Hermitage Club – Lift Blog

News Roundup: Super Cool

October 11, 2019Peter Landsman21 Comments

Mt. Rose wants to replace Lakeview and build a two stage detachable Atoma lift instead of two separate alignments shown here.
Two people survive after their small plane crashes into and is caught by chairlift cables in Italy.
The Forest Service seeks public comment on issuing a special use permit to Mountain Capital Partners to operate Elk Ridge, Arizona, which closed in 2017.
The owners of 100 year old Pocono Manor want to build a 1.5 mile chairlift to the upcoming Pocono Springs lifestyle and entertainment complex.
The New York Times considers whether a planned four station gondola is appropriate in historically holy Jerusalem.
All three Disney Skyliner lines remain closed following Saturday’s mishap at the Riviera station.
The replacement for Big Burn at Snowmass may be a six place bubble model.
Hermitage Club founder Jim Barnes is ordered to pay a member more than $5.4 million for making misrepresentations.
Crystal Mountain adds 12 gondola cabins with the mountain’s new logo, bringing the Mt. Rainier Gondola to its maximum capacity of 900 passengers per hour.
Magic Mountain’s new quad may not spin by Christmas but hopefully MLK weekend.
Environmental review of the New York Capital Gondola project should commence next week.
Lake Louise’s VonRoll gondola towers finally fly away after 60 years.
The VonRoll in Oklahoma thrills riders for a 54th year.
Fatzer fast tracks a new haul rope for the Sea to Sky Gondola.
The recently opened 3S in Norway successfully toes the line between an urban gondola and ski/tourism lift.
Vail seeks to buy the Hermitage Club’s snowmaking guns.
A super cool LST T-Bar on the roof of a waste-to-energy plant opens for skiers in Copenhagen.
Poma begins constructing a five section urban gondola on the remote Indian Ocean island of Réunion.
Grouse Mountain acknowledges the Blue Skyride‘s days are numbered and will study replacing it over the coming year.
Frost Fire, which was unable to spin its brand new Skytrac quad last winter, says it will open this winter.

News Roundup: Answers

September 27, 2019Peter Landsman13 Comments

Stevens Pass nears completion of its largest lift investment ever.
Bretton Woods prepares to open New Hampshire’s first eight passenger gondola as soon as October.
A nonprofit hopes a T-Bar will be the right lift for historically troubled Ascutney Mountain.
The 17 former Peak resorts are now Vail resorts.
Vail season pass sales are up double digit percentages from last year and the company expects to earn between $778 and $818 million in fiscal year 2020 with a net income of $293 to $353 million.
Mt. Bachelor launches an all-new James Niehues-painted trail map with some surprise new lift names: Alpenglow, Early Riser and Little Pine.
The Berry family and Arctaris Impact Investors issue dueling letters on why the Saddleback sale fell through.
Here’s another construction update from Alaska’s brand new ski area.
The Forest Service approves Mammoth Mountain’s Chair 16 replacement project.
Stakeholders seek an extension as the Hermitage Club bankruptcy works its way through the courts.
The ski resort portion of American Dream now won’t open until December 5th.
Doppelmayr is out with a new issue of Wir Magazine which profiles Ramcharger 8 and Whistler Blackcomb’s three newest additions.
Vail concludes that undetected ground movement caused July’s tower separation and evacuation of the Eagle Bahn Gondola.

News Roundup: Convoy

August 30, 2019August 29, 2019Peter Landsman8 Comments

Vail Resorts stalwart Chris Jarnot will depart later this year and the mountain division he leads will be split into three regions.
The latest Epic by Nature episode explores the rise of the Epic Pass and welcoming of a competitor.
Police confirm the Sea to Sky Gondola cable was definitely cut.
The Hermitage may still be sold whole although Lakeland Bank gets the go-ahead to repossess 48 snow guns.
Garaventa is building a one of a kind six pack in Switzerland with 180 degree loading.
The Forest Service anticipates making a decision on Timberline’s Pucci chairlift replacement project in November.
Ikon adds Zermatt Matterhorn, the first European destination and first with a 3S gondola on the pass.
The operator of urban gondolas in Bolivia says the mechanic who died last month did not follow procedures.
The Disney Skyliner may face a strong hurricane less than a month before opening.
Wolf Creek readies the D. Boyce detachable Pomalift for a return to service with a new haul rope.
Granite Gorge and an insurance company settle their lawsuit involving a broken double chairlift.
The Aspen Mountain Pandora’s expansion hits a snag.
Leitner-Poma gears up for a busy next few years with multi-resort, multi-lift contracts and possible urban lifts.

