It’s official: Snowmass will construct two lifts simultaneously this summer for the first time since 2006. Leitner-Poma will replace theElk Camp detachable quad with a six pack and Skytrac will install a T-Bar to replace theCirque platter. The projects are part of an$80 million capital improvement summer for Aspen Snowmass. Other projects include a new Ullrhof restaurant, snowmaking upgrades and forest health work. “We have a huge summer ahead for on-mountain developments here at Aspen Snowmass,” said Geoff Buchheister, CEO of Aspen Skiing Company. “These projects represent Aspen One’s commitment to ongoing investment in delivering the most exceptional guest experience possible.”

The Elk Camp chair dates back to 1995, tied for the third oldest lift at Snowmass. Elk Camp services popular intermediate terrain in the winter and hauls bikes to the top of the Snowmass Bike Park come summer. Winter throughput will increase from 2,020 skiers per hour on the current quad to 2,800 while bike haul capacity will nearly double. The lift’s alignment will shift slightly away from the Elk Camp Restaurant.

At the top of the mountain, the curved Cirque platter will be retired in favor of a straight Leitner/Skytrac T-Bar. Capacity here will increase from 450 guests per hour to 1,000. Similar to thenew surface lift at Champan Hill, Colorado, Cirque will combine specialized Leitner parts from Europe with American made towers, controls and operator houses from Skytrac.

“The areas of terrain served by these lifts are some of the most popular on our mountain,” said Susan Cross, Mountain Manager at Snowmass. “These updates allow for guests to more smoothly access Snowmass’ classic wide-open slopes and sweeping vistas at Elk Camp, and the incredible variety of high-alpine terrain we have off The Cirque. I am proud that we continue to invest in making this mountain the best that it can be, and having high-speed, higher capacity lifts is critical to the Snowmass experience,” she continued.

Washington’s oldest detachable chairlift will beretired this spring to make way for a next-generation high speed quad. Crystal Mountain’sRainier Express, or “Rex” for short, dates back to 1988, when a group of local shareholders purchased two Poma chairlifts for the mountain. By the mid-1990s, Boyne Resorts acquired Crystal and replaced nearly every lift between 1997 and 2014. Rex endured, however, and has now carried skiers for 37 seasons.

Alterra Mountain Company bought Crystal in 2018 and Rainier Express 2.0 will be their first lift project at Washington’s largest ski area. “Referred to locally as ‘REX,’ this high-speed quad was the first detachable chairlift built in Washington State,” noted Crystal. “Since its construction in 1988, it has represented Crystal Mountain’s pioneering spirit in big-mountain, skier-focused operations and investments.”

Leitner-Poma will build the new high speed quad and expects to break ground in June. The new lift will carry skiers 1,600 vertical feet to the Summit House in under five minutes. For Rex’s final weekend May 2nd-4th, Crystal plans a rail jam, photo contest and 1988 themed party. Most of the old lift will be scrapped and chairs auctioned to the public to benefit the Northwest Avalanche Center. The new Rainier Express is expected to be completed in December 2025.

In between Utah lift visits last week, I ventured to Tooele, a sleepy town west of Salt Lake to see America’s newest lift factory. Skytrac Lifts opened its 25-acre campus last summer, which will supply chairlifts and surface lifts to customers throughout the US. During my visit, the Skytrac team was finishing getting settled while gearing up to build at least nine new lifts this summer.

Skytrac has grown substantially since building its first drive terminal at Monarch Mountain, Colorado in 2010. With the late Jan Leonard as one of the founders, the company quickly found a niche providing ski areas high quality yet uncomplicated fixed grip chairlifts. As of this winter, Skytrac has built 82 lifts in three countries along with numerous retrofits, modifications and relocations.

Leitner-Poma of America acquired Skytrac in 2016. The two companies remain distinct brands under Italian conglomerate High Technology Industries (HTI). Skytrac and Leitner-Poma often bid separately on the same projects and retain unique product lines. While both subsidiaries make fixed grip chairlifts, Skytrac recently took over the surface lift (T-Bar and Platter) side of the business while Leitner-Poma focuses on larger chairlifts and gondolas. For a surface lift, Skytrac manufactures operator houses, towers and control systems but imports carriers and terminals from Leitner’s specialized facility in Slovakia. Skytrac’s original products, the Monarch fixed grip chairlift and Hilltrac inclined elevator, are produced almost entirely in Tooele.

