Park City Mountain, Utah

Park City Mountain is planning to replace the existing Sunrise chairlift with a new 10-person gondola to improve guest flow and mountain access between Canyons Village and the Red Pine area.

The new Sunrise Gondola will follow a more terrain-hugging alignment that is better sheltered from the north, making it significantly less prone to wind-related delays and closures. The added stability of the heavier gondola cabins and reduced reliance on long, exposed spans will enhance reliability and comfort.

Deer Valley Resort, Utah

Deer Valley Resort is preparing for its biggest expansion ever for the 2025/26 ski season. This winter, seven new chairlifts will be opened, including the East Village Express – a 10-passenger gondola connecting the new East Village to Park Peak – plus over 80 new ski runs.

These advancements are part of Deer Valley’s Expanded Excellence initiative, which encompasses more than doubling the resort’s skiable terrain. The Deer Valley East Village Gondola is going to be the most advanced ropeway in Utah and one of the largest gondola systems in the United States.

Featuring 40 towers, 142 cabins, and a vertical rise of 783 meters, the gondola will be only the second in the country to operate at 427 meters per minute – 40 percent faster than a conventional express lift.

Powered by two whisper-quiet Direct Drive motors, it is going to transport guests from East Village to Park Peak in just 15 minutes. This is also Utah’s first 10-passenger gondola, with individual heated seats, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and cabins arriving every 12 seconds.

Killington Resort, Vermont

Killington Resort will replace the Superstar Express with a DOPPELMAYR UNI-G six-person chairlift – the first lift from this manufacturer at the resort. The lift maze will be reconfigured for easier load and will spin clockwise.

It will not have a bubble both because of challenges with storage and because Superstar is a relatively quick ride. It is planned to operate it at a speed that maintains the current uphill capacity.

The original Superstar lift, a first-generation detachable quad from the Yan Lift Company, was built in 1987, making it one of the oldest detachable lifts in New England.

It was retrofitted by POMA in 1997. With a vertical rise of 366 meters, Superstar ranks as the 10th longest aerial lift among Killington’s 17-lift fleet.

Several components from the existing lift – such as the chairs and sheave trains – will be repurposed, particularly all the chairs on the Golden Express at Pico will be replaced, which is a similar model to Superstar. The new lift will follow the same line as the old chair, however all towers will be relocated with the exception of the terminal towers.

For example, tower four will be moved about 24 meters uphill and closer to the treeline. The snowmaking pipe location will also be adjusted and a small, new maintenance workshop will be added at the top of Skye Peak.

The total cost of the lift replacement project is estimated at $12 million.

Big Sky Resort, Montana

Coming in the winter of 2025-26, a new two-stage gondola will replace the existing Explorer double chairlift in Big Sky Resort, Montana, which has been in use since the resort opened in 1973. The gondola will more than double the uphill capacity, carrying up to 2,850 skiers per hour.

It will travel at speeds up to seven meters per second, with a ride time of about 8.8 minutes from the base to the upper Explorer terminal. The cabins are Omega V models, each spacious enough for ten people.

They feature floor-toceiling glass windows and easy-to-use exterior racks for skis and snowboards. In summer, 19 bike cabins will be added to carry mountain bikes. The new gondola upper terminal will offer a pedestrian-friendly ride up 1,117 vertical meters to the top of Lone Mountain.

Loon Mountain Resort, New Hampshire

Loon Mountain Resort, in partnership with RiverWalk Resort and South Peak Resort, is building a new pulsemovement gondola lift. This lift will connect RiverWalk with the base of Loon’s newly expanded South Peak terrain and the nearby Timbertown Quad chairlift.

The gondola will cover nearly 400 meters in total distance, transporting passengers in cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows over the East Branch Pemigewasset River. Designed by DOPPELMAYR, this fixed-grip lift will be the first pulse gondola in New England.

Each enclosed cabin carries up to eight passengers. The cabins are grouped in threes, forming pods. When the pods reach the terminals, the lift slows down to allow for easy loading and unloading.