- Powdr sells SilverStar, BC to Pacific Group Resorts.
- Excavation begins for the Okanagan Gondola in interior BC.
- A study finds the proposed Zincton project in BC could disrupt grizzly and wolverine corridors.
- Little Switzerland, Wisconsin plans to replace the up-and-over 1-2 lift with two quads in 2026.
- Fall Line Construction’s new website showcases several cool lift projects from the past few years.
- Mad River Glen may acquire 1,100 acres of surrounding land.
- Telluride and its unionized ski patrol remain far apart with a strike possible.
- Compagnie des Montagnes de Ski du Quebec (CMSQ) would like to own ten ski areas in five years.
- Nearly a year since the province of Quebec and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies announced a CA$50 million joint investment at Mont-Sainte-Anne, the deal still hasn’t been signed.
- The Canadian Ski Museum highlights community ski area history in every province.
Okanagan Gondola
News Roundup: In the South
- Timberline begins the NEPA process for a gondola from Government Camp to Timberline Lodge, requiring less than one acre of new permit area.
- West Virginia opens the first of two Doppelmayr gondolas in State Parks.
- A paraglider survives being caught in a moving gondola in Switzerland.
- Leitner’s apple ropeway opens in Italy.
- A funicular railway crashes in Portugal, killing 16 people, with the investigation focused on the wire rope.
- Leitner-Poma and Skytrac’s parent company invests in HKD Snowmakers; will consolidate DemacLenko and HKD in North America.
- A gondola to Disneyland is floated in Anaheim with unproven technology called Whoosh.
- The last day for Cannon Mountain’s tram will be October 26th; it’ll continue running for administrative purposes.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire reports its highest skier visits ever but also growing pains with noise complaints from neighbors.
- The Okanagan Gondola previews the view from the top of the upcoming sightseeing lift.
- Killington’s former Sunrise lodge and base of the Northeast Passage triple are for sale.
- Homewood commences gondola construction.
- Here’s what happens to a glacier-pinned lift when the glacier recedes.
- Powder Mountain walks back its map showing DMI being installed for 2026-27.
News Roundup: Aerials
- Okanagan Gondola eyes a 2027 opening.
- Waterville Valley explains the reasoning behind building a lift in house.
- Quebec’s CMSQ group is selected to operate Mont Édouard and plans a CA$16 million six pack for 2026.
- CMSQ also intends to operate Mont Adstock and would like to take control of Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham.
- BigRock, Maine decommissions its Mueller double.
- Vail narrows down on a gondola plan for West Lionshead.
- Still no arrests five years after the Sea to Sky Gondola cable was cut.
- A deal is in the works to reopen Toggenburg, New York for skiing.
- The Canadian government finds no illegal monopoly with the Banff Gondola and Jasper Sky Tram under common ownership.
- Five people are hospitalized following a chairlift collapse in Russia. Photos and video show the single chairs’s drive terminal upside down.
- The Forest Service approves a Sandia Peak Telemix.
- Aspen takes an exploratory look at valley gondola transport.
- Kicking Horse finishes installation of new hanger arms, hopes to reopen its gondola soon.
- The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway temporarily closes due to technical issues.
- Here’s a look from the air where Powder Mountain’s DMI, Davenport and Halfpint lifts are going.
News Roundup: A Long Time Coming
- Powderhorn, Colorado formally proposes replacing West End.
- Off-the-grid Mt. Baker to construct a central generation facility to power numerous chairlifts once driven by diesel prime movers.
- The plan for Aspen Mountain’s Lift 1A replacement “continues to evolve.”
- The Forest Service releases a map of the proposed Nell Bell high speed quad on Ajax, which would span 8,300 feet and 2,650′ vertical.
- Over at Snowmass, crews work to build the new Elk Camp Express while the old lift continues spinning in nearly the same alignment for a few more weeks.
- The WestJet Skyride in downtown Calgary may be shortened or removed to make way for a hotel.
- Urban gondolas are catching on nearly everywhere. Why not the US and Canada?
- Repairs to Kicking Horse’s Golden Eagle Express, closed since early March, will take longer than expected due to supply chain issues.
