North Vancouver's Grouse Mountain set to break ground on new gondola

Grouse Mountain says it will be breaking ground on a long-awaited upgrade to its lift system next month, with construction of a new gondola set to begin on Friday, Sept. 9.

The new lift will replace the aging Blue Skyride aerial tram, which opened in 1966. The 56-year-old tram, one of the oldest still operating in B.C., was only being used by staff for service and maintenance and has rarely carried visitors up the mountain in the past several years.

The Red Skyride, which opened in 1976 and can carry 100 people up the mountain at a time, will remain fully operational while construction on the new gondola is carried out. It offloads on the west side of the upper chalet, while the new lift system will eventually offload to the east.

Northland Properties Group, a Vancouver-based, family-owned company that purchased the resort in early 2020, is funding the entire project.

"The installation of the new gondola is the latest development to further enhance our four-season operations to welcome both the local and global community," Grouse Mountain president Michael Cameron said in a statement.

Andrea Adorno, the program director for the Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club, says regular users of the hill are excited to hear renovations are finally getting started.

"I think it's a great thing that they decided to upgrade the lift," he said. "It will be very, very, positive for the ski club. [But] it will streamline the upload and download for everyone who uses the mountain — not just skiers."

On top of a new gondola, there will also be upgrades to buildings at the base of the resort and "improvements" to the mountain's parking areas, something Adorno says is welcome news for skiers who train at the resort 2-3 times a week.

His ski club, which has close to 300 members, was limited to training during certain weekday hours and occasional weekends. He says over the past few years, the club had to co-ordinate its use of the hill with resort staff to try to limit congestion in the parking lot and in lift lines.

The resort says the new lift system will include 13 towers and 27 eight-person gondola cabins.

Once completed, the North Vancouver resort will be back to just above its original capacity when the blue and red Skyrides were both fully operational.

2-year timeline

Grouse Mountain says the construction of the new gondola will be spread out over four different phases:

• September-October 2022: clearing of the gondola easement area.
• January-August 2023: building of foundations, base and plateau stations.
• September-November 2023: assembly of towers and line work.
• Winter 2023-2024: system testing.

The resort says the chalet and upper Red Tram terminal won't be affected during construction, and guests should see "minimal disruption" over the next couple of years.

It also says an environmental assessment carried out by B.A. Blackwell & Associates determined the lift replacement project will have a low impact on the environment, as the new gondola "travels over previously disturbed areas on the mountain."

According to its current timeline, Grouse Mountain says the new gondola should be up and running for the public by spring 2024.