News Roundup: Italian American

August 23, 2019September 22, 2019Peter Landsman29 Comments

- The Edmonton Ski Club and its Mueller T-Bar will reopen this winter following a one year hiatus.
- The developer of Big Snow America is so confident in the American Dream project that it offered the Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall as collateral to secure a $2.8 billion construction loan.
- Investors and Berkshire Bank battle over whose claim to the Hermitage six pack should take precedent.
- The White River National Forest extends public commenting for the Breck Peak 7 Infill chairlift project to September 1st.
- The Forest Service approved Aspen Mountain’s Pandora expansion awhile ago but the county still needs to approve necessary zoning.
- SilverStar adds 24 hour security, surveillance cameras and enhanced line checks in the wake of the Sea to Sky Gondola downing.
- TransLink’s CEO says the proposed Burnaby Mountain tricable gondola would be less susceptible to such an attack.
- Grouse Mountain gives all Sea to Sky Gondola passholders free lift access through November 30th.
- S2S cleanup will take awhile and trails remain closed for public safety.
- Swiss manufacturer Bartholet shows it’s possible to build a new fixed quad in just three weeks.
- Jaegerndorfer now exports Omega V cabins in miniature form to the United States.
- Aspen Snowmass will add chairs to lifts at Highlands and Snowmass to address Ikon Pass crowding concerns.
- Skytrac will manufacture towers for and install the new Leitner T-Bar at Ski Cooper.
- This profile demonstrates why the Kaiser S2 excavator is so popular for ski lift construction.
- MND Group, owner of LST Ropeways, says it has resolved “financial difficulties” by reorganizing its debt.
- Doppelmayr names Jürgen Pichler its new global marketing chief.
- It looks like Sunday River’s Locke Mountain triple will gain a tower or two thanks to the new T-Bar that crosses under it.
- Arctaris Impact Fund hosts a community meeting and announces its intention to close on the purchase of Saddleback come early November.
- Big Sky and Loon Mountain will launch the world’s first dual frequency RFID lift access system in partnership with Axess.
- With a new detachable quad under construction, Bogus Basin caps a five year turnaround.
- Alpine Media display screens will go live on more chairs this winter.
- Big Burn at Snowmass may be replaced with a bubble lift.

News Roundup: Affirmation

August 9, 2019August 9, 2019Peter Landsman10 Comments

White Pass and Mission Ridge join the Powder Alliance as SilverStar and Stevens Pass exit.
Soldier Mountain’s owners aren’t having much luck finding a buyer.
An appeals court affirms the Jumbo Glacier Resort project can’t proceed without a new permit.
Red Mountain is posting construction updates on the Topping Creek expansion every Tuesday.
KSL Resorts becomes the new operator of Camelback.
New runs are cut on Vail Mountain with lift installation to commence shortly.
Snow King modifies its master plan to shift a proposed gondola and eliminate the existing Cougar lift.
A worker dies while performing overnight maintenance on the La Paz urban gondola system.
Hermitage Club stakeholders consider what might happen at the next bankruptcy court hearing, scheduled for August 23rd.
Europe’s 15th 3S gondola system launches November 30th.
Big White to add new, larger capacity cabins to Lara’s Gondola.
Bittersweet in Michigan is significantly lengthening its Hawthorn triple.

News Roundup: Docs

August 2, 2019Peter Landsman15 Comments

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: Companies

July 26, 2019July 26, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

All of a sudden, the Aspen Lift One project finds itself in jeopardy.
The City of Branson ends its exclusive agreement with a would-be gondola developer after years of false starts.
Two companies bid to replace the Barrows double at Howelsen Hill in 2020 or 2021.
Disney Skyliner attendants will start at $12 an hour.
Competing resorts comment on the New Hampshire Vail acquisitions as Attitash touts major lift maintenance investments.
A jury decides Wachusett Mountain should pay $3.3 million to the family of a child who was injured in a 30 foot fall from the Polar Express in 2015.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves the California Express gondola project.
Utah Olympic Park breaks ground on the first phase of its major expansion with a second new lift to follow in two to five years.
A study concludes Teton Pass, Montana would need to attract 15,000 visitors annually to reopen as a viable resort.
Big changes are coming to the EB-5 visa program, which some ski areas have used to pay for big ticket improvements in the past.
Timberline’s owners hire an investment bank to sell the ski area.
Berkshire Bank and others slam the latest Hermitage restructuring plan.
TransLink gets serious about building a 3S in metro Vancouver.

