- 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.
Telluride
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.
News Roundup: Beyond Snow
- Several rope evacs this week – Heavenly, Mt. Baker, Snoqualmie and Maple Ski Ridge, New York.
- Sadly also two fatal falls from lifts at Cypress Mountain, BC and Ski Apache, New Mexico.
- A death at Timberline Mountain, West Virginia last week is also revealed as a chairlift fall.
- Levi, Finland signs on to the Indy Pass.
- Facing a large insurance payment in a few weeks, Camp 10, Wisconsin could close without community support.
- An update on the soon-to-open new T-Bar at Waterville Valley.
- A Doppelmayr gondola is proposed in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
- Doppelmayr could also build a sightseeing gondola in Butte, Montana.
- Leitner-Poma is expected to supply the first lift for the Trails at Mena in Arkansas this summer.
- Doppelmayr and Leitner split an order for urban gondolas in Queenstown, New Zealand.
- Cannon Mountain continues structural analysis on the recently-retired aerial tram with a May target to solicit bids from manufacturers for replacement reusing tower and terminal structures (starts at 18:00.)
- A new map shows where the Showcase quad will run on Blackcomb Mountain.
- The brand new urban gondola in Paris is already carrying 12,500 riders per day, 14 percent more than forecast, and a second line is under consideration.
- During the Telluride strike, an entity controlled by local elected officials proposed buying a majority stake in Telski.
- Chris Cushing of SE Group discusses designing 100 new trails and 10 new lifts at Deer Valley.
- The North chair to reopen soon at Snow Ridge, NY after a year closed due to tornado damage.
- A look into the world of restoring gondola cabins instead of replacing them or an entire lift.
- Early season visits to Vail Resorts North American mountains declined 20 percent through January 4th compared to a year earlier.
- Update: An empty chair detached from Shedhorn 4 at Big Sky today. I’m told a grip did not attach properly leaving the bottom teminal. The empty chair ended up in the pit. Statement from Big Sky Resort: “Around 2:45pm today on Shedhorn 4 lift, a grip failed to reattach to the haul rope while exiting the bottom terminal. The chair was unoccupied at the time, and the lift’s automatic safety system immediately stopped operation. The team acted quickly to offload all remaining guests from the lift. Shedhorn 4 will remain closed while we thoroughly inspect every grip before reopening. We appreciate your patience as safety remains our top priority.“
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