• An updated Stratton master plan envisions a competition T-Bar in 2027, a hotel-to-base chairlift in 2030 and gondola replacement circa 2033.
• Los Angeles releases the Draft Supplemental Environmental Report for the proposed Dodger Stadium gondola.
• The Forest Service approves Vail’s proposed replacements for lifts 15 and 21.
• Spirit Mountain’s new Leitner-Poma quad to be called Highline.
• Asked about new lifts on the Vail Resorts earnings conference call, CEO Rob Katz tells analysts priorities lie mostly elsewhere:

“We’re always going to be upgrading lifts; we announced a new lift for next year and that’s critical. But I think we need to realize also as a company and as an industry that it can’t just be about lifts. It’s not the only thing that matters to people. And in our minds we think there’s technology that can make a big difference. How people use technology in the digital experience, how it makes it easier for them to rent skis, how it makes it easier for them to connect with their ski instructor, how it makes it easier for them to get food, how it makes it easier for them to get around a resort or overall book a vacation. I think these are all things that are critical that really speak to the entirety of the guest experience when they come to us. Those are things where we really have a unique advantage because we own and operate all our resorts. They’re all on a common platform. And it’s where you invest dollars that actually impact everyone’s experience with all of our resorts rather than a singular lift, which affects one resort for some people who use that lift. Now that said, we have to keep investing in lifts. When you look back historically, you’ve seen us spend a lot of money on lifts over the last four years. So that’s continuing. We’re still going to keep proposing lifts. But I think the differentiator is going to be in this other area which is not as capital intensive as trying to replace every lift on Vail Mountain or something like that. That’s where we’re putting our focus.”

• A Swiss resort Vail was said to be interested in, Flims Laax, to be purchased by local municipalities.
• Some cool pictures of the nearly complete Mighty Argo Cable Car.
• A BC indigenous group acquires additional land for the proposed Cascade Skyline Gondola.
• BigRock, Maine introduces a new trail map painted by Rad Smith.
• Part of the former Iron Mountain Ski Area near Kirkwood goes up for sale. A reader who’d like to remain anonymous sent along these recent photos of five abandoned lifts.