- The three New York State-owned ski areas report record skier visits.
- Doppelmayr launches a new customer magazine called Up.
- Sigma Cabins has a new website.
- Park City’s outgoing Red Pine Gondola cabins go up for sale with an asking price of $25,000 each. New Sigma cabins have already started arriving.
- Lake Louise cuts the lift line for the future Upper Juniper Express.
- The Forest Service approves China Peak to reinstall Jackson Hole’s old Thunder quad.
- Snowshoe takes bids for retired triple chairs.
- Poma inaugurates the world’s fastest and highest capacity urban gondola in the Dominican Republic.
- No link but an end of season email from Sugarbush teases multiple upcoming lift replacements.
- Mont Blanc, Quebec to retrofit a second quad chair with a loading conveyor.
- The new triangle gondola in California wine country gets set to open in October.
Snowshoe
Alterra Details Plans for Six New Lifts in 2023
The parent company of the Ikon Pass plans to construct half a dozen new lifts for the 2023/24 ski season in addition to numerous other capital investments across 16 owned resorts. All Alterra lift projects for the upcoming 2023 construction season were previously announced but some details have changed slightly. Privately-held Alterra plans to invest a total of $400 million in resort infrastructure, $50 million for employee housing and $40 million toward technology upgrades to better connect and streamline the guest experience in the year ahead.
At Solitude, the previously announced Eagle Express replacement will now be a Doppelmayr six pack rather than a high speed quad. Solitude and the entire Wasatch have seen an extremely busy winter with plentiful snowfall and a growing Ikon passholder base in Utah.
Steamboat’s Full Steam Ahead initiative continues this summer with completion of the second section of the Wild Blue Gondola and debut of the Mahogany Ridge Express. The gondola will become the longest in North America with a 12 minute ride from base to summit. The first section of the D-Line gondola from Steamboat Square to Greenhorn Ranch debuted this winter and Doppelmayr has already completed tower foundations for phase 2 to Sunshine Peak.
Leitner-Poma of America will build Steamboat’s second new lift this summer, previously known as Pioneer Ridge but now dubbed Mahogany Ridge Express. The new detachable quad will service 655 acres of expert terrain in Mahogany Ridge and Fish Creek Canyon, making Steamboat the second largest mountain in Colorado.
Leitner-Poma will also build the new Pioneer Express at Winter Park, a six pack replacing a 1986 detachable quad. The new lift will feature a mid-loading station for easier access to return skiing.
At Snowshoe, Alterra affirmed the fixed grip triple Powder Monkey will be replaced with a fixed grip quad this summer from Skytrac.
At Mammoth Mountain the Canyon Express #16 will be replaced with a Doppelmayr D-Line detachable six place lift. Notably, the previously announced Broadway Express #1 replacement is no longer proceeding this summer. Mammoth and Alterra are currently working through approvals for redevelopment of the Main Lodge portal which may affect the alignment of a future Broadway Express.
“In our first five years, Alterra Mountain Company has established itself as a proven leader in the outdoor industry, and we intend to continue to innovate by investing in large-scale projects that will deliver differentiated guest experiences,” said Jared Smith, President & CEO of Alterra Mountain Company. “These projects, and our investments in the years ahead, demonstrate our unwavering commitment to evolving our destinations to better serve our guests and to improving the experience our employees can expect when living and working in our mountain communities.”
News Roundup: Project Status
- Centennial Park, Ontario permanently closes with its Hall T-Bar up for removal.
- Sun Peaks dismantles the West Bowl T-Bar in preparation for a new chairlift.
- An update on Kimberley and Leitner-Poma’s efforts to get the arson-damaged Northstar Express back in service.
- Al at A-Basin provides an update on Lenawee Express project, which is a few weeks behind schedule.
- Loon Mountain’s Seven Brothers Express project also faces delays.
- Steamboat’s new Wild Blue Gondola will undergo a 30 day commissioning process before opening.
