- Val Bialas, New York reopened today after nine years closed.
- The potential buyer for closed Sleeping Giant, Wyoming specializes in roadside attractions like the Royal Gorge gondola and may not reopen skiing.
- A woman is convicted of stealing nearly $5 million from Mighty Argo gondola investors.
- Glenwood Caverns, Colorado files for bankruptcy after a $120 million judgment resulting from a 2021 ride incident.
- The owner of land under parts of Park City’s Timberline and Iron Mountain Express files suit against Vail Resorts, alleging existing easements don’t allow lifts.
- Mt. Bohemia, Michigan has a land lease issue as well.
- A lawsuit proceeds against Bittersweet, Michigan from a volunteer ski patroller who fell 20 feet from a lift after attempting to load a toboggan.
- A skier dies at Welch Village, Minnesota after hitting lift tower.
- A 13 year old is critically injured in a tragic unloading entanglement at Vorlage, Quebec; the mountain remains closed until further notice.
- Bromont rope evacuates Versant du Midi.
- A guest falls from Copper Mountain’s American Flyer.
- A new master plan for Mt. Timothy, BC targets reactivation of the Mad Platter, replacement of the triple with a quad, relocation of the T-Bar and a new platter.
- SilverStar, BC renames the Powder Gulch Express to Putnam Express and Alpine Meadows to Attridge.
- British Columbia releases 268 pages of documents related to the hanger arm failure on Kicking Horse’s gondola last season. The Incident Investigation Report says an undetected crack likely developed over several seasons as a result of both manufacturing and operational factors.
- Cannon expects its tram replacement project to cost between $25 and 33 million.
- Loch Lomond, Ontario’s North chair goes down for maintenance.
Welch Village
News Roundup: Power Problems
- Crescent Hill, Iowa to install a new (used) drive terminal on its double chair.
- Approval of a new gondola in Hawaii may be rescinded.
- The private ski resort planned near Steamboat faces a mix of public backlash and support.
- Deer Valley President & COO Todd Bennett says several more lifts are planned for Deer Valley East, timeline TBA.
- Megève, France joins the Ikon Pass.
- Doppelmayr wins the tender to build a nine station urban gondola in Puebla, Mexico.
- Val Bialas, New York to reopen after several years closed.
- Lifts and ski trails return to Google Maps after a one year hiatus.
- A power outage leads to a rope evacuation at Sunburst, Wisconsin.
- Electric infrastructure problems will delay the start of Mont-Sainte-Anne’s season for at least another week.
- Skeetawk, Alaska seeks public funding for a second lift, possibly a gondola.
- Eaglecrest extends the bid deadline for a gondola general contractor, wants to open in 2028 but doesn’t have enough money to finish.
- Lost Ontario ski area Talisman to be preserved as conservation land.
- Aspen Mountain’s Nell Bell approval moves along.
- The New York Times spends a day with Snowbird’s mountain operations team.
- Holiday Mountain, New York sends a Poma bullwheel and gearbox to help Whaleback, New Hampshire revive its chairlift.
- Welch Village, Minnesota’s new quad is named Joy Ride.
- Spirit Mountain’s new trail map shows where the Highline Quad runs.
- Toronto Zoo’s SkyPod to open in 2027.
- Leitner-Poma and Skytrac celebrate completing 20 lifts on time or early.
- Pico to auction 1965 Bonanza chairs for charity.
- Bear Mountain, California purchases new Skytrac chairs for Lift 7.
News Roundup: Superstar
- The death toll rises to three in last week’s Mt. Elbrus deropement with the CEO and head technician detained by the Russian government.
- Dramatic video emerges from last month’s failure of another Russian single chair not far away.
- 49° North to replace its beginner chairlift with a Doppelmayr quad next year.
- In an interview, Garaventa’s CEO discusses US tariffs on Switzerland, competition with HTI and more.
- Indy Pass adds Donner Ski Ranch, California; Magic Mountain, Idaho; Montage Mountain, Pennsylvania (returning after a brief hiatus) and Leavenworth Ski Hill, Washington plus mountains in Austria and Turkey.
- Ecosign releases a book highlighting 50 years of mountain planning.
- Crystal Mountain’s summit webcam captures a slight mishap during installation of Rainier Express’ top terminal (all is well, it’s now assembled.)
- Welch Village to sell Hall double chairs next week.
- Spirit Mountain asks the public to vote on 13 possible names for its new chairlift.
- Chelan County releases its draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Mission Ridge expansion.
- Construction is well underway on Arkansas’ only chairlift.
- Stagecoach Mountain Ranch moves toward approval outside Steamboat.
- Hesperus, Colorado to remain closed this season.
- Sommet Saint-Sauveur adds a loading conveyor to the Sommet Express.
- The chairlift at Whaleback, New Hampshire may miss this season.
- Enjoy a few construction photos from Killington (both the Superstar replacement and Skyeship cabin upgrade.)
