Mt. Baldy

Fire Reaches Mountain High; Resorts Threatened Across the West

Peter Landsman22 Comments
Mountain High East, California

The Bridge Fire made a run through Southern California’s Mountain High Resort this afternoon, inflicting unknown damage. The resort’s own webcams showed extreme fire activity with flames surrounding both fixed grip and detachable lift terminals. An online fire map showed nearly the entire resort potentially impacted. The resort posted that San Bernardino County Fire was on the scene and to stay tuned for updates.

Mountain High West, California

Unfortunately Mountain High is not alone being threatened by wildfire. Snow Valley and Mt. Baldy in Southern California; Mt. Rose and Sky Tavern in Nevada and Tamarack, Idaho all face evacuation orders this evening due to wildfires. Mt. Baldy is under a mandatory evacuation order due to the same fire that impacted Mountain High.

Snow Valley, California

Snow Valley, part of Alterra’s three mountain Big Bear Mountain Resort complex, is being threatened by the 28,000 acre Line Fire. Snowmaking guns could be seen dampening lift terminals this afternoon.

Mt. Rose, Nevada

Further north near Lake Tahoe, the 5,600 acre Davis Fire reached near Mt. Rose and could also impact nearby community ski hill Sky Tavern. Sprinklers could be seen spraying Mt. Rose base areas before webcams were turned off.

In Idaho, Tamarack Resort shut down operations until further notice due to a “Set” evacuation status, one level below “Go.”

Mountain High, California

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News Roundup: More Skiing?

Peter Landsman15 Comments
  • Mt. Baldy runs out of snow, ending North American lift served skiing for now.
  • Aspen Skiing Company expresses frustration with the Colorado governor’s order for ski resorts to remain closed until at least May 23rd.
  • Arapahoe Basin still wants to reopen.
  • Oregon may beat Colorado to the punch.
  • Eaglecrest, Alaska joins the Powder Alliance.
  • Alterra CEO Rusty Gregory says his company is well-capitalized and delayed projects should be completed next year (plus he’s still looking to buy more resorts!)
  • Skeetawk completes its chairlift, becoming the first new ski area in Alaska since 1983.
  • Mountain planner Paul Mathews of Ecosign talks about the development of Sun Peaks and future plans in the West Bowl and the Gil’s areas.
  • Norwegian Cruise Line reiterates its commitment to Alaska including the funding of two gondolas currently under construction in Hoonah.
  • As part of a land swap, the Yellowstone Club seeks to gain 500 acres of expert terrain.
  • Cuchara remains on track to reopen next year with one lift.
  • The Utah Department of Transportation will evaluate gondolas from the Salt Lake Valley and Park City as two possible options to improve mobility in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
  • Doppelmayr’s first Wir magazine of 2020 highlights new installations from around the world.

News Roundup: Spread Out

Peter Landsman9 Comments
  • Snowy Range proposes upgrading the Chute double chair to a triple.
  • Construction ramps up on the first next generation Leitner 2S gondola, a $49 million project.
  • The Storm Skiing Podcast catches up with Doppelmayr USA President Katharina Schmitz, whose team is working hard to deliver remaining 2020 projects on time.
  • Similar to last week’s case against Vail, an Ikon Pass holder files a class action suit against Alterra over early resort closures.
  • Prairie Sky Gondola selects Doppelmayr to assist with the next phase of its design.
  • Arapahoe Basin’s Al Henceroth gives four reasons he’s pressing ahead with two lift replacements this summer.
  • Mt. Baldy in Southern California becomes the first North American resort to reopen for skiing and riding with social distancing measures in place.
  • The Jackson Hole Aerial Tram will not operate this summer due to scheduled maintenance.
  • Following cities in France and Germany, the Czech Republic capital will build a 3S gondola for urban transport.
  • Comcast’s Universal Parks division files a patent for a multi-stop gondola system with cars that can self propel when detached from haul ropes.
  • According to a new report, the United States leads the world in annual skier visits but has only six of the world’s 50 busiest mountains (with the second most lifts of any country.)

News Roundup: More Epic

Peter Landsman6 Comments

  • The Spanish ski resort that closed when a chair fell from its Yan detachable quad reopens with uploading via snowcat.
  • The San Diego Fire Department performs a successful over water night evacuation of the Bayside Skyride at SeaWorld San Diego.
  • Timberline Four Seasons Resort, which has struggled with lift breakdowns and other issues of late, is closed this weekend and could be placed in receivership.
  • Snow Valley missed all of President’s weekend will remain closed indefinitely due to road damage.  Mountain High is kindly honoring their season passes during the shutdown.

News Roundup: New in New Zealand

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News Roundup: Panoramabahn

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  • I passed a Doppelmayr drive terminal on I-80 last week.  Now I know where it was going: Sugarloaf.
  • More pictures from Lutsen Mountains of their new gondola.  The old Hall Skycruiser is still standing parallel to her replacement.
  • Haul rope and commline go up at Okemo.
  • North Korea’s Masik Pass ski resort looks to have gotten a base-to-summit gondola this summer based on recent satellite imagery.  Perhaps another counterfeit Doppelmayr?

Creeping on North Korea’s ski lift construction in Google Earth yields a new building at the summit of Masik Pass.  It looks to house a detachable lift terminal with a lift line stretching all the way to the base area with towers and gondola cabins also visible.   The existing summit double is on the lower right.

  • In British Columbia, first Crystal Mountain and now Mt. Baldy will not open this season. Baldy has a T-Bar, Mueller double, and 2007 Leitner-Poma quad that last operated in 2013.
  • SkyTrac load tests at Pomerelle.  One more to go at Arizona Snowbowl.