- US skier visits jump 6.6% to an all time record of 64.7 million with accompanying record capital investment.
- Copper Mountain says it’s in negotiations with both major lift manufacturers for new Timberline and/or Lumberjack lifts.
- Ditto for Sugarbush with Heaven’s Gate and North Ridge.
- In Germany, a paraglider flies into moving aerial tram, necessitating his rescue plus an overnight evacuation of 60 passengers and restaurant patrons.
- A proposed new ski area in Valdez, Alaska gains preliminary approval.
- Vail Resorts trucks its first eight pack from Utah to British Columbia for installation.
- A bill in the Florida legislature targets Walt Disney World’s monorail and gondola systems with new inspection requirements in possible retaliation for the company’s political statements.
- Doppelmayr chairs from retired Challenger will be used to replace Yan teardrop chairs on at Sun Valley’s Christmas and Frenchman’s lifts.
- The contractor removing the Tulsa Skyride backs out half way through the project.
- Belleayre to sell chairs from outgoing Lift 7.
Sun Valley
News Roundup: Doubles Save the Day
- Many big openings this weekend including Lenawee Express at Arapahoe Basin, Big Red at Whistler, Seven Brothers at Loon Mountain, North Bowl Express at Heavenly, Eagle Peak at Lookout Pass and Black Bear 6 at Camelback.
- Palisades Tahoe launches the Base to Base Gondola tomorrow but it will operate as two separate lifts and close Sunday for more work.
- Vail waits for a weather window to fly the pilot line for Sun Down Express, nears the finish line on Game Creek Express.
- Doppelmayr and Steamboat unwrap Wild Blue cabins.
- Kimberley load tests the Northstar Express following a year of repairs.
- New Sunnyside at Alta won’t be finished by Christmas; the Albion double will spin until it opens.
- The new high speed quad at Telluride won’t open until late January due to labor challenges.
- FourRunner goes down at Stowe and the nearby Sunrise Six isn’t finished yet. Lookout saves the week.
- A “series of setbacks to electrical infrastructure” delays opening of new lifts and the entire Big Boulder ski area.
- Cuchara won’t reopen lift-served skiing this year after all.
- Giants Ridge debuts a new VistaMap.
- Sun Valley launches a website dedicated to next summer’s lift projects.
- As the investigation continues into the Mont-Sainte-Anne gondola incident and the mountain remains closed this weekend, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies seeks a public-private partnership to renew its Quebec infrastructure. Quebec’s Premier isn’t sold on giving public money to RCR.
- The Governor of New Hampshire wants replacement of the Cannon Tram to be voted on by the legislature, a funding mechanism could be selected this year with the earliest possible opening in late 2024.
- Ski Utah previews the upcoming Burns Express at Deer Valley.
- Wisconsin approves a pared down master plan for Granite Peak with two expansion lifts, one on each side of existing terrain.
- Homewood forges ahead with plans to go private for homeowners only.
- The sightseeing gondola proposal in Vernon, British Columbia moves forward.
- An idea to connect Detroit with Windsor, Ontario by 3S gondola is back.
- Construction begins on the new D-Line gondola at a California vineyard.
Sun Valley Plans New Warm Springs Lifts
The Sun Valley Company and US Forest Service are soliciting public comments on an ambitious plan to redesign lift service on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain. First, a new Challenger six place chairlift is proposed to replace the aging Challenger and Greyhawk detachable quads. Challenger is no ordinary chairlift – it services more vertical than any other chair in North America – 3,142 vertical feet in nine minutes. Greyhawk runs parallel to Challenger for its first 1,488 feet of vertical. Both Lift Engineering-turned-Doppelmayr detachables date back to 1988. The wider gauge Challenger would feature a mid-unloading station at the top of the Upper Greyhawk and move 2,400 skiers per hour.
The project also includes a new Flying Squirrel/Lift A detachable quad. The original Flying Squirrel opened in 1972 and operated until February 1st, 2014, when it was destroyed by a drive terminal fire. The lift was removed the following offseason but never replaced. The A quad would follow a modified alignment, loading at the base of Warm Springs and terminating near the top of Picabo’s Street and Flying Squirrel. It would move up to 1,800 skiers per hour and provide key redundancy out of the base area. The Flying Squirrel run would be extended downhill to the bottom of Warm Springs and the new lift’s load point. New snowmaking would also be included.
If approved, both new lifts would be constructed in 2023 and open for the 2023-24 ski season. A manufacturer has not been announced. Sun Valley currently operates an all Doppelmayr fleet but the resort’s parent company recently partnered with Leitner-Poma for a new six passenger lift at Snowbasin.
Update: Both lifts will be built by Doppelmayr.
News Roundup: Three Continents
- Vail Resorts to acquire a majority stake in and operate a Swiss ski resort with 32 lifts.
- A Vermont perspective on why some people are unhappy with Vail.
