Post by nickchu

• Construction is set to begin this summer on a new 8-person gondola that will connect the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows resorts in California. The 2.4 mile gondola will connect both ski resort bases which will make the Squaw-Alpine resort the third largest in North America. The project has been in the planning stage since 2012, when the resorts merged, but has been controversial because of the impact to the natural outdoor atmosphere. The system’s travel time is 16 minutes and will move 1,400 people per hour.

• Steamboat’s ski season has come to an end, allowing construction of a new gondola terminal to begin later in April. The lower terminal of the gondola will be relocated 300 feet upline to open up space for the redevelopment of the resort’s Gondola Square. New amenities will include an ice rink, fire pits, and more communal space.

• Snow King Mountain’s new gondola cabins have arrived and are ready to be installed. The cabins were shipped from Leitner POMA’s manufacturing facility in France. Construction activities have begun with disassembling the Summit lift and Cougar lift. Snow King Mountain recently received approval for a number of improvements including a gondola, permit boundary adjustment, additional ski terrain development, a novice ski-way, a summit access road, and more.

• A 4.5 km gondola in the Philippines is being endorsed by its Department of Transportation. The 10-person gondola is expected to connect the Santolan Light Rail Station in Marikina and Barangay Rosario in Pasig. A feasibility study has been completed.

• The Maokong Gondola in Taiwan will suspend service for 100 days for maintenance. The haul rope is being replaced after 15 years of use, in compliance with POMA’s protocols and the European Standards for cableway safety. The maintenance is expected to cost $1.65 million USD and almost as much is expected to be lost in revenue.