IS THAT ALL THERE IS? C O N S T

LIFTS 2014: l i f t

IS THAT ALL THERE IS? c o n s t

Aerial lift sales hit an all-time low in 2014. r u c BY RICK KAHL t i The past year saw the fewest number Stratton, Stowe, and Whistler put new and easy loading, which minimizes stops o n of aerial lifts installed in memory ——16. cabins on major gondolas. Triple Peaks and keeps operating capacity up.” With

Is this the new normal? replaced a detachable quad at Okemo and nearly 50 installations across North s u Perhaps, perhaps not. “It was just an relocated it to Mount Sunapee. America, their utility is well established. r

unusual year,” says Mark Bee, president of Loading conveyors are another v

Doppelmayr USA. “Next year will be bet - option for efficiency. Chairkit installed AERIAL LIFTS e ter. There are a lot of significant, solid six, serving more than a third of all new Leitner-Poma installed four detachables, y projects on the radar.” Leitner-Poma’s Jon lifts—four on fixed-grip quads, two on plus a pulse gondola at Royal Gorge, Mauch had a similar reaction: “It looks detachable six-packs—plus one retrofit. Colo. The detachables include a six-pack good so far for next year. We’ve had more “With detachables, the loading con - at Breckenridge with a loading conveyor inquiries for bigger machines, six-packs veyor provides a realistic opportunity for and a capacity of 3,600 an hour, and a and gondolas.” the lift to achieve higher design capaci - heated, bubble six-pack at Okemo that Jan Leonard of SkyTrac is not so sure. ties,” says Chairkit’s Marc Wood. “On can move 3,000 an hour. “Those creature “Look at the Kottke [economic] report. fixed-grips, it is more about consistent comforts are becoming more important,” Resorts do not have big spending plans,” says Mauch. he says. He sees scarce capital going into (Note: VTFH measures the number of Doppelmayr put in six lifts, includ - summer operations and snowmaking. skiers and riders who can be transport - ing an unusual combination gondola and With so many demands on capital, ed 1,000 feet vertically in one hour. It is chair at Beaver Creek. The Centennial resorts are squeezing more efficiency arrived at by multiplying the vertical gondola-chair (25 10-passenger cabins from their lifts, new and old. rise in feet by the capacity in people-per- and 125 six-person chairs), 7,800 feet Instead of purchasing new machines, hour and dividing by 1,000.) long, with 2,100 vertical and a capacity of

NEW LIFTS BY REGION LIFT COMPARISON WITH PRECEDING YEARS

Gondolas/ Region 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Region New VTFH Surface Chairs Trams Funiculars Total East 8859779625 East 11,285 —5— —5 Midwest 0102023542 Midwest 1,713 —2— —2 Mountain 17 11 22 11 45 710 95 Mountain 16,143 —4 1 —5 Pacific 3565334242 Pacific 2,599 —2— —2 Canada 56811 76677 2 Canada 1,417 —2— —2 TOTALS 54 34 31 41 38 21 23 30 26 16 TOTALS 33,157 — 15 1—16

NEW LIFTS BY MANUFACTURER VTFH (000) COMPARISON WITH PRECEDING YEARS

Gondolas/ Total Total Region 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Manufacturer Surface Chair Trams Funiculars Lifts VTFH East 10,367 11,533 7,610 15,436 5,801 9,497 17,927 2,859 2,247 11,285 Doppelmayr —51 — 612,603 Midwest 0 638 0 1,228 0 1,855 1,474 5,181 3,917 1,713 Leitner-Poma —4— — 412,424 Mountain 35,849 29,785 39,455 22,994 6,719 15,665 14,934 20,744 16,990 16,143 5 SkyTrac —6— — 68,130 1 0

Pacific 4,250 9,998 16,718 5,209 960 4,707 7,259 4,079 8,248 2,599 2

TOTALS – 15 1—16 33,157 r Canada 6,533 11,767 21,610 11,777 12,601 11,242 7,629 4,649 17,094 1,417 a u n a J

TOTALS 56,999 63,661 85,393 56,644 26,081 42,966 49,223 37,512 48,496 33,157 / 9 4 EA ST 3,400, was the biggest install of the year. Installed Design Initial Location Type Manufacturer HP Length Vert. Cap. Cap. Speed VTFH

y SkyTrac delivered three quads (two

e MASSACHUSETTS with loading conveyors), two triples, and

v Berkshire East 4C SkyTrac 400 3145 936 2400 2400 500 2246 a double. “With the cost of detachables, r NEW HAMPSHIRE resorts are looking at a fixed-grip quad u Ragged Mountain 4C-Det. Doppelmayr 400 4215 1000 1800 1800 1000 1800 and loading conveyor as an alternative,” s NEW YORK says Leonard.

