320 replies to this topic

[Peter]

New Mittersill T-Bar going up next summer at Cannon...

http://www.cannonmt....rsill_info.html

[skierdude9450]

I noticed Mt. Bachelor has a "Future Lift" drawn on their map this year. It looks like it will open up new gladed terrain on the east face. Anyone know more about this lift?

[LuvPow]

skierdude9450, on 03 December 2014 - 11:01 AM, said:

I noticed Mt. Bachelor has a "Future Lift" drawn on their map this year. It looks like it will open up new gladed terrain on the east face. Anyone know more about this lift?

It has been in their master plan for decades.... maybe now that Powdr resorts is out of Park City they might make Bachelor more of a focus area and invest there instead of bleeding it out.

[jaytrem]

They cut the trails over the last couple years and I seem to recall that they'll be offering cat rides out of the bottom this year. I suspect the chair would have been built this year if they weren't dealing with the Park City issues.

[Peter]

Park City just announced 3 new lifts to add to the 2015 list (see here for announcement: http://www.skilifts....ndpost&p=107504) My guess is the gondola and six pack will be new Doppelmayr and the current King Con will be relocated to Motherlode.

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[NoPainNoJane]

Chair 2 at Vail will be getting upgraded to a 6 pack, announcement to come in March

[DonaldMReif]

I imagine that the Avanti Express will be much like the Mountaintop Express - a Doppelmayr high speed six pack with a loading carpet. I suppose this is going to be done for the same reasons the Mountaintop Express was upgraded: increase uphill capacity, since the Avanti Express is currently the sole method of transit between the west Front Side and Mid-Vail, in addition to its own run pod.

I mean, I can already get the impression that the Avanti Express will feature in-line loading (seeing how the original has that) and UNI-G terminals, although whether it runs counterclockwise or clockwise will not be known until a later date.

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 08 December 2014 - 09:15 AM

[silence]

The forest service approved Sugarbush's permit to replace the Valley House double with a FGQ, nothing about other permits though except this excerpt from the Sugarbush website posted in May...

Quote

We are also proceeding with the permitting of a new Valley House lift so that we will be ready to move forward with that for the 2015/2016 season.

This post has been edited by silence: 08 December 2014 - 03:15 PM

[DonaldMReif]

NoPainNoJane, on 08 December 2014 - 08:49 AM, said:

Chair 2 at Vail will be getting upgraded to a 6 pack, announcement to come in March

How about "announcement to come today"?

Quote

Avanti Express Lift (#2) to be replaced with Six Passenger Lift

The improvements never stop at Vail! The next big project in the works is to replace Avanti Express Lift (#2) with a six-passenger lift this summer, pending U.S. Forest Service approval. The Avanti Express Lift (#2) is a primary lift on the front side of Vail Mountain, serving intermediate and advanced terrain and dispersing skiers and snowboarders from Lionshead to mid-mountain. Upgrading the lift will reduce wait times and improve reliability.
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to invest more in Vail Mountain recently than most resorts can even dream of in a lifetime with six major lift upgrades since the 2007-2008 season, improvements to snowmaking capabilities and a new fine-dining on-mountain restaurant. The transformations in town in the same time span have been equally impressive,” said Chris Jarnot, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Vail Mountain. “All of these upgrades and investments truly speak to our commitment to the guest experience and keeping Vail at the forefront of the industry.”
The current lift – a Doppelmayr detachable quad – was installed in 1989 and has a maximum uphill capacity of approximately 2,800 people per hour. Vail plans to replace the lift with a detachable six-passenger lift similar to the Mountain Top Express Lift (#4) with a loading conveyor and gates to improve efficiency and increase capacity by up to 30 percent and improve skier and snowboarder circulation.
The new lift is subject to U.S. Forest Service approval. Additional details on the manufacturer, design and approval of the proposed lift will be available in the coming months.

I strongly think that the Avanti Express lift of 2015 onwards is going to be a Doppelmayr. And this is kind of a pretty major upgrade to the lift infrastructure since the Avanti Express lift services a big swath of terrain on the Central Front Side (making it a lift that you take laps on), but it's also the sole way for people to transit from Eagle's Nest and the Lionshead area over to Mid-Vail, Patrol Headquarters, and onwards to the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, so it gets a lot of traffic.

[NoPainNoJane]

Well when someone posts on Vail's Facebook page:


Donald Michael Reif‎Vail
10 hrs ·

I've heard rumors that the Avanti Express is getting upgraded next year to a six pack. Are they true?

what do you expect?

I now know better to keep information to myself, especially considering VR plans to invest $65M into the resorts in addition to PCMR.

Also, chair 2 will have a carpet and gates as announced in the PR.

