- Yellowstone Club and Homewood developer Discovery Land Company plans to revive the former Stagecoach ski area near Steamboat as a private ski and golf resort. A local realtor says Stagecoach Mountain Ranch has a Doppelmayr gondola on order.
- Loon Mountain rekindles plans to build a pulse gondola from RiverWalk Resort in Lincoln to the base of South Peak in 2025.
- MND’s upcoming product launch appears to be lift related.
- Hesperus, Colorado will remain closed next season.
- Nordic Valley will refurbish, not replace Apollo.
- Red River retires the outgoing Copper Chair early due to a mechanical issue.
- A paraglider in Austria dies after flying into a moving gondola. Two passengers in the gondola cabin were slightly injured.
- Mad River Glen details plans for Skytrac to add a mid-station to Sunnyside this summer.
- Mt. Bachelor installs a new electric motor on Northwest Express, allowing it to run full speed for the first time since January.
- A small forest fire briefly closes Timberline’s Jeff Flood Express.
- Parks Canada says no again to a Banff-Mt. Norquay gondola.
- White Hills, Newfoundland rope evacuates the Powder Line Express due to a mechanical issue.
- Powderhorn reopens the Flat Top Flyer after a 17 day unplanned closure.
- The Los Angeles City Council will vote today on a motion to halt approval of the Dodger Stadium Gondola.
- Arapahoe Basin moves to paid peak parking, may alter Ikon Pass access for next season.
- Sugarloaf load tests the newly shortened West Mountain double.
- Norway Mountain, Michigan begins selling season passes for reopening next season after seven years closed.
- FirstGroup, a large private operator of public transit, will take over operation of the London Cable Car.
Mt. Norquay
Mount Norquay Unveils Gondola Plan
As it approaches 100 years in operation, Banff’s Mount Norquay today announced plans to build a new gondola, mountaintop restaurant and via ferrata among other improvements. The Norquay 100 Vision is distinct from a previous plan by Mt. Norquay’s owners to build a gondola from the Town of Banff to the ski area. The newly-proposed Cliff House Gondola would replace the North American double, a machine the ski area bluntly calls “Western Canada’s most outdated chairlift.” The Garaventa pulse lift was installed in 1974 and operates throughout winter and summer. The new detachable gondola would run in a similar alignment between Norquay’s base lodge and a new Cliff House restaurant. The building would serve as a base of operations for a new via ferrata and alpine hiking.
“For nearly 100 years, Norquay has served as Banff’s backyard, an iconic destination for skiers and sightseers, often providing visitors their first introduction to Banff National Park,” said Mount Norquay General Manager Andre Quenneville. “As we start to look towards our second century of operation, we are putting plans in place to improve the visitor experience and make ourselves more accessible as well as environmentally and economically sustainable,” he continued.
The resort notes the restaurant and gondola projects are inseparable with one providing revenue to offset operating costs of the other. “Without this project, Norquay is not economically sustainable because it does not generate enough funds to replace its existing lifts at the end of their life,” said Quenneville, noting the Norquay gondola would also take pressure off the nearby Banff Gondola.
Even with enhanced facilities, Norquay does not seek to increase its guest capacity beyond the current 3,800 people at one time. Initial review of the plan by Parks Canada is already underway and the resort hopes to qualify for a simplified regulatory review process in the lead up to its 2026 centennial.
News Roundup: Government Proceedings
- 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: Last Chance
- Massanutten takes down its Borvig J-Bar.
- Breckenridge posts a Freedom SuperChair progress report along with a new trail map.
- The Atlantic Gondola carries its first passengers in Nova Scotia.
- Kicking Horse shows how it feeds a captive grizzly bear by throwing food from the Golden Eagle Express.
- Heavenly ends summer operations early due to smoke and fire danger.
- The Caldor Fire threatens both Sierra at Tahoe and Kirkwood.
- Alta Sierra narrowly escapes being burned by a different fire.
- Environmentalists use balloons to demonstrate their opposition to gondola cabins and towers in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The last chance to comment on the gondola proposal is September 3rd.
- All remaining resorts in Australia and New Zealand close due to Covid and operators are devastated.
- Highlander Lift Services & Construction is hiring team members to help build the first two lifts at Utah’s Wasatch Peaks Ranch.
- Michigan’s Alpine Valley is under new ownership, widely rumored to be Wisconsin Resorts Inc., though I have been unable to independently confirm that.
- Holiday Valley makes progress on its self-installation of a new Doppelmayr detachable.
- A new lawsuit alleges the State of Vermont knew about and failed to protect investors from the fraud at Burke Mountain.
- County planners recommend rejection of the Pandora’s expansion proposal on Aspen Mountain.
- Parks Canada again says no to a Banff-Norquay gondola.
