- Lost Trail, Montana/Idaho seeks permission to replace Chair 1, Chair 2 and Chair 4 with high speed quads and utilize retired equipment for a new beginner lift.
- Aerial footage shows Eagle Point’s lifts still standing after wildfire but with unknown heat damage.
- Vail Resorts vigorously defends its owned and operated network model.
- New York’s Governor forms an exploratory committee for hosting the 2042 Winter Olympics.
- The Getty Museum in Los Angeles announces a Doppelmayr automated people mover.
- Lutsen Mountains begins charging extra for private gondola cabins and priority boarding.
- Donner Ski Ranch asks guests to report lift operators distracted by cell phones.
- Leitner to reach more than 40 miles of urban gondolas throughout Mexico.
- The Forest Service approves Telluride’s proposed replacements for lifts 7 and 8.
Telluride
News Roundup: Setbacks
- Utah skier visits fell 26 percent last season, Vermont was up 4.7 percent.
- Aspen Snowmass visitation falls for the third year in a row.
- Vail Resorts reports season pass unit sales down 10 percent for next season, lowers financial guidance again.
- Vail wins a 15 year contract extension in Grand Teton National Park representing over a billion dollars gross.
- Six Park City residents appeal approval of replacement Eagle and Silverlode detachables.
- A new ski resort in Ukraine selects Doppelmayr for €47 million worth of lifts.
- A Japanese gondola operator introduces a special cabin with Dolby Atmos surround sound for an upcharge.
- A new urban gondola in Uruapan, Mexico already carries 18,000 riders per day, far exceeding expectations.
- Mt. Ashland, Oregon pushes to lift replacements to 2027 and 2028.
- Snow King’s new gondola cabins planned for summer concerts are delayed in customs but should go live soon.
- A new sightseeing gondola nears completion in BC’s Okanagan region.
- Beartooth Basin temporarily closes due to lift issues.
- Mountain Capital Partners acquires three Arizona golf resorts.
- Pico to replace the Outpost double with a new chairlift in 2027, manufacturer and model TBA.
- Planning commissioners in Georgia reject a gondola proposal on the Tennessee border but it could still be built on unincorporated land.
- A gondola proposed in Canmore, Alberta also faces fierce opposition.
- The Town of Telluride questions Telski’s plan to replace two doubles with fixed grips instead of detachables.
- Floods partially submerge chairlifts in Manitoba.
- The Governor officially opens Arkansas’ first new chairlift in 53 years.
- Pursuit’s planned $70 to $80 million in 2026 growth capital includes replacing the Jasper SkyTram with a 2S gondola, subject to Parks Canada approval.
News Roundup: Doolans
- A damaged tower at Tamarack is expected to take three to five weeks to replace following last week’s “unusual cable entanglement event.”
- Brattleboro Ski Hill in Vermont fundraises for a new Skytrac control system.
- Mont Sutton to auction unique Mueller chairs.
- Roosevelt Island asks the public what to do with original tram cabins.
- Stoneham and Leitner-Poma to complete a CA$1 million renovation of L’Aurore Boréale.
- Mountain Village, Colorado releases a 300 page report detailing local officials’ failed attempt to purchase Telluride Ski Resort.
- Vail Resorts vows not to sell as Matthew Prince continues making his case to acquire Park City.
- Casper, Wyoming expects to order a new chairlift for Hogadon Ski Area this fall.
- Colorado skier visits plunge 24 percent.
- New Hampshire visits rise 5 percent.
- In New Zealand, The Remarkables proposes the nation’s longest gondola.
- A gondola collides with a crane in Austria.
- Enjoy this progress report on the Gelande expansion at Purgatory.
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: 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: Spring Debuts
- Whaleback’s chairlift is back in action after being closed all season.
- Angel Fire performs a mid-season splice on the Southwest Flyer, now back open.
- A child is okay after falling from a chairlift at Blue Knob, Pennsylvania.
- Another child falls from a chair and is airlifted from Sierra-at-Tahoe.
- Telluride sues several current and former elected officials seeking millions of damages incurred during the December patrol strike.
- The latest Eaglecrest gondola complication: cabins shipped on their side rather than upright.
- The Mighty Argo Cable Car in Colorado will soft open next month.
- OZ Trails Bike Park to open with Arkansas’ first detachable chairlift in June.
- BC’s Okanagan Gondola set to open in April 2027.
- Vail Resorts reports an 11.9 percent decline in North American skier visits and lowers financial guidance.
- Park City Billionaire Matthew Prince still wants to buy Park City Mountain from Vail.
- Alterra CEO Jared Smith steps down.
