The Forest Service approves a slew of projects at Grand Targhee including Crazy Horse, Palmer and North Boundary infill lifts, replacements for Dreamcatcher and Shoshone, plus expansion lifts in South Bowl and Mono Trees (all subject to an objection period.)
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.
The Forest Service approves Sipapu to replace Lift 3 with completion slated for Fall 2025.
The Forest Service hosts a public meeting on the proposed Green Peak gondola.
Jay Peak President and General Manager Steve Wright tells US Senators the Bonaventure replacement is sidelined by Canadians’ redicence to visit and tariff-related cost increases.
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.
A bipartisan group of Senators sponsor a bill that would direct the Forest Service retain some of the fees resorts pay to the federal government for ski purposes, such as processing resort improvement projects.
Alpental’s new Internationale chair opened today but was offloaded on auxiliary shortly thereafter due to a mechanical issue. “Our lift maintenance team is working with Doppelmayr and plans to complete full diagnostics and testing in the morning, with the goal of reopening the lift tomorrow once we are 100% satisfied we’ve eliminated all potential issues,” says The Summit.
A tower component failed on The Gondola at Winter Park Resort today, leading to a five hour rope evacuation. Photos show a rocker arm that connects two sections of a 16 sheave assembly cracked nearly in half. The affected assembly is located on tower 1 and holds the haul rope down on the heavy side of the lift, adjacent to the bottom terminal. A total of 174 guests were roped down by ski patrol, concluding at 6:00 pm. “At 12:15pm on December 21, 2024, the Gondola had a mechanical issue and immediately shut down as the system is designed to do so for guest safety,” said Winter Park in a statement. “At this time the Gondola is closed for repair and further inspection. All guests were safely evacuated thanks to our Patrol team.”
— Paige Vincent 💃 Red Dress Series (@paigevincent09) December 21, 2024
Leitner-Poma constructed The Gondola in 2018, providing a high capacity link between the Village at Winter Park and Sunspot. The lift is a workhorse, operating both day and night throughout the year. Each of the system’s 75 cabins can carry up to 10 passengers.
Stock photo of tower 1 prior to this incident.
“A replacement part and crane have arrived, and repairs are underway,” Winter Park said on 12/22. “Once the repair is complete, the Colorado Tramway Safety Board will complete a thorough inspection process. Once we have approval from the Tram Board we will be able to re-open the Gondola. We do not currently have a timeframe for when that will be but are working to complete the repair and inspection as soon as possible while prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of our guests.” Both Arrow and Gemini also provide access out of the Village.
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