This post has been edited by NoPainNoJane: 08 December 2014 - 07:16 PM

[DonaldMReif]

I think it was pointed out in another thread that it seemed like many of Vail Resorts' new detachables feature loading carpets. The Mountaintop Express last year and the Colorado SuperChair this year have carpets, and the announcement says that the Avanti Express will also feature them.

Of course, I mean, the Avanti Express kind of is in a position where it carries a lot of skier traffic - traffic lapping the lift, and traffic that's heading towards Mid-Vail and eventually to the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin - and does kind of warrant the six pack (considering that the lift is starting to get towards the end of its useful service life). But then again, I always was thinking that it would be the Northwoods Express that would get upgraded first because that lift gets a lot of traffic too, especially in the afternoon when everyone's returning to the Front Side after Blue Sky Basin and the Back Bowls close, and unless you are expert enough to ski down the Sun Up Bowl to the High Noon Express, or are willing to use one of the catwalks, Northwoods is pretty much the primary route.

At any rate, yeah, Vail Resorts really has a busy lift upgrading year ahead of them:

King Con Express Six Pack (Doppelmayr, most likely)
Motherlode Express high speed quad (most likely relocated King Con) - Garavanta CTEC(?)*
PCMR/Canyons (now PCMR at Canyons) Interconnect Gondola - Doppelmayr
Avanti Express high speed six pack - Doppelmayr

So that's four projects on the to-be-confirmed-at-later-date list.

*Motherlode might turn out to be an all-new Doppelmayr

This post has been edited by DonaldMReif: 09 December 2014 - 03:52 PM

[SkiDaBird]

Donald anything in Utah will be Dopp or SkyTrac unless there is serious overload, like at Canyons in 97. The gondola is all but guaranteed to be a Dopp.

[liftmech]

As I've mentioned in the past, unless and until official announcements are made, *nothing* is confirmed. We may *think* we know what's going to happen but we aren't the ones making the decision. Don't 'confirm' things unless you have proof, please.

[jclark]

Waterville Valley, NH is planning to relocate the World Cup Triple to Green Peak in 2015.

[skier2]

Just announced: Lutsen MN to replace iconic hall sky cruiser gondola with $7 million Doppelmayr 8-passenger gondola for 2015.

http://www.lutsen.com/gondola

[Peter]

skier2, on 23 December 2014 - 05:54 PM, said:

Just announced: Lutsen MN to replace iconic hall sky cruiser gondola with $7 million Doppelmayr 8-passenger gondola for 2015.

http://www.lutsen.com/gondola

It's crazy that Doppelmayr built only 2 detachables in North America in 2014...it's looking like they will at least triple that in 2015.

[DonaldMReif]

Peter, on 23 December 2014 - 06:34 PM, said:

It's crazy that Doppelmayr built only 2 detachables in North America in 2014...it's looking like they will at least triple that in 2015.

How many alone come out of the Canyons-PCMR interconnect?

[MNSkier]

skier2, on 23 December 2014 - 05:54 PM, said:

Just announced: Lutsen MN to replace iconic hall sky cruiser gondola with $7 million Doppelmayr 8-passenger gondola for 2015.

http://www.lutsen.com/gondola

This is fabulous news for us Midwest skiers. I am really glad to see them continue to invest in Lutsen. With the recent announcements about Granite Peak I was wondering if Lutsen was going to get passed over again this year. Speaking of investing in Lutsen, they also announced a proposed terrain expansion for Moose Mountain today, they are currently working on the USFS permiting. The whole project is a several years away but includes several new chairs. http://www.lutsen.com/forestpermit/

[NHskier13]

machskier, on 07 July 2014 - 10:22 AM, said:

Glad that got approved. Will finally complete South Peak as a true access point for the mountain and Loon will finally get a dedicated learning pod.

It seems to me like all three of the Boyne Resorts in New England don't have a dedicated learning pod, so thankfully this was approved.
Sunday River was actually pretty good, with the South Ridge Express and the Chondola servicing some nice greens and blues, I don't exactly know about the loaf, but the West double (The one that was supposed to be a double-double but was not completed) services a long green. Loon only had the Little Sister, and the Kissin' Cousin doubles for learning. But then again, there were also easier trails off the gondola and Seven Brothers, but those aren't necessarily learning pods.

[Backbowlsbilly]

skier2, on 23 December 2014 - 05:54 PM, said:

Just announced: Lutsen MN to replace iconic hall sky cruiser gondola with $7 million Doppelmayr 8-passenger gondola for 2015.

http://www.lutsen.com/gondola

Wow, I thought that one was going to be LP after they did Caribou at Lutsen earlier. At least 2 new lifts for Dopp are coming out of the PCMR-Canyons interconnect, and maybe a third depending on whether King Con is relocated to Motherlode or they just put a new lift for Motherlode. The earlier news about Purgatory's purchase by a Durango businessman could mean a new lift for them, if not this year then probably in the next several years.