Indy Pass – Lift Blog

News Roundup: Planning Ahead

October 1, 2021Peter Landsman12 Comments

Indy Pass signs on Manning Park, British Columbia; The Rock, Wisconsin; and Seven Oaks, Iowa.
Big Snow American Dream will remain closed several more weeks following last week’s fire.
Leitner-Poma to build the previously announced Lakeview Express at Mt. Rose next year.
The gondola to the gondola at Breckenridge nears approval.
Rad Smith completes his largest illustration yet – a new map for Big White in the style of James Niehues.
Another protest takes place against a gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Nitehawk continues fundraising for a new chairlift as it nears a second season without one.
Lookout Pass works to convert Timber Wolf from a double into a triple.
Alpine-X seeks to raise up to $5 million through crowdfunding.
An Iowa county agrees to purchase Sleepy Hollow, a chairlift-served tubing park.
Palisades Tahoe renames two of its chairlifts Resort Chair and Wa She Shu.
Doppelmayr arrives on site to assess and make recommendations regarding the storm-damaged chairlift in Gallix, Quebec.
Amsterdam could see a river crossing 3S gondola.
Sundance will host a party on October 10th to celebrate the final rides on Ray’s Lift before removal.
Another gondola concept emerges in Los Angeles.
Lake Louise’s new high speed quad will be called Juniper Express.
Camelback says it has completed an extensive inspection and certification process for its lifts and implemented additional safety protocols in the wake of last season’s chair fall.
Stuart Winchester gets the latest from Aspen Snowmass CEO Mike Kaplan on 1A, Pandora’s, Coney Glade, Burnt Mountain, Goldenhorn and other lift projects.
The Superior National Forest will host a virtual open house Tuesday regarding the Lutsen Mountains expansion.
West Mountain unveils plans for its first detachable lift, including an intermediate station.

News Roundup: Government Proceedings

September 17, 2021Peter Landsman11 Comments

Mission Ridge sues Chelan County over the permitting process for a proposed three lift expansion.
The Forest Service approves Winter Park’s Pioneer Express replacement project.
It will take awhile for the Utah Department of Transportation to wade through 13,000 Little Cottonwood public comments, the most the agency has ever received for a project.
The town of Tupper Lake, New York considers leasing Big Tupper for human powered recreation.
Indy Pass founder Doug Fish expects to quadruple redemptions from 96,000 last winter to 400,000 this season.
New trail maps start to appear showing new lifts: Snowbasin and Welch Village this week.
The first towers go vertical for the Olympic Valley-Alpine Meadows Gondola at Palisades Tahoe.
Sierra at Tahoe provides a fire recovery update.
The rest of Australia’s resorts are cleared to reopen, though some have already called it a season.
The towns of Telluride and Mountain Village are evaluating three options for the aging gondola: gradual incremental upgrades, a major overhaul or total replacement with a decision targeted for next fall.
Some Banff leaders still support a gondola to Mt. Norquay despite Parks Canada opposition.
A far left group targets Poma in France. Unhappy about the company supplying a ropeway to a nuclear waste storage project, the group claims it removed bolts from Poma lifts in the Alps.
Trollhaugen says supply chain delays are impacting installation of a new Partek chairlift, though it still should be completed for this season.
London’s Emirates Air Line gondola will be renamed in 2022 as Transport for London seeks a new naming rights partner.
On the always great Storm Skiing Podcast, Taos CEO David Norden talks timing and lift types for the many upgrades in the resort’s new master plan.
The Purgatory Express is closed due to technical problems yet again.
Whiteface details summer updates to Cloudsplitter, Face Lift and Freeway in addition to the new Bear quad.

