in ten years, the Electric Horseman Express. The mountain’s second detachable quad will run from near the bottom of Wildwood to the top of Red’s, rising an impressive 1,850 vertical feet in six minutes. The back mountain expansion will open in phases with nine new trails and 60 acres opening this winter. The new lift will debut in 26/27 along with 105 acres adjacent to Bishop’s Bowl. The nearby Flathead lift, a 1975 Thiokol, will remain for now but eventually be removed.
Doppelmayr will construct the Electric Horseman Express along a steep, 4,400 foot alignment requiring 16 towers. The lift’s eccentric name is a nod to a 1979 film starring Robert Redford, who owned Sundance for 51 years. Redford sold the mountain in 2020 to two real estate investment firms, which have pumped tens of millions into new lifts, terrain, parking, a daylodge and hotel over the past five years.
“The addition of the Electric Horseman Express will transform how our guests experience the back mountain, allowing skiers and riders to lap all of the new and existing terrain in a single high-speed lift ride,” said Czar Johnson, Chief Operating Officer. “The expanded acreage gives locals even more reason to choose Sundance Resort for their season pass, and provides our traveling guests enough variety to make our new Inn at Sundance their home base for exploration,” he continued.
Mount St. Louis Moonstone Announces Second D-Line
Canada’s third D-Line lift will debut at Moonstone, Ontario next winter, just steps from the groundbreaking Adventure8. Mount St. Louis Moonstone has again partnered with Doppelmayr to build the Elfriede Huter Xpress, a 3,000 passenger per hour six pack. The new lift will replace the Easy Street and Outback fixed grip lifts on the north flank of the mountain. “We’re saying goodbye to two legendary lifts,” said Robert Huter, General Manager of MSLM. “We’re thrilled to be writing the next chapter in our commitment to delivering the best lift infrastructure in Eastern Canada.” The project is named for Elfriede Huter, co-founder of the resort and matriarch of the Huter family who passed away last winter at the age of 86 (the six year old Josl Huter Express bears the name of Elfriede’s late husband and co-founder.) “Elfriede’s strength, warmth, and quiet determination helped build the resort from humble beginnings into the iconic destination it is today,” the resort noted.
MSLM will move some 100,000 cubic meters of fill to add 28 vertical feet for the new D-Line to land on. The Elfie Xpress will feature a direct drive, heated seats, manual locking restraint bars and a raiseable loading conveyor. When the lift is complete, MSLM will operate five detachable lifts moving more than 3,000 skiers an hour apiece. “Our goal is to stay ahead of the curve, investing where it matters most—on the slopes,” said Operations Director Andre Huter. “This new lift is not just about speed, it’s about guest experience, comfort, and continuing to build on the legacy of innovation that’s been our family’s foundation since 1964.” Lift construction has already begun and the new ride is expected to be complete by December.
News Roundup: Ropera
- Deer Valley updates its expansion site to show Lift 6 as two detachable quads (6A and 6B) instead of a six pack with mid-station.
- Vail Mountain seeks permission to replace Orient Express #21 with a six pack, swap Little Eagle #15 for a detachable quad and remove Wapiti #24.
- Leitner-Poma discusses the impact of tariffs on the SAM huddle.
- Burke Mountain emerges from nine years of government receivership with new owners.
- Mount Saint Louis-Moonstone, Ontario teases a new era coming to the Outback side of the mountain.
- Leitner introduces its next generation monocable detachable called Ropera, combining technology from Leitner, Poma and Bartholet. The launch customer will be Speikboden, Italy with a six place chairlift.
- Leitner and Doppelmayr release annual yearbooks.
- Snoqualmie unveils new renderings of the Edelweiss project at Alpental.
- A Colorado man succumbs to injuries sustained in a fall from Keystone’s Ruby Express last December.
- Powder Mountain tells the Utah tram board it’ll install between one and four new lifts this summer.
- A jury declines to award millions to a Mt. Bachelor skier who fell getting off a chairlift.
- Killington to donate and match proceeds from closing day to Whaleback Mountain’s chairlift replacement fund.
- Snow Partners to launch a new multi-mountain pass product offering three total days at six to ten Eastern resorts.
- Mt. Ashland, Oregon looks to replace the Ariel and Windsor doubles with Skytrac triple chairs in 2026.
Titcomb Mountain, Maine to Build New T-Bar
Nonprofit Titcomb Mountain will erect a shiny new T-Bar this fall in partnership with Doppelmayr. The new T-Bar 2 will replace a 1953 Constam which had been relocated from Cannon Mountain and reached the end of its useful life. The move comes after Titcomb successfully raised over $1.6 million of an estimated $2.25 million needed to renew mountain infrastructure. Initially Titcomb considered installing another used lift but settled on new after reviewing bids from several manufacturers. “Thanks to your donations, and a bid from Doppelmayr USA that came in well below our expected price, we will be installing a BRAND NEW T-Bar where our beloved Lift 2 once stood,” the mountain wrote on social media. “This is a pivotal time for Titcomb, and we greatly appreciate having the support of our community, as it breathes new life into our Mountain and increases our sustainability,” the post continued.
Production will begin immediately and the new lift is expected to open for the 2025-26 season. Titcomb is still fundraising to replace the aging T-Bar 1, which could happen as soon as this fall as well. The link to donate is here.
News Roundup: SLI Retirements
- Big Moose, Maine hints at reviving summit lift access.
- Austria’s KitzSki and SkiWelt could connect to form the world’s largest ski area.
- Lake Louise cuts trails for the long-awaited Richardson’s Ridge expansion.
- Hatley Pointe decommissions the SLI-built Laurel double.
- Telluride seeks approval to replace its last two SLI doubles.
- Big Sky to be the North American launch customer for the Doppelmayr S-Line surface lift, replacing the Bear Back Poma.
- Big Sky will also enclose the Lone Peak Tram‘s top terminal this summer.
- Doppelmayr releases its latest customer magazine featuring projects at Big Sky and Deer Valley.
- Snowmass to keep the Elk Camp quad spinning for bikes through August 4th while work begins on its replacement.
- Eldora seeks approval for unspecified projects from its master plan.
- A court blocks the proposed Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium gondola for now.
- Wachusett looks to sell the Polar Express to another ski area.
- I stopped by Deer Valley for a quick look at the progress to build two gondola sections and four detachable chairlifts this summer.
News Roundup: Pacific Northwest Icons
- HTI, the parent company of Agudio, Bartholet, Leitner, Poma, LPOA and Skytrac, reports stable revenue of €1.4 billion and record R&D investment of €41 million.
- Leitner teases “the exclusive launch of a groundbreaking new standard for monocable uni-directional ropeways” at Interalpin.
- Leitner also nears completion of a material transport gondola that includes a 1,600 foot underground tunnel.
- The next phase of the Bartholet RopeTaxi on demand gondola network is delayed to December.
- President Trump tempers announced tariffs on most countries to 10% for 90 days.
- Calls continue for the Government of Quebec to terminate its lease with Resorts of the Canadian Rockies for Mont-Sainte-Anne.
- Freakonomics tackles the economics of ski areas with help from Loveland and Mt. Ashland.
- Mt. Hood Meadows to retire the Blue double without replacement, raffle the chairs.
- Alpental plans an all weekend celebration for the retirement of iconic Chair 2.
- Doppelmayr breaks ground on its new Salt Lake City building.
- French authorities propose nearly €2 million in fines against MND and its investors for alleged disclosure and insider trading violations.
- You can buy an Overbrook chair from Ski Butternut
- McCauley is also selling chairs.
- CBS drama Fire Country to feature a ficticious ski lift disaster tonight.
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