Lifts 2003-We’ve Leveled Off…Down There

What does one say about a lift-building year that is not exactly, er, uplifting? I guess you just supply the facts and leave the adjectives to the reader. But first, let me bring one of the last items in this reportage right up to the front: the big news—the bit with the red meat—is not in some exotic new funitel or other major lift installation but in the proliferation in conveyor lifts. It’s an important direction the industry is taking: We’re building a future! More on this further on.

This year’s actual lift construction figures look alarmingly like last year’s: a total of 35 new lifts—up a smidgen from 33, but yielding a total new VTFH of 56,646, down from last year’s 67,081.

Those 35 new lifts break out a little differently in terms of geography and configuration, but not that much. Reflecting the fine snow season enjoyed by the East, that region added 13 new lifts, compared to 10 the year before. On the flip side, the Pacific region areas, coming off a rather poor snow year, managed only one-half of last year’s six new installations. The Midwest doubled (but that still only meant four new lifts), while the Mountain states dropped from five to four. Canada stayed about even.

As for the type of lifts being installed, they are all chairs: four of them 6-packs, 25 quads and six triples. For the first time ever, no doubles; for the second time ever, there were no surface lifts built.

There was one chondola installed (see November SAM on the hybrid chair(6)/gondola(8) at Mont Orford, Quebec). For the record, we included the chair part of this exotic lift in the stats for our chairlift computations.

Of all the installations, 16 are detachables. Expressed as percentages, this year’s 46 percent detachable is essentially the same as last year’s 47 percent.

Also unchanged from last year is the high proportion of new installations that are replacement lifts. True, the percentage dropped a bit (from 64 to 54 percent), but the proportion is still high.

And why wouldn’t it be? Let’s face it, brand new areas and terrain expansion are about the only conditions that immediately mandate lift construction, but how much of either do we see these days? Yes, we actually have one this year, Moonlight Basin in Montana, but it’s a rarity, and a welcome one at that.

On the other hand, if you think of the 958 chairlifts installed in the decade of the 1970s and realize that the survivors today are 30 years old or approaching it, you realize how much potential business must be out there—old iron just waiting to be replaced.

Carrying this salivating thought one step further, consider that in the Midwest alone between 1978 and 1979, 37 chairlifts were installed, 23 of them quads. In 1972 alone, no less than 36 chairlifts were installed in the Midwest!

So why isn’t there more replacement business? This year there were four chairs installed in the Midwest, but only one of them was a replacement. It’s a puzzlement. Hagen Schultz, of Partek Lifts, thinks it is a market segment that will drive lift construction in the years ahead. Doppelmayr CTEC’s Jan Leonard would like to agree, but he points to the durability of the old Halls and Borvigs and gives a tip of the hat to the areas that keep taping them together and keep running them safely and successfully. Besides, he adds, where is the incentive to replace them? Where’s the new revenue going to come from to pay for the spiffy new lift? Customer numbers haven’t changed and there’s little or no upward flexibility in ticket pricing.

Leitner-Poma’s Rick Spear takes the long view of what is happening. He thinks the industry emphasis on retention and getting kids on skis is key to the long-term future. Lift-building will come with demand-building, and that won’t happen until the industry makes sure there is a steady flow of kids entering as snow-sliders who will become tomorrow’s skiers and boarders. In the meantime, though, he’s concentrating on the twin concepts of advancing technology and keeping prices down. “I’ll be scrapping for every piece of business there is,” he promises as he looks to bounce back from the competitive set-back he has had in relation to the other giant, Doppelmayr CTEC. Reminded that a year ago the shoe was on the other foot, Spear acknowledges, “Yeah, it does seem to go back and forth between us from year to year. It tends to even out.” (For the record, Doppelmayr CTEC got 72 percent of the total VTFH this year and Leitner Poma 23 percent. Last year, Doppelmayr CTEC only had 54 percent of new VTFH, while Leitner Poma had jumped from 18 percent the previous year to 42 percent. As the man said, it sort of goes back and forth.)

In the manufacturer stakes, it would be hard to bet against is Partek Lifts, the familial and engineering successor to Borvig, for future growth. With Riblet Tramway out of the picture, Partek is in a position to be nimble and price-responsive to ski area needs in a way that the two giants would like to, but may not always be able to. This year Partek was able to notch six solid fixed-grip lifts on its corporate holster—three quads and three triples. Lest there be any doubt, they are delighted to bid on detachables, too.

