Indianhead – Lift Blog

Charles Skinner to Acquire Michigan’s Big Snow

May 25, 2022May 26, 2022Peter Landsman35 Comments

The owner of the largest ski resorts in Minnesota and Wisconsin will expand his portfolio to include one of the biggest ski areas in Michigan. Located in the Upper Peninsula, Big Snow Resort’s Blackjack and Indianhead mountains together feature more than a dozen lifts across 1,000 acres of land. Wisconsin developer Art Dumke has owned the mountains since 2014.

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There’s no word yet whether Lutsen Mountains, Granite Peak and Big Snow will be combined onto a single pass product but that seems likely. “We are thrilled that these two historical, Upper Michigan ski areas, known for their prodigious powder snow, will be joining our legendary family of resorts in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” said Charles Skinner in a press release. “The current owner and his excellent staff have done a terrific job honoring the legacy of Indianhead and Blackjack and combining them into the largest ski area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We intend to build upon this work by investing in new lifts, snowmaking, and base area infrastructure at Big Snow.” Specific plans for investments at Big Snow will be announced later this summer. The two mountains currently feel like museums with most lifts and buildings dating back to the 1960s and ’70s.

Skinner also announced construction of a Leitner-Poma six place chairlift at Lutsen Mountains for the 2023-24 season. The second such lift there will run alongside Bridge chair, a 1972 Riblet double on Eagle Mountain.

The Big Snow sale is expected to close by the end of July, subject to financing and due diligence completion.

News Roundup: Reports

January 29, 2021Peter Landsman21 Comments

Now open: Nordic Valley’s flagship six pack, dubbed the Nordic Express.
The Yellowstone Club trail map is updated to show two new additions for a total of 23 lifts.
Still without access to the summit, Mission Ridge provides expanded updates on the Wenatchee Express project including another video.
Grand Targhee modifies its proposed expansion, pushing potential approval out to March 2022.
A local newspaper obtains inspection reports from 49 Degrees North showing no red flags prior to last month’s accident.
Doppelmayr showcases AURO, an autonomous lift which can be run by one person in a ropeway operations center.
A storm packing 150 mph winds shutters Dodge Ridge for eight days. Eight towers de-roped on Chair 8 with 1,000 feet of comm line needing to be replaced.
A child is seriously injured in a fall from the lone chairlift at Blue Hills, Massachusetts. The ski area said no mechanical issues caused or contributed to the unfortunate event.
Three days later, the very same lift strands riders for hours.
Gearing up for a busy summer, Skytrac is hiring lift construction project managers.
ORDA will spend $2.2 million for electrical upgrades to Whiteface’s Cloudsplitter Gondola and Face Lift.
Two more resorts are set to join the Indy Pass on February 2nd.
Re: Indianhead, an incident report notes the chair hit a halo on tower 4, causing its clip to be ejected from the haul rope. A follow up inspection found no mechanical or structural deficiencies with the lift.
Steamboat plans to move the bottom terminal of the new Steamboat Gondola outdoors and 300 feet east this summer to make room for the future Wild Blue Gondola.

Indianhead Lift Closed Following Incident

January 10, 2021January 12, 2021Peter Landsman40 Comments

An occupied chair fell from the Leelinaw lift at Indianhead Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula yesterday according to multiple sources. When reached for a statement, Big Snow Resort, which operates Indianhead along with Blackjack Mountain, confirmed there was an incident but declined to comment on specifically what happened. “We are working with the skiers. The lift is operational but not in use today and will be re-inspected tomorrow,” a representative said.

Leelinaw became one of the world’s first triple chairlifts when constructed by Riblet in 1964. Like most Riblet lifts, it features clips which are inserted into the haul rope rather than grips which clamp onto the rope. Earlier this season, another chair with a Riblet clip fell at 49 Degrees North in Washington State.

I have contacted the Ski/Amusement Division of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which licenses ski lifts in the state, and will update this post if I get further information on this incident.

Update 1/12: The family of one of the injured skiers asked me to post the following statement:

My brother has been transported to another hospital with very serious injuries. I would like to thank everyone for their concerns especially those who saw it happen and reported the details to prevent any further injuries. The hospital is closed to visitors and a very close family member at another location is sick in a very bad way with the covid virus. We in the family appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time.

News Roundup: Merry Christmas

December 25, 2020Peter Landsman10 Comments

Sunrise Park Resort considers building a combination lift.
Mont-Sainte-Anne works diligently toward reopening its gondola with a reduced capacity of 30 cabins at first.
A Vancouver developer scraps a gondola from its plans.
Ontario’s more than 40 ski areas are ordered to close as part of a multi-week lockdown beginning tomorrow.
The City of Sioux Falls orders a Skytrac quad for Great Bear Ski Valley.
Fashion designer Rachel Zoe shares the story of her son falling from a Buttermilk quad chair on social media.
Another fall at Sundance gets featured on Reddit.
An 8 year old raises $10,000 to support a struggling nonprofit ski area in North Dakota.
Snow King Mountain previews its gondola cabins which are being fabricated in France.
Michigan’s Blackjack and Indianhead are both for sale with a listing price of $3.49 million.
Blizzard Beach, chairlift and all, will reopen March 7th after a year-long closure.
A group proposes connecting West Seattle to the regional transit network with a four station gondola.
Steamboat creates a virtual gondola line powered by text message.
With Europe’s ski industry struggling particularly hard, MND Group focuses on international markets including North America.
The reimagined Bousquet Mountain opens with a new triple chair January 1st.
Mission Ridge’s new summit lift opening later this winter will be called the Wenatchee Express.
Lake Louise updates its trail map to show the West Bowl expansion, Summit lift and two future lift alignments.
The New York Times checks in with ski resorts across the country about business during the pandemic.

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