- Public backlash quashes the Rock City, Georgia gondola project as currently designed.
- Revelstoke Mountain Resort tells local elected officials CA$120 million in new lift and snowmaking infrastructure depends mostly on real estate sales.
- The ski industry pushes back on proposed elimination of seasonal time changes.
- A wild viral video shows a haul rope being cut with an angle grinder on a decommissioned lift in France.
- Vail and Booth Creek visionary George Gillett, Jr. dies at 87.
- Eagle Point shares a fire recovery update.
- Goldbelt shares a Juneau tram crash recovery update.
- The lawsuit threatening Park City’s Iron Mountain Express heads to mediation.
- The activist investor seeking to influence Vail Resorts buys more shares.
- Snow Trails, Ohio to install new chairs on Alpine and tower heads on Silver.
- Loveland to replace Lift 2 with a Leitner-Poma detachable quad in a new alignment.
Eagle Point
News Roundup: Dreamer
- Italian ski operators settle an antitrust probe with a €30 million compensation fund.
- Bartholet unveils its next generation detachable utilizing HTI’s Ropera technology with Arosa, Switzerland the launch customer.
- Alterra lays off employees in both corporate and destination roles.
- Voting opens for this year’s SAM Rise Up Challenge with six resorts in the running.
- A Leitner urban gondola stops and shakes but otherwise fares well during a severe earthquake in Cali, Colombia.
- A China-Russia tramway originally set to be built by Poma will finally be completed this year.
- The future longest monocable gondola goes vertical in Dominica.
- Photos show fire severed the haul rope on Maverick Mountain’s chairlift, scattering chairs everywhere.
- Eagle Point’s owner updates the public on the path path to fire recovery.
- Loon Mountain says goodbye to the Little Sister double.
- 49 Degrees North’s new quad to be named Dreamer.
- Thanks to readers Matt and Tyler for these photos of Sugar Bowl’s new gondola.
News Roundup: Ultra High Capacity
- Eagle Point, Utah won’t open this season due to extensive fire damage.
- Doppelmayr works to build the world’s highest capacity urban gondola system in Guatemala with two lines, 12 stations and 495 12 place cabins capable of moving 5,500 riders per hour/direction/line.
- An urban gondola in Africa closes after just a few weeks due to low ridership, high ticket prices, vandalism and resident fears.
- A new lawsuit alleges Alterra, Vail, Boyne, Powdr, NSAA and RRC Associates illegally colluded on destination resort pricing (full text here.)
- Oregon OSHA fines Mt. Hood Skibowl $43,000 over a fatal maintenance incident, alleging staff operated a work carrier beyond limitations after receiving no formal training on it (the area has appealed.)
- Doppelmayr to embark on a major expansion in Wolfurt.
- The sale of Eldora still hasn’t closed ten months after initially planned.
- A long-lost Indiana ski area with Riblet quad could reopen.
- Snowmass to move forward with a SkyCab replacement next fall.
- Cannon Mountain delays the due date for new tramway bids to September 2nd.
- Casper, Wyoming solicits bids for a new Hogadon chairlift, due August 28th.
- Doppelmayr submits the winning bid for a new quad at Glen Eden, Ontario.
- Camelback to sell hundreds of chairs from four retired lifts.
- Graffer finally nears completion of a unique gondola intended to open for last winter’s Olympics in Italy.
- An investigation finds parts improperly installed decades ago combined with a misload and unevenly loaded chair caused a deropement at Vail last winter.
- Blacktail Mountain’s founders describe creating the newest US ski area on Forest Service land.
- The National Park Service joins numerous other parties objecting to Grand Targhee’s proposed expansion.
- Lake Louise to complete a systems modernization and capacity upgrade on Top of the World.
- Skytrac completes Snowbird’s new Chickadee chair in just 76 days.
- Cape Smokey, Nova Scotia maps out three future lifts.
- The Summit at Snoqualmie drops Ikon Pass reservations, leaving just Deer Valley, Jackson Hole and Loon requiring them.
