Leitner
News Roundup: Pacific Northwest Icons
- 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.
News Roundup: Riverbanks
- 19deluxe cabins arrive stateside for South Carolina’s only gondola.
- Ragged Mountain goeson the market.
- Leitner-Poma posts anad hiring lift installers for a project at Crystal Mountain, Washington.
- A widowsues Breckenridge following her husband’s fatal fall from theZendo chair, alleging “an unreasonable amount of snow and ice accumulation.”
- Purgatory acknowlegesbelt tightening on the mountain as it renegotiates long term debt.
- The Forest Service shows two Mission Ridge expansion proposals ascanceled.
- The Forest Service releases aDraft Environmental Impact Statement for Grand Targhee’s proposed expansion including three pared down alternatives.
- Big Skyraises $150,000 for charity sellingExplorer chairs.
- An idea to connect two Seattle neighborhoods by gondolaresurfaces.
- Leitner teases a “New Era of Ropeways” coming at Interalpin.
- Relations sour between the Town of Mountain Village and Telluride Ski Resort owner Chuck Horning with the Town Manager giving alengthy speech about problems at the resort.
- Skeetawk, Alaska’s only chairlift shuts down for amulti-week repair.
- Stowe’sFourRunner quad has been out of service all week.
- Vailreopens Riva Bahn after a two week gearbox rebuild.
- Kicking Horse’s gondolaremains closed indefinitely; the resort will transport gear up to Stairway to Heaven free of charge but guests still have to walk there.
- Vail Resortspresents its strategic vision to investors.
News Roundup: Split Decision
- Votersgreen light funding for continued operations of the Telluride-Mountain Village gondola and an eventual replacement.
- Casper, Wyomingvoters say no to a new chairlift for Hogadon.
- Hunter Mountain shows off abrand new trail map showing two new lift alignments.
- Arizona Snowbowl’slatest map shows the new Aspen quad.
- Big Sky’snew map includes the paths of the new One&Only Gondola and Madison 8.
- Ober Mountain’s three chairlifts gainnew names.
- Snowbird’s24-25 map illustrates Wilbere’s new alignment.
- The longest gondola in the worldprogresses toward completion in the Caribbean.
- Closed Big Tupper, New Yorksells for $650,000 to investors hoping to reopen it.
- The nonprofit that runs Anthony Lakes, Oregon isinterested in resurrecting Spout Springs.
- Leitneropens a new global logistics center in Italy.
- A162 foot tall wind turbine is installed at Skytrac’s new facility in Utah.
News Roundup: Ever Optimistic
- Vail Resortsreports annual skier visits down 9.5 percent, net income down 14 percent, EBITDA down 1 percent and season pass sales down 3 percent in units but up 3 percent in dollars. The company announced no new 2025 lift projects and willlay off 14 percent of corporate staff along with limited operational staff.
- Hatley Pointe, North Carolinaretires the Laurel double, plans to build a new chairlift eventually.
- County plannersunanimously reject the Shadow Mountain Bike Park proposal in Colorado.
- Sleeping Giant, Wyoming willhibernate again this winter.
- Huff Hills, North Dakotareaches a one year agreement to operate this winter.
- Aspen’s proposal to replace Lift 1Aremains alive.
- Whitetail, Pennsylvania tosell Hall chairs from Jib Junction.
- Leitner to build aseven station urban gondola in Morella, Mexico for $100 million.
- Mexico’s President and President-elect inaugurate asix station urban gondola line by Doppelmayr in Mexico City.
- A Hezbollah rocketstrikes a chairlift in Israel held territory.
- Snowbird turns anold tram cabin into a bar.
- Sandia Peakproposes replacingChair 1.
- Tamarackscales down expansion plans to seven new chairlifts and an extension of theWildwood Express with no new gondola.
- The under construction One&Only resort with a two station gondola connecting to Big Sky Resortcatches fire.
- Ever optimistic Les Otten still aims tore-open The Balsams with three new chairlifts in phase one.
News Roundup: Megaprojects
- Alterra details its2024 capital plan, totaling $300+ million with six new chairlifts.
