Powder Mountain

News Roundup: Aerials

August 8, 2025Peter Landsman2 Comments

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: Rescues

July 25, 2025July 26, 2025Peter Landsman5 Comments

Whiteface joins the Mountain Collective Pass.
The Forest Service approves up to three lifts for the Trails at Mena bike park in Arkansas, down from a proposed five.
Nearly a thousand people show up to watch Doppelmayr install East Village Gondola towers at Deer Valley.
Big Sky’s ski patrol debriefs the avalanche that hit the top of Swift Current 6 last winter.
Snow Ridge, New York is selling chairs from the old Snowy Meadows double.
A zoo chairlift in Massachusetts is evacuated by ladder truck and boom lifts.
A dangling man is rescued from the chairlift at Lagoon, Utah.
A tower from Killington’s Superstar Express heads to Sugarbush – not sure why but I have asked.
Foreign investors sue Powder Mountain seeking $76 million.
Enjoy this small glimpse into mountain planning and design.
Hogadon, Wyoming floats price increases and a 10 percent facility surcharge to help pay for a new chairlift.

News Roundup: Ropera

May 9, 2025May 9, 2025Peter Landsman18 Comments

Deer Valley updates its expansion site to show Lift 6 as two detachable quads (6A and 6B) instead of a six pack with mid-station.
Vail Mountain seeks permission to replace Orient Express #21 with a six pack, swap Little Eagle #15 for a detachable quad and remove Wapiti #24.
Leitner-Poma discusses the impact of tariffs on the SAM huddle.
Burke Mountain emerges from nine years of government receivership with new owners.
Mount Saint Louis-Moonstone, Ontario teases a new era coming to the Outback side of the mountain.
Leitner introduces its next generation monocable detachable called Ropera, combining technology from Leitner, Poma and Bartholet. The launch customer will be Speikboden, Italy with a six place chairlift.
Leitner and Doppelmayr release annual yearbooks.
Snoqualmie unveils new renderings of the Edelweiss project at Alpental.
A Colorado man succumbs to injuries sustained in a fall from Keystone’s Ruby Express last December.
Powder Mountain tells the Utah tram board it’ll install between one and four new lifts this summer.
A jury declines to award millions to a Mt. Bachelor skier who fell getting off a chairlift.
Killington to donate and match proceeds from closing day to Whaleback Mountain’s chairlift replacement fund.
Snow Partners to launch a new multi-mountain pass product offering three total days at six to ten Eastern resorts.
Mt. Ashland, Oregon looks to replace the Ariel and Windsor doubles with Skytrac triple chairs in 2026.

News Roundup: USFS

March 28, 2025Peter Landsman18 Comments

The Forest Service approves three lift projects at Taos, including a base to base gondola.
Red Lodge Mountain reopens all lifts except the Triple Chair involved in last month’s fatal incident.
The widow of the man killed at Red Lodge hires a law firm and engineer to look into the circumstances.
Telluride Ski Resort declines to help fund a new Mountain Village gondola so the town looks to pass a lift ticket tax.
Powder Mountain to construct a new lift in Wolf Canyon/DMI.
A child falls from a lift at Park City.
An urban gondola is floated in Denver.
Cataloochee, North Carolina lists parts from the Omigosh double for sale.
New York’s state-owned ski areas report visitation up over 3 percent this season with revenue up more than 8 percent.
Black Mountain, New Hampshire delays going to a co-op model, will continue to be run by Indy Pass for now.
Whaleback, NH passes $100,000 toward its goal of $250,000 to continue operations.
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest weighs whether to change its forest plan to accommodate Grand Targhee’s proposed South Bowl and/or Mono Trees expansions.
The Arapaho National Forest releases the Draft Environmental Assessment for Winter Park’s proposed Gemini Gondola, Copper Creek South chairlift, Looking Glass replacement, Endeavour replacement and Discovery replacement.
Park City shutters Sunrise to resume construction of the Sunrise Gondola.