HTI’s 130,000 square foot building replaced a smaller site Skytrac leased site near the Salt Lake City airport. Tooele lies roughly 30 minutes west with ample land and two nearby technical colleges. With Skytrac occupying 90,000 square feet, the $27 million facility can produce nearly an entire chairlift under one roof. Everything from chairs and towers to bullwheels and control systems are made here. Electrical, engineering and sales departments work right alongside the production hall. Skytrac lifts are truly made in America with typically only the haul rope and gearbox imported from abroad.

The new facility is even larger than LPOA’s Grand Junction plant with ample room for growth. Bobby Langlands, Skytrac’s Sales Engineer and my tour guide, said the factory could probably pump out 20-plus lifts a year, up from the eight to ten they generally do now. In addition to production, there’s a cavernous parts warehouse, which will expand to include stock for the growing number of Leitner-Poma lifts in the Intermountain region. HTI sister companies Prinoth and Demaclenko also have space for parts and service in Tooele.

One of the coolest things when touring a lift factory is seeing parts tagged with names of mountains they’re headed to. Lift manufacturers generally produce components in order of contract signing and I saw pieces destined for Pats Peak, Ski Butternut, Monarch and Snowmass. Skytrac produces the most common components in advance based on a forecast. As an example, the company is producing 120 tower crossarms this spring and will do a second production run later if orders warrant. One thing that makes a Skytrac lift relatively affordable is the number of parts that are common among every lift. The chair bail, for example, is the same regardless of whether a customer orders a double, triple or quad.

Skytrac utilizes several robotic welding machines in Tooele along with automated plasma cutters. Hard working people do the rest of the work by hand. The new facility includes a state-of-the art sandblasting and paint booths for finishing operator houses and motor room enclosures. Galvanizing is completed offsite by contractors.

In addition to Skytrac, Leitner-Poma, Demaclenko and Prinoth, a fifth HTI company is also involved with the Tooele project. Wind energy manufacturer Leitwind supplied a 250 kilowatt wind turbine capable of powering the entire plant. Italians were on site last week testing the turbine to prepare to hook up to Rocky Mountain Power’s regional grid.

Skytrac built nine complete lifts in 2024 and plans to do at least that many again this year. During my visit, the construction team was outside preparing to fan out across the country as Skytrac nears its 100th new lift.

• 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.

