MND Ropeways will construct another lift at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire this summer, replacing the existing World Cup T-Bar and Exhibition Poma. The lift will run in a new alignment, serving athletes and training programs as well as the general public. The new T-Bar will span 2,226 feet with a vertical rise of 602 feet and capacity of 1,100 skiers per hour.
“This new T-Bar is an exciting investment in our mountain’s infrastructure,” said Tim Smith, President & General Manager of Waterville Valley Resort. “It will greatly improve our ability to support training camps, race and freestyle programs, and provide enhanced access for recreational skiers.”
This will be the fifth MND Ropeways installation at Waterville following the High Country T-Bar, Tecumseh Express and two conveyors. As part of this summer’s work, Waterville will install redesigned bubbles for the Tecumseh Express’ 83 chairs. A new bubble material has already been tested and found to be more durable than the original Bartholet version.
If the last week and a half was quiet on the blog, it’s because I was skiing my way around Austria, Germany and Switzerland with a few lift factory visits along the way. The last stop on my journey was Interalpin, the world’s largest trade show for mountain technology which takes place in Innsbruck every two years. Thanks to Covid, this was the first Interalpin in four years with an estimated 35,000 people attending.
Doppelmayr
Doppelmayr made a splash the first day with the introduction of a new logo, the company’s first brand refresh in decades. For the first time Doppelmayr Group companies like CWA, Carvatech, Garaventa, Gassner and Frey all have logos matching the parent company’s identity. The new brand will be introduced to international subsidiaries over time.
Doppelmayr’s sprawling two story booth featured numerous cabins, chairs, grips and carriages from an 8 seat Carvatech gondola all the way up to a 32 passenger CWA Atria.
A 20 passenger cabin called Stella debuted for the first time. This cabin will be available for both Tri-Line 3S and 20 passenger monocable gondolas. Stella fills the gap between the ubiquitous Omega and much larger Atria model, which has only been used to two lifts to date. Future 20 passenger monocable gondolas will utilize a new D9000 carriage, which is built around two side by side D5000 grips.
Introduced last year, Tri-Line is a streamlined version of the 3S gondola with smaller stations requiring less concrete. The first Tri-Line is under development at Hoch-Ybrig, Switzerland. Both Tri-Line and 20-MGD are based off standard D-Line stations and can achieve up to 8,000 passengers per hour with Stella cabins that fit closely together and can open on two sides. On the three rope Tri-Line, Stella cabins will be capable of spanning longer distances between towers than monocable gondolas with high wind stability.
Doppelmayr also showcased a simplified surface lift product family called S-Line.
Doppelmayr had a full size mockup of an Auro autonomous gondola station which can be monitored remotely from a ropeway operations center. A chairlift version is also undergoing testing on two lifts in the region using artificial intelligence to monitor unloading. In both cases, large detachable lifts could be operated by just one person.
Also on the software front, Doppelmayr’s resort management software clair now integrates with other mountain technology providers such as Fatzer, Skidata and TechnoAlpin.
HTI Group
HTI group hosted another large booth shared between Prinoth, Leitner, Poma and DemacLenko. For the first time Bartholet was also part of the HTI area. With three different lift brands now under one umbrella, HTI showed off multiple Diamond cabins, a premium chair, Symphony gondolas and Bartholet chairs/cabins.
I got to experience both Leitner’s 2S and 3S gondolas in the surrounding mountains and was very impressed with their smooth ride and quality. The newest 2S design utilizes plastic carriage rollers and can span long distances between towers more economically than a 3S.
Bikes were a big focus with both chair and gondola loading solutions on display. The European industry has embraced vertical racks so passengers can ride on the same chairs as bikes without having to skip chairs with trays.
HTI is also getting into the software game with a resort management program called Skadii including digital logbooks to manage documentation.
Energy efficiency is a huge focus in Europe and HTI also showed off its Ecodrive program, which uses cameras to analyze lift queues and automatically adjust lift speed to save energy.
MND
MND Ropeways had a Waterville Valley style six place chair along with a gondola cabin on display. The company continues to push the benefits of providing lifts, snowmaking, avalanche control systems and summer attractions all from one supplier.
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Following last week’s Bartholet-HTI news, MND says its agreement with Bartholet runs through December 2023 and that MND “aims to be a major and self-sufficient industrial ropeway mobility player.” The company plans to deliver around 32 non-detachable chairlifts and surface lifts this year in addition to Bartholet alliance projects.
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“The 2021 construction season was particularly challenging due to a number of unusual circumstances. The pandemic resulted in labor shortages for not only the lift construction crews and building teams, but also with the supply chain companies delivering key materials. Helicopter usage was a key component for construction, as they were required for activities including tree removal, setting of lift towers and pouring the foundations at the KT mid-station. Helicopter availability was greatly affected by one of the worst wildfire seasons in California history, and once helicopters were available, their operations were shut down as they could not safely fly in the smoky conditions. The fires also resulted in periods when the crews had to be sent home due to unhealthy air quality. For these reasons, construction could not be completed within the six-to-eight-month time frame anticipated in the EIS.”
The Italian-based giant which owns Leitner, Poma, Skytrac, Sigma, Prinoth and Demaclenko has added yet another ropeway brand to its stable. High Technology Industries (HTI) announced it acquired a majority stake in Bartholet Maschinenbau AG, a Swiss manufacturer of fixed grip and detachable ropeways. The controlling share was previously held by Chinese private equity firm Cedarlake Capital. The agreement once again shifts the global ropeway landscape, which has seen relentless consolidation in recent decades. Chairman and CEO Roland Bartholet and the Bartholet management team will remain in place and the brand will continue to be based in Flums, Switzerland. The company’s founding family will retain a minority stake.
MND’s ropeway division and Bartholet are set to debut their first North American detachable lift at Waterville Valley later this year. Much of that six place bubble chair has already been delivered stateside and some foundations are already complete. The Bartholet-HTI press release did not address the future of the MND partnership, though history suggests it will likely wind down. MND did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The now larger HTI Group remains privately held while MND trades publicly on the Euronext Growth exchange under the symbol ALMND.
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