Eaglecrest – Lift Blog

News Roundup: Game Creek

October 14, 2022October 14, 2022Peter Landsman2 Comments

Indy Pass adds Calabogie Peaks and Loch Lomond, Ontario; Arctic Valley, Alaska and Mt. Crescent, Iowa plus more allied resorts.
In Tennessee, Skyland Ranch will open November 11th with a brand new combination chairlift/gondola.
Windham Mountain acquires 450 acres, hires SE Group to craft a master plan for Eastward expansion.
Rusty Gregory, Stephen Kircher and Mike Kaplan talk recession, climate change and resilience at a virtual event.
Montana Snowbowl’s new Skytrac will be called Transporter.
Snowriver introduces a website and logo.
Breckenridge will sell 85 double chairs from Rip’s Ride for charity.
All systems are go for Kimberley’s Northstar Express to reopen this season.
Cannon Mountain warns a big increase in energy costs will lead to higher prices this winter.
Ober Gatlinburg becomes Ober Mountain with a new owner, new President and capital investments to come.
Blue Mountain’s trail map shows the location of the the new Main Street Express.
The Highlands closes Heather Express for the season early due to mechanical problems.
Doppelmayr plans to build Mexico City’s new six-station gondola line in just 15 months.
Season four of the Ski Utah podcast debuts with an episode all about the Snowbird Tram’s modernization.
Eaglecrest chooses an alignment for its used gondola.
Thanks to reader Mark for these great photos of projects nearing completion on Vail Mountain.

News Roundup: Changing Hands

September 23, 2022Peter Landsman1 Comment

Vancouver’s transit authority begins the station design process for the Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
Three Park City residents who own Pacific Group Resorts expect to close on Jay Peak next month.
Burke Mountain may also soon be sold.
Arapahoe Basin creates a podcast episode all about Lenawee Express construction.
A Basin also explains why a big drop in skier visits is a good thing.
Energy prices where many of the world’s lifts are operated and manufactured could spike eight fold this winter.
Eaglecrest’s new gondola arrives in Alaska.
Sugar Bowl joins the Mountain Collective.
Hunter Mountain will sell chairs from the Z Lift next week.
A thousand page report outlines negligence and poor management leading to deaths of 14 people on an Italian tramway last year.
Dry Hill, New York gets new owners.
The top station building for a 125 passenger aerial tramway partially burns in Switzerland.
The Forest Service seeks public comments on Copper Mountain’s proposed Timberline six pack.
The General Manager of Whitecap Mountains, Wisconsin assumes full ownership.
A new neighborhood adjacent to Mayflower Mountain Resort will feature its own chairlift.
Mt. Bachelor’s new Skyliner six pack will be D-Line.
Loveland and Lookout Pass fly lift towers into place.
British Columbia determines a volunteer ski patroller injured in a chairlift de-ropement is eligible for worker’s compensation.
Leitner wins a four station urban gondola contract in Colombia.
Here are some official and unofficial updates on the Palisades Tahoe Base-to-Base Gondola.
Also an update on Thunder from Jackson Hole:

News Roundup: Alterra, Boyne, Powdr and Vail

August 12, 2022August 12, 2022Peter Landsman28 Comments

Sunday River explains why Jordan 8 came before Barker replacement.
Brighton proposes swapping Crest Express for a six place D-Line.
Snowbird looks to replace Wilbere.
This document details Snowbird’s temporary one car tram operation.
A hearing to consider the sale of Jay Peak is scheduled for August 26th.
Eaglecrest and Mt. Spokane join the Freedom Pass alliance.
Flash flood cleanup closes the Palm Springs Tram for the week.
A power outage leaves guests waiting hours at the top of the Sandia Peak Tram.
Eleven ski areas in the White River National Forest paid a record $24 million in profit sharing to the Forest Service last year.
Steamboat and Doppelmayr fly towers for the Wild Blue Gondola.
The Los Angeles Dodgers display a Sigma 3S gondola cabin which could provide future stadium transport.
Mt. Shasta releases a preliminary map of the Grey Butte expansion.
Bartholet begins construction of the first Ropetaxi with cabins that will move individually based on passenger demand and destination.
The restoration plan approved for Keystone’s Bergman Bowl requires annual monitoring through 2033.
Boston Mills/Brandywine will auction double and quad chairs next week.