- Vermont considers regulating both lift operator breaks and staffing levels.
- Leitner to build the world’s first jig-back tramway with a direct drive in Italy.
- Both the Green Mountain Express and North Ridge Express go down at Sugarbush’s Mt. Ellen, leaving hiking as the only access to the summit.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire won’t become a co-op after all, will continue to be managed by Entabeni Systems.
- Mt. Sima, Yukon to reactivate its T-Bar after many years.
- A massive nearby rockslide closes Whistler’s Peak Chair indefinitely.
- Magic Mountain, Idaho won’t open this season.
News Roundup: Indy to Ikon
- Mountain Capital Partners may enter the Midwest with a deal to operate Spirit Mountain, Minnesota. Under the proposal, MCP would lease the mountain for a minimum of 20 years beginning in October.
- Vail raises Epic Pass prices approximately 3.5 percent, offers a discount to young adults 30 and under.
- Alterra raises Ikon prices roughly 5 percent, adds Tamarack, Idaho and Devil’s Head, Wisconsin to its bonus mountain tier while removing SilverStar, BC.
- Granite Peak, Wisconsin; Lutsen Mountains, Minnesota and Snowriver, Michigan switch from Indy Pass to Ikon Pass.
- Snowmass returns and Arapahoe Basin will go unlimited on the Ikon Base Pass.
- The Wall Street Journal visits Telluride owner Chuck Horning, who says he’s “never selling.”
- The BBC profiles lift operations at Whistler Blackcomb.
- The LA Times visits independent Mt. Baldy, surrounded by Alterra in Southern California.
- SAM digs into how a small Wisconsin ski area went from closed to buying two brand new Skytrac lifts.
- Snowbird will replace Chickadee this spring.
- Pomerelle, Idaho’s General Manager buys the mountain with his wife.
- Shanty Creek, Michigan also sells to new owners.
- The cost of used gondola installation at Eaglecrest balloons from under $9 million to as much as $37 million. A report finds the gondola would make the ski area profitble on an operating basis and canceling the project would cost taxpayers $10.9 million.
- In Iowa, a government-owned ski area fundraises for a brand new chairlift.
- Revelstoke’s Stoke chair to be out of service at least three days for gearbox repair.
- Stagecoach Mountain Ranch inches toward approval near Steamboat.
- The top operator house on Chair 1 at Titus Mountain, New York burns down, rendering the lift inoperable.
News Roundup: Back at It
- Park City resubmits applications to build an Eagle six pack and Silverlode eight place.
- Snow King, Wyoming to add eight cabins to its gondola for summer concert capacity.
- The triple at Mont Cascades, Quebec closes until further notice due to mechanical issues.
- Same with Buzzsaw at Searchmont, Ontario.
- Red Mountain, BC goes without the key Motherlode triple this week due to a motor issue; runs a a snow cat shuttle instead.
- Crescent Hill, Iowa completes installation of a whole new drive terminal for its double chair.
- Little Eagle at Vail is evacuated after an incident; Vail Resorts declines to say whether anyone was injured amid online rumors (update 2/4: in a Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board Meeting, the state’s Supervisory Tramway Engineer said no one was injured.)
- Winslow at Dartmouth Skiway is also rope evacuated.
- A reader says Frenchman’s at Sun Valley was also rope evac’d this week.
- Visits to US resorts by Canadians are down 41 percent this winter.
- Mountain Village, Colorado intends to select a vendor for the new gondola this calendar year.
- Doppelmayr to build four urban gondolas in Puebla, Mexico with 12 total stations and 96 towers.
News Roundup: Granite State
- Tenney Mountain rope evacuates Hornet.
- Two people are injured falling from the Panorama Express at Gunstock.
- Hatley Pointe, North Carolina loses its main lift due to a mechanical issue.
- Cuchara successfully opens Chair 4 for the first time since 2000.
- Mt. Jefferson, Maine may close after this season.
- The publicly-owned ski hill in Des Moines, Iowa seeks a new chairlift.
- With a strike dragging on, Le Massif announces the end of ski season, then promptly reaches a deal to reopen tomorrow.
- With public and private funding secured, Mont-Sainte-Anne plans to sign a contract to replace three aging detachables in March.
- A mixed-use development near Park City could include a gondola connection to Deer Valley East Village.
- Vail CEO Rob Katz discusses unionization efforts in the ski industry and reflects on last season’s strike at Park City.
- A rider who died after falling from a chairlift at Cypress Mountain last week may have lost consciousness before falling.
- Elected officials are under investigation for meeting with the owner of Telluride about a sale during the patrol strike.
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