Welch Village Announces New Quad Chair
Minnesota gem Welch Village plans to continue upgrading its lift fleet this summer with a new quad from Skytrac. The chairlift will replace the Skilink double in a completely new alignment. The existing Hall double dates back to 1967 and originally operated at Birch Park, Wisconsin. It was moved to Welch circa 1989 and services exclusively beginner terrain. “With the upgraded lift, beginners will have quicker access to the slopes, and more space will be available to practice and develop their skills,” said Welch.
Skilink will be the mountain’s seventh fixed grip quad and follows three recent Doppelmayr installations. It will take the place of an existing rope tow and terrain park. As part of the project, the rope and park will move near Skilink’s former location, allowing for a steeper terrain park.
Welch’s project is one of just two installations announced in the Midwest for next season thus far, the other being at Spirit Mountain, also in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
News Roundup: Many Uses
- Cranmore announces an over $1 million overhaul of the Skimobile Express to take place next summer.
- Granite Gorge’s owner says he’s unlikely to reopen skiing.
- Catamount and Berkshire East owner Jon Schaefer explains his strategy of relentless capital improvements.
- Park City Canyons Village skiers get stuck for a few hours when the Red Pine Gondola goes on wind hold.
- In Japan, a gondola lift doubles as a device to cure salmon.
- Carrabassett Valley Academy seeks to raise $1.6 million to build a T-Bar at Sugarloaf next summer.
- In other Sugarloaf news, pieces of Big Sky’s former Swift Current reportedly begin arriving.
- Telluride confirms it has ordered a Doppelmayr detachable quad to replace Plunge/Lift 9 in 2022. The existing triple will be sold to another resort.
- Chairs for Welch Village’s new Cannon Valley Quad arrive after a delayed journey from Asia through Canada.
- Alyeska’s tram will remain closed through December due to ongoing maintenance.
- Doppelmayr says its global market share stands at 55 percent.
- The gondola at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will reopen in Summer 2022 after a more than two year Covid closure.
- An interesting tidbit from the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board: a suspected bullet damaged the haul rope of Game Creek Express at Vail, requiring a repair.
- Vail Resorts sells more than 2.1 million season pass products, 700,000 more than last year.
- The 2022 Epic Lift Upgrade expands from 19 to 21 projects with additional lifts announced for Jack Frost and Big Boulder.
- Indy Pass will add yet another Western resort next week.
- Former Palisades Tahoe President Andy Wirth signs on to advise Alpine-X.
- Sundance says the Outlaw Express opening is delayed until December 22nd due to weather and construction timing.
- Doppelmayr flies towers in December for Juniper at Lake Louise, set to open in January.
- Steamboat considers a fourth gondola connecting the base area to town, Greenhorn Ranch will include a chairlift and eight passenger chairs are in play for future lift replacements.
- Maine’s Bigrock Mountain fundraises to purchase a Doppelmayr quad.
- Les Otten partners with Provident Resources Group to revive the Balsams redevelopment (same firm involved in reopening Big Squaw, Maine.)
- Boyne Highlands becomes The Highlands at Harbor Springs with lift improvements planned, starting with the southern end of the mountain.
News Roundup: Even Ten
- Boyne Resorts acquires its tenth ski area: Shawnee Peak, Maine.
- A new trail map shows Loon Mountain’s gondola is now called the White Mountain Express.
- A Bloomberg profile notes visitation has grown 46 percent in five years at Big Sky with major development to continue.
- Snow Partners becomes the new corporate umbrella for Mountain Creek, Big Snow American Dream, Snow Operating and more.
- A new model of the Sigma Diamond EVO cabin will debut first at Austria’s Kaunertaler Gletscher.
- Whiteface proposes a high speed quad with angle station from Bear Den to the new Legacy Lodge and may replace Little Whiteface and Mountain Run with a quad in 2022.
- Boyne Mountain General Manager Ed Grice takes a deep dive on six future lift projects.
- The new Cape Smokey gondola is carrying thousands of riders on peak fall days.
- A conveyor project is delayed a year due to components being stuck on a ship near the Port of Houston.
- Welch Village also says it’s waiting for parts of its new chairlift.
- Le Massif adds a Doppelmayr platter to service the new Club Med Québec-Charlevoix.
- Crystal Mountain President Frank DeBerry says replacing Rainier Express is a top priority. Alterra also wants to swap the Mt. Rainier Gondola for a higher capacity machine and turn the existing gondola into a base area-Campbell Basin link. Bullion Basin Express, an East Peak lift, Kelly’s Gap Express and Northway detachable all remain under consideration.
- Reader Austin S. sent in the below photos from Mt. Shasta, purported to be clearing for a new lift on Gray Butte.
News Roundup: Government Proceedings
- Mission Ridge sues Chelan County over the permitting process for a proposed three lift expansion.
- The Forest Service approves Winter Park’s Pioneer Express replacement project.
- It will take awhile for the Utah Department of Transportation to wade through 13,000 Little Cottonwood public comments, the most the agency has ever received for a project.
- The town of Tupper Lake, New York considers leasing Big Tupper for human powered recreation.