News Roundup: Gunstock & More

July 29, 2022Peter Landsman14 Comments

Indy Pass signs its largest partner yet by skier visits: Mt. Hood Meadows.
Former Indy Pass resort Marmot Basin joins the Mountain Collective.
Some 300 people show up to what was intended to be an executive session of the Gunstock Area Commission to discuss legal, financial and employment matters. Two commissioners end up walking out. Another meeting is scheduled for today.
Resigned Gunstock Area Commissioner and former Stowe CEO Gary Kiedaisch attempts to un-resign.
A New Hampshire State Representative alleges former Gunstock General Manager Tom Day improperly donated $500 in public money to Governor Sununu’s 2020 re-election campaign.
Organizers of a music festival set to take place at Gunstock next weekend threaten legal action if the Panorama high speed quad doesn’t run as contracted.
Deer Valley and Mayflower work toward an operating agreement.
Eaglecrest General Manager Dave Scanlan goes on the radio to talk about the gondola project.
Skytrac is still hiring folks to build ski lifts, particularly at Jack Frost and Big Boulder in Pennsylvania.
Smugglers’ Notch gives a rundown of all the work that goes into servicing a bullwheel.
Sierra at Tahoe completes haul rope replacements on two more lifts.
A bolt tightening contractor is hit by a tram carriage and seriously injured at Jackson Hole.
Skytrac begins building on Eagle Peak at Lookout Pass.
Greek Peak starts construction of a new Chair 3.
Utah Olympic Park’s big expansion won’t be open to public skiing with limited exceptions.
The first D-Line in California is approved, will feature unique angle stations.
Closed Connecticut ski area Woodbury goes back up for sale.
The company seeking to build a gondola in Edmonton, Alberta would pay $1.1 million a year to lease city right of way.
A woman found dead under Anakeesta’s chondola last night is believed to have fallen from the lift, which remains closed today.
Two men are killed while working to build a Doppelmayr gondola in France.
Below is the July 8th Notice of Noncompliance the Forest Service sent Keystone regarding unauthorized road construction in Bergman Bowl. Since the letter is three weeks old, Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams sent an update on where things stand.

keystone-nonc-letter Download

News Roundup: Contract Awards

July 22, 2022Peter Landsman4 Comments

Indy Pass adds Meadowlark, Wyoming and Black Mountain of Maine, teases a big West Coast addition coming next week.
The Boston Globe visits Gunstock, finds employees refusing to work without managers, a locksmith changing locks and politicians advocating for the resort to be leased to a private operator.
New England Ski Journal gets former Gunstock GM Tom Day’s side of the story.
A local architecture firm wins the contract to design and engineer the Eaglecrest Gondola relocation.
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission wants more information before voting on the Moosehead Lake ski area rebuild.
Dozens of ski areas reach out to help Plattekill Mountain following last week’s fire with Snowbasin offering a used drive system.
One lift becomes fully operational at long-closed Cuchara.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay delays reopening its VonRoll gondola, citing the scope of work and delays in supplies.
ORDA seeks public comment on a proposed Lift 7 replacement and gondola maintenance facility at Belleayre.
ORDA also awards an $11.2 million contract to Doppelmayr for the Bear Den detachable quad at Whiteface.
Pennsylvania’s first D-Line goes above ground at Camelback. Thanks to Ben Ta for the photos.

News Roundup: Moving Steel

July 15, 2022Peter Landsman14 Comments

Eaglecrest packs its new gondola up in Austria; the lift may not open in Alaska until 2024.
Snowbird now owns the land at the base of the proposed Little Cottonwood gondola.
The Snowbird tram reopens tomorrow with one cabin operation.
An Oklahoma county is criticized for seeking $300,000 in pandemic recovery funds to remove the Tulsa Skyride.
Powder Ridge, Minnesota places retired chairs up for auction.
A small wildfire on Aspen Mountain was likely started by a cigarette thrown from the Silver Queen Gondola.
The Salt Lake Tribune talks with the Park City appellants and consultants about Comfortable Carrying Capacity.
Parts continue to arrive in Park City’s parking lot despite construction being on hold.

Suicide Six is now Saskadena Six.
Kimberley and Leitner-Poma progress with repairs to the fire-damaged Northstar Express.
Doppelmayr offers $29 million in financing for the Cascade Skyline Gondola.
Lost Trail signs on to the Powder Alliance.
A public comment period opens regarding one of Mayflower’s 15 proposed lifts which would cross federal land.
A Thunder progress report from Jackson Hole:

