- Alterra’s David Perry says significant capital is likely be spent at Steamboat in 2018 and 2019 with phase two of the gondola rebuild and other big projects on the table.
- A Denver TV reporter heads to Texas for a two-part interview with the husband of Kelly Huber, the woman killed during a lift malfunction last year at Granby Ranch.
- Two loaded chairs collide at Owl’s Head, Quebec after the Green Chair was pressed into rare operation amid downtime on a neighboring high-speed quad. The 1972 Heron-Poma is the former Big Hitch lift from Stagecoach, Colorado.
- China Peak’s owner wishes he still had the $900,000 he spent to build a new lift last summer that can’t open with no snow.
- The new Peak triple was rope evac’d at Pats Peak last Monday, apparently due to a gearbox issue.
- Poma dedicates its newest factory in France.
- Disney Skyliner’s first tower is up and it’s tapered in the cool Wolfurt style.
- Ian Cumming, founder of Powdr and majority owner of Snowbird, dies at age 77.
- Granite Gorge’s chairlift opens for the season after a gearbox issue and other problems.
- Ariel Quiros officially settles with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $82 million, paving the way for the sale of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain.
- The world’s longest lift is open!
- Killington formally applies to replace the South Ridge triple with a quad chair, manufacturer unknown. The sample profile confusingly shows a Poma Alpha drive and Doppelmayr Eclipse return terminal.
- Teton Pass, Montana won’t reopen under current ownership and is up for sale.
- Skier visits have declined 30 percent in South Korea over the last five years and there are several lost ski resorts in the Olympic region.
- The Sawtooth National Forest tentatively approves Sun Valley’s project to replace the Cold Springs lift with a longer high-speed quad as soon as this summer.
- A chairlift will be studied studied for one of Alabama’s most popular state parks.
- Alterra names Mammoth veteran Rusty Gregory as the company’s first CEO.
Pats Peak
Instagram Tuesday: Stealth
Every Tuesday, I feature my favorite Instagram photos from around the lift world.
News Roundup: Retirements
- Telluride weighs building at least one big detachable next summer as the Forest Service tentatively approves replacements for Plunge, Sunshine Express and Village Express.
- White Pass, WA retires its platter in favor of a 380’ carpet.
- LiftDigital goes live for testing at Winter Park.
- Taos says goodbye to two more chairlifts – that’s four in one summer!
- Song Mountain, NY is replacing its 1965 Thunderbird T-Bar with a chairlift.
Anyone know where it’s from? - The Rainforest Adventures crew gets one Skytrac back in action and works to repair the other following Irma’s devastation of St. Maarten.
- Scroll through these photos of a new high-speed quad in Switzerland with four stations, three sections, two haul ropes and only one drive!
- Albany gondola group to be led by former chief executive of the New York State Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration Thomas Madison, Jr.
- Authorities briefly seize Granby Ranch, site of last season’s fatal lift incident, over delinquent taxes.
- Spout Springs in Oregon won’t open for a second year in a row and remains for sale.
- Mi Teleférico’s Orange Line did 93,847 riders its first weekend.
- Frank F. sent over these photos of the new Skytrac Buttercup Quad going in at Mt. Hood Meadows:
News Roundup: Photos
- Bear Valley seeks a name for its new six-pack.
- While we wait for D-Line to come to North America, check out this one going up in Austria.
- Fly day photos from Pats Peak show major Skytrac upgrades to Ascutney’s old Snowdance triple.
- I was asked by ANSI to link to the new B77.1-2017 Standard for Passenger Ropeways, which replaces the 2011 version.
- See how Sun Valley swaps a haul rope.
- Connecticut’s Woodbury Ski Area, with one 1976 Hall double, is for sale.
- As NSAA weighs its future again, industry leaders chime in anonymously on aging lifts and more.
- Proposed Steamboat budget includes $3.78 million to replace the Burrows chairlift at Howelsen Hill with a fixed-grip quad in 2019.
- Powder and others spread headlines that Colorado resorts are adding more roller coasters than chairlifts this season. However they missed Copper Mountain’s new high-speed quad and counted Vail Resorts’ four new detachables separately from Colorado Ski Country USA. The state as a whole is actually adding its most new lifts since 2013 (six) and fewer mountain coasters (four.)
News Roundup: Removed
- Reopening of Steamboat’s refurbished gondola has been delayed one more week to July 21st.
- Pats Peak starts work on the new Peak chair, a CTEC from Ascutney, VT with Skytrac upgrades and a loading carpet.
- Alta updates skiers on the new Supreme.
- The Snowdon triple at Killington is getting new SkyTrans crossarms this summer.
- Didn’t make it to Interalpin? You can see the Leitner-Poma Group’s booth through an interactive panorama.
- This week’s Disney gondola update comes from EPCOT.
- Waterville Valley proposes replacing unreliable High Country double with a T-Bar.
- More details surface in fatal Gulmarg Gondola tree incident.
- Six Flags sky ride reopens with new between-leg restraints following rider fall.
- The Community Ski Areas at Risk Symposium, sponsored by Skytrac, is a worthy watch.
- I stopped by Hogadon this weekend and confirmed the Red chair has been removed. Pictures of all 33 of Wyoming’s lifts are now in the database and Montana will be completed next.
- An Eldo Express update.
- Doppelmayr opens an impressive over-water gondola in South Korea’s second largest city.
- Medellín’s four gondola lines will be joined by a fifth.
- The Lake Compounce Skyride, a 1997 CTEC Sprint with 14 towers closes for good.
- Leitner’s new urban gondola in Berlin sees a million riders in its first three months.
- Insolvent Ski Blandford may be sold to Ski Butternut.
News Roundup: Signs of Life
- Another of Ascutney Mountain’s old lifts is headed for Pats Peak.
- A local firm will conduct a feasibility study for an urban gondola across the Hudson River in Albany, NY.
- The 11th International Ropeway Congress will be held in Italy next June.
- Work might begin at The Balsams this Fall.
- Signs of life with lift maintenance ongoing at Saddleback.
- Check out these sweet photos of the big new 3S that turns at Mayrhofner Bergbahnen.
- Doppelmayr will build at least four new D-Line lifts in Europe this summer.
- SAM looks at resorts formalizing training for lift mechanics.
- Grouse Mountain will launch the Skyride Surf Adventure™ on Friday (yes, they trademarked the name.)
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