- The Okanagan Gondola breaks ground in BC.
- Towers go in for the Mighty Argo Cable Car, set to open in March 2026.
- A soon-to-open 3S in Italy will feature automatic cabin washing, a heat recovery system and impressive 3,200 foot vertical rise.
- Doppelmayr updates its Ropeway Configurator to include new products like Stella.
- Analysis shows a new urban gondola in Norway will have lower lifecycle emissions per passenger kilometer than most other forms of transport.
- Deer Valley invites the public to watch tower flying for the upper East Village Gondola and Pinyon Express.
News Roundup: Independence Day
- The owner of Cape Smokey, Nova Scotia to acquire Ski Martock, also in Nova Scotia.
- Titcomb Mountain, Maine seeks final funding to replace its second T-Bar.
- Keystone proposes replacing A51 with a detachable quad.
- Yet another excellent Deer Valley construction update.
- Mantis Ropeway Technologies to install Assistance software on five lifts in Austria to detect misloads using AI.
- The BC Okanagan Gondola project hits a snag related to water.
- Mission Ridge, Washington launches an expansion website.
- Mountain Capital Partners to buy a majority stake in four more Chilean mountains.
- Sun Valley proposes more Bald Mountain lift upgrades.
- Four Seasons, New York looks to be liquidating its ski operations.
- A storm causes an aerial tramway to derope in Dornbirn, Austria. Even the rescue ropeway de-roped, requiring the use of a helicopter to save 19 passengers and a dog.
- Skeetawk, Alaska completes preliminary geotechnical work for a proposed upper mountain lift.
- Big Moose Mountain, Maine performs similar work with the goal of returning lift service to the summit.
News Roundup: Mountain Planet 2024
- MND posts a replay of its Orizon product launch at Mountain Planet.
- Doppelmayr and Poma release their annual yearbooks.
- Poma launches an open air gondola concept where passengers will stand harnessed.
- Doppelmayr wins a $115 million contract to build a 3S and 10 passenger gondola in Chamonix.
- Okanagan Gondola receives final approval for construction near Kelowna, BC.
- The Highlands, Michigan will auction chairs for charity.
- Turkey arrests multiple people over last week’s fatal gondola incident.
- Jackson Hole says goodbye to Sublette.
- Opposition emerges to Deer Valley’s proposed Lift 7.
- Quebec Mountain Resorts Company, owner of Mont Grand-Fonds and Mont Lac-Vert, offers to buy Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, says it would invest tens of millions in new lifts and snowmaking.
- Vail Resorts reports skier visits were down 7.8 percent this season but revenue was up. Same story for 24-25 season pass sales with units pacing down but revenue up.
- Bluewood, Washington looks to replace Skyline with a detachable quad.
News Roundup: Modernizing
- Skytrac modernizes a Hall double at Snow Trails, Ohio.
- Arapahoe Basin eyes transport gondolas and a new chairlift.
- Arkansas may get its first lift.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire will operate this season after all with support from Indy Pass.
- Residents seek a restraining order to halt construction at Wasatch Peaks Ranch.
- Quebec’s government pours cold water on funding Mont-Sainte-Anne upgrades with Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.
- Big White teases future lift and terrain expansion.
- Cannon Mountain’s tram modernization will go out to bid soon.
- Okanagan Gondola eyes a 2025 opening.
- More expansion maps are out: Sugarloaf, Keystone, Schweitzer, Red Lodge, Trollhaugen.
- Okemo seeks a five year extension on approval of a Jackson Gore beginner quad.
News Roundup: Repaired
- Really big trees fall on an Italian gondola.
- Whistler Blackcomb details construction to date for Fitzsimmons 8.
- I join the UK-based Ski Podcast to chat about my quest to visit every lift in North America.
- Bartholet begins constructing the first Ropetaxi gondola with a network concept.
- The proposed sightseeing gondola near Vernon, BC inches forward.
- Aspen Skiing Company’s resort, hospitality and retail arms reorganize as Aspen One with a new CEO.
- Aspen also gives a Pandora’s expansion update.