News Roundup: Stairway to Heaven

March 14, 2025March 17, 2025Peter Landsman36 Comments

A video shows the Kicking Horse incident was exacerbated by running the damaged hanger to a tower, causing the lift to de-rope. The gondola will be closed at least a week and likely longer; the resort will allow guests to hike or skin to Stairway to Heaven.
The snowboarder who died after falling from Red Lodge Mountain’s Triple Chair on Monday is identified as 37 year old Jeffrey Zinne of Billings in an incident described as a “malfunction.”
A child was airlifted to Denver after falling 35 feet from the Purgatory Village Express the same day as the Kicking Horse and Red Lodge incidents.
Leitner-Poma posts jobs for ski lift installers at Bretton Woods, Loveland, OZ Trails Bike Park, Powder Mountain, Snowmass, Snowbasin, Taos and Wasatch Peaks Ranch.
New York State wins its case against a ski resort owner for buying Toggenburg to close it and reduce competition.
Snowbasin to sell chairs from the Becker lift for charity.
Loup Loup, Washington ends its season early due to a required motor repair.
Vail’s Riva Bahn Express has been closed all week due to a gearbox issue requiring a rebuild.
Vail Resorts reports solid results with season-to-date skier visits down 2.5%, lift ticket revenue up 4.1%, ski school revenue up 3.0%, dining revenue 3.1% and retail/rental revenue down 2.9%. Net income for the quarter ended January 31st increased 11.9%.
Tenney Mountain, New Hampshire still plans to reopen the Hornet some time this winter following a gearbox issue.
Another lawsuit is filed against the Little Cottonwood gondola proposal.
Attitash reopens the Flying Bear five weeks after a chair fell from the line. Draft minutes from the New Hampshire Passenger Tramway Safety Board suggest multiple damaged carriers were found and Attitash was approved to reduce capacity from 82 to 64 carriers. Update Monday 3/17: Vail PR sent me this statement, emphasis theirs: “During our inspection process, we made the decision to reinspect all our chairs and grips, haul rope, sheaves, terminals, and more. Following our inspection, we are taking the opportunity to replace parts on some chairs unrelated to the incident as a part of routine upgrades. These chairs will remain temporarily out of service until the parts arrive. This was a decision made by the resort, that the Passenger Tramway Safety Board unanimously approved at the March 3rd board meeting. We have been given permission to run the lift between the manufacturer’s minimum and maximum design specifications.”
Ober Mountain, Tennessee opens the new Sky Village Express.
Whistler Blackcomb completes a mid-season rope inspection and splice due to a broken haul rope strand on the Emerald 6 Express.
WB also pulls the plug on summer skiing due to glacial recession and its impact on lift access.
A community co-op effort was unable to submit a bid for Mt. Bachelor.
Vista Ridge, Alberta closes both its chairlifts indefinitely to conduct a review following several evacuations.
Alpental will close two weeks early so crews can work to build the new Chair 2 over snow in a roadless area.
Ditto for Explorer at Big Sky as it’s replaced with a gondola.
After running on diesel generators for a decade, the Sea to Sky Gondola‘s upper terminal is connected to grid power for the first time.
Whaleback, New Hampshire says it needs to raise $250,000 to fund off season maintenance and chairlift repairs.
Titcomb Mountain looks to retire and replace T-Bar 2.
Powder Mountain to build a private, homeowner only Leitner-Poma detachable quad this summer.
Snowbird’s Mineral Basin reopening is further delayed due to “unforseen additional issues“.
The Forest Service approves Alta to replace Supreme with a new lift and no eight degree bend.
Pending approval of its members, Bryce Resort plans to install a third Skytrac on the backside of the mountain this summer.