- Followingyesterday’s announcement of three new lifts this year, Deer Valley also outlines theseven detachable lifts opening in 2025 for a total of 10 in two years (counting the two section gondola as two.)
- A presentation detailsmassive construction underway at Deer Valley.
- Deer Valley will hold anopen house to update the community on construction and future plans next Thursday.
- Park Citycontinues to explore a gondola connection from Main Street to Deer Valley.
- Speaking of megaprojects, here are someunofficial photos of the two D-Line gondolas with six total stations under construction at Big Sky.
- Theworld’s largest indoor ski area opens near Shanghai with a detachable chairlift and gondola from Poma.
- Parks Canadaapproves the Banff Gondola owner’s purchase of the Jasper SkyTram.
- A Swiss newspaper reportsAlterra may be as interested as Vail in acquiring Swiss resorts.
- Vail Resorts toreport earning September 26th, traditionally when lift projects are announced for the following year.
- Vail to sellWildcat Express gondola cabins, run only chairs in the future.
- Solitude willauction 29 chairs from the Moonbeam quad, which operated only four years.
- Wachusett orders aDoppelmayr UNI-G six pack to replace thePolar Express.
- A rider is injured and airlifted afterfalling while boarding Schweitzer’sGreat Escape Quad.
- Five years since theSea to Sky Gondola‘s haul rope wasfirst cut and four years since it wascut again, police arestill looking for the perpetrator(s).
- Maintenance workers on London’s IFS Cloud Cable Carplan a strike.
News Roundup: 750
- Leitner plans to offer theConnX multi-model gondola system from 2025 after passing tests in Hungary.
- Aprogress report on the first Doppelmayr TRI-Line in Switzerland.
- Also on thefirst MND Orizon detachable in France.
- MND inaugurates anew production facility to support the Orizon line.
Skytraccelebrates its new facility in Tooele, Utah.
Bartholet releases its 2024reference book. - Alta clarifies itsupports a Little Cottonwood gondola.
- White Passadds chairs to boost capacity on theGreat White Express.
- Aviral video shows a lift being jostled by a small tornado.
- Homewood now plans to build its already-delivered D-Line gondolain 2025 and upgradeEllis in 2030.
- Burke Mountaindelays summer opening to mid-July due to a mechanical issue with theSherburne Express.
- Marmot Basin tosell chairs from theKnob double.
- Jackson Hole toauctionSublette chairs.
- Beartooth Basin isfor sale.
- I visited my 750th ski area this week, marking the completion the CanadaLift Database.
News Roundup: Metrics
- Aspen Mountain’s Lift One projectinches closer to reality.
- Aspen Skiing Company reports skier visitsdeclined 2.3 percent last season.
- Colorado as a whole reports itssecond best season ever, down five percent from last year’s record.
- New Hampshire wasdown four percent.
- Vail Resortsreports a 5 percent increase in lift revenue but a 7.7 percent decline in visits with season pass unit sales down 5 percent for next season.
- Colorado’s Estes Park Tramreopens after an extended closure.
- Nordic Valleyworks to reactivate Apollo, which missed last season.
- Legoland New York’s new 10 passenger gondola toopen June 24th.
- A Park City residentfiles an appeal of Deer Valley’s Lift 7 approval.
- Sun Peaksflies towers for the new West Bowl Express.
- Leitner’s2023 annual report is out highlighting global projects.
News Roundup: Mountain Planet 2024
- MND postsa replay of its Orizon product launch at Mountain Planet.
- Doppelmayr andPoma release their annual yearbooks.
- Poma launches anopen air gondola concept where passengers will stand harnessed.
- Doppelmayr wins a$115 million contract to build a 3S and 10 passenger gondola in Chamonix.
- Okanagan Gondolareceives final approval for construction near Kelowna, BC.
- The Highlands, Michigan will auctionchairs for charity.
- Turkeyarrests multiple people over last week’sfatal gondola incident.
- Jackson Holesays goodbye to Sublette.