- Indy Pass founder Doug Fish expects to quadruple redemptions from 96,000 last winter to 400,000 this season.
- New trail maps start to appear showing new lifts: Snowbasin and Welch Village this week.
- The first towers go vertical for the Olympic Valley-Alpine Meadows Gondola at Palisades Tahoe.
- Sierra at Tahoe provides a fire recovery update.
- The rest of Australia’s resorts are cleared to reopen, though some have already called it a season.
- The towns of Telluride and Mountain Village are evaluating three options for the aging gondola: gradual incremental upgrades, a major overhaul or total replacement with a decision targeted for next fall.
- Some Banff leaders still support a gondola to Mt. Norquay despite Parks Canada opposition.
- A far left group targets Poma in France. Unhappy about the company supplying a ropeway to a nuclear waste storage project, the group claims it removed bolts from Poma lifts in the Alps.
- Trollhaugen says supply chain delays are impacting installation of a new Partek chairlift, though it still should be completed for this season.
- London’s Emirates Air Line gondola will be renamed in 2022 as Transport for London seeks a new naming rights partner.
- On the always great Storm Skiing Podcast, Taos CEO David Norden talks timing and lift types for the many upgrades in the resort’s new master plan.
- The Purgatory Express is closed due to technical problems yet again.
- Whiteface details summer updates to Cloudsplitter, Face Lift and Freeway in addition to the new Bear quad.
News Roundup: Turning to ‘22
- The new lift at Great Bear Ski Valley is eight weeks ahead of schedule with chairs on the line.
- Another lockdown hits Australian resorts, this time Perisher and Thredbo in New South Wales.
- New Zealand shuts down all ski resorts as part of a nationwide freeze.
- A man dies after a fall from the sky ride at Utah’s Lagoon amusement park.
- Cape Smokey expects Canada’s first new gondola since 2018 to open next week.
- Sunlight solicits a new trail map painted by Kevin Mastin.
- Brazil’s government will study the feasibility of restarting the world’s largest abandoned urban gondola.
- A gondola system is being considered for Tijuana, Mexico.
- The Arizona Gondola re-enters service after 18 days of lightning-related downtime.
- Doppelmayr will build Latin America’s first gondola with air conditioning.
- An extended interview with Poma Chairman Jean Souchal covers Covid recovery, urban growth and why Americans call surface lifts of all brands Pomas.
- Despite offering $10 million, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania receives no bids for reopening Denton Hill.
- California and Nevada resorts report an almost 22 percent increase in skier visits during the Covid season of 2020-21.
- Washington, DC budgets $10 million to purchase property needed for a possible future Georgetown-Rosslyn Gondola.
- Steamboat confirms the first section of the Wild Blue Gondola project is a go for next summer.
- The Boat will also retire the Priest Creek double and sell its chairs.
- Ontario’s Beaver Valley Ski Club plans to replace the Avalanche double in 2022.
- Time to vote! Choices for renaming Squaw Valley’s Squaw Creek triple are Eagle Eye, Highline, Resort, Snow King, Storm Rider and Valley View.
- Welch Village updates guests on the Cannon Valley Quad project.
News Roundup: Breaking Ground
- Utah’s transportation department will host an open house July 13th to explain as solicit feedback on the gondola and enhanced bus alternatives for Little Cottonwood Canyon.
- Loon and Doppelmayr fly the towers for Kancamagus 8.
- A brown bear did not ride a chairlift at Vail as you may have read on Facebook.
- Welch Village’s new lift will be called the Cannon Valley Quad.
- The first test of UpBus, a passenger-carrying pod which transitions between wheel and cable propulsion, takes place at Doppelmayr headquarters.
- Mt. Southington replaces chairs and towers on the Avalanche double.
- The asking price is reduced for the defunct Plymouth Notch ski area in Vermont.
- Beaver Creek breaks ground in McCoy Park.
- Gondolas arrive at Snow King Mountain.
- Pueblo, Colorado considers building a $20 million sightseeing gondola.
- The investigation into the Mottarone disaster widens to 12 people including Leitner employees and the company itself. Leitner says in a statement that it is cooperating with investigators and that its maintenance operations were done in full compliance with the law and contractual obligations.
Another New Quad to Debut at Welch Village
Minnesota’s Welch Village has announced a deal with Doppelmayr for an Alpen Star quad chair. The fixed grip lift will replace the East Ridge double, also known as Lift 4. The new machine will load about 30 feet to the west of the current Hall and open some time in December. “By moving the bottom of this new lift further to the west, we will be able to open up the bottom of the Harley’s Hollow enabling guests to actually ski and ride in between the new quad chair and the Triple Chair,” said Welch Village President and General Manager Peter Zotalis in a blog post. “There are a lot of exciting aspects to this project (and other projects) that we will share with you over the course of the summer and fall.”
Welch Village also announced the removal of the Bakke double, which two newer lifts made redundant years ago. When this summer’s projects are complete, the mountain will operate six quads, one triple and one double.
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