News Roundup: Pass Edition

March 7, 2025March 11, 2025Peter Landsman12 Comments

Ikon Pass adds Ischgl, Austria; loses Windham Mountain Club, New York and makes Arapahoe Basin unlimited with no blackouts. Full Ikon also adds two bonus days at Buck Hill, Minnesota; Cranmore, New Hampshire; Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts and Wild Mountain, Minnesota.
Arapahoe Basin leaves the Mountain Collective Pass.
Vail makes minimal changes to Epic Pass for next year.
Indy Pass adds Burke Mountain, Vermont and Tenney Mountain, New Hampshire.
The family behind Wisconsin Resorts Inc. want to buy Burke Mountain but the resort’s receiver says he has a better buyer.
Wisconsin Resorts-owned Searchmont, Ontario teases multiple future terrain expansions on a new trail map.
The group behind Perfect North Slopes, Indiana will operate Swiss Valley, Michigan
A rope evacuation at Norway Mountain, Michigan.
Fresh off building four new lifts, Powder Mountain has two more in the pipeline.
Ski Cooper, Colorado slashes midweek tickets to $45, revenue surges.
Also at Cooper, a skier is airlifted to the hospital after falling from a lift.
Vail settles a lawsuit with a woman who fell from a lift at Stevens Pass.
Park City gets Pioneer going for the first time this season.
Woods Valley, New York to replaces its T-Bar with a CTEC quad ending higher on the mountain.
7th Heaven at Blackcomb suffers from delayed openings, closures and reduced speeds due to an electrical issue.
Snowbird’s Mineral Basin Express repair timeline is extended due to storms.
Whaleback Mountain’s only chairlift is closed all week due to mechanical.
Sandia Peak works to revive mothballed Chair 2.
A 2005 Doppelmayr Funifor suffers a serious incident in Italy involving a severed haul rope and cabin colliding into the bottom terminal. The lift was outside operating hours and one operator suffered minor injuries.

News Roundup: Lynx Express

February 28, 2025Peter Landsman11 Comments

June Mountain closes for two days due to issues with againg J1.
Loveland proposes replacing Lift 7 with a quad.
Indy Pass plans more resort additions through the spring and fall.
One of them is Tenney Mountain, which also looks to build a high speed quad.
Tenney’s Hornet double needs a gearbox rebuild, will be closed until mid-March.
Skeetawk, Alaska seeks state funding to develop electrical infrastructure for a future Lift 2.
Burke Mountain’s receiver says a sale may be near.
The proposed Burnaby Mountain Gondola in metro Vancouver would include significant transit oriented development.
Mt. Seymour, BC removes the Brockton chair from service for an unknown amount of time.
Manning Park, BC closes the similar Blue Chair for inspections due to the incident at Mt. Seymour.
Marble Mountain, Newfoundland hits the market.
Chair 8 at Bear Mountain suffers a grip slip incident with passengers.
Rezoning paves the way for more development at Powder Mountain.
Leitner to build a seven station gondola in Iraq.
Poley Mountain, New Brunswick works to repair its triple chair.
Bretton Woods applies to build a new lift, Attitash seeks to reduce capacity on the closed Flying Bear.
Solitude completes a mid-winter bullwheel bearing replacement on Sunrise.
The first terminal and towers go up for the winter build Saluda Skyride in South Carolina.
Mt. Crescent, Iowa rebrands as Crescent Hill.
An inside look at operating the largest lift fleet in the country.
And one of the smaller ones.
Mineral Basin at Snowbird to be closed for a week-ish due to a machanical issue.

News Roundup: Short Films

January 24, 2025Peter Landsman17 Comments

Homewood’s new gondola is finally approved.
Eaglecrest receives a key gondola construction permit.
The Wall Street Journal covers several challenges facing Vail Resorts.
Unionized Crested Butte lift mechanics authorize a strike should they be unable to reach a contract agreement with Vail.
Breckenridge lift staff stage a one day sick out in protest of employee housing conditions, closing several lifts on Wednesday.
Pioneer at Park City hasn’t opened this season due to an offseason deropement still being repaired.
Blackcomb’s Glacier Express to be closed a week or longer due to a possible gearbox issue.
Mount Snow’s Challenger has been inoperative since January 13th.
Mammut sponsors a short film exploring the transformation of Shames Mountain, British Columbia into a community co-op.
British Columbia opens public consultation for the proposed Bridal Veil Mountain Resort.
A gondola transit network in Oshawa, Ontario could cost CA$1.1 billion.
Reed Hastings explains his sweeping changes at Powder Mountain including four new lifts in one summer and partial privatization.
Chicopee, Ontario explains why its three new lifts aren’t spinning yet.
Bristol Mountain partially rope evacuates the Comet Express.
Ditto for the Mt. Hood Express at Mt. Hood Meadows.
The Balsams extends approval for long-delayed redevelopment.
Mont Farlagne, New Brunswick reopens its only chairlift after a month-long closure due to a bullwheel issue.
Ischgl invites guests to help build a life size replica of a 3S gondola cabin with Lego bricks.
The latest New Hampshire tram board minutes hint at a possible new lift for Bretton Woods.
Mountain Village and Telluride begin planning their new gondola in earnest.
Vermonters ask Why hasn’t Burke Mountain sold? as receivership fees surpass $12 million.
Sugarbush gets all but one of its chairlifts going after a challenging start to the season.
Several videos show the chaotic aftermath of the bullwheel detachment in Spain last week.
Colorado releases the Winter Park gondola crack incident report, a full report of investigation remains in progress.