• Avideo shows theKicking Horse incident was exacerbated by running the damaged hanger to a tower, causing the lift to de-rope. Thegondola will beclosed at least a week and likely longer; the resort will allow guests to hike or skin toStairway to Heaven.
• The snowboarder whodied after falling from Red Lodge Mountain’s Triple Chair on Monday is identified as37 year old Jeffrey Zinne of Billings in an incident described as a “malfunction.”
• A child was airlifted to Denver afterfalling 35 feet from thePurgatory Village Express the same day as the Kicking Horse and Red Lodge incidents.
• Leitner-Poma postsjobs for ski lift installers at Bretton Woods, Loveland, OZ Trails Bike Park, Powder Mountain, Snowmass, Snowbasin, Taos and Wasatch Peaks Ranch.
• New York Statewins its case against a ski resort owner for buying Toggenburg to close it and reduce competition.
• Snowbasin to sell chairs from the Becker liftfor charity.
• Loup Loup, Washington ends its season early due to arequired motor repair.
• Vail’sRiva Bahn Express has beenclosed all week due to a gearbox issue requiring a rebuild.
• Vail Resortsreports solid results with season-to-date skier visits down 2.5%, lift ticket revenue up 4.1%, ski school revenue up 3.0%, dining revenue 3.1% and retail/rental revenue down 2.9%. Net income for the quarter ended January 31st increased 11.9%.
• Tenney Mountain, New Hampshirestill plans to reopen theHornet some time this winter following a gearbox issue.
• Another lawsuit is filed against the Little Cottonwood gondola proposal.
• Attitashreopens theFlying Bear five weeks after achair fell from the line.Draft minutes from the New Hampshire Passenger Tramway Safety Board suggest multiple damaged carriers were found and Attitash was approved to reduce capacity from 82 to 64 carriers.Update Monday 3/17: Vail PR sent me this statement, emphasis theirs:“During our inspection process, we made the decision to reinspect all our chairs and grips, haul rope, sheaves, terminals, and more.  Following our inspection, we are taking the opportunity to replace parts on some chairsunrelated to the incident as a part of routine upgrades. These chairs will remain temporarily out of service until the parts arrive. This was a decision made by the resort, that the Passenger Tramway Safety Board unanimously approved at the March 3rd board meeting. We have been given permission to run the lift between the manufacturer’s minimum and maximum design specifications.”
• Ober Mountain, Tennessee opens the newSky Village Express.
• Whistler Blackcomb completes amid-season rope inspection and splice due to a broken haul rope strand on theEmerald 6 Express.
• WB alsopulls the plug on summer skiing due to glacial recession and its impact on lift access.
• A community co-op effort wasunable to submit a bid for Mt. Bachelor.
• Vista Ridge, Albertacloses both its chairlifts indefinitely to conduct a review following several evacuations.
• Alpental willclose two weeks early so crews can work to build the new Chair 2 over snow in a roadless area.
• Ditto for Explorer at Big Sky as it’s replaced with a gondola.
• After running ondiesel generators for a decade, theSea to Sky Gondola‘s upper terminal is connected to grid power for the first time.
• Whaleback, New Hampshire says itneeds to raise $250,000 to fund off season maintenance and chairlift repairs.
• Titcomb Mountain looks toretire and replaceT-Bar 2.
• Powder Mountain to build aprivate, homeowner only Leitner-Poma detachable quad this summer.
• Snowbird’sMineral Basin reopening is further delayed due to “unforseen additional issues“.
• The Forest Serviceapproves Alta to replaceSupreme with a new lift and noeight degree bend.
• Pending approval of its members, Bryce Resortplans to install a third Skytrac on the backside of the mountain this summer.

At least four new lifts will be constructed in New Hampshire this summer following thestate tramway board’s approval for Bretton Woods to begin construction on a new high speed quad. The new lift will replace theBethlehem Express, the oldest of five detachables on the mountain. Doppelmayr constructed the current lift in 1989 but the new one will be built by Leitner-Poma. It will be the first Poma lift constructed at Bretton Woods since 1973, when three Heron-Poma lifts debuted for the resort’s inaugural season. In addition to retiring Bethlehem Express, Bretton Woods is also retiring the nearbyFayban’s Express triple andauctioning the chairs.

Bretton Woods is part of the Omni Mountain Washington Resort, itself a subsidiary of Omni Hotels & Resorts. The company has invested heavily in its New Hampshire ski area over the past decade including building aneight passenger gondola and expansive summit lodge. Bretton Woods and Leitner-Poma plan to start construction on Bethlehem in April and the new lift should be substantially completed in October.

The gondola at Kicking Horse, British Columbia suffered aserious incident this morning when a hanger snapped, causing a cabin with eight riders to fall to the ground. Thankfully the fully loaded carrier had just departed the bottom station and was approximately one meter off the ground. There were no serious injuries among affected passengers. Crews worked for hours to evacuate guests from the rest of the lift by rope and helicopter. It was a powder day with 23 centimeters falling in the previous 24 hours and the lift was reportedly quite full at the time of the incident.

“At 9:20 am, an incident occurred involving a cabin at the base terminal of Golden Eagle Express gondola,” a statement from the resort read. “Our patrol team and first responders were rapidly dispatched on scene,” the statement continued. “Our trained maintenance team will be working to unload the passengers as per standard operating procedures. A full inspection has been initiated to determinate and analyze root causes. Teams from the manufacturer and relevant authorities have been called in to further assist. No lifts will be open to the public today, the resort will be closed for the remainder of the day. Please note Golden Eagle Express gondola will remain closed until further notice. An update will be provided later today with regards to regular operations.”