n Gore Mountain 4C-Det. Leitner-Poma 700 7079 1494 2400 2400 1100 3586 All three of the aerial lift companies

o VERMONT i Okemo Mountain 6C-Det Bubble Leitner-Poma 900 6617 1670 1670 3000 3000 2789 are also doing more renovations of exist - t Stowe 4C Doppelmayr 200 1734 432 2000 2000 400 864 ing lifts. And not just their own. There c are hundreds of orphan lifts across the u

r MIDWEST country, “and we’re doing more refur -

t Installed Design Initial bishing of them,” says Bee. “It’s work we Location Type Manufacturer HP Length Vert. Cap. Cap. Speed VTFH s are happy to have.” Both SkyTrac and n MICHIGAN Leitner-Poma echo that sentiment. o Pine Knob 3C SkyTrac 100 1045 255 1700 1700 435 434 c

WISCONSIN CONVEYORS STAY STRONG t Granite Peak 4C-Det. Leitner-Poma 300 2365 492 2600 2600 1000 1279

f Another place resorts are putting their i

l MOUNTAIN capital: conveyors. Installed Design Initial Magic Carpet saw an increase in Location Type Manufacturer HP Length Vert. Cap. Cap. Speed VTFH installs. Jennifer Kelly attributes that to COLORADO the popularity of Carpets for tubing, with Beaver Creek 6/10 Chondola Doppelmayr 1833 7876 2102 3400 3400 1000 7147 several installations in the Midwest and Breckenridge 6C-Det. Leitner-Poma 900 6194 1325 3600 3600 1000 4770 Mid-Atlantic. Royal Gorge * Pulsed Gondola Leitner-Poma 150 2105 110 300 300 1000 33 NEVADA Star Lifts’ 20 installs were in line Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard 4C Doppelmayr 264 2916 684 2010 2010 450 1375 with its long-term numbers. Pete NEW MEXICO Kavanaugh reports two trends: more Taos Ski Valley 3C SkyTrac 300 2330 1095 1500 1500 500 1643 installations for TBL areas, and more sur - UTAH face lifts for learning areas—they are a Powder Mountain 4C SkyTrac 200 1955 575 2100 2100 450 1208 step up from conveyors for skiers and rid - ers who have gained more skill and want PACIFIC a faster way up. Installed Design Initial Location Type Manufacturer HP Length Vert. Cap. Cap. Speed VTFH

WASHINGTON BEYOND WINTER SPORTS Crystal Mountain 2C SkyTrac 150 2510 920 875 875 510 805 Increasingly, the aerial lift companies are The Summit at Snoqualmie 4C SkyTrac 350 3030 780 2300 2300 500 1794 finding projects outside of winter sports. Leitner-Poma is building a small aerial CANADA tram at the SalesForce tower in San Fran - Installed Design Initial Location Type Manufacturer HP Length Vert. Cap. Cap. Speed VTFH cisco, as part of a transportation center.

BRITISH COLUMBIA The 30-person cabins will operate on Panorama Mountain Village 4C Doppelmayr 150 812 165 1000 1000 400 165 demand, like an elevator. ONTARIO In that same vein, Doppelmayr has Antoine Mountain 4C Doppelmayr 200 2644 626 2000 2000 450 1252 completed a major project with Univer - * Not included in totals. sal’s Harry Potter World, building major components of the two-train, four-car SLOPESIDE ELEVATORS Hogwart’s Express. The company also SIX-YEAR CHART OF built components of a three-mile-long Hilltrac 2 TOTAL 2 CONVEYOR INSTALLATIONS connecting train at the Oakland airport. m 100 o SkyTrac’s HillTrac division manufac - c . o f n TOWS: ROPE, HANDLE, WIRE ROPE i tures versatile, four- and eight-passenger 80 m a s Star Lifts 3 TOTAL 3 “inclined elevators” that serve hard-to- / t n 60 e access Utah real-estate locations. These m e g also operate, elevator-like, on demand. a CONVEYORS 40 n a

m Chairkit 7 Star Lifts 20 In short: Lift companies, like winter a e r Magic Carpet 23 TOTAL 50 20 resorts themselves, have been looking a 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 i k s

beyond their traditional customers for / 0 5 growth opportunities.

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