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News Roundup: Comfort Chairs

December 6, 2024Peter Landsman24 Comments

Shuttered Sleeping Giant, Wyoming is listed for $500,000.
Ariel at Mt. Ashland will open weeks late due to a tree strike.
New York’s Olympic Regional Development Authority plans $70 to $155 million in capital spending annually for the next four years.
Big Tupper’s new owners plan to reactivate at least one lift.
Chicopee, Ontario’s new trail map shows a new lift his season on the front side and a backside expansion next year.
Snowmass’ new map shows the new Coney Express with mid-station.
Public tax dollars will fund a portion of lifts in Deer Valley’s East Village.
Google abruptly removes tens of thousands of lifts from Google Maps.
Grouse Mountain’s newest ropeway to be called Blue Grouse Gondola.
Jay Peak nears replacing Bonaventure with a detachable quad; no West Bowl expansion any time soon.
Powder Mountain CEO Reed Hastings talks about skiing as a subscription like Netflix, privatizing half the mountain and skiing as a real estate play.
A gondola system is the preferred alternative for a transit corridor in Oshawa, Ontario.
Vail Resorts readies its second D-Line detachable at Perisher.
Belleayre’s Catskill Thunder Gondola is rope evacuated, will be down until further notice for repairs.
The tram that crashed last month in Val Thorens will miss the entire season, photos show why.

News Roundup: Battery Powered

October 18, 2024Peter Landsman16 Comments

West Virginia State Parks delays opening of the new Pipestem gondola to spring 2025.
A tower crane working to build the Grands Montets 3S in Chamonix collapses due to wind and ice.
Keystone installs solar panels on the Bergman Express to power ancillary functions such as lights.
Perfect North transforms the Red Chair into an LED light show for the holidays with individual chairs lit by batteries.
ORDA plans to build not one but two people mover chairlifts at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.
Hunter names its new quad chair Otis.
Planning documents show the alignment and D-Line equipment for a planned gondola at Stagecoach, Colorado.
More ink on the unfortunate closure of Homewood this season.
The world’s shortest T-Bar to be built with only 5 Ts.
A criminal trial begins regarding the deadly gondola collapse in Turkey last spring.
Garaventa installs a robotic cargo loading system on the world’s steepest aerial tramway.
Kendall Mountain, Colorado suspends pass sales due to lift maintenance.
Killington’s CEO talks about future lifts beyond Superstar; how the sale to locals went down.
Park City weighs possible routes for a transit gondola from Old Town to Deer Valley.
Mt. Waterman, California sells to a new owner promising private powder days.
Powder Mountain won’t sell any lift tickets on weekends in February.
Sun Peaks’ new trail map shows the West Bowl expansion.
Indy Pass to announce new resorts next week.

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Lift Blog

All about ski lifts, tramways and gondolas

News Roundup: Aerials

News Roundup: Rescues

News Roundup: Ropera

News Roundup: USFS

News Roundup: Stairway to Heaven

News Roundup: Pass Edition

News Roundup: Lynx Express

News Roundup: Short Films

News Roundup: Comfort Chairs

News Roundup: Battery Powered