- The Palisades Base to Base Gondola will open on schedule.
- Mt. Shasta and Doppelmayr load test the big Gray Butte expansion lift.
- Chair 9 and the terrain it serves disappear from the Alpine Valley, Michigan trail map.
- More new maps: Big Boulder, Camelback, Greek Peak, Heavenly, Jack Frost, Lookout Pass, Nordic Valley, Steamboat and Whistler Blackcomb.
- The new red cabin is successfully installed on Snowbird’s tram.
- White Pass eyes a new lift.
- Mt. Rose will open this weekend, then close midweek to continue work on the new Lakeview Express.
- An analysis of Little Cottonwood Canyon public comments shows 61 percent of respondents against the project with 35 percent pro-gondola.
- Doppelmayr launches a new global website.
- Snowshoe to replace Powder Monkey with a fixed grip quad in 2023, manufacturer TBD.
- Indy Pass will add two Colorado resorts next.
News Roundup: Tallying
- Just in time for summer, the Sea to Sky Gondola welcomes ten more cabins to the line, increasing capacity by 50 percent.
- The Idaho Springs, Colorado city council may vote Monday on rezoning for a proposed 17 tower, 27 cabin gondola lift.
- Hermitage Club founder Jim Barnes explains his reorganization plan but for now, a receiver remains in place.
- Snowshoe is purportedly planning to replace Powder Monkey with a fixed grip quad next summer.
- Although it doesn’t build lifts in the United States, Bartholet has built some very slick machines lately.
- The Indy Pass grows to 28 resorts.
- A rocket from Syria damages a ski lift at Israel’s Mt. Hermon, where a Leitner gondola is also currently under construction.
- Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz launches a podcast with a great first episode about the Park City acquisition.
- The City of Steamboat is still weighing options for bringing in a private operator and/or replacing Barrows at Howelsen Hill.
- California Express notches another approval but litigation could be coming.
- Vail Resorts reports a great quarter: skier visits up 14.3 percent and lift revenue up 16.4 percent with season pass sales for next year trending up 9 percent and 13 percent in units and dollars. “We are still absolutely aggressive on looking for additional resorts that we think add to our network and make the experience that we provide our guests better,” says Rob Katz on the quarterly conference call.
- Quebec tallied 4.6 million skier visits last winter, a ten year high for a province with three new chairlifts already under construction for next year.
- New Hampshire resorts logged 100,000 more skier days than 2017-18.
- Colorado is king with 13.1 million estimated skier visits, a new record.
- This was supposed to be the summer the town of Grafton, Illinois celebrated a new gondola. Instead, 2019 will be remembered for the flooding that has thrown a wrench in its construction.
- Teo II is approved but has no timeline for construction yet.
How Many Lifts Might Alterra Buy in 2019?
At just 15 months old, Alterra Mountain Company finds itself with over 200 chairlifts, gondolas and tramways in two countries. The 13 Alterra mountains mirror the broader ski industry with places like Deer Valley and Crystal Mountain sporting many newer lifts while the average chairlift at June Mountain is 45 years old.
On a Monday last March, the fledgling company based in Denver simultaneously unveiled its very first lift investments at Stratton, Tremblant and Winter Park along with other improvements like snowmaking at Snowshoe and a new restaurant at the base of Steamboat. Importantly, Alterra committed to spending $555 million in total capital over five years. That was before it bought Solitude and Crystal Mountain, which could mean even more money flowing over the next few construction seasons. While last year’s budget only included three new lifts, could we see more in 2019?
Colorado
With the September approval of major projects by the Forest Service, Steamboat is poised for a comprehensive on-mountain transformation. Although the timing is fluid, a new Rough Rider learning center at mid-mountain will eventually be serviced by a new gondola from the village. Here, skiers and snowboarders will be able to choose from three new carpet lifts, a new and improved Bashor lift and a second fixed-grip chair replacing the Rough Rider surface tow.
