Greater Paris joins the urban gondola club tomorrow.
After millions of dollars and years of delays trying to install a gondola, Eaglecrest faces a $650,000 tariff bill and $450,000 cabin refurbishment bill amid questions whether the project should continue at all.
Big White, BC amends its master plan to focus on the Backcountry expansion, Gem Lake 2 and infill lifts, shelving plans for East Peak and Gem Lake West.
US ski resorts report their second best season ever with 61.5 million visits.
Colorado releases a detailed report on Winter Park’s gondola tower evener beam failure last December. Leitner-Poma will retrofit or replace similar beams on existing lifts and modify the beam’s design for future installations.
The Kicking Horse gondola hanger failure remains under investigation but the resort will replace all hangers and not operate the gondola until mid-summer at the earliest.
Indy Pass adds a slew of mountains including Loveland, Colorado; Bear Creek, Pennsylvania; Bear Valley, California; Bousquet, Massachusetts; Bruce Mound and Christie Mountain, Wisconsin; Camp Fortune, Massif du Sud and Mont Rigaud, Quebec; Cazenovia and Hunt Hollow, New York; Lost Valley, Maine; and Mt. Holiday and Norway Mountain, Michigan.
After the only bid to replace the Cannon Mountain tramway came in millions more than expected, the State of New Hampshire investigates whether it can reuse existing towers.
Canada’s Competition Bureau to probe whether the Arizona company behind the Jasper SkyTram and Banff Gondola unfairly competes with ski area sightseeing gondolas.
One person has died and another is in critical condition following a collision between a gondola cabin and construction equipment at Tremblant, an Alterra-operated resort near Montreal. The gondola car struck a drilling rig part way up the mountain, causing two adult riders to fall to the ground at approximately 11:30 this morning. The cabin remained attached to the haul rope. Both people were transported to a hospital where one later died. Other riders on the lift were evacuated with no further injuries.
The incident occurred part way up the Panoramic Gondola, one of three gondola systems at Tremblant. The lift involved was built by Doppelmayr in 1998 with cabins supplied by Gangloff. A photo later emerged showing half of a cabin completely sheared off where there would normally be a bench seat.
“Due to an incident on the Gondola today, July 16, we regret to inform you that we are canceling the remainder of the Tremblant Blues Festival and closing our activities for the day out of respect for those involved,” the ski resort wrote in an afternoon statement. “We thank you for your understanding.”
The Quebec Ski Areas Association also issued a statement: “We are saddened by the accident. Our hearts go out to the families and the Mont Tremblant team. An investigation is in progress and we offer our collaboration to the authorities,” the association wrote.
Nous sommes peinés de l’accident. Nos pensées vont aux familles ainsi qu’à l’équipe de @MontTremblant . Une enquête est en cours, nous offrons notre collaboration aux autorités pour le bon déroulement de celle-ci. https://t.co/tRQIXd71BI
By evening, Tremblant issued a statement clarifying that the construction equipment was operated by a third party and offered condolences to those involved, who were visiting from outside the region.
Statement from @MontTremblant: "This Sunday, July 16, an accident took place at Tremblant, involving the panoramic gondola and construction machinery operated by a third party. We have the immense regret to confirm, following the announcement of the Sûreté du Québec, the death of…
On Monday, Forage M2P Inc. said one of its drilling rigs operating on behalf of Tremblant on an approved route struck both the gondola cabin with two riders who fell and another empty gondola. A 30 year old operator was repositioning the drill at the time of the incident and he was also hospitalized.
North America’s second largest resort operator today announced the purchase of two lifts for Mammoth Mountain, new terrain at Steamboat Resort and a two year project to build new trails and lifts at Tremblant. Alterra Mountain Company will complete $223 million worth of capital improvements in total for next season, up from $181 million in 2019-20 and $130 million the year before. Rival Vail Resorts announced back in December spending of $210 to $215 million across 37 mountain resorts, including construction of six new lifts in 2020.
Mammoth’s Broadway Express #1 and Canyon Express #16, both built by Yan and upgraded by Doppelmayr, will be replaced this summer.
At Mammoth, one of the most utilized lifts in the Alterra system, Broadway Express, will be replaced with a high-speed six place detachable, increasing uphill capacity by 42 percent to 3,200 skiers per hour. Sister lift Canyon Express will be replaced with a 3,000 people per hour six pack, increasing uphill capacity out of Canyon Lodge by 66 percent. Both of these lifts are likely to be supplied by Doppelmayr.
This will be the last season for the Canyon Express, a workhorse lift above the Village at Mammoth.
In Colorado, Steamboat Resort will expand onto 355 acres of Pioneer Ridge, providing skiers and riders with more terrain to explore. Pioneer Ridge will feature 1,800 vertical feet of advanced and expert gladed terrain accessible via the Pony Express lift. Twenty five new chairs will be added to the Garaventa CTEC high speed quad, increasing capacity from 1,200 people per hour to 1,800. The Steamboat master plan calls for Pioneer Ridge to eventually feature its own detachable chairlift.
Steamboat will open up hundreds of acres of new terrain beyond Pony Express and become Colorado’s third largest ski area.
