- 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.
Riverbanks Zoo
News Roundup: Upheld
- Ikon Pass adds five mountains in the Aosta Valley of Italy.
- One of those mountains – Cervino – announces a monster Leitner 3S with three stations and 4,700 feet of vertical.
- Indy Pass signs a flurry of new mountains, mostly small and remote outposts:
- Hilltop and Mt. Eyak, Alaska
- Little Ski Hill, Idaho
- Hyland Hills, Minnesota
- Cuchara, Colorado (lift not yet operable)
- Mt. LaCrosse and Sunburst, Wisconsin
- Buffalo Ski Club and Dry Hill, New York
- McIntyre, New Hampshire
- Hockley Valley, Ontario
- Mont Sutton, Owl’s Head, Mont Edouard, Mont Habitant, Vallée Bleue, Val d’Irene and Ski Vorlage, Quebec
- Marble Mountain and Smokey Mountain, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Others in Europe, Asia and South America
- Buck Hill, Minnesota; Swiss Valley, Michigan and Montage Mountain, Pennsylvania leave Indy Pass.
- Judges uphold the 2022 revocation of a permit for Park City Mountain’s Eagle and Silverlode lift replacements; Vail Resorts vows to submit new applications for both.
- In another blow for Vail, a jury awards $20 million to a teenager who fell after misloading the Paradise Express at Crested Butte.
- Matthew Prince floats the idea of a gondola from Old Town Park City to Solitude and Alta.
- Big Sky’s Lone Peak Tram top station enclosure to open this season with the name Kircliff.
- A flood damages lifts at Crystal Ridge, Wisconsin.
- A new Leitner-Poma gondola opens in South Carolina.
- Jackson Hole lobbies the Forest Service for a mountain resort specific management designation applying to JHMR, Snow King and White Pine plus 620 acres not currently in JHMR’s permit area but identified in an accepted master plan (full letter here).
- Doppelmayr raises a 7,800 lb. bullwheel into position at Alpental by hand.
- Spirit Mountain to name its new chairlift via a public vote.
News Roundup: Explorer
- The Palm Springs Tramway reopens tomorrow after a week closure due to a faulty motor contactor.
- The public operator of Belleayre, Gore and Whiteface, lost a record $50 million last year.
- Wasatch Peaks adds an eighth lift to its fleet this summer.
- Montage Mountain, PA appears to leave the Indy Pass but new additions are coming soon.
- Mt. Norquay displays demo cabins from both manufacturers with gondola installation planned for 2026.
- Vail Resorts increases the discount Epic Pass holders can give friends to 50 percent.
- In an interview, Vail’s CEO says the company will refocus on North American investment.
- Austrian Fabian Dankl rides a bike on a haul rope between two lift towers (with permission).
- Unseated passengers aren’t just a winter problem.
- Snoqualmie raises $194,000 for charity from the sale of 97 Riblet doubles.
- Gore Mountain to sell chairs from Topridge in a race-to-the-parking lot format August 23rd.
- Riverbanks Zoo to open South Carolina’s only gondola this month.
- A lightning-caused wildfire burns much of Tamarack’s proposed expansion area but spares resort infrastructure so far.
- Purgatory runs into permitting delays with the Gelande lift project.
- Butternut releases a new trail map showing the Jane’s Quad.
- Sponsored job: Cable Propelled Transit Engineer at SCJ Alliance.
- I snapped a few photos of the Sunrise Gondola and parking garage projects at Park City last week.
News Roundup: Court of Appeals
- Sipapu, New Mexico proposes replacing one of the last detachable Poma lifts in the United States.
- Four people are killed in an aerial tramway crash in Italy.
- Skiland, Alaska rope evacuates its only chairlift.
- Kicking Horse closes for the season without its gondola; any compensation for passholders affected by five weeks of gondola closure to be determined at a later date.
- Two new gondolas near completion in West Virginia.
- South Carolina’s only gondola is almost ready to roll.
- Bretton Woods formally announces the Bethlehem Express replacement project.
- A Utah court of appeals hears arguments from Park City the town and Park City the ski area re: canceled 2022 Eagle and Silverlode lift projects.
- Vail also tussles with South Lake Tahoe over Heavenly parking and taxation.
- Titcomb Mountain, Maine fundraises to build a new T-Bar as soon as this summer.
News Roundup: Lynx Express
- 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: Fresh Logo
- Poma introduces a totally new logo.
- Telluride residents will vote whether to fund a new Mountain Village gondola November 5th.
- Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia, South Carolina plans to debut a Leitner-Poma eight place gondola in 2025.
- Indy Pass to host a community meeting on the future of Black Mountain, New Hampshire tomorrow.
- Homewood presents an updated master plan with a new gondola and replacement Ellis chair.
- Powder Mountain carves out, re-brands three of its lifts as a private ski area called Powder Haven.
- Hidden Valley, Ontario offers up retired chairs from the Red and Blue lifts.
- Doppelmayr’s first TRI-Line nears completion in Switzerland.
- Vail Resorts and the Town of Vail reach an agreement to develop a fourth base portal, likely including a new gondola.
- The reopening of the Palm Springs Tramway following a maintenance period is postponed a second time due to “unforseen technical difficulties.”
- Eaglecrest warns the Black Bear chairlift may not operate at all this season due to “significant mechanical damage.”
- Lookout Pass’ new trail map shows a future Lift 6.
- Deer Valley previews an all new trail map by Rad Smith showing expansion lifts.
- Spirit Mountain retires the Double Jaw lift and is selling the chairs.
- A woman falls out of a gondola during high winds in China.
- OSHA reaches a settlement with Park City regarding the death of an employee who fell from a lift in 2023, dismisses a proposed $2,500 fine.
- The Province of Quebec and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies reportedly reach an agreement to improve lift infrastructure at Mont Sainte-Anne.
- Bear Mountain’s new Midway six seater will feature a loading conveyor and 3,200 skier per hour capacity.
- Sublette towers flew last Wednesday above Jackson Hole.
News Roundup: New Double Chair
- The private equity firm working to build a gondola in Idaho Springs, Colorado will reopen the Estes Park Tramway.
- A surveyor is spotted for that Idaho Springs gondola.
- Utah environmental groups seek to consolidate three lawsuits against the Little Cottonwood Gondola.
- Extell says three new lifts will open at Deer Valley next winter.
- Chicopee, Ontario looks toward lift upgrades.
- Hogadon, Wyoming closes the season early due to lift issues.
- Grizzly at Bear Valley, California suffers multiple breakdowns and closes for the season early.
- Long waits have Snowmass leaders asking for a Sky Cab “Skittles” pulse gondola replacement.
- ORDA commits $1.1 million for new grips on Gore Mountain’s Northwoods Gondola and $5 million to replace Little Whiteface with a new double chair in 2025.
- Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina plans a detachable gondola across the Saluda River.
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