- The Forest Service seeks public comments on Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Chair 4 replacement project.
News Roundup: Government Relations
- Bogus Basin shells out $53,000 to settle alleged environmental violations related to the construction of the Morning Star Express and other projects.
- Former owner Ariel Quiros will plead guilty to orchestrating a fraudulent investment scheme at Jay Peak.
- The Jay Peak receivership has racked up more than $8 million in attorney and accountant bills so far.
- Aspen Snowmass hasn’t decided whether the Big Burn six place will get bubbles.
- A near collision leads to an evacuation of a Leitner-Poma six pack in New Zealand.
- Skiing in that country proves super popular even without international travel.
- The State of New York makes huge investments at Whiteface this summer: $2.4 million worth of gondola upgrades, a new quad chair, a new lodge and snowmaking enhancements.
- Skytrac is the low bidder to replace Howelsen Hill’s Barrows double with a quad next summer.
- Alterra characterizes season pass sales for next winter as “shockingly strong.”
- Mt. Norquay will try again for approval to build a gondola linking the ski area to Banff.
News Roundup: Across Canada
- Skier visits at Vail Resorts are down 7.8 percent for the season through January 5th, attributed to slow starts at Whistler Blackcomb and Stevens Pass.
- Agassiz at Arizona Snowbowl was evacuated over MLK weekend and remains down.
- Visits and revenue continue to decline at the publicly-owned mountain in Newfoundland called Marble Mountain.
- It takes a ton of work to reopen lifts, particularly detachable ones, at Mt. Snow after an ice storm.
- By building a T-Bar instead of a chairlift, Ski Cooper was able to implement a major expansion this season for around $2 million.
- Mont St. Mathieu opens another $2 million T-Bar expansion, noting a chairlift would have cost more and moved skiers less quickly.
- The Snowpark expansion at Montana Snowbowl is a hit and LaValle is back open.
- Software problems lead to the closure of the new Morning Star Express at Bogus Basin (now back open.)
- BC’s Jumbo Glacier becomes an indigenous protected area, ending plans for a new ski resort there.
- Vail Resorts will pay out $200 bonuses to employees who refer new applicants to become lift operators at 14 resorts.
- The State of Illinois shuts down a ski resort, alleging required inspections weren’t completed prior to opening. In a statement, Snowstar apologizes to season passholders and says an inspector failed to show up. At least one lift will reopen today.
- Parks Canada axes plans for a Mt. Norquay gondola.
- Josh Elliott, the teen who jumped after becoming stranded on a Sugar Mountain chairlift in 2016, tells his harrowing story on the Outside podcast.
- Mt. Jefferson, Maine won’t open this season.
- New York State plans to spend $147 million to improve its ski areas.
- Bromont ropes down more than 200 people from the Express du Village, some after being stuck four and a half hours.
- Edmonton releases the preliminary economic and technical assessment for the Prairie Sky urban gondola.
- Siemens highlights a design software partnership with Doppelmayr.
News Roundup: Long Days
- The Indy Pass adds Caberfae Peaks and Sunrise Park, bringing the total to 36 resorts.
- Owners of Mt. Norquay formalize their proposal for a combo gondola/rail/parking transit center.
- Technical Safety BC releases a redacted Sea to Sky Gondola incident summary.
- Copper Mountain’s Union Creek quad becomes the Woodward Express.
- Mexico City and Doppelmayr break ground on Cablebús, a $155 million urban gondola project with six stations over 5.7 miles.
- The City of Steamboat Springs looks to finally fund a Barrows replacement at Howelsen Hill.
- The Boston Globe profiles the lift maintenance profession at Wachusett Mountain.
- Here’s the full text of the Squaw-Alpine gondola lawsuit.
- Attractions Magazine previews the Disney Skyliner with lots of good things to say.
- Walt Disney World’s gondolas will open as early as 5:45 am and run as late as 12:30 am depending on the day.
- SeaWorld San Diego’s Bayside Skyride reopens after seven months of refurbishment.
- Stevens Pass raises $54,000 for charity in less than a minute via a chair sale.
- Doppelmayr launches a microsite exploring how the world’s largest gondola network improves the lives of city dwellers.
- Wind is blamed for two nasty deropements in Argentina.
News Roundup: Norway
- Arctaris Impact Fund still wants to buy Saddleback but no deal has been reached after more than a year.
- The Banff-Norquay gondola project faces stiff headwinds from Parks Canada.
- The latest podcast from Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz highlights how the company takes over operations at newly-acquired resorts.
- A judge rejects the Hermitage Club’s proposed restructuring plan as members look to reopen under new management.
- In other Hermitage news, a New Jersey bank seeks to repossess 46 snow guns.
- Here is the complete incident narrative from the February SeaWorld gondola deropement.
