• HTI, the parent company of Agudio, Bartholet, Leitner, Poma, LPOA and Skytrac,reports stable revenue of €1.4 billion and record R&D investment of €41 million.
• Leitnerteases “the exclusive launch of a groundbreaking new standard for monocable uni-directional ropeways” at Interalpin.
• Leitner also nears completion of amaterial transport gondola that includes a 1,600 foot underground tunnel.
• The next phase of the Bartholet RopeTaxi on demand gondola network isdelayed to December.
• President Trumptempers announced tariffs on most countries to 10% for 90 days.
• Calls continue for the Government of Quebec to terminate its lease with Resorts of the Canadian Rockies for Mont-Sainte-Anne.
• Freakonomics tackles theeconomics of ski areas with help from Loveland and Mt. Ashland.
• Mt. Hood Meadows toretire the Blue double without replacement, raffle the chairs.
• Alpental plans anall weekend celebration for the retirement of iconicChair 2.
• Doppelmayrbreaks ground on its new Salt Lake City building.
• French authoritiespropose nearly €2 million in fines against MND and its investors for alleged disclosure and insider trading violations.
• You canbuy an Overbrook chair from Ski Butternut
• McCauley is alsoselling chairs.
• CBS dramaFire Country to feature aficticious ski lift disaster tonight.

• U.S. skier visitstotaled 60.4 million this season, down from last year but fifth highest ever.
• The Colorado Supreme Courtrules a liability waiver doesn’t protect Crested Butte from a chairlift fall claim.
• Huff Hills, North Dakota maypack up and move to a new location.
• Leitner-Poma parent company HTI reports a13 percent revenue increase with strong sales in North America.
• Alterra-owned Schweitzerpostpones the next phase of the Schweitzer Creek Village expansion.
• Castle Mountainplans to reinstall a 1988 detachable from Sunshine Village as soon as next summer.
• The municipality of Park Cityapproves Deer Valley’s proposedLift 7.
• Park City Mountain tobegin construction shortly on the new Sunrise Gondola.
• A Maine developerwill try again to revive Big Moose Mountain.
• Aproposed lift-served bike park in Conifer, Colorado moves toward public hearings.

After five years of working together, Bartholet of Switzerland and MND Group of France haveterminated their joint venture partnership effective December 13th. Under the agreement, MND Ropeways utilized Bartholet’s detachable lift technology in select markets such as France and the United States while continuing to offer its own surface lifts and fixed grip chairlifts. One final MND-Bartholet detachable project under construction in France will be completed as planned.

The end of MND’s deal with Bartholet comes as little surprise. HTI Group, the conglomerate behind Leitner Ropeways and Poma,purchased a majority stake in Bartholet in March of 2022. Bartholet and MND only completed one project jointly in the United States, theTecumseh Express at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire in 2022. That project was contracted before HTI bought Bartholet and MND hasn’t sold a chairlift in the United States since. Bartholet continues to operate as a subsidiary of HTI in Europe with a product line distinct from Leitner and Poma.

Going forward, MND Ropeways will need to find another partner or utilize its own technology in order to continue offering detachable lifts. Prior to the Bartholet deal, MND built one detachable chairlift in La Plagne, France, which opened in March 2017 but has suffered periodic technical problems. It is rumored MND may outline its future detachable plans at the Mountain Planet trade show this spring.

If the last week and a half was quiet on the blog, it’s because I was skiing my way around Austria, Germany and Switzerland with a few lift factory visits along the way. The last stop on my journey was Interalpin, the world’s largest trade show for mountain technology which takes place in Innsbruck every two years. Thanks to Covid, this was the first Interalpin in four years with an estimated 35,000 people attending.

Doppelmayr

Doppelmayr made a splash the first day with the introduction of a new logo, the company’s first brand refresh in decades. For the first time Doppelmayr Group companies like CWA, Carvatech, Garaventa, Gassner and Frey all have logos matching the parent company’s identity. The new brand will be introduced to international subsidiaries over time.

Doppelmayr’s sprawling two story booth featured numerous cabins, chairs, grips and carriages from an 8 seat Carvatech gondola all the way up to a 32 passenger CWA Atria.