News Roundup: Firm Orders

August 13, 2021Peter Landsman18 Comments

Mexico’s Grupo Vidanta will build a second SkyDream gondola system, this time at Vidanta Riviera Maya.
Sundance auctions chairs from the former Arrowhead triple.
The team at Craigleith, Ontario wins the inaugural Ski Area Management/Leitner-Poma Rise Up Challenge.
Four Japanese resorts sign on to the Indy Pass.
Arizona Snowbowl’s new gondola has been down for two weeks and the ski area moves its entire summer operation to a different base area and the Grand Canyon Express.
Beaver Creek’s two new quads will be named McCoy Park Express and Reunion.
The sale price for Blue Mountain, PA is revealed as $31.9 million.
MND reports annual results with ropeway sales up 32 percent and a firm order backlog of €91.7 million.
A group continues to push for a West Seattle gondola as a planned rail project gets delayed.
Squaw Alpine and Leitner-Poma make great progress on the base to base gondola, though they aren’t publicly committing to a completion timeline.
Citing staffing and fire danger, Mt. Shasta ends its summer season early.
After missing a year, Searchmont plans to reopen this season with two new triple chairs.
Manitoba’s Holiday Mountain announces it won’t open in 2021-22.
Vail Resorts unveils a succession plan with CEO Rob Katz moving to an Executive Chairperson role and Chief Marketing Officer Kirsten Lynch becoming CEO November 1.
Icy Strait Point and Norwegian Cruise Line cut the ribbon on the Transporter gondola with another 8 passenger system set to open later this summer.
Jay Peak’s former President and CEO will plead guilty to a single charge of providing false statements and other charges are expected to be dropped.
Keystone posts a big update on the Peru Express replacement project.
Aspen Snowmass introduces a new brand and logo which is already on some gondola cabins.
Snowbasin’s Middle Bowl replacement project gets off to the races.

News Roundup: Fire Sale

July 23, 2021July 23, 2021Peter Landsman4 Comments

A fallen tree forces the evacuation of a tramway in Italy.
The Stresa-Mottarone cable car which crashed in May may be replaced by a gondola.
Doppelmayr hosts a webinar all about urban mobility.
Sugarloaf will update the public on the West Mountain expansion Monday.
The latest Indy Pass additions are Marmot Basin, Montage Mountain, Snow Valley, CA and Titus Mountain.
Big Sky posts sneak peak photos of premium chairs for Swift Current 6.
Spirit Mountain lists the Double Jaw double for sale with an asking price of $1.
Voting is open for the Rise Up Challenge; one of six lift mechanics will win $3,500 from Leitner-Poma of America and Ski Area Management.
A Quebec appeals court judge writes in a dissenting opinion that a mountain biker left on a chairlift at Bromont should be held partially responsible because he did not carry a cell phone.
TikTok drives record ridership on London’s Emirate Air Line.
Caberfae Peaks plans to build a Doppelmayr triple in 2022 replacing Shelter.
After lengthy repairs, the Purgatory Village Express is open.
Crested Butte will auction chairs from Peachtree.
Vail Resorts details plans to boost wages significantly across its resorts.
Sunshine Village provides an update on it long range plan, including a second Goat’s Eye chairlift.
The State of New Hampshire may seek federal funding to upgrade or replace the Cannon Mountain Tramway.
Hear the story of how Rick Schmitz acquired three Wisconsin ski areas beginning at age 22.

News Roundup: Naming

July 16, 2021Peter Landsman18 Comments

Jackson Hole’s Tram Maintenance Manager explains why Big Red is closed this summer.
Wildcat Mountain says scenic chairlift rides will resume on 7/31 following a lift upgrade project.
A Salt Lake TV station devotes a half hour to exploring the gondola and bus options for Little Cottonwood Canyon.
UDOT extends the public comment period for the LCC project to 70 days, ending September 3rd.
The renaming of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is pushed back to early Fall.
Okemo reports great progress on two new lifts.
The Forest Service says at least two of Grand Targhee’s proposed expansion lifts will not be approved and a decision on others won’t come until late 2022.
The new high speed quad on Peak 7 at Breckenridge will be called Freedom SuperChair.
Four more mountains will join the Indy Pass next week.
New Hampshire reports solid pandemic skier visits similar to pre-pandemic numbers.
Local politicians oppose a direct route for the Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
Pittsburgh considers an urban gondola to connect two downtown districts.
Both Doppelmayr Canada and Leitner-Poma offer to finance the Cascade Skyline Gondola.
Sun Peaks shutters mountain operations due to regional wildfires.
Progress report from Leitner-Poma and Skytrac’s big project at Snow King Mountain:

