- Skeetawk, Alaska begins cutting trails for a mid mountain lift.
- Sir Sam’s, Ontario seeks the public’s help to name a new quad chair.
- Aspen Mountain eyes 2029 for a replacement lift 1A.
- Several large gondola projects take shape in India with more to come.
- The Trump Administration moves to repeal the roadless rule, potentially boosting ski expansion opportunities in National Forests.
- Saudi Arabia’s mega ski resort project is dead.
- Reed Hastings talks about his continued buildout of private skiing at Powder.
- Bluewood, Washington receives more parts from Austria but not in time for a used high speed quad to be completed this summer.
- Building a multi-stage gondola from Main Street Park City to Deer Valley’s Snow Park Village and Richardson Flat Park & Ride could cost $73-95 million.
- BC filmmakers plan a documentary about the unsolved Sea to Sky Gondola cable cuts in 2019 and 2020.
- The current owner of closed Scotch Valley, New York to run the chairlift for the community one day only next week.
Ski Bluewood
News Roundup: Long-Awaited
- Cherry Peak, Utah is listed for sale with an asking price of $22.5 million.
- Glen Eden, Ontario to replace the Ridge quad with a new one in 2027.
- Sommet Saint-Sauveur, Quebec will replace Côte 71 with a six pack in ’27.
- Rock City, Georgia continues making the case for a sightseeing gondola.
- Bluewood, Washington receives lift parts delayed over a year due to an ongoing lawsuit.
- A decision on Park City’s proposed Eagle and Silverlode replacements could come in the next few weeks after four years of limbo.
- The Chief of the Forest Service considers giving more control of National Forests to states (speaking at Deer Valley Resort, one of the few large western resorts not on Forest Service land.)
- The President threatens new tariffs on Canadian goods due to wildfire smoke.
- Vail Resorts vows to improve the guest experience at its resorts.
News Roundup: Two Thirds
- NSAA reports a 14.7 percent decline in skier visits from last season to this season.
- Tenney Mountain eyes big development including a detachable lift.
- The mechanic who died in a fall at Mt. Hood Skibowl last week is identified as 29 year old Gregory Hunter of Government Camp.
- The Goldbelt Tram to remain closed for at least several weeks following last week’s mishap.
- Juneau plans to sell two gondolas it once hoped to install at Eaglecrest Ski Area.
- Both Sugar Bowl and Park City offer retired gondola cabins for $10,000.
- A court strikes down one set of tariffs but President Trump threatens new tariffs on European Union imports.
- 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.
News Roundup: Probes
- The Goldbelt Tram closes indefinitely after cars entered stations at higher than normal speed last night, injuring several employees.
- Powder Haven announces a sixth private chairlift called Foxtrot.
- The Town of Mountain Village continues investigating the circumstances surrounding elected officials’ attempted purchase of Telluride Ski Resort last December.
- Alberta ski resorts worry permanent daylight savings time will reduce competitiveness with other regions.
- New Hampshire launches an investigation into Vail Resorts charging a blended sales tax for passes that include both in state and out-of-state mountains. Vail responds with plans to offer a New Hampshire-only pass tax free.
- Doppelmayr may finance part of a proposed sightseeing gondola in Butte, Montana.
- Lifts at the former Talisman Mountain Resort in Ontario to be demolished.
- Doppelmayr’s latest customer magazine highlights projects at Big Sky and Killington.
- Poma releases its 2025 Reference Book.
- Leitner-Poma previews new North American-specific surface lift and detachable terminal models.
- The only ski area in Tennessee changes its name back to Ober Gatlinburg.
- A local school district may provide 20 percent of funding for a new chairlift at Hogadon, Wyoming.
- London’s urban gondola loses corporate sponsorship and plans a pivot toward tourists.
- Snow Partners to introduce both a national Indy Pass competitor and a Midwest Snow Triple Play.
News Roundup: Pure
- Poma reveals a new gondola cabin called Pure mimicking “egg” cabins from the company’s past.
- In Turkey, eight people are sentenced to prison for negligence related to a deadly 2024 gondola crash.
- Parents in Pennsylvania face felony charges for allowing a five year old who fell off a lift to ride alone.
- Worldwide skier visits reached 399 million in 2024-25, a new record.
- Aspen comments on the status of both Nell Bell and 1A replacement projects.
- Colorado’s new sightseeing and biking gondola to open for public rides on May 9th.
- Doppelmayr reaches €500 million in sales in Vietnam with 32 installations and zero skiing.
- Casper, Wyoming to fund a new chairlift for Hogadon Basin with a mix of public and private money.
- Whaleback, New Hampshire seeks $350,000 in donations to replace a haul rope and perform offseason maintenance.
- A proposal to revive Brodie Mountain, Massachusetts includes four lifts.
- Vail Resorts visitation and revenue trended worse in March and April than earlier in the season; pass sales for next season are also trending down.
- Vail’s new Chief Revenue Officer signals a shift toward improving service and experience at existing resorts.