A 20 passenger cabin called Stella debuted for the first time. This cabin will be available for both Tri-Line 3S and 20 passenger monocable gondolas. Stella fills the gap between the ubiquitous Omega and much larger Atria model, which has only been used to two lifts to date. Future 20 passenger monocable gondolas will utilize a new D9000 carriage, which is built around two side by side D5000 grips.

Introduced last year, Tri-Line is a streamlined version of the 3S gondola with smaller stations requiring less concrete. The first Tri-Line is under development at Hoch-Ybrig, Switzerland. Both Tri-Line and 20-MGD are based off standard D-Line stations and can achieve up to 8,000 passengers per hour with Stella cabins that fit closely together and can open on two sides. On the three rope Tri-Line, Stella cabins will be capable of spanning longer distances between towers than monocable gondolas with high wind stability.

Doppelmayr also showcased a simplified surface lift product family called S-Line.

Doppelmayr had a full size mockup of an Auro autonomous gondola station which can be monitored remotely from a ropeway operations center. A chairlift version is also undergoing testing on two lifts in the region using artificial intelligence to monitor unloading. In both cases, large detachable lifts could be operated by just one person.

Also on the software front, Doppelmayr’s resort management software clair now integrates with other mountain technology providers such as Fatzer, Skidata and TechnoAlpin.

HTI Group

HTI group hosted another large booth shared between Prinoth, Leitner, Poma and DemacLenko. For the first time Bartholet was also part of the HTI area. With three different lift brands now under one umbrella, HTI showed off multiple Diamond cabins, a premium chair, Symphony gondolas and Bartholet chairs/cabins.

I got to experience both Leitner’s 2S and 3S gondolas in the surrounding mountains and was very impressed with their smooth ride and quality. The newest 2S design utilizes plastic carriage rollers and can span long distances between towers more economically than a 3S.

Bikes were a big focus with both chair and gondola loading solutions on display. The European industry has embraced vertical racks so passengers can ride on the same chairs as bikes without having to skip chairs with trays.

HTI is also getting into the software game with a resort management program called Skadii including digital logbooks to manage documentation.

Energy efficiency is a huge focus in Europe and HTI also showed off its Ecodrive program, which uses cameras to analyze lift queues and automatically adjust lift speed to save energy.

MND

MND Ropeways had a Waterville Valley style six place chair along with a gondola cabin on display. The company continues to push the benefits of providing lifts, snowmaking, avalanche control systems and summer attractions all from one supplier.

• Mexico City and Leitner inaugurate anew urban gondola line with 283 cabins and 7 stations.
• Leitner-Poma looks to hire a Sales Managerspecifically for urban ropeways in North America.
• Leitner, Poma and Bartholet parent company HTI reports arecord €1.3 billion in revenue for fiscal 2022.
• Askier dies after falling through a gondola cabin window in France.
• With its gondola back in operation, Mont-Sainte-Anneeyes a $100 million renewal with bids already received for two lift replacement projects.
• Doppelmayrrevitalizes a 110 year old cable car over Niagara Falls.
• The Indy Passsuspends sales due to capacity limitations at partner resorts.
• Eagle Pointteases multiple lift upgrades including a new connector chair.
• Powdrsells Lee Canyon to Mountain Capital Partners.
• Taos confirms Leitner-Poma will buildnew chairlifts on both sides the mountain this summer.

• Mt. Shasta unveilsa new map showing the expansion onto Gray Butte.
• HTI Group celebrates80 new ropeways installed this winter across its Leitner, Poma, Bartholet and Skytrac brands.
• Completion of the Lenawee Express at Arapahoe Basin isnow expected in mid-December.
• Indy Passadds Peek’n Peak, New York and Tussey Mountain, Pennsylvania.
• Doppelmayr sharesenergy saving operational tips with customers in Europe.
• Waterville Valley and MNDpostpone the load test of Tecumseh Express by a week due to delayed electrical components.
• Loon Mountain expects to open the delayed Seven Brotherssome time in December.
• Sunday River plans aDecember 17th grand opening for Jordan 8.
• The operator of the Goldbelt Tram mayinvest $10 million in Eaglecrest’s pulse gondola project.
• Sterling Vineyardspreviews the first Omega V cabins coming to California.
• Kimberley spins theNorthstar Express for thefirst time in nearly a year, hopes to open by thethird week in December.
• The Village of Taos Ski Valleydeclines to sell a parcel needed for a base to base gondola, wants an easement instead.