- Juneau Tram owner Goldbelt takes interest in financing a gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area.
- Homewood says its business model has failed, plans to turn into a private club with two new lifts.
- Taos seeks Forest Service approval to build a base to base gondola and replace two lifts.
- Jackson Hole finds success keeping reservations post-Covid.
- A river crossing pulse gondola is proposed in Red Deer, Alberta.
- The Sun Valley Company is not for sale, will consider a village to mountain gondola in the future.
- A Boise TV station produces an eight minute summary of Tamarack’s checkered history and plans for the future.
- Alpine-X ends its crowdfunding campaign with $1.4 million raised.
- Sommet Saint-Sauveur calls two mid-season breakdowns of the three year old Sommet Express “unfortunate, unacceptable and incomprehensible.”
- As spotted on Interstate 70, someone’s getting a Leitner-Poma detachable named Snow Flyer.
News Roundup: Skytrac Upgrades
- New Zealand and Victoria, Australia resorts reopen after extended Covid closures (New South Wales remains locked down.)
- Mt. Spokane will replace the drive terminal of Chair 2 with a new one from Skytrac.
- Skytrac is completing similar mods to Tumbelina at Monarch Mountain.
- The fate of the Pandora’s expansion on Aspen Mountain will be decided October 13th.
- Sierra at Tahoe still doesn’t know the full extent of lift damage from the Caldor Fire but remains optimistic.
- Users get stuck on one of Mexico City’s new gondola lines following an earthquake.
- The Holding family agrees to sell most of Sinclair Oil Corporation’s assets, though Sun Valley and Snowbasin aren’t included.
- The Forest Service issues a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Lutsen Mountains’ proposed expansion with public comments being solicited through October 25th. A new alternative would see the addition of five new chairlifts on Moose and Eagle Mountains rather than the initially planned seven.
- The only lift in Oklahoma won’t open for the second year in a row and is in danger of removal.
- Schweitzer adds 14 chairs to Stella.
- A quick update from Snow King Mountain:
News Roundup: Next Up
- Robert Redford sells Sundance Resort to two private equity firms.
- 49 Degrees North completes the same retrofit as Chair 1 received on Chair 4, which will reopen today.
- Kamiscotia, Ontario rebrands as Mt. Jamieson.
- Kennywood Park removes rides to cut costs including its 1996 CTEC quad (sister park Lake Compounce did the same three years ago.)
- Saddleback is open! The trail map shows replacement Cupsuptic and Sandy lifts coming soon.
- A Utah entrepreneur wants to bring back a tram to Bridal Veil Falls.
- Vail Resorts looks to raise another $500 million from investors.
- Kelly Canyon seeks to replace Stony Mountain and Summit with one triple or quad.
- Sun Valley’s old Dollar double hits the market.
- Ditto for Ragged Mountain’s former Speak Mountain triple.
- Local officials approve Utah Olympic Park’s West Peak expansion and a 17 tower double or triple.
- Magic Mountain expects to have the Black Line Quad operational by MLK weekend.
- Leitner-Poma of America is hiring a Field Service Technician.
- The Burlington Free Press begins a three part series on the Jay Peak fraud case.
- Still no gondola as Mont-Sainte-Anne reopens.
- Two injured guests are airlifted following a chairlift fall at Park City.
- A formal feasibility study is the next step toward a gondola in Long Beach.
- Fatzer ships a new rope to the Sea to Sky Gondola.
News Roundup: Key Weekend
- Looking back as Blackcomb turns 40.
- As Chair 1 reopens, 49 Degrees North provides a thorough update regarding what happened last weekend and the steps it’s taking to avoid future issues.
- Liftopia’s assets are acquired by a European firm.
- Arizona Snowbowl quietly opens the Arizona Gondola.
- More on the Eiger Express: Not only does it feature the first automated cargo loading on a passenger ropeway, but also a VIP cabin with boarding from a dedicated lounge (cost: $13,500 per year.)
- This interview with Hermitage Club manager Bill Benneyan includes tons of historical facts about Haystack and also Mountain Creek. The Club opens tomorrow for the first time in two and a half years.
- Mission Ridge works hard to complete the lift it brought over from Europe but cannot estimate a completion date.
- Residents seek to stop construction of Wasatch Peaks Ranch, a 3,000 acre private ski resort near Snowbasin.
- Leitner-Poma of America introduces Freedom Control, a wireless remote control for lifts.
- Public comments are being solicited for Big White’s new master plan, which includes a staggering amount of new terrain.
- Ski Magazine ranks top lift systems in the East.
- California effectively shuts down lodging in some ski regions.
- The new Broadway quad will carry its first passengers this weekend at Sun Valley.
- Zermatt and Doppelmayr prepare to launch the first unstaffed lift in Switzerland, a 10 passenger gondola.
- French ski resorts sue the government over closures.