- A landowner opposes Vail’s efforts to get a lawsuit over Park City lift easments thrown out.
- Steelhead Systems opposes Bluewood, Washington’s efforts to force delivery of lift parts via an injunction.
News Roundup: Revival
- Americans flock to Canada to ski, particularly Banff.
- 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.
- Possible approval of a new sightseeing gondola in Georgia is delayed while traffic and sewer studies are prepared.
- The new bike park lift in Arkansas will be named OZ Express.
- Vail Resorts seeks dismissal of a lawsuit disputing Park City Mountain’s right to operate Iron Mountain Express and Timberline.
- Telluride’s proposed replacements for lifts 7 and 8 inch closer to approval.
- Sugarloaf is around halfway through approval for a Timberline replacement.
- Meetings continue regarding Loon Mountain’s proposed pulse gondola with no timeline for construction.
- Colorado Governor Jared Polis to help cut the ribbon of the Mighty Argo Cable Car April 24th.
- Le Massif reportedly remains interested in a merger with Mont-Sainte-Anne.
- Reed Hastings discusses the favorable economics of private ski areas like Powder Haven.
- Poma teases “a new icon for travel” to be revealed Tuesday.
- Leitner, Poma, Skytrac and Bartholet’s parent company reports record revenue – 60 percent from ropeways and nearly $500 million from North America.
- Homewood to auction chairs from the Madden triple with an unspecified portion going to charity.
- Utah Governor Spencer Cox visits Garaventa in Switzerland in advance of Doppelmayr opening a new facility in Salt Lake.
- Juneau set to formally cancel the Eaglecrest gondola agreement on May 18th and may try to resell the lift for $1.5-2.75 million.
- 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.
News Roundup: Fireside Chat
- Doppelmayr releases its 2026 Yearbook.
- Doppelmayr wins the contract to supply a 2,452′ long surface lift at Snowland, Utah.
- A haul rope snaps on a material ropeway in Switzerland, causing damage but no injuries.
- A cigarette thrown from a lift starts a spring wildfire in Italy.
- As a lawsuit with a used lift broker continues, Bluewood, Washington says it still hopes to complete the Skyline Express one year late but delays could continue.
- Blackcomb’s Crystal Ridge Express closes due to gearbox failure.
- Telluride shutters the Village Express for summer to complete an extensive systems modernization.
- Two proven and one unproven gondola manufacturer present their technologies for potential use in downtown Denver.
- Mammoth rope evacuates the High Five Express.
- Owners of Mt. Norquay discuss future plans plus competing with American-owned sightseeing ropeways and why Parks Canada no longer approves of a Banff-Norquay gondola.
- Neither possible manufacturer for the new Telluride gondola may meet Buy America requirements, potentially procluding the project from receiving federal funding.
- Whitefish Mountain Resort reports 457,000 skier visits, the fifth highest ever despite warm weather.
- A gondola to Winter Park Resort could shift the Town of Winter Park’s downtown around a future station.
News Roundup: Wild Europe Weather
- In a real estate sales presentation, Red Mountain leaders say expansion lifts on Mt. Kirkup and White Wolf Ridge are a higher priority than replacing existing lifts.
- Sasquatch Mountain, BC provides an update on the Green Chair, which hasn’t spun all season.
- An avalanche strikes a closed detachable lift in France.
- Another French avalanche takes out a tower and hits a terminal.
- Rime ice topples a lift tower in Spain.
- A double chair rolls back during operation in China (likely a lift from BHMRI, not a western manufacturer.)
- Also in Asia, a viral video shows a gondola cabin dragging through deep snow.
- Bluewood, Washington upgrades Triple Nickel with Partek carriers, will sell old Borvig ones.
- Anakeesta offers up chairs from its former Chondola but not the gondola cabins.
- The 13 year-old critically injured in an unloading incident at Ski Vorlage, Quebec last week died four days later, her family says. Quebec’s ropeway regulator inspected the lift post-accident and identified several unspecified corrective actions, now completed.
- A five year old is hospitalized after falling from Sunday River’s Jordan Mountain double.
- Groundbreaking could come soon for the Aspen development that includes a new Lift 1A.
- Skytrac to construct both new lifts at Little Switzerland, Wisconsin.
- Five people board a quad chair on the Sourdough Express at Vail, one later jumps off after the lift stops (unclear if they were directed to do so by Vail Resorts staff.)
- Wisp temporarily closes two lifts for separate repairs.
- Tye Mill at Stevens Pass goes out of service.
- Also two lifts at Pico.
- Stratton’s gondola to remain closed into next week due to a maintenance issue.
- Sundance Express at Sun Peaks to be closed this weekend for maintenance.
- Castle Mountain, Alberta temporarily closes the new Stagecoach Express to swap a motor.
- At Marquette Mountain, Michigan, a misload bends apart a Riblet chair (quickly replaced without incident.)
