Mont Kanasuta, Quebec looks to replace its chairlift with the government footing two thirds of the bill.
While the lawsuit continues between Bluewood and Steelhead Systems over a used chairlift, a judge orders shipment of remaining equipment from Austria to Washington as soon as possible, though a completion timeline remains uncertain. I stopped by to snap a few photos last week.
Jay Peak also proves popular; in a podcast episode, Jay President Steve Wright says “we will be adding more high speed detachable lifts” and is about to make a down payment on one.
An update on the accelerating revival of Black Mountain, New Hampshire.
Following several recent postponements, 2026 lift construction will be down approximately 40 percent from the post-Covid high in 2022.
As a legal dispute remains pending in a BC court, Ski Bluewood seeks an injunction to force shipment of four remaining containters to complete the Skyline Express project with a used lift from Austria. A hearing is scheduled for Monday and shipment would need to commence by May 1st in order for the lift to open next winter.
Austria’s Saalbach, Zell am See-Kaprun, Mayrhofen, Hintertux and Silvretta Montafon join the Epic Pass as partner resorts, bringing Epic to nine European destinations.
Poma releases its 2024 Reference Book highlighting projects around the world.
A serious incident occurred on the world’s second largest urban gondola network early this morning, killing one person and injuring twenty others. A gondola cabin reportedly hit another cabin as it entered one of the elevated stations of Medellín’s Metrocable Line K. The second cabin then fell onto a car on the street below. The incident occurred at an intermediate station called Popular, one of four stations on the line. After the incident, about 200 people remained stuck in other cabins before being evacuated. The deceased individual was identified as John Jairo Londoño Arango, age 55.
Line K is the oldest of six gondola lines that make up Medellín Metrocable aerial network, which is fully integrated with the city’s subway, streetcar and bus system. The system was built by Poma and opened in 2004 with 93 cabins connecting four stations. The lift’s cabins were manufactured by Sigma and carry up to 2,800 riders per hour in an 8 seated, 2 standing configuration. The system reached 100,000 operating hours in 2019, running seven days a week for 19 hours per day. It was recently closed for a multi-day maintenance period at the end of January.
🔴 (5:13 a. m.) Por accidente operativo, el Metrocable línea K 🚡 (Acevedo – Santo Domingo) está temporalmente fuera de servicio. Personal de emergencia atiende la situación. Estaremos informando. pic.twitter.com/7BXvHp0ngW
— Metro de Medellín 💚 #SeguimosViajandoJuntos (@metrodemedellin) June 26, 2024
Line K will remain closed while the incident is investigated. “Services will be suspended until the causes of this tragedy are clearly identified, the pertinent corrective measures are taken and the safety of the users of the system is guaranteed,” said Mayor Fico Gutiérrez. Other lines of the Metrocable system continue to operate.
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.
A group opposed to the privatization of Homewood says the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has paused permitting for the project, set to include a new D-Line gondola.