- Sunday River offers old Barker chairs for sale.
- A new ski area is proposed near Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
- Brundage’s key base-to-summit lift is repaired after 22 days of downtime.
News Roundup: Flying High
- Sun Valley and Snowbasin ditch the Epic Pass, will be Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective partners beginning next season.
- Also for next season, Alterra pulls Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe and Sugarbush from the Mountain Collective Pass.
- Cascade Mountain lists the Mogul Monster triple for sale.
- New York State ski areas report a 26 percent increase in revenue so far this season.
- Newly nonprofit Skiland Alaska looks to raise $100,000 for upgrades to its chairlift.
- Jay Peak says it has two viable suitors currently.
- A great podcast features Andy Shepard of Saddleback taking listeners through the mountain’s closure, sale and reopening.
- The team behind Edmonton’s Prairie Sky Gondola says it’s working on another gondola in a different Canadian city.
- Fast Company features a story on gondolas as urban transportation gap fillers.
- Alterra CEO Rusty Gregory is quoted saying this season has gone “shockingly well” despite “pinch points.”
- Leaders in Alaska’s capital city vote to spend $2 million on a used pulse gondola for Eaglecrest Ski Area.
- Big Squaw owner James Confalone is ordered to pay $4.5 million in penalties for timber violations and failure to maintain the ski area.
- Alpine-X proposes a second indoor ski area in Dallas.
- Officials pause pursuit of a Gunstock expansion.
- Flying Yankee at Attitash will be down for the foreseeable future due to an issue with the tension system.
- The Colorado Sun catches up with me to talk about visiting every US ski area.
- A Panorama guest is helicoptered to a hospital after falling off the Mile 1 quad.
- Crystal Mountain confirms a $100 million capital plan will include new lift(s) and expanded terrain in 2023-24.
- The proposed Okanagan Gondola is already moving forward.
- Belleayre and Doppelmayr organize a major gearbox repair operation on the Belleayre Express.
- Skiers criticize staffing and operations at Hunter Mountain.
News Roundup: Bounty
- Sandia Peak won’t open for skiing this season due to weather and staffing challenges.
- A snowboarder falls from Vail Mountain’s Avanti Express.
- The mall where Big Snow American Dream operates faces mounting financial problems.
- Kimberley offers a CA$100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the Northstar Express arsonist.
- Castle Mountain loans Kimberley another passenger snow cat and Leitner-Poma prioritizes repairs in its production schedule.
- The Bode Miller Ski Academy at Granby Ranch will include a high speed surface lift for race training.
- Elk Mountain rope evacuates for the second time in a week, this time the C double.
- The same day, nearby Montage Mountain rope evacuates the Long Haul triple.
- Also last Sunday: 150 people evac’d from the double chair at Song Mountain.
- A Colorado mountain will join the Indy Pass for the first time next week.
- Tamarack removes a North Bowl lift from its expansion proposal, hopes to begin the NEPA process soon for its proposed gondola, south expansion lifts and Wildwood Express extension.
- The reincarnated Big Squaw would include a six person chairlift and new T-Bar.
- Outside Magazine talks with numerous Vail Resorts employees about operational challenges.
- Town of Vail leaders discuss the situation at the namesake company.
- A Sea to Sky-style gondola is planned for interior British Columbia.
- Sunshine Village posts some fascinating stats about its very unique gondola.
- Four men plead not guilty to felony vandalism charges following last month’s incident at the San Diego Zoo.
- Soldier Mountain closes for the weekend due to unspecified lift issues.
- Alaska’s first gondola system is complete and will open to the public in April.
- Cannonsburg laments contractor and supply chain delays which have kept its triple chair from operating this season.
- Aspen Skiing Company raises its minimum wage to $20 per hour, effective the day after tomorrow.
- Argentinian actress Vero Lozano breaks an ankle falling from height off an Aspen chairlift.
- The South Korean resort where a detachable quad rolled back on January 22nd won’t reopen any of its lifts this winter.
- Multiple parties file objections to Purgatory’s Ice Creek expansion approval.
- The State of New Hampshire will host a public meeting next week regarding the future of the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway.
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