TheGolden Eagle Express was constructed by Leitner-Poma in 2000 and is a workhorse, operating daily in both winter and summer as well as nights. It’s one of the longest and tallest gondolas in North America with 55 cabins carrying skiers more than 3,500 vertical feet. Without the gondola, approximately 70 percent of the mountain cannot be accessed.

Technical Safety BC oversees passenger ropeways in the province and will conduct an inspection and investigation before the lift can be re-opened.

Update 8:00 pm: Kicking Horse reported all guests were safely evacuated from the lift by rope and helicopter by late in the day. “Our sincere apologies go out to every one of our guests who have had to go through this experience today, and we thank them all for their patience and understanding” said Richard Oszust, Area Manager. Kicking Horse will reopen the lower mountain tomorrow, serviced by theCatamount andPioneer chairlifts. The gondola and upper mountain will remain closed until further notice.

• An avalanche hits the top ofSwift Current 6 pre-opening, resulting in therope evacuation of seven staff members and damaging several chairs.
• Anempty chair falls from Mt. Bohemia’sRiblet double.
• Diamond Peakprovides a primer on how lifts are de-iced of rime.
• Aguest is injured falling from the new Coach chair at Bogus Basin, Idaho.
• Ditto for a lift at Mt. Holly, Michigan.
• Telluride-area residents seek to have the new gondola election resultsthrown out.
• British Columbiasues the operator of closed Tabor Mountain, seeks a new operator.
• New Hampshire provides aninvestigation update on the Attitash chair detachment,Flying Bearto remain closed.
• Wolf Creekforges on independently – selling reasonable walk up tickets, partnering with only one other mountain and building lifts in house.
• Cannon Mountainrope evacuates thePeabody Express due to a bolt failure.
• Pacific Group Resortstransitions from an operating lease to controlling owner of Powderhorn.
• Leitner-Poma isselected to build a new chairlift at Spirit Mountain, Minnesota.
• Middlebury Snowbowl opensBailey Falls for thefirst time in two years.
• Whistler Blackcombnears reopening theGlacier Express after a two week repair.
• Katharina Schmitz todepart as CEO of Doppelmayr USA, be succeeded by current VP, Operations Keith Johns.

Arkansas will get an operating chairlift for the first time in 50 years come 2026. Runway Group, owned by members of the Walton Family, todayannounced it will build a lift-served bike park in Bella Vista. The OZ Trails Bike Park will feature more than 20 miles of gravity trails designed by Gravity Logic & Rock Solid and connect to existing trail networks. The site lies just 15 minutes from the Walmart home office in Bentonville and will feature a bike shop, full-service dining, hiking and public art.

As part of the project, Leitner-Poma will construct a state-of-the-art detachable quad beginning this spring. The lift will span roughly 2,700 feet and carry bikers and hikers 270 vertical feet from a base plaza to the top of the park. Every other chair will be a dedicated bike carrier. “As Northwest Arkansas’s first purpose-built gravity cycling facility, the park’s location strengthens the natural connection between Bella Vista and Bentonville, positioning both communities as premier global cycling destinations,” said Tom Walton, Runway Group CEO. “Its focus on progression ensures everyone from beginners to experts will find their place here.”

Once the lift is complete in early 2026, there will be just four states without an aerial ropeway: Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

New Mexico’s Angel Fire Resort plans to bolster its lift fleet over the next two years. This coming summer, the resort plans to add a fixed grip quad on the back side of the mountain, travelling from the base of theSouthwest Flyer to the bottom ofLift 3. Interestingly, a Riblet double called Lift 6 operated in roughly the same alignment from 1966 to 1998. Leitner-Poma will build the new quad, which will travel approximately 3,400 feet and rise roughly 950 feet. It will provide direct access to The Steeps and open for winter 2025-26.

By winter 2026-27, an even larger lift is planned. Leitner-Poma will install the first detachable six pack in New Mexico, servicing beginner and low intermediate terrain from the main base area. This sixer will effectively replaceLift 2 but on a much longer alignment, running 5,268 feet to mid-mountain. Work on the six place will also begin in April but is scheduled to span two summers. Neither lift has a name just yet.