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Oh, how I was dreading pulling together this year’s lift construction numbers. After the worst season in recent memory, how on earth can one come up with any silver linings or drum up any enthusiasm?

But, there was no need to! As Leitner-Poma’s Rick Spear said, “It’s a good sign for the industry that the profitable ski areas are reinvesting in their plants.” A good sign, indeed. In fact, the North American total is actually up over the last three years, with 30 new lifts on the books. VTFH took a hit, and dropped to 37,512 from 2011’s 49,223, as many projects were more about moving people around, rather than getting them straight up the hill.

(Note: VTFH measures the number of skiers and riders who can be transported 1,000 feet vertically in one hour. It is arrived at by multiplying the vertical rise in feet by the capacity in people-per-hour and dividing by 1,000.)

And every region was a winner in uphill transportation. Starting north of the border, Canada welcomed seven new lifts to its fold, mostly in Ontario where five new fixed-grip quads were installed at local ski clubs.

In the eastern U.S., six new lifts were installed. Holimont, N.Y., marks the only detachable quad in the group, but sliders from New Hampshire to Tennessee will benefit from new uphill transportation.

The Midwest had its highest number of new lifts since 1999, with a respectable five installations, three of which were detachable quads.

In the Mountain region, 10 new lifts were unveiled, with the big story being the Ski Apache overhaul (a gondola and two lifts) and Vail’s new gondola.

Moving west, the Pacific region only accounted for two lifts, but they were biggies: a detachable quad and a six-pack.


AERIAL LIFTS
So how is it possible that we installed more lifts than in the past four years? Well, a combination of planning, timing and lift companies that are able to respond quickly. cont.

“Most of the orders came in late thanks to the terrible weather and economy,” says Jan Leonard from SkyTrac, but they did come in. The five-year-old company installed four new lifts and its first tram, as well as relocated and installed two other quads.

“For us,” says Doppelmayr’s Mark Bee, “the market has been consistent the last four years.” At 15 lifts, Doppelmayr certainly kept itself busy last summer.

“Given the lack of snow and the economy, we were very pleased,” says Spear. Leitner-Poma installed 10 lifts, which accounted for the same VTFH that Doppelmayr had.

And what about 2013? SkyTrac says that they are kicking a lot of proposals out the door and Leitner-Poma sees 2013 shaping up a lot like 2012. Doppelmayr’s Bee is more bullish: “There are enough projects on the radar screen that, if the weather cooperates, 2013 looks good. We could be rising out of the recent pattern.”

And when it comes to getting people onto the lifts, loading conveyors continue to head in a solid direction. Marc Wood of Chairkid had six installations in 2012 and says, “It’s a concept and a tool that’s catching on.”


SURFACE LIFTS
While the folks in aerial lifts breathed a sigh of relief, there were still a few casualties from last winter. Conveyor numbers were cut almost in half, from 61 in 2011 to 32 in 2012.

“During a bad weather season, people close their pocketbooks,” says Dave Kelly from Magic Carpet. But, he points out, it won’t last: “Sales are still in the bucket and we normally feel pent-up pressure a year or two after a bad snow year.”

Pete Kavanagh from Star Lifts acknowledges that the U.S. economy and lousy winter certainly took their toll, but says that, “Canada really stepped up to the plate in 2012, accounting for almost half of our sales.”

In the end, perhaps it was a bullet dodged. Or perhaps ski areas are more resistant to an off-weather year with good long-term planning in place. As for the future, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that a good snow year would certainly put some projects back on the boards.