A second initiative Steamboat could undertake in 2019 is the Pioneer Ridge expansion, which includes a 7,000 foot detachable quad and a dozen new trails. Other possible upgrades include adding chairs to Pony Express (currently at only 1,200 skiers per hour but designed for 2,400) or new cabins for the Silver Bullet. Wouldn’t it be cool for the new gondola and original one to have similar cabins?
The average lift at Alterra-operated Winter Park Resort is 27 years old. Six are early model detachable quads coming up for replacement. In the case of 32 year old Pioneer Express, an upgrade is overdue and I expect coming in 2019. A new version could add a snowboarder friendly mid loading station above the last section of Big Valley.
A second project I hope to see is a second stage of the new gondola from Sunspot to Lunch Rock, truly uniting Winter Park and Mary Jane. Sunnyside should be a high speed quad or six pack. A high speed replacement of Challenger would be a nice upgrade at Mary Jane. Looking Glass is tied for the oldest operating chairlift in Colorado. After Pioneer, High Lonesome is the next Poma detachable up for replacement if we go solely by age.
The above Intrawest era master plan earmarked Gemini Express to be converted into an eight passenger gondola with a new learning center surrounding its top station. Endeavor could go detachable as part of this project and/or Discovery made into a fixed grip quad. Finally, a lift is envisioned to expand Vasquez Ridge Territory with four new intermediate trails. With all of these ideas on the table, I expect Winter Park to get at least one lift in 2019 and hopefully two.
If Aspen & KSL Go Lift Shopping, What Will They Buy?
It’s been two weeks since the bombshell news that Aspen Skiing Co. and KSL Capital Partners are joining forces to bring twelve ski resorts under a new entity rivaling Vail Resorts. While the deals won’t close for months, the new partners already say they plan to invest heavily in the guest experience. “We have earmarked a lot of capital for improvements to be able to continue to reinvest significantly in the communities and the mountains,” KSL CEO Eric Resnick told the Denver Post. “What’s exciting is being able to bring new opportunities with these communities and with these mountains to those customers who are already so passionate.” This could come in the form of new lifts ahead of the 2018-19 season and beyond. Below is a summary of announced plans and my speculation of what might be in store for KSL and Aspen’s upcoming resorts.
- Alpine Meadows, CA:
- Alpine Meadows applied for and received approval to replace the Hot Wheels chairlift in a new, longer alignment back in 2012. A mid-station offload would allow beginner and intermediate skiers to access the lower mountain while others could continue to an unload near the top of Sherwood, providing direct access to Sherwood and Lakeview. Approval for this lift likely expired in September 2015 but there’s no reason to believe Placer County would not approve it again.
The top station of Hot Wheels at Alpine could one day be home to a mid-station with a new high-speed quad continuing to Sherwood Ridge, where this photo was taken from. - Speaking of Lakeview, it is arguably the largest remaining pod at Alpine Meadows without detachable access. This 1984 CTEC is older than Sherwood and with approximately the same vertical rise. A high-speed quad is likely to replace it eventually.
- Doppelmayr and CTEC have both built lifts at Alpine Meadows while Leitner-Poma has not. That could change with the unification of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.
- I’ve written before about the Base-to-Base Gondola which is still on the table but still requires multiple government approvals. It would traverse the White Wolf property between Squaw and Alpine with two angle stations along the way.
Uncompleted lift towers on Troy Caldwell’s White Wolf property between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows could become home to a public gondola between the two mountains.
- Alpine Meadows applied for and received approval to replace the Hot Wheels chairlift in a new, longer alignment back in 2012. A mid-station offload would allow beginner and intermediate skiers to access the lower mountain while others could continue to an unload near the top of Sherwood, providing direct access to Sherwood and Lakeview. Approval for this lift likely expired in September 2015 but there’s no reason to believe Placer County would not approve it again.
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