This summer, Tremblant will begin a two-year expansion project called Timber. Quebec’s most popular mountain will open a new beginner zone with a magic carpet on Versant Soleil for 2020-21 to enhance the learning experience for new skiers and riders. In late 2021, the Timber summit will open with a new high speed quad and eight trails leading to Versant Soleil and the North side. “This project, which aims at diversifying the ski area, is part of the continued development of Versant Soleil and reaffirms Tremblant’s leader position as the #1 ski resort in Eastern North America,” said the resort.
“Three years ago, when we formed Alterra Mountain Company, an initial priority was to commit to investing a half a billion dollars by 2023 across our family of North American destinations,” said Rusty Gregory, CEO of Alterra Mountain Company. “To date, we have invested more than $350 million and are committed to exceeding our original plan, spending $575 million by 2020 on lifts and gondolas, snowmaking, summer activities, real estate development, hospitality and technology, all in the name of creating memories for our guests through an elevated mountain experience.” Privately-held Alterra owns 14 resorts, having recently completed its acquisition of Sugarbush.
Dave Brownlie, former head of Whistler Blackcomb and current Revelstoke President, weighs in on the state of the British Columbia ski industry and his company’s plans for Grouse Mountain.
The Colorado Sun interviews three Colorado resort pioneers about industry trends and challenges.
As the gondola at Mont-Sainte-Anne reopens, the resort says an external power issue caused last month’s sudden stop. A lawsuit has been filed and the power company denies responsibility.
Just the Leitner portion of Mexico City’s new urban gondola network will feature seven stations and 300 cabins.
Experienced resort executives Andy and Jace Wirth may take over operations at Granby Ranch.
Limited Ikon/Mountain Collective visits to Arapahoe Basin are 69 percent lower than unlimited Epic visits last year and the “experience is way up,” says Al Henceroth.
Another informative podcast from Stuart Winchester features an executive from Mountain Creek and Big Snow talking about the next new lift and a possible Big Snow Miami.
Smugglers’ Notch has no intentions of losing its independence or ditching its fleet of fixed grip double chairs.
Whitefish will begin work in Hellroaring Basin this summer and move the current Hellroaring triple to a new alignment in 2021.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee already has five scenic lift rides but an outfit called Pigeon Forge Snow plans to build a sixth.
A U.S. Department of Labor inspector finds 14 and 15 year old ski instructors riding chairlifts and lowering restraint bars constitutes “operating heavy machinery.”
Tremblant will announce its next major investments on March 10th, a day we may hear from other Alterra resorts as well.
At just 15 months old, Alterra Mountain Company finds itself with over 200 chairlifts, gondolas and tramways in two countries. The 13 Alterra mountains mirror the broader ski industry with places like Deer Valley and Crystal Mountain sporting many newer lifts while the average chairlift at June Mountain is 45 years old.
On a Monday last March, the fledgling company based in Denver simultaneously unveiled its very first lift investments at Stratton, Tremblant and Winter Park along with other improvements like snowmaking at Snowshoe and a new restaurant at the base of Steamboat. Importantly, Alterra committed to spending $555 million in total capital over five years. That was before it bought Solitude and Crystal Mountain, which could mean even more money flowing over the next few construction seasons. While last year’s budget only included three new lifts, could we see more in 2019?
Colorado
With the September approval of major projects by the Forest Service, Steamboat is poised for a comprehensive on-mountain transformation. Although the timing is fluid, a new Rough Rider learning center at mid-mountain will eventually be serviced by a new gondola from the village. Here, skiers and snowboarders will be able to choose from three new carpet lifts, a new and improved Bashor lift and a second fixed-grip chair replacing the Rough Rider surface tow.
A second initiative Steamboat could undertake in 2019 is the Pioneer Ridge expansion, which includes a 7,000 foot detachable quad and a dozen new trails. Other possible upgrades include adding chairs to Pony Express (currently at only 1,200 skiers per hour but designed for 2,400) or new cabins for the Silver Bullet. Wouldn’t it be cool for the new gondola and original one to have similar cabins?
The average lift at Alterra-operated Winter Park Resort is 27 years old. Six are early model detachable quads coming up for replacement. In the case of 32 year old Pioneer Express, an upgrade is overdue and I expect coming in 2019. A new version could add a snowboarder friendly mid loading station above the last section of Big Valley.
Pioneer is one of only four remaining Poma detachables in North America with separate Alpha drive units.
A second project I hope to see is a second stage of the new gondola from Sunspot to Lunch Rock, truly uniting Winter Park and Mary Jane. Sunnyside should be a high speed quad or six pack. A high speed replacement of Challenger would be a nice upgrade at Mary Jane. Looking Glass is tied for the oldest operating chairlift in Colorado. After Pioneer, High Lonesome is the next Poma detachable up for replacement if we go solely by age.
The above Intrawest era master plan earmarked Gemini Express to be converted into an eight passenger gondola with a new learning center surrounding its top station. Endeavor could go detachable as part of this project and/or Discovery made into a fixed grip quad. Finally, a lift is envisioned to expand Vasquez Ridge Territory with four new intermediate trails. With all of these ideas on the table, I expect Winter Park to get at least one lift in 2019 and hopefully two.
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