- The Supreme Court strikes down some of President Trump’s import tariffs but not Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs most affecting lift manufacturers. In response to the decision, the President orders a 10 percent global tariff to last 150 days (USMCA compliant goods and items already subjected to Section 232 tariffs are exempted).
News Roundup: Back Up
- Telluride plans to reopen Lift 1 Monday with non-union workers.
- Here’s some detailed on the ground reporting from the Telluride strike.
- Le Massif, Quebec also shuts down completely due to a strike.
- Mountain High, California temporarily closes due to rain damage.
- Mt. Waterman’s Chair 1 sustains severe damage from the same storm.
- Marquette Mountain, Michigan’s Rocket chair will miss this season due to a gearbox issue.
- Boyne Mountain, Michigan rope evacuates Disciples 8.
- Trollhaugen, Wisconsin rope evacs Chair 4.
- Sasquatch Mountain, BC’s Sasquatch chair remains out of service.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire loses its only two chairlifts over the holiday period; both are now back in action.
- Mont Farlagne, New Brunswick loses its only chairlift to a gearbox issue, considers buying a T-Bar for future redundancy.
- Burke Mountain’s 1965 J-Bar is back after missing a season.
- Norway Mountain, Michigan revives the Thor double after many years inoperable.
- Asessippi, Manitoba notes several carriers are unusable on the Porcupine triple but the lift will continue to run.
- Seven people are injured in Italy when an aerial tram fails to slow down properly when docking.
- A child dies after becoming entangled in a conveyor lift in Japan.
- A woman is uninjured after dangling upside down from the doors of a gondola cabin at Park City (video).
- Mount Snow shutters Ego Alley and Seasons for different reasons.
- The latest court filing over a delayed lift project at Bluewood, Washington alleges Steelhead Systems’ “experience in the sale and delivery of used chairlifts” has “been marred by disappointing results, delays and unexplained cost overruns.”
Steelhead Systems Responds to Ski Bluewood Lawsuit
British Columbia-based Steelhead Systems Inc. (SSI) has responded to a lawsuit filed by Ski Bluewood, Washington over a delayed lift project. As I detailed last month, the two parties initially agreed to bring a used detachable quad to Bluewood in June 2024. The 1993 Doppelmayr lift would replace a base-to-summit triple chair and dramatically reduce ride time. SSI would act as a broker between Pro-Alpin Ropeway Services of Austria and Bluewood, bringing the lift from Sölden to Washington at significant saving versus a new lift. SCJ Alliance would engineer the lift and Bluewood would complete much of the installation work itself. Bluewood announced in late June 2024 the lift was expected to open for the 2025-26 season.
The deal soured this summer when disagreements arose over shipping costs, timelines, the number of shipping containers needed, exchange rates and more. In its claim filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Bluewood alleged breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment by SSI. In its Response to Civil Claim, SSI’s attorney denies many of Bluewood’s claims, including that shipping costs and exchange rates were fixed upon contract signing. SSI alleges only after Bluewood stopped making payments did it stop shipping containers across the Atlantic. “Pursuant to [the agreement], all responsibility and risk with respect to the equipment, including transportation, rests with the Buyer,” the filing notes. “This responsibility includes any changes to shipping costs or exchange rates, which are matters outside the control of the Defendants.” SSI argues three outstanding invoices total $587,548.
SSI also alleges its principal, Zrinko Amerl, told Bluewood in 2024 that fall 2025 completion was an optimistic timeline. The complaint alleges Bluewood failed to provide accurate survey data in a timely manner. Steelhead Systems says SCJ Alliance’s engineer requested a 16th tower, which SSI agreed to provide at below market price. Finally, SSI alleges “ProAlpin insisted that there be a garage system put in place for maintenance and storage of chairs, however [Bluewood] refused to follow this recommendation.” On October 26th, I received word that SCJ did not request a 16th tower and that line was in the process of being corrected in the Response to Civil Claim.
To date 23 containers have been delivered to Bluewood containing chairs, terminal elements and towers. Four containers’ worth of equipment remains in Austria. Alarmingly, Pro-Alpin indicated to SSI that all remaining parts, including bullwheels and the haul rope, not picked up by September 8th, 2025 would be scrapped. “As of today’s date, SSI is unaware if any action has been taken with respect to this,” the filing notes.
Shortly after filing the response, SSI countersued Bluewood’s owners, alleging the lawsuit, associated press release and media coverage have damaged its reputation. The filing specifically mentions Lift Blog’s coverage and reader comments impacting SSI’s ability to sell lifts within the broader mountain resort industry. “As a result of the defamatory statements made by [Bluewood], SSI has suffered and continues to suffer losses to its business,” the suit says, alleging statements made by Bluewood will cause an estimated loss of approximately $10 to $15 million in revenue. The company seeks payment of outstanding invoices plus interest, damages and other costs.
Bluewood officials declined to comment beyond their initial press release, citing pending litigation. The ski area has been busy re-hanging chairs on the Skyline Express, the 1978 Borvig once set to be replaced.
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