- Indy Pass adds Hudson Bay Mountain, BC.
- Outside talks to Indy Pass founder Doug Fish and owner Erik Mogensen about the program’s rapid growth.
- The 14 day temporary restraining order halting construction at Wasatch Peaks Ranch becomes an indefinite preliminary injunction pending a decision by the Utah Supreme Court.
- The New York Olympic Regional Development Authority plans to spend $80 to $100 million on capital improvements each of the next four years.
- The Sandia Peak Tramway will close for two months for systems upgrades and maintenance.
- A detachable chair detachment injures two in Austria.
- Ricola sponsors a new karaoke experience aboard specially outfitted gondola cabins at a Swiss resort.
- Two more lawsuits are filed against UDOT over the Little Cottonwood gondola, one by the cities of Sale Lake and Sandy and another by Save Our Canyons.
- Whistler wins the race to open Canada’s first eight seat chairlift.
- Park City postpones the public hearing for the proposed Sunrise Gondola until January.
- Reddit rumors of the demise of Panoramic Express at Winter Park aren’t true.
- Nordic Valley acknowledges the Apollo double will be down indefinitely following the discovery of several issues.
- Doppelmayr is awarded contracts worth $950 million to build, operate and maintain an automated people mover at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Whistler-Blackcomb
Vail Resorts Plans Lift Upgrades at Hunter Mountain and Blackcomb in 2024
Vail Resorts today announced its initial 2024 capital plan, which includes three new lifts. The largest project will be at Hunter Mountain, where Vail intends to replace the Broadway quad with a six seat detachable. The top terminal will be relocated near the bottom of Lower 42nd Street to improve access to Eisenhower and Gun Hill. Existing Broadway Limited equipment will be moved to replace Lift E, a Hall double dating back to 1968. E’s alignment will move east to the middle of the learning area. Vail says these new lifts will provide “a meaningful increase in uphill capacity and improved access to terrain that is key to the progressive learning experience for our guests.”
At Whistler Blackcomb, Vail will build its fourth new detachable in three years. The new Jersey Cream Six will utilize parts originally intended for Eagle Express at Park City before local approval was revoked in 2022. Vail then sought to replace the Jersey Cream quad in 2023 alongside the Fitzsimmons 8 project, but labor shortages only allowed one project to be finished this fall. Doppelmayr Canada did complete 11 of 15 tower bases for Jersey Cream over the summer and the UNI-G six pack will now open for the 2024-25 ski season.
Finally Vail announced its intention to complete the new Sunrise Gondola at Park City’s Canyons Village in 2025. The 10 passenger gondola will run from near the new Pendry Hotel to Red Pine Lodge. The third out-of-base lift will be funded in part by the Canyons Village Management Association.
The company reported season pass sales increased approximately 7 percent in units and 11 percent in sales dollars in dollars compared to the equivalent period last year. Vail Resorts also reported a decrease in net income from $347.9 million for fiscal year 2022 to $268.1 million for fiscal 2023. The decrease was primarily attributed to “a large gain on disposal of fixed assets in fiscal 2022 and an increase in fiscal 2023 expense associated with a change in the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration liability related to our Park City resort lease.” Vail also said higher employee wages, a poor winter in Australia and lower demand for summer mountain travel negatively impacted results.
News Roundup: First Day of Fall
- A court finds zoning allowing Wasatch Peaks Ranch to continue as a private ski resort can be put to a public referendum. Three chairlifts already operate there with a fourth under construction.
- The Tennessee State Fair will build a chairlift next year.
- Gore Mountain’s new trail map shows the location of the new Bear Cub Quad.
- Lee Canyon recovers well from a hurricane-fueled flood this summer.
- A snowboarder who fell from Whistler Mountain’s Emerald Express sues Whistler Blackcomb.
- Echo Mountain sells to an investor with a bunch of non-ski businesses.
- Lifts are being removed at Marshall Mountain after 20 years idle.
News Roundup: Ahead of Schedule
- Cockaigne Resort is listed for sale at $3.5 million.
- Steamboat releases renderings of a possible future detachable parking lot gondola.
- Steamboat also closes the Christie Peak Express until further notice due to ground movement.
- Sterling Vineyards plans to debut the first Omega V 8 passenger gondola cabins in the USA in October.
- A sightseeing gondola in Idaho Springs, Colorado moves toward reality.
- Windham Mountain promises further lift infrastructure upgrades as part of a new master plan.
- BigRock, Maine commits to building a new quad next year.
- Park City will host an open house regarding the future Sunrise Gondola next week.
- Brundage expects to sell Centennial‘s old chairs for a total of $135,000.
- Another chair sale in Quebec.
- Whistler’s 8 pack project is ahead of schedule and construction begins early on Blackcomb’s new lift.
News Roundup: Repaired
- Really big trees fall on an Italian gondola.
- Whistler Blackcomb details construction to date for Fitzsimmons 8.
- I join the UK-based Ski Podcast to chat about my quest to visit every lift in North America.
- Bartholet begins constructing the first Ropetaxi gondola with a network concept.
- The proposed sightseeing gondola near Vernon, BC inches forward.
- Aspen Skiing Company’s resort, hospitality and retail arms reorganize as Aspen One with a new CEO.
- Aspen also gives a Pandora’s expansion update.