• The Bud Light Seltzer SkyView gondola at Hard Rock Stadiumbecomes the Heineken High Line for the Miami Grand Prix.
• A chairlift which rotates between two fairs in California and one in Arizonanow also goes to Texas.
• Granite Gorge isscheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction next month.
• A Swiss paperinterviews Roland Bartholet about his company being acquired by HTI. The brand will remain separate from Leitner and Poma, will focus on new products and help the group compete with Doppelmayr Garaventa.
• Indy Pass signs six more resorts asaffiliate partners; redemptionstotaled 125,000 this season.
• Gore Mountainsigns with Leitner-Poma for the North Creek Ski Bowl detachable.
• Doppelmayr proposes a$200 million urban gondola system in Auckland, New Zealand.
• Bottineau Winter Park fundraises for anew T-Bar.
• Friends of the Tulsa Skyride say the only lift in Oklahomamay be removed in the next few weeks.
• The United States sets an all-time skier visit record –61 million – with 11 more ski areas operating than last season.
• NSAA says offseason capital improvements will also set a record this year at $728 million.
• Abig urban 3S opens in France.
• Doppelmayr’s latestBike Clip carriers will make their North American debut at Loon Mountain.
• Mt. Rose’s first high speed quad will be called theTahoe Express.Update: Lakeview Express
• Atram breakdown makes the news in Palm Springs.

The Italian-based giant which owns Leitner, Poma, Skytrac, Sigma, Prinoth and Demaclenko has added yet another ropeway brand to its stable. High Technology Industries (HTI) announced it acquired a majority stake in Bartholet Maschinenbau AG, a Swiss manufacturer of fixed grip and detachable ropeways. The controlling share was previously held by Chinese private equity firm Cedarlake Capital. The agreement once again shifts the global ropeway landscape, which has seen relentless consolidation in recent decades. Chairman and CEO Roland Bartholet and the Bartholet management team will remain in place and the brand will continue to be based in Flums, Switzerland. The company’s founding family will retain a minority stake.

It was just two years agoBartholet partnered with a different European conglomerate, Mountain and Snow Development Group (MND) of France. MND began to develop its own detachable technology in the mid 2010s anddebuted a prototype lift in 2017. That project experienced challenges and MND pivoted to utilizing Bartholet detachable designs from 2020.

MND’s ropeway division and Bartholet are set to debut their first North American detachable lift at Waterville Valley later this year. Much of that six place bubble chair has already been delivered stateside and some foundations are already complete. The Bartholet-HTI press release did not address the future of the MND partnership, though history suggests it will likely wind down. MND did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The now larger HTI Group remains privately held while MND trades publicly on the Euronext Growth exchange under the symbol ALMND.

• Caledon Ski Club is set to replace itsBlue Mountain triple with a new Doppelmayr quad this summer.
• Showdownrope evacuates 87 riders from Payload on a busy Saturday.
• Lutsenropes down 25 from theCaribou Express and has it back in actionwithin hours.
• The New Hampshire Business Review profiles legendary resort developerLes Otten.
• The privately-held conglomerate behind Leitner Ropeways, Poma, Leitner-Poma of America and Skytrac announces the highest revenue in the company’s history for 2018: €1.02 billion.  The group built approximately 100 ropeways around the world last year, up from 75 in 2017.
• The State of Washington is poised to grant $750,000 of public money to Mt. Spokane for theNorthwood project.
• Edmonton isone step closer to building an urban gondola.
• The Nordic Valleyexpansion project isin limbo.
• Vail officially ownstwo more ski resorts.
• Palm Springsreopens itstramway after storms cause $4 million in damage and lost revenue.
• The Forest Service tentativelyapproves alternative 4 of the ambitiousCalifornia Express gondola project.