Opposite page: A crew grounds a tower for the Leitner-Poma fixed-grip quad at Sunlight, Colo. Inset: Sunlight’s lift is one of five Alpha fixed-grips built by Leitner-Poma, its most since 2019. Right: One of six Doppelmayr lifts built this summer at Deer Valley, Utah. Below: Cabins taking first flight on Deer Valley’s new 10-place Doppelmayr gondola.
Deer Valley bonanza. Down the road from Park City Mountain, Deer Val- ley dropped six detachables and three conveyors into a 2,000-acre eastward expansion. Doppelmayr supplied a two-section, 10-place gondola, a six-place bubble, and three detachable quads in signature Deer Valley green, some with premium features like heated seats and direct drives. With so many lifts to build at Deer Valley East, resort owner Alterra Mountain Company partnered with sev- eral local contractors for civil construc- tion, and Doppelmayr brought in teams from around the globe. “Our people focused on building lifts,” notes Doppel- mayr USA CEO Keith Johns. Star Lifts added three SunKid con- veyors for the East Village teaching area,
all with covered galleries.
number of fixed grips,” says Leitner-Po- ma director of sales Michael Manley. “The U.S. market continues to be pretty utili- tarian-focused with a few exceptions.” Fixed-grip specialist and Leitner-Po- ma subsidiary Skytrac installed six chairlifts this season and would have completed two more if not for permit- ting delays that arose at Powder Moun- tain and Purgatory, Colo. MND, which installed two convey- ors and a T-bar in North America this year, is looking to expand into the fixed- grip chairlift business with a U.S.-specific model in 2027, according to Steve Daly, MND director of ropeways for North America. It will come in at a lower price point than the fixed-grip model MND sells in Europe. It was the first season in five that no customer sprung for an eight-place chairlift. At the other end of the spec- trum, Whiteface Mountain, N.Y., built its first fixed double in five years. “The old lift was a double, and they wanted to maintain the classic double experience on that lift line,” says Skytrac president Carl Skylling. Only one category of lift sold better in 2025 than 2024: T-bars. Doppelmayr, Skytrac, and MND all built T-bars for customers ranging from Aspen to tiny Titcomb Mountain, Maine. Conveyor sales fell slightly, and customers opted for models with fewer bells and whistles. “We’re selling fewer galleries, fewer specialized heating and lighting options,” says Conor Rowan, president of Star Lifts USA, which
With five other lifts completed in 2024 and one more scheduled next year, 15 lifts will have been built at Deer Valley East over three years. Other notable terrain expansions with new lifts included Richardson’s Ridge at Lake Louise in Alberta (Doppelmayr detachable quad); Davenport at Powder Mountain, Utah (Leitner-Poma detachable quad); and No Name Basin at Colorado’s Monarch Mountain (Skytrac triple). KEEPING IT SIMPLE Fixed-grip doubles, triples, and quads proved popular across North America in 2025. Leitner-Poma completed more Alpha fixed grips than any year since 2019. “We were a bit surprised at the
Monarch Mountain, Colo., installed a new Skytrac fixed-grip triple to serve its No Name Basin expansion.
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