News Roundup: Preferred Alternatives

June 25, 2021Peter Landsman22 Comments

Colorado reports an estimated 12 million skier visits, slightly below the recent average.
Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth will seek millions in damages from the State of Montana related to the Club’s bankruptcy a decade ago.
Indy Pass signs Eagle Point, Utah and Sundown Mountain, Iowa.
Arizona Snowbowl pauses summer operations due to fire danger.
Alterra looks to build a village surrounding Mammoth’s Main Lodge, which would include two pulse gondolas and two new chairlifts.
Vail Resorts indefinitely postpones summer ops at Attitash and Wildcat, citing maintenance on three different lifts.
A citizen group forms to advocate for the Pandora’s expansion on Aspen Mountain.
The Utah Department of Transportation selects enhanced bus service and a gondola with La Caille base station as the two preferred alternatives for Little Cottonwood Canyon.

News Roundup: Moving Parts

April 30, 2021Peter Landsman25 Comments

The Seattle Times runs a feature story on Vail Resorts’ operational challenges at Stevens Pass compared with Alterra at Crystal Mountain.
Ridgeline Executive Group will continue running Granby Ranch following the sale to a new ownership group.
The unique triangle gondola at Sterling Vineyards remains closed seven months after a wildfire with no estimate for reopening.
Big Snow renames its quad chair in honor of General Manager Jim Haas and others who died of Covid-19.
Two employees of the Georgian ski resort where a lift rolled back in 2018 have been charged criminally and face up to five years in prison.
Visits to New York’s three state-owned ski areas were up 14 percent to 672,000 with revenue up 10 percent and expenses down 8 percent.
Whiteface will replace the Bear and Mixing Bowl lifts with a $2.5 million Skytrac quad.
Powder Mountain, Mt. Ashland and West Mountain join the Indy Pass, which topped 96,000 redemptions this season.
Cherry Peak, Eagle Point, Red River and Snow Valley sign on to the Freedom Pass alliance, Toggenburg leaves.
Another fire threatens Ski Apache, which is so far unscathed.
We now know why the Mighty Argo Cable Car project is stalled. Owners have sued lenders, alleging breach of contract and a $4.5 million loss.
The Routt National Forest approves Steamboat’s Wild Blue Gondola and Sundown Express replacement projects, subject to a customary objection period.
Japan’s first urban gondola opens.
Mi Teleferico celebrates seven years as La Paz’s urban gondola system, providing 328 million rides.
Loon Mountain confirms the former Kancamagus detachable quad will replace Seven Brothers in 2022.
Loveland closes Lift 8 for the season due to a mechanical issue.
The only jigback tramway in Texas could make a return.
Holiday Valley posts tons of photos of its latest lift replacement project.
The first gondola components arrive in Squaw Valley.

News Roundup: Good Friday

April 2, 2021Peter Landsman4 Comments

After a successful winter, Monarch Mountain will think about building a lift in No Name Basin in the next few years.
The Georgetown-Rosslyn gondola concept is back under discussion in the nation’s capital.
Leitner-Poma seeks workers to help build the Squaw-Alpine base to base gondola this summer.
Whistler Blackcomb will not attempt to reopen for spring skiing once British Columbia’s closure order ends.
Revelstoke shuts down early due to a Covid-related staffing shortage.
Big White fires employees for attending a party widely shown in local media and is also closing 6 days early.
Ontario shuts down skiing again.
Indy Pass will announce new pricing and resort additions on April 27th.
Snow King’s expansion receives final permission and chairs are already off the Summit double.
Magic Mountain says the Black Line Quad will be re-engineered and completed for the 2021/22 season.
A New Zealand operator is ordered to pay $8.4 million for spreading a wildfire via a moving chairlift in 2017.
Skeetawk celebrates a successful inaugural season but a second chairlift remains years away.
Okemo’s new six pack won’t have bubbles and the Green Ridge triple will head to another Vail resort in Pennsylvania.
A GoFundMe is started to benefit the victims of the recent Camelback lift accident.