- Lift construction gets underway at Skeetawk, America’s first all-new ski area since Cherry Peak in 2015.
- Village construction resumes at Tamarack with Wildwood Express installation to follow this fall.
- A helicopter delivers most of the new Steamboat gondola towers.
- Last week’s gondola incident at Vail was not a result of tampering or sabotage.
- Medellín’s sixth urban gondola, Line P, is on track to open in December.
- After 1,231 days as Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, the Badger Pass name returns thanks to a $12 million settlement between the National Park Service and two competing concession companies.
- I spoke too soon on Eaglecrest possibly building Alaska’s first gondola. Icy Strait Point on Chichagof Island is planning a gondola project to open as soon as next summer.
- The haul rope is spliced for a rare fixed grip chondola in Illinois.
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Mi Teleférico in La Paz broke its own daily record again on Monday with 583,841 riders, more than average weekday ridership for Boston’s three subway lines combined.
- Municipally-owned Great Bear resorts to private fundraising in hopes of replacing its Borvig chairlift.
- Placer County leaders will vote Tuesday on the Squaw-Alpine gondola.
- Simon Fraser University steps up its Burnaby Mountain gondola marketing.
- The Los Angeles Griffith Park gondola study is underway.
- Eagle’s Rest 2.0 nears completion at Jackson Hole.
News Roundup: Heating Up
- The Pandora’s high speed quad is a go for next summer on Aspen Mountain.
- Construction of a T-Bar on Golden Peak should begin even sooner at Vail.
- Prying doors open and jumping out of a gondola at Steamboat is not a good idea.
- Nor is bailing from a chairlift at Crested Butte.
- The owner of closed Timberline Resort writes an op-ed about the situation.
- Remember the avalanche that took out a six pack tower in New Zealand last winter? The lift is back together again.
- One of the last remaining Yan detachable lifts, out of service for much of this season, will be torn down this summer.
- Vail CEO Rob Katz says his company will continue to invest in infrastructure such as lifts and steer customers towards season pass products.
- The names for Schweitzer’s upcoming new lifts are Cedar Park Express and Colburn.
- Deer Valley-turned-Alterra executive Bob Wheaton discusses the benefits of being part of a conglomerate.
- Winter Park’s C.A. Lane explains Alterra’s capital allocation is based on resort wish lists.
- Hogadon considers putting $250,000 toward the purchase of a quad chairlift.
- Fernie announces the Timber Bowl Express will close this summer for a bunch of upgrades.
- Sugarloaf uses the backup to the backup on a busy Saturday at Skyline.
- The Austrian resort whose 1980s bubble detachable is apparently destined for Mission Ridge is building two D-Line Omega V 10/bubble 8 combination lifts worth $35 million.
- The first D-Line half station is coming to Sölden.
- There could be another gondola in Banff.
- The BreckConnect won’t spin for much of Breckenridge’s extended winter season out of concern for wildlife.
- A full complement of cabins is spotted on a second Disney Skyliner line.
- The owner of 49 Degrees North says he plans to build a detachable summit lift within three years.
- A Balsams update.
- Mountain Capital Partners will modify the Nordic Valley expansion proposal to address Forest Service concerns.
News Roundup: Never Ending
- Arizona Snowbowl files paperwork with the Coconino National Forest to replace the Agassiz lift with a combination Telemix/chondola as soon as this summer.
- Bromont in Quebec looks to build a Doppelmayr six place chair in place of its 1985 vintage detachable.
- It’s not every day you read about lifties being caught in an avalanche at the bottom of a high-speed quad. Thankfully no one was injured.
- I’m thinking President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel (and 10 percent for aluminum) will have negative implications for the ski lift business, though Mexico and Canada are exempted for now.
- Doppelmayr Canada seeks an experienced construction manager for its four lift megaproject at Whistler Blackcomb.
- Triple double Massachusetts mountain Bousquet is on the block.
- Tenney Mountain opened for skiing yesterday for the first time in eight years.
- When a T-Bar turns into a chairlift…
- Doppelmayr pitches a 3S gondola to connect Oakland with Alameda Island in San Francisco Bay.
- Antelope Butte’s two Riblets will see significant work this summer in advance of a possible reopening.
- Another viral video shows a child falling from a lift at Bear Mountain.
- Edmonton gondola idea wins a design competition, beating hundreds of other entries.
- New owner of Mt. Norquay eyes building a gondola from Banff for improved access.
- Vail Resorts posts strong second quarter results with net income up 58 percent and lift revenue up 6.6 percent despite skier visits dropping 4.9 percent. In addition, Vail is raising its corporate minimum wage to $12.25.
- Doppelmayr proclaims Big Sky’s upcoming 8-seater the most technologically advanced lift the company has ever delivered.