- From the classifieds: a Doppelmayr pulse gondola for sale.
- Leitner-Poma makes great strides on a 3,600 pph gondola in Canyons Village at Park City.
News Roundup: Powder
- Aspen Mountain retires Lift 1A with replacement plans uncertain.
- Bartholet completes its first tramway with Sigma Cabins and a new design utilizing tubular towers.
- Cape Smokey, Nova Scotia teases what looks like a major expansion with a new lift.
- An Eagle Point damage assessment shared with the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee finds one lift undamaged, another with light to moderate damage and three lifts heavily impacted by fire and heat. The resort might partially reopen this winter but faces a lengthy road to recovery.
- Telluride’s transit agency postpones selection of a new gondola manufacturer while officials clarify Buy America requirements with the Federal Transit Administration.
- A Poma Alpha quad briefly catches fire in Chile.
- Alterra could receive millions in public financing to relocate headquarters within Denver after considering a move to Salt Lake City.
- Park City’s Eagle and Silverlode replacement approvals are upheld, moving the projects closer.
- The Forest Service publishes the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Brian Head’s proposed expansion with several new alternatives.
- Whistler leaders receive a preliminary study into a valley gondola connecting Whistler Village, Creekside and Function Junction.
- Thanks to reader Roger for sharing shots of Powder Mountain’s four lifts under construction and reader Auston for flying me overhead yesterday.
News Roundup: Reinforced
- Red Lodge Mountain settles with the family of a man killed on a lift last year, clarifying in a joint statement his death was caused by a mechanical failure, derailment and collapse rather than a fall. As a result of the incident Red Lodge reinforced towers on the Triple Chair and added anemometers.
- Mountain Capital Partners’ purchase of El Colorado, Chile is called off over antitrust concerns.
- Teton County, Idaho and the State of Wyoming join others objecting to Grand Targhee’s nearly-approved expansion.
- Big Powderhorn, Michigan sells to new independent owners.
- Wachusett lists the former Polar Express for sale.
- The Sandia Peak Tram to receive new carriages and hangers in 2027.
- In addition to being damaged by wildfire, Eagle Point becomes inaccessible due to floods.
- As repairs continue, the Goldbelt Tram remains closed with another update expected in two weeks.
- The President imposes new tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on the European Union, Switzerland, Canada and numerous other nations and says more EU tariffs are coming.
News Roundup: Breathtaking
- Four cabins pileup on a tall Poma gondola tower in Russia.
- Eagle Point posts another update including photos and videos of heavy fire damage.
- Lifts at Asessippi, Manitoba flood for a second time this summer.
- The WestJet Skyride at the Calgary Stampede reopens in a modified, shorter configuration.
- Alterra and Vail seek dismissal of a proposed season pass competition class action.
- Aspen auctions chairs from both Bell Mountain and Little Nell; Loveland to raffle Lift 5 chairs to employees and season passholders.
- 49 Degrees North will soon offer chairs from Payday.
- Both Leitner-Poma and Doppelmayr are listed as qualified bidders for the Cannon Tram replacement RFP with bids due August 5th.
- Whitecap Mountains emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under existing management.
- The Forest Service accepts a fresh Monarch Mountain master plan which includes five lift replacements, a base-to-ridge detachable quad and second lift in No Name Basin.
News Roundup: Ropeway Ban
- Eagle Point provides an initial fire assessment; four of five lifts sustained damage.
- Less than a month after a tower was bent on the Tamarack Express, Leitner-Poma and Tamarack install a whole new tower with the lift set to reopen tomorrow.
- The Goldbelt Tram remains closed following an April crash now reported to be caused by inexperienced staff mistakes.
- The story of how a small town in Arkansas got an $8.5 million detachable serving 280 vertical feet.
- Hawaii officially bans commercial chairlifts, gondolas and tramways statewide.
- The family of a child killed on a Quebec chairlift last winter speaks out.
- Deer Valley outlines the next two years of East Village development.
