- 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.
Mission Ridge
News Roundup: A Long Time Coming
- Above: groomers and mechanics deploy a new strategy to keep the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram flying above this winter’s huge snowpack.
- Despite planning to open this winter for the first time in three years, Spout Springs now says it won’t happen.
- A Boston private equity firm is reportedly interested in spending $25-30 million to reopen Maine’s third largest resort.
- We’ll have to wait awhile longer to ski year round in New Jersey
- Killington confirms North Ridge Quad is a go for this summer.
- This morning at 9:00 Pacific is a rare chance to score a classic Murray-Latta double chair.
- Mt. Mancelona in Michigan revives the world’s second oldest T-Bar but earns a cease and desist order from the state amid a host of financial problems.
- A revived Fortress Mountain would mimic Red Mountain and Whitewater but with a fleet of brand new lifts.
- Reader Christoph thinks he’s solved the mystery of where Mission Ridge’s new bubble lift is from: Brixen, Austria.
- County approval paves the way for Eldora to build the Jolly Jug expansion lift next year.
- Aspen Highlands’ Golden Horn platter is now a 2020 project.
- Mt. Hood Meadows says it’s announcing the most significant improvement of this century later today.
- There’s another new British Columbia resort idea floating around: Zincton Mountain Village.
- Shuttered two chair area Deer Mountain hits the market.
- On the other side of South Dakota, flooding damages the lone lift and ends the season at Great Bear.
- The Sea to Sky Gondola gets negative press for telling unprepared hikers to walk down from the summit after closing time.
- An ad in the New York State Contract Reporter suggests a new chairlift is coming to Belleayre this summer, though the resort tells me no decision has been made yet.
- We now know why Sun Valley pushed back the Cold Springs project to 2020: the alignment has changed for the high speed quad.
- Bretton Woods says its new gondola will open later this year. Reader Donovan Seabury sent me these pictures of its progress.
Washington’s First Bubble Chair Coming to Mission Ridge
The fifth US state to feature a bubble lift will be a place close to my heart – Washington. Although both Alterra and Vail Resorts now operate mountains in the Evergreen State, it’s independent gem Mission Ridge that will debut a bubble lift next season. Subject to Forest Service and state approvals, the used detachable quad will replace the Poma-built Liberator Express, which launched in 2005. The existing lift came used from Winter Park and is now 34 years old.
Liberator stretches more than 6,500 feet and rises 1,600′ vertical but has not been very reliable in its life up north. “The costs and limitations associated with maintaining the Liberator required us to take a new approach, so we began a search and found an ideal replacement,” said General Manager Josh Jorgensen in a statement. “If approved, this investment will offer consistency of operations and a much more comfortable ride up the mountain,” he added. “The new lift will come with all new electronic systems and controls which will serve Mission well for many years into the future.”
“We feel fortunate to have this opportunity,” noted Larry Scrivanich, the Seattle entrepreneur who purchased Mission Ridge from Harbor Properties 16 years ago. At the time, Harbor also owned and had invested in new lifts at two other mountains while mostly neglecting its Wenatchee property. Under Mr. Scrivanich’s leadership, Mission not only added the Liberator Express, but also Washington’s most comprehensive snowmaking system. The resort recently launched an expansion plan, seeking to add three more lifts and a ski-in, ski-out village northeast of the current base area. Some noted at the time of the announcement that the Liberator lift should be addressed first. Now it will be, though with another used lift. If all goes according to planned, Mission Ridge guests can be the only ones in the world to ride a classic Riblet double chair to a bubble detachable next winter.
Correction: This story originally stated that the lift would be new from Doppelmayr. It has been updated to reflect that the lift, while Doppelmayr, is coming used from Europe.
Mission Ridge Applies to Expand by 650 Acres
A day use ski area in the Cascade Mountains with lifts dating back to the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s is one step closer to becoming a regional destination with overnight accommodations. Over the summer, Mission Ridge submitted applications to both the Forest Service and Chelan County seeking to cut new runs, build more lifts, add a second base area and debut cross country ski trails.
Seattleite Larry Scrinavich purchased Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort from Seattle-based Harbor Properties in 2003 and went to work, installing the resort’s first high-speed detachable quad. The Liberator Express, together with big snowmaking investments, took Mission Ridge to the next level. The ski area enjoyed its third best season to date last year, tallying 114,000 skier days.
Following a dozen years of quiet growth, Mr. Scrivanich and his team are ready to elevate Mission Ridge further. “We’re really excited about the Mission Ridge expansion plan,” General Manager Josh Jorgensen says in a launch video. “The ski industry is certainly changing. With Vail Resorts and Alterra purchasing Stevens Pass and Crystal Mountain Resort in the last six months, our effort to stay modern, current and relevant in terms of infrastructure is more important than ever.”
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