National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat
August 2023
Colorado Ski Traffic is About to Get a Whole Lot Better. Thanks to a major project by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), I-70 will be a much more enjoyable ride from Evergreen to Idaho Springs. The expansion from Evergreen to Idaho Springs will eliminate the bottleneck experience when three lanes merge to two, by way of an additional express lane. More. Freeskier
Utah Dept. of Transportation Approves Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has released its final record of decision (ROD) to move forward with construction of a controversial eight-mile-long gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon. When complete, the gondola will feature a central station at the base of the canyon along with a new 2,500-stall parking lot. It will have the capacity to transport 1,050 passengers per hour at 35 people per cabin to Snowbird and Alta. More. SAM
Stratton Mountain Resort, VT, Announces $6.9 Million Investment. Stratton Mountain Resort, Vermont, has announced a $6.9 million investment for the 23/24 season. The resort’s press release states that the investment will go into enhancing multiple facets of the guest and employee experience beginning in the base area with RFID lift gates and a reimagined beginner area. More. SnowBrains
Northeast Ski Areas Damaged, Closings Occurred in Wake of Floods. An early July deadly storm dropped as much as 10 inches of rain on areas of New York’s lower Hudson Valley July 9 before moving East, bringing downpours across Vermont, with more than 4 inches of rain reported in some mountain locations. Several ski areas sustained flood damage. More. SAM
One Dead, One Seriously Injured After Tremblant Gondola Accident. One person has died and another reported in critical condition in a Montreal-area hospital after a piece of heavy construction machinery struck a cabin on the Panoramic gondola at Mont-Tremblant Resort on July 16. Two people were riding in the cabin at the time of the crash. It’s believed the two were thrown from the cabin and fell several meters to the ground, according to reporting by the Montreal Gazette. More. SAM
Fire Destroys Lake Louise Ski Resort Employee Housing. Summer operations at Lake Louise Ski Resort were temporarily shut down after an arson fire. A 40-year-old man was charged with arson after a July 3 fire destroyed a 100,000 square-foot building that houses hundreds of resort staff. There were no fatalities and summer operations have resumed although with some reductions in services. More. SAM
11 Ski Areas Flee Ski Cooper Pass as Indy Delivers Ultimatum: Drop Cooper or We Drop You. At issue is Ski Cooper’s $379 season pass, which offered three lift tickets each at 73 ski areas when it went on sale July 1. Reciprocal agreements among ski areas are common. The majority of Indy’s partners have established at least a handful as a benefit to their season pass holders. But Indy Pass officials say that the scale of Ski Cooper’s coalition has created a shadow multi-mountain national pass masquerading as a small-mountain pass. More. Storm Skiing Journal
Crested Butte Lift Mechanics, Electricians Vote to Unionize. Lift mechanics and electricians at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) voted 7 to 3 to form the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Professional Union, joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA) 7781. This is the second ski area lift maintenance crew in the country to unionize, following the unionization of Park City Lift Maintenance last October. More. SAM