- Donner Ski Ranch offers free lift tickets to guests who photograph distracted lift operators.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne’s upcoming bubble six pack to be named L’Évolution Express.
- Several prominent Vail residents join Matthew Prince’s criticism of Vail Resorts infrastructure and trajectory.
- A filing reveals the precise alignment for Kicking Horse’s recently announced Pioneer Express.
- The Forest Service to host a Waterville Valley expansion open house on July 15th.
- OITAF’s Ropeway Innovations symposium to be held in Park City next June.
News Roundup: Owned & Operated
- Lost Trail, Montana/Idaho seeks permission to replace Chair 1, Chair 2 and Chair 4 with high speed quads and utilize retired equipment for a new beginner lift.
- Aerial footage shows Eagle Point’s lifts still standing after wildfire but with unknown heat damage.
- Vail Resorts vigorously defends its owned and operated network model.
- New York’s Governor forms an exploratory committee for hosting the 2042 Winter Olympics.
- The Getty Museum in Los Angeles announces a Doppelmayr automated people mover.
- Lutsen Mountains begins charging extra for private gondola cabins and priority boarding.
- Donner Ski Ranch asks guests to report lift operators distracted by cell phones.
- Leitner to reach more than 40 miles of urban gondolas throughout Mexico.
- The Forest Service approves Telluride’s proposed replacements for lifts 7 and 8.
Fire Burns Eagle Point
The Cottonwood Fire tore through Eagle Point Resort in Southern Utah yesterday evening, causing extensive damage. The human-caused fire ignited Monday and spread rapidly to more than 60,000 acres. Eagle Point was evacuated Monday evening and no injuries have been reported. “We are incredibly grateful for the firefighters and first responders who are working tirelessly to protect our community,” said Eagle Point owner Shane Gadbaw. “Conditions at the resort remain dangerous, and we are monitoring the situation closely,” he continued. “There has been significant property loss for local owners and the resort. Eagle Point will be closed for considerable time to recover from the catastrophe.” Gadbaw promised to share a more detailed update once employees return to the mountain.
As of this afternoon, infrared mapping on Watch Duty showed the fire burning 61,138 acres including a majority of Eagle Point’s terrain. All but one of Eagle Point’s five lifts were potentially affected and a photo circulating on social media showed the Canyonside Lodge engulfed in flames. Note that infrared fire perimeters are preliminary and do not necessarily reflect structure protection efforts by firefighters.
Eagle Point unfortunately becomes the latest on a list of resorts impacted by wildland fire in recent years. In 2007, a wildfire destroyed both lifts at Trinity Mountain, California, and the resort never reopend. In June 2012, a large fire burned sections of Ski Apache, New Mexico. Three lifts were destroyed and the tribe that owns the mountain hired Doppelmayr to replace them that fall at a cost of $15 million. Back in California, the Caldor Fire burned through Sierra-at-Tahoe in August 2021, damaging numerous lifts and buildings. Sierra managed to repair all lifts but missed an entire season and reopened in December 2022. The 2024 Bridge Fire burned part of Mountain High, California, damaging several lifts.
News Roundup: Sold Out
- Mexico City and Leitner inaugurate a new urban gondola line with 283 cabins and 7 stations.
- Leitner-Poma looks to hire a Sales Manager specifically for urban ropeways in North America.
- Leitner, Poma and Bartholet parent company HTI reports a record €1.3 billion in revenue for fiscal 2022.
- A skier dies after falling through a gondola cabin window in France.
- With its gondola back in operation, Mont-Sainte-Anne eyes a $100 million renewal with bids already received for two lift replacement projects.
- Doppelmayr revitalizes a 110 year old cable car over Niagara Falls.
- The Indy Pass suspends sales due to capacity limitations at partner resorts.
- Eagle Point teases multiple lift upgrades including a new connector chair.
- Powdr sells Lee Canyon to Mountain Capital Partners.
- Taos confirms Leitner-Poma will build new chairlifts on both sides the mountain this summer.