- Sunday River offers old Barker chairs for sale.
- A new ski area is proposed near Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
- Brundage’s key base-to-summit lift is repaired after 22 days of downtime.
News Roundup: Reimagining
- The Canyons Village Management Association budgets $8 million for a Cabriolet replacement and $9.24 million toward a new gondola on the Canyons side of Park City Mountain.
- The Summit at Snoqualmie adds more chairs to Armstrong Express at Alpental.
- Mt. Bachelor offers Skyliner Express chairs for sale.
- Keystone releases an all new trail map showing the Bergman expansion.
- New owners of Holiday Mountain, New York will host a stakeholder meeting tomorrow to outline rebuilding plans.
- The Whistler Blackcomb Peak 2 Peak Gondola may open late for the summer due to an issue related to ice buildup.
- A former employee who fell 30 feet from a Riblet double without a safety bar while downloading accuses Stevens Pass of negligently operating an old, unsafe chairlift.
- Colorado reports a record 14.8 million skier visits.
- New Hampshire also reports strong results from last season.
- Vail Resorts says season pass sales are trending up 6 percent in units and 11 percent in dollars for next season.
- Le Massif will operate two of its longest lifts for a unique night time sound and light show this summer.
- Highland Mountain Bike Park to close its chairlift for a week to replace the communications line.
- Snowmass receives approval to replace Coney Glade with a realigned and extended detachable quad in 2024.
- Five years after closing, Deer Mountain, South Dakota will reopen as a private club.
News Roundup: East to West
- Demolition begins on the only lift in Oklahoma.
- Utah’s new Wasatch Peaks Ranch now includes five lifts but will remain private and members only.
- Skeetawk, Alaska looks at used lifts in Europe for expansion.
- The project to bring a used gondola to Eaglecrest, Alaska is delayed until the 2025-2028 timeframe.
- Ikon Pass profiles a lift operator who has spent 20 years sleeping at the top of Mammoth’s Panorama Gondola.
- Mt. Shasta joins the Powder Alliance.
- Alta Sierra, California struggles to stay in business due to storms and road closures this season.
- Vail promotes the General Manager of Perisher to lead Whistler Blackcomb.
- Alterra names a new President and COO of Crystal Mountain, teases “new and upgraded ski lift infrastructure” and “the potential for expanded terrain.”
- Schweitzer lists Musical Chairs for sale.
- Two new investors take ownership stakes in Windham Mountain, promising new investment.
- An April update on Loon Mountain’s South Peak expansion.
News Roundup: Interconnect
- Eaglecrest secures a $10 million investment to install a used pulse gondola.
- Ex-Netflix CEO Reed Hastings acquires a minority stake in Powder Mountain, looks to fund lift improvements.
- Whistler Blackcomb will auction quad chairs from Big Red and Fitzsimmons.
- The Forest Service lists a new proposal by Alterra to connect Big Bear and Snow Summit with two new lifts.
- Vail Resorts reports successful season results with skier visits up 6.1 percent with ski school, dining and retail/rental revenue all up as well.
- Doppelmayr’s 2023 yearbook is out. Poma’s too.
News Roundup: Apology
- Montana Snowbowl apologizes for the lift incident earlier this month and notes the lift remains closed pending modification of tower 1.
- Big Sky’s new 75 passenger tram will charge by the ride next winter.
- Snowbird says a gondola could help during future interlodge snow closures.
- The parent company of the Banff Gondola wants to build a similar attraction in Northwest Montana but gets a chilly reception from the Forest Service.
- Doppelmayr Canada is hiring lift installers for projects across the country.
- Construction begins on the new Fitzsimmons 8 at Whistler as well as Superbowl at Boyne Mountain.
- Revelstoke holds a public information session and identifies its top 3 lift priorities.
- Buck Hill announces its oldest lift will be replaced with a Doppelmayr quad this summer.
- The Forest Service approves Copper Mountain’s planned replacement of Timberline Express with a six person chairlift.
- Les Otten says the first phase of The Balsams would be four lifts including a gondola and bubble chair.
Whistler Blackcomb Postpones Jersey Cream Replacement
As part of its quarterly earnings report, Vail Resorts today announced one of its big ticket capital projects will be delayed due to lift manufacturer installation capacity. While work will begin this month on the planned Fitzsimmons 8 project, the Jersey Cream six passenger lift installation has been postponed to 2024. Both new lifts were slated to replace aging high speed quads. “Doppelmayr Canada has informed Vail Resorts that they cannot install both lifts this summer due to their labor and resource constraints,” said Vail in a statement. While equipment for both Fitzsimmons and Jersey Cream is coming largely from two postponed projects in Park City, the biggest constraint manufacturers face right now is installation capacity. Capital saved from the Jersey Cream postponement will instead be allocated toward accelerating Vail Resorts’ investment in its gear rental business.
The Fitzsimmons 8 project proceeding this summer will become the first eight seat chairlift in Canada along with the recently announced Adventure 8 at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Ontario. “We are committed to working closely with Doppelmayr to ensure that the construction, installation, and testing of Fitz moves ahead safely as planned,” said Whistler Blackcomb, noting that preliminary work for Jersey Cream would also proceed this year. Vail is also adding new lifts at Attitash, Breckenridge, Keystone and Stevens Pass this offseason.