- Opposition emerges to Deer Valley’s proposed Lift 7.
- Quebec Mountain Resorts Company, owner of Mont Grand-Fonds and Mont Lac-Vert,offers to buy Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, says it would invest tens of millions in new lifts and snowmaking.
- Vail Resorts reportsskier visits were down 7.8 percent this season but revenue was up. Same story for 24-25 season pass sales with units pacing down but revenue up.
- Bluewood, Washingtonlooks to replaceSkyline with a detachable quad.
News Roundup: Above & Beyond
- Anew park map shows whereLegoland New York’s gondola will go.
- Askiing preview of Deer Valley Expanded Excellence.
- TheColorado Sun embeds withdepartments who work all night to make Winter Park run.
- Afton Alps removesChair 18 tomake way for a tube park.
- Vail Resortsreports season-to-date skier visits are down 9.7 percent and lowers earnings guidance.
- From the classifieds: a1987 Poma Quad for sale.
- Doppelmayrassumes patents needed for Autonomous Ropeway Operation (AURO) installations in the USA.
- Kimberley, BC files anew master plan.
- MND to makean announcement on April 16th.
- Upon learning of a young guest named Reid with a phobia of chairlifts,Stevens Pass staff spring into action, giving him a full day tour of mountain operations and making him an honorary lift operator.
- Red Lodge Mountain closes theCole Creek quad due to acomponent failure within the lift terminal structure.
- A high speed quad isrope evacuated at Burke Mountain.
- Flat Top Flyer at Powderhornremains closed awaiting delivery of parts.
- Sugarloaf closesKing Pine forwhatever this “mechanical problem” is.
- Guestswere stuck on Blackcomb’s new gondola for hours yesterday.
- TheOITAF World Congress for Ropeways is coming to Vancouver June 17-21.
- Leitner has reportedlypaid more than $16 million in settlements to families of victims of the 2021 Stresa-Mottarone tram disaster.
- A D-Line gondola in Austria willrun entirely on solar energy produced on site this summer.
- Grouse Mountain provides agondola construction update.
- Araccoon rides Sugarbush’sVillage quad.
- Costs double for the proposed gondola-served transit center at Steamboat.
- Also at Steamboat, Leitner-Pomaappears to have won the contract to replaceSunshine Express.
- Leitner-Poma also appears to have upcoming projects atBig Bear Mountain Resort,Snowbasin andWasatch Peaks Ranch.
- Chapman Hill willreplace its main rope tow with a Leitner-Poma platter.
- Wachusettnears a decision to replacePolar Express with a six pack.
- The Town of Altapasses a resolution opposing the Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola.
- Red Rivershares renderings of its upcoming Copper Chair, will sell retiring Riblet chairs.
News Roundup: Rough Week
- A ski patroller dies at Titus Mountain, New York in anaccident involving a chairlift.
- Bittersweet, Michigan sayslast week’s lift incident wascaused by high winds.
- A 15 year old dies afterfalling from a lift at Sommet Morin Heights, Quebec.
- Hickory, New York toopen this weekend for the first time in years.
- Sandia Peakworks toward doing the same.
- Sleeping Giant, Wyomingwon’t open this season.
- Neither will Misty Ridge, Alberta.
- Aviral video shows chairs stacking up on a de-roped lift in France.
- Nordic Valleyreopens after a lodge fire shuttered the resort.
- Doppelmayr and Mantis Ropeway Technologiessecure regulatory approval for unmanned chairlift unloading stations in Austria and Switzerland.
- The Mantis system is alsoundergoing testing in Canada.
- Leitner Ropewaysprovides significant compensation to the families of 14 people who died in a 2021 Italian tram incident.
- Vail Resorts reports North American early season skier visitsdeclined 16.2 percent but lift and ski school revenue were up.
- Hundreds sign a petition urging Powder Mountain to maintain public access to two existing and one future chairlift planned to go private.
- PowMowasks the public to weigh in where the outgoingParadise Quad should be reinstalled.
- Double Diamond/Southern Cross at Stevens Passcloses for repair.
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