News Roundup: Reopening Day

May 27, 2022Peter Landsman6 Comments

Here’s the latest on construction of the first MND/Bartholet detachable in the USA.
A wide-ranging interview with the Director of MND Ropeways reveals the strength of the North American market, the war in Ukraine’s affect on European steel prices and the latest on the MND/Bartholet partnership. If the alliance winds down post-2023, MND would build detachable lifts in house.
Despite efforts to save it, the Tulsa State Fair announces removal of its VonRoll skyride, citing maintenance and safety concerns.
The Austrian gondola known as “Old Lady” will be shipped to Alaska at the end of June for installation at Eaglecrest.
Loveland offers season passholders a chance to own retired Lift 6 chairs.
Jared Smith will be the next CEO of Alterra Mountain Company as Rusty Gregory steps away from day-to-day management duties.
Vail Resorts posts Epic Lift Upgrade updates from Attitash, Boston Mills and Mount Snow.
Stowe’s Epic Lift Upgrade project is finally approved and construction is underway.
A legal battle continues over whether Christchurch Adventure Park was negligent spreading a wildfire by running a chairlift with plastic seats during a 2017 blaze.
A Swiss ski resort plans to build one of the world’s steepest tramways with a maximum inclination of 159.4%.
49 Degrees North says so long to Bonanza.
Schweitzer plans to build at least one new lift from its master plan in 2023.
A report finds corrosion, wear and inadequately monitored twisting led to the failure of a socket on an Italian tram last year and 14 deaths.
Israel’s supreme court green lights construction of an urban gondola in Jerusalem.
A 2030 Vancouver Olympics may see Whistler and Sun Peaks as venues.
The Forest Service needs more time before deciding on Lutsen Mountains’ proposed expansion.
Fire reaches within a half mile of Sipapu but officials express confidence that containment will hold.
Mt. Rose’s Lakeview triple heads to Dodge Ridge.
Maine’s Hermon Mountain hits the market.
Cockaigne will open next year despite being for sale.
An Alberta T-Bar will be used to transport alpine coaster vehicles and riders.
Lenawee Express is the name for A Basin’s first six pack.
Happy re-opening day to Big Snow American Dream!

News Roundup: Hurdles

May 6, 2022Peter Landsman13 Comments

Four people file appeals seeking to halt construction of Park City’s new lifts.
Doppelmayr, Poma and Leitner all release annual brochures featuring lifts built last year.
The former owner of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain is sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $8.3 million in restitution.
The Tenney Mountain property is sold.
Grouse Mountain formally applies for a development permit to build a new gondola.
West Mountain looks to break ground in 2023 on a $140 million real estate project which includes a high speed quad.
Whistler’s chair and gondola sale is live now.
Heavenly to sell North Bowl triple chairs beginning today (update: the sale has been postponed for unspecified reasons.)
With multiple projects in planning, Canada may beat the United States to the urban gondola party.
Maine’s Quoggy Jo loses key funding.
A preliminary timeline for the Timberline Lodge gondola construction: 2028.
Juneau will spend $845,000 to transport the used 15 passenger gondola it purchased for Eaglecrest, more than double an initial estimate.
Mount Roberts Tramway operator Goldbelt downplays its involvement in the Eaglecrest gondola project.
Preliminary lift work begins begins at Mayflower.
In case you missed Doppelmayr Insights, here’s a replay.
Bartholet prepares to build Flem Xpress, the first Ropetaxi with autonomous gondolas and multi-station selection.
Big Snow is on track to reopen May 27th.
County officials approve Mt. Shasta’s Gray Butte expansion and construction begins.

News Roundup: Fresh Designs

April 29, 2022May 2, 2022Peter Landsman27 Comments

Poma introduces new station and tower elements in Europe with an eco-friendly focus.
Doppelmayr now offers a third D-Line station design.
Sugarbush proposes replacing Heaven’s Gate with a fixed grip quad.
Chairs from Big Red and cabins from Creekside will be sold to benefit the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation.
Doppelmayr to host the second annual Insights virtual event on May 4th.
Ski Sawmill, Bluewood and Kelly Canyon become the latest resorts to sign on to the Indy Pass; Marmot Basin leaves after just one year.
Snow King Mountain joins the Powder Alliance.
Vail reports a season-to-date 12.5 percent increase in skier visits.
A new Doppelmayr Wir is out with features on Big Sky and Loon Mountain.
The first urban ropeway trade show will be held in June in Germany.
Powder Ridge, Minnesota to sell chairs from a retired double chair.
Two new lifts are approved for Park City.
A May deadline looms for 100,000 Vail Resorts employees to join or opt out of a class action lawsuit regarding labor practices.
Boyne Mountain will sell Disciples chairs on May 2nd to benefit a local charity.
A public hearing is scheduled regarding the Moosehead Lake resort project.
Eaglecrest staff visit the gondola they bought in Austria; all systems are go for bringing it to Alaska.
Seventh Heaven at Stevens Pass closes for the season early for “maintenance/evaluation.”
Icy Strait Point opens its big Mountain Top gondola for the first time.

News Roundup: Quiet Week

April 22, 2022Peter Landsman5 Comments

Juneau buys the Austrian gondola for $1.33 million.
The Colorado Sun reports on independent mountains thriving in the mega pass era.
The Burnaby Mountain Gondola remains a top priority in Vancouver.
ORDA issues RFPs for a detachable quad at Whiteface and a fixed quad at Gore.
West Mountain to host an expansion open house.
Greek Peak will replace Chair 3 with a used triple from Windham Mountain.
The refurbished Kanc quad is ready to return to Loon Mountain.
SAM and Leitner-Poma are sponsoring another Rise Up Challenge for lift mechanics.
Whitefish’s first six place lift will arrive following a fifth consecutive skier visit record.
The long-closed Bears Den Mountain in North Dakota may reopen next season.
A proposed gondola in Canmore, Alberta enters the public engagement phase.

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