Still another insight into the lift-buying comes from seeing how much of the total is accounted for by the big, multi-resort conglomerates as compared to the independents. The numbers are inconclusive insofar as being able to spot trends. It’s impossible to generalize from the specific buying incentives involved.

For instance, the fact that American Skiing Company has bought no new lifts for its eight major ski resorts for the second year in a row speaks to its corporate debt service rather than to market forces. At the other end of the scale, Vail Resorts plunged in with two installations at their newly acquired Heavenly Resort and found financial justification in a 5,611 VTFH (biggest lift of the year) detachable quad at Beaver Creek. Booth Creek added no new lifts to its resorts (good snow in the East could not offset the opposite in the Pacific region), while Intrawest was cautious in its lift-building, limiting it to a couple of detachable quads at Panorama, B.C. and a purposeful 6-pack at Blue Mountain, Ont.

The numbers, therefore, show the big four conglomerates accounting for 30 percent of this year’s new VTFH; this is substantially up from the 13 percent last year, while still well below the 43 percent in the conglomerate binge of 1997. But, as remarked above, this measure of conglomerate vs. independent areas is probably not meaningful.

Perhaps the most upbeat set of numbers coming out of this year’s new lift stats is the dramatic increase in the conveyor category. This represents huge progress that bodes well for future growth. It represents a commitment to bringing kids—and more kids—into the sport, as well as a commitment to work on converting all beginners into long-term enthusiasts. All this can be seen as validation of NSAA’s Growth Model.

Look at the numbers: We count no less than 61 new conveyor-type lifts. In just three years, we have seen this category go from 37 to 46 to 61. That’s some growth! Interestingly, it may have been partially at the expense of other uphill devices that often serve beginner needs, like wire ropetows, handle tows and the like. But the larger significance of these figures is the reflection of the industry’s determination to grow the sport from the ground up‚ with kids.

Finally, as we always do, we acknowledge that our areas make huge investments in upgrading existing lift equipment. This not only helps our industry maintain its enviable safety record, but it helps provide those good up-ski experiences that we need as part of the mix. As in the past, these upgrades are not included in the lift construction totals on these pages.

New Lifts by Manufacturer

Manufacturer	Surface	Chair	Gondolas/Trams	Total lifts	Total VTFH
Doppelmayr CTEC	—	22	1	22	41,051
Leitner-Poma	—	7	—	7	12,978
Partek	—	6	—	6	2,617
Totals	—	35	1	35	56,646

¨ Mont Orford chondola listed under both Chairs and Gondolas/Trams but counted only once in totals.

New Lifts by Region

Region	New VTFH	Surface	Chairs	Gondolas/Trams	Total
East	12,431	—	13	—	13
Midwest	3,120	—	4	—	4
Mountain	13,376	—	4	—	4
Pacific	6,425	—	3	–	3
Canada	21,294	—	11	1	11
Totals	56,646	—	35	1	35

¨ Mont Orford chondola listed under both Chairs and Gondolas/Trams but counted only once in totals.

VTFH Comparison with Preceding Years

Region	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
East	31,603	31,781	15,890	32,123	19,453	33,695	11,358	16,881	14,891	12,431
Midwest	866	1,069	95	5,929	2,185	4,373	1,070	0	1,744	3,120
Mountain	28,807	19,676	59,195	71,199	69,922	52,591	21,999	25,625	12,906	13,376
Pacific	22,645	11,916	28,549	22,088	46,357	17,952	28,521	4,091	11,296	6,425
Canada	24,034	15,430	16,444	15,232	28,265	22,142	32,424	18,042	26,244	21,294
Totals	107,955	79,872	120,173	146,571	166,182	130,753	95,372	64,639	67,081	56,646

Lift Comparison with Preceding Years

Region	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
East	15	13	11	12	10	13	6	12	10	13
Midwest	1	4	1	10	3	4	2	0	2	4
Mountain	13	12	24	24	21	25	11	14	5	4
Pacific	9	5	10	9	17	10	10	2	6	3
Canada	13	7	7	6	13	11	21	9	10	11
Totals	51	41	53	61	64	63	50	37	33	35

Conveyors*

Manufacturer	Lifts
Kaser Skicarpet NA	17
Magic Carpet	15
Schippers	7
Star Lifts	22
TOTAL	61

Tows: Rope, Handle, Wire Rope*

Manufacturer	Lifts
Harusch	3
Multi Skilift	6
Schippers	5
Star Lifts**	11
TOTAL	25

*Not included in lift statistics.