News Roundup: Grab Bag

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021Peter Landsman58 Comments

Timberline Lodge evacuates 42 guests from the new Pucci detachable quad by rope.
Another late day evac happens on Castle Mountain’s Tamarack chair.
Mt. Spokane considers upgrading two 60 year old chairlifts.
The seemingly cursed Gold chair at Nakiska goes down for a week (now back in action).
Under new ownership, Sundance Resort eyes an out-of-base detachable.
Bogus Basin plans expansion and lift upgrades in a new master plan coming later this spring.
Dakota at Big Sky has been down since March 1st.
The first of its kind Leitner 2S gondola undergoes testing in Germany.
Ischgl, an early pandemic hot spot last year, gives up on opening this season.
Vancouver’s transit authority picks a preferred alignment for the Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
The Seattle Times profiles Washington’s first bubble chairlift.
A transportation bill which includes Little Cottonwood funding heads to the Utah Governor’s desk.
Once slated to close, Sleeping Giant now considers adding more lifts.
Zincton Mountain Village, a proposed resort in BC, announces the purchase of a late model Riblet quad.
Facing capacity challenges, Crystal Mountain eliminates unlimited access on the Ikon Base Pass.
Magic Mountain needs some mid-’80s vintage Poma sheave assemblies to complete the Black Line quad. Give them a shout if you can help!
Winter Park’s proposed lift replacements I mentioned last week are a Pioneer Express six place and Lariat conveyor.
On a podcast, Indy Pass creator Doug Fish says more resorts are coming, including in Canada (along with a price increase.)
During recent historic snow, the Portland Aerial Tram ran for 114 consecutive hours while other transit modes shut down.
When the Disney Skyliner stops for a bit, you better believe it will make the news.
Nitehawk looks for funding to replace its landslide-destroyed chairlift.

News Roundup: Ramping Up

February 26, 2021March 1, 2021Peter Landsman29 Comments

Northeast gems Saddleback and Waterville Valley join the Indy Pass coalition, effective immediately.
Winter Park Resort looks for the Forest Service’s blessing to replace multiple lifts.
The Forest Service fully approves Keystone’s Bergman Bowl project.
Welch Village voluntarily withdraws the East Quad from service following an unspecified incident (now back open).
Guests of Mission Ridge love the Wenatchee Express and here’s the final episode of On the Way Up.
Spirit Mountain lends a hand to repair the chairlift at nearby Chester Bowl.
A girl is okay after falling from a Mohawk Mountain chairlift.
A child also falls from a lift at Saddleback.
Skyline at Pebble Creek is partially rope evacuated.
Lookout Pass eyes 2022 for new lifts servicing Eagle Peak.
More reports of stellar seasons from Iowa, New York and Pennsylvania.
Cabins return to the Sea to Sky Gondola with more on the way.
Mt. Bohemia considers building a lift in the Haunted Valley.
Timberline Lodge closes for three days following a messy ice storm.
Once a cartel hub, Medellín is a city transformed in part by a modern gondola network.
Waterville Valley President and General Manager Tim Smith discusses a future gondola, bubble six pack and other lift changes.
A rider who fell into a net along with another passenger and lift operator sues Snow King Mountain.
Murray Ridge secures a six figure grant to rehabilitate one of the world’s longest T-Bars.
MND reports revenue fell 5 percent in the second half of 2020 ($20.7 million in sales came from snowmaking and lifts.)
Aspen will delay the Silver Queen Gondola‘s summer opening to complete big ticket maintenance items.
Doppelmayr’s latest Wir magazine explores the Eiger Express.
Saddleback closes for a day to shorten the haul rope on the new Rangeley quad.
Poma will build an eight station urban gondola system in Madagascar with 274 cabins.
Parent company Dream Unlimited says Arapahoe Basin is on track for its second best financial year ever despite opening four weeks late.
Just two weeks to go until old lifts start coming down to make way for new ones.
Squaw will experiment metering skiers at gates to avoid long lift lines at Silverado.
The world’s largest urban gondola network might add four more lines.
Big Squaw reopens tomorrow, two weeks after this deropement.
A gondola is no longer a core component of the Oakland Athletics’ planned new stadium.
There’s talk of building a 7,000 vertical foot gondola on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

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