- Holiday Valley pursues a tax break for its $4 million Yodeler Express project.
- A lawsuit seeking class action status alleges lift operators and other employees at Vail Resorts were not paid for use of personal equipment and time spent getting to and from work stations.
- Timberline Mountain relaunches tomorrow with both new chairlifts in operation.
- British Columbia’s Zincton Mountain Village releases new maps of its proposed layout.
- Les Otten courts environmental, social and governance investors as he tries to revive the northernmost ski area in New Hampshire.
- When asked about acquisitions on last night’s earnings call, Rob Katz said Vail is focused on positioning the company to be able to make the most of whatever opportunities may come over the next 12 months.
- Vail is forced to cancel some guest reservations and black out employee skiing in Colorado this weekend due to limited snow and terrain.
News Roundup: Olympics
- The proposed Park City gondola system I wrote about last week could be tied to a 2030 or 2034 Salt Lake Olympic bid.
- Another Mission Ridge bubble update.
- Timberline Helicopters, the leader in ski lift flying for the Western United States, adds another Black Hawk to its fleet.
- The State of Virginia proposes building a chairlift at Natural Bridge State Park near Lynchburg.
- Vancouver explores another winter Olympic bid.
- Vail Resorts retires some former Peak Resorts lifts: Mad River at Mad River Mountain, the Double Chair at Alpine Valley and Black Forest at Big Boulder (all Hall doubles).
- One of Marble Mountain’s chairlifts will sit idle this season and the ski area won’t open until January.
- Chairs are being sold off from three of six chairlifts at closed Sugar Loaf, Michigan.
- TimberlineMountain.com goes live with a new trail map.
- A late season fire scorches 60 acres near Tamarack’s Summit Express.
- Receiver Douglas Wilson looks back at saving Tamarack during the 2008 financial crisis.
- Wachusett adds new graphics to the Polar Express, which is named for sister company Polar Seltzer.
- Sugarbush’s new chief discusses the future of Slide Brook Express, possible expansion and potential lift upgrades.
- Poma’s business is down 30 percent but the French company will keep its 1,300 employees working.
- One project keeping Poma busy: a showcase urban 3S in Toulouse.
- The Jackson Hole Aerial Tram will carry 25 passengers at a time this winter.
- This is how gondola Wi-Fi works.
- Aspen Snowmass prepares to debut its first DirectDrive lift.
- Sun Valley’s new lift, pictured below, gets named Broadway. Updated trail map here.
News Roundup: Cold Front
- Sunday River releases maps of the upcoming Merrill Hill project.
- Updated stats from NSAA show how many ski areas operated in each state last winter.
- Las Vegas’ decision to go with Teslas in a tunnel rather than a Doppelmayr automated people mover may have been short sighted.
- Jay Peak President Steve Wright discusses joining the Indy Pass, limited winter tram operations and potential future lift upgrades.
- Mission Ridge begins erecting terminals for the new Liberator Express, which load and unload inside buildings.
- Whiteface’s new beginner quad will be called Owl Express.
- A new lift at Sun Valley will also get a fresh name, to be announced soon.
- Gunstock burns down an old T-Bar station for firefighter training.
- An Ontario ski area worries about lift safety following a rash of vandalism.
- With the launch of a gondola up Hoonah Mountain next year, an Alaska Native corporation sees new opportunities for development.
- Despite a 30 percent drop in business last winter, at least two New Zealand resorts plan to build new lifts this offseason.
- As Smartwool moves headquarters from Steamboat to Denver, the company gifts $1.5 million to Howelsen Hill for a new Barrows chairlift, to be built by Skytrac.
- A Michigan ski area with 12 lifts won’t make snow and will operate weekends only due to Coronavirus.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne is no longer certain its base-to-summit gondola will be functional by December.
- Big Sky wraps up a busy season of preparation for the Swift Current 6 top terminal and carrier storage facility.
News Roundup: Investments
- A trial gets underway to decide whether a moving chairlift worsened the spread of a wildfire in New Zealand.
- BC’s hard-hit ski industry lobbies for government assistance.
- All five ski resorts located in Victoria, Australia are now closed thanks to Covid-19, including two operated by Vail Resorts.
- Here’s the latest update from Sun Valley’s Cold Springs expansion project.
- And another one from Arapahoe Basin’s summer of new lifts.
- The Hermitage Club gets back to basics as it looks to save money and focus on skiing.
- Liftopia stays out of bankruptcy for now.
- Hilltop Ski Area seeks a used chairlift for its beginner slope.
- After numerous employees test positive for Covid-19, the world’s largest gondola system shuts down again.
- MND Group secures $45 million in new financing from the French government and a private investment firm.
- Jackson Hole announces plans to operate its aerial tram this winter, which has been closed since March 14th.
- Fitsimmons Express, the major access lift for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, suffers multiple days of downtime.
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