**Includes Borer, Brückschlögl and O’Connor.

New Lifts Installed in 2003

East

Location	Type	Manufacturer	HP	Installed Length	Vert.	Cap.	Speed	VTFH (000)
MARYLAND
Wisp – Deep Creek	3C	Doppelmayr CTEC	150	3170	568	1500	465	852
Wisp – Deep Creek	3C	Doppelmayr CTEC	150	3170	568	1500	465	852
MASSACHUSETTS
Bradford	3C	Partek	60	995	200	1800	400	360
Ski Ward	3C	Partek	60	1105	178	1425	400	254
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Bretton Woods	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	400	2455	556	2800	1100	1557
Cannon Mountain	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	100	1324	281	2400	400	674
Gunstock	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	600	6427	1602	2400	1000	3845
Pats Peak	3C	Partek	250	2097	359	1500	425	539
NEW YORK
Holiday Valley	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	300	2669	477	2400	1000	1145
Holiday Valley	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	40	872	127	1500	300	191
PENNSYLVANIA
Bear Creek	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	125	2781	430	1800	450	774
VERMONT
Okemo	4C-Det.	Leitner-Poma	250	2530	390	2400	1000	936
VIRGINIA
Massanutten	4C	Partek	100	2368	226	2000	400	452

Midwest

Location	Type	Manufacturer	HP	Installed Length	Vert.	Cap.	Speed	VTFH (000)
MICHIGAN
Crystal Mountain	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	100	1161	226	2400	410	542
Pine Knob	3C	Doppelmayr CTEC	40	820	135	1200	350	162
MISSOURI
Hidden Valley	4C	Partek	100	1383	308	1800	400	554
WISCONSIN
Granite	6C-Det.	Leitner-Poma	400	3260	582	3200	1000	1862

Mountain

Location	Type	Manufacturer	HP	Installed Length	Vert.	Cap.	Speed	VTFH (000)
COLORADO
Aspen Mountain	4C-Det.	Leitner-Poma	500	4689	1120	2400	1000	2688
Beaver Creek	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	900	6453	2158	2600	1000	5611
MONTANA
Moonlight Basin¨	6C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	900	8700	1828	2425	1050	4433
Moonlight Basin¨	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	100	2544	429	1500	425	644

Pacific

Location	Type	Manufacturer	HP	Installed Length	Vert.	Cap.	Speed	VTFH (000)
CALIFORNIA
Heavenly	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	500	3831	1002	2600	1000	2605
Heavenly	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	60	910	172	1600	350	275
NEVADA
Diamond Peak	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	600	4923	1477	2400	1000	3545

Canada

Location	Type	Manufacturer	HP	Installed Length	Vert.	Cap.	Speed	VTFH (000)
ALBERTA
Sunshine Village	4C-Det.	Leitner-Poma	400	2854	705	2400	1000	1692
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Grouse Mountain	4C-Det.	Leitner-Poma	450	2820	1176	2300	1000	2705
Panorama	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	800	6347	2062	2400	984	4949
Panorama	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	160	2923	922	1200	453	1106
ONTARIO
Alpine Ski Club	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	200	1529	535	1800	453	963
Blue Mountain	6C-Det.	Leitner-Poma	500	2955	717	3600	1000	2581
Hockley Valley	4C	Leitner-Poma	100	908	214	2400	453	514
Horseshoe Valley	4C	Partek	100	1440	229	2000	450	458
London Ski Club	4C	Doppelmayr CTEC	50	666	113	2400	350	271
QUEBEC
Bromont	4C-Det.	Doppelmayr CTEC	500	3645	981	2400	984	2354
Mont Orford	6/8 Chondola	Doppelmayr CTEC	800	5322	1542	2400	984	3701
¨ New ski area