News Roundup: Norway

July 19, 2019September 22, 2019Peter Landsman10 Comments

Arctaris Impact Fund still wants to buy Saddleback but no deal has been reached after more than a year.
The Banff-Norquay gondola project faces stiff headwinds from Parks Canada.
The latest podcast from Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz highlights how the company takes over operations at newly-acquired resorts.
A judge rejects the Hermitage Club’s proposed restructuring plan as members look to reopen under new management.
In other Hermitage news, a New Jersey bank seeks to repossess 46 snow guns.
Here is the complete incident narrative from the February SeaWorld gondola deropement.
Lift construction gets underway at Skeetawk, America’s first all-new ski area since Cherry Peak in 2015.
Village construction resumes at Tamarack with Wildwood Express installation to follow this fall.
A helicopter delivers most of the new Steamboat gondola towers.
Last week’s gondola incident at Vail was not a result of tampering or sabotage.
Medellín’s sixth urban gondola, Line P, is on track to open in December.
After 1,231 days as Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, the Badger Pass name returns thanks to a $12 million settlement between the National Park Service and two competing concession companies.
I spoke too soon on Eaglecrest possibly building Alaska’s first gondola. Icy Strait Point on Chichagof Island is planning a gondola project to open as soon as next summer.
The haul rope is spliced for a rare fixed grip chondola in Illinois.
Mi Teleférico in La Paz broke its own daily record again on Monday with 583,841 riders, more than average weekday ridership for Boston’s three subway lines combined.
Municipally-owned Great Bear resorts to private fundraising in hopes of replacing its Borvig chairlift.
Placer County leaders will vote Tuesday on the Squaw-Alpine gondola.
Simon Fraser University steps up its Burnaby Mountain gondola marketing.
The Los Angeles Griffith Park gondola study is underway.
Eagle’s Rest 2.0 nears completion at Jackson Hole.

News Roundup: High Impact

July 12, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

Mission Ridge’s replacement of the Liberator Express with a bubble chair from Europe is pushed back to 2020.
Dagmar in Ontario plans to replace its Rendezvous triple with a quad as soon as next summer.
The scheduled foreclosure auction of Granite Gorge is cancelled.
Ghost Town in the Sky, a shuttered chairlift-accessed amusement park in North Carolina, goes back up for sale.
The Indy Pass now includes more North American resorts than both the Ikon and Epic passes.
Boyne Resorts announces a $60 million private debt offering with proceeds to be used for organic growth including “high-impact initiatives” over the next two to three years.
Alpine Media raises $2 million more to install digital screens on more chairlifts.
Mont Orignal plans a second lift as backup for the world’s first detachable six pack.
A Doppelmayr gondola which was delivered to Parral, Mexico in 2016 but never installed may finally get put together.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Disney says there is no Skyliner opening date yet.
The State of California concludes 25-40 mph winds likely caused a grip and communications line to become entangled on the Bayside Skyride at SeaWorld in February.
The United States Department of Justice argues the Hermitage Club’s reorganization plan is being illegally marketed to creditors and members.
Millennium Partners may have abandoned its Boston Seaport Gondola idea.
A chairlift at the Ohio State Fair will sport all new carriers this year due to concerns about the condition of the originals.
Leitner’s fourth 3S system goes into operation in Voss, Norway.

News Roundup: Privatization

July 5, 2019July 5, 2019Peter Landsman12 Comments

America’s only indoor ski lifts debut October 25th in New Jersey.
The Forest Service and Vail Resorts react negatively to the idea of a $5.2 million chairlift from Eagle-Vail to Beaver Creek Mountain.
A deropement turns into a 10 hour ordeal for passengers on a gondola in Pakistan.
The City of Steamboat considers a deal with Alterra to operate Howelsen Hill.
Snow King’s proposed expansion may get another alternative before a 2020 decision.
Timberline, West Virginia seeks permission to sell off snowmaking equipment and the CEO is charged with a felony for allegedly providing resort employees paychecks that never cleared.
Manning Park seeks a name for its first quad chair.
The Salesforce gondola is carrying passengers!
Vail ropes down 74 employees from a broken Eagle Bahn Gondola, which remains closed three days later.
Berkshire Bank wants the Hermitage to be liquidated.
Steamboat’s new gondola towers are multiplying.
A Stevens Pass employee snaps some awesome shots of the resort’s ongoing lift projects.
James Niehues is at work on an all new trail map for Wolf Creek.

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