- 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.“
Trails at Mena
News Roundup: Rescues
- Whiteface joins the Mountain Collective Pass.
- The Forest Service approves up to three lifts for the Trails at Mena bike park in Arkansas, down from a proposed five.
- Nearly a thousand people show up to watch Doppelmayr install East Village Gondola towers at Deer Valley.
- Big Sky’s ski patrol debriefs the avalanche that hit the top of Swift Current 6 last winter.
- Snow Ridge, New York is selling chairs from the old Snowy Meadows double.
- A zoo chairlift in Massachusetts is evacuated by ladder truck and boom lifts.
- A dangling man is rescued from the chairlift at Lagoon, Utah.
- A tower from Killington’s Superstar Express heads to Sugarbush – not sure why but I have asked.
- Foreign investors sue Powder Mountain seeking $76 million.
- Enjoy this small glimpse into mountain planning and design.
- Hogadon, Wyoming floats price increases and a 10 percent facility surcharge to help pay for a new chairlift.
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