Exactly 10 days since the previous pictures, the crane is gone, the bones of the building are in place.
Sugar’s site still has the “completion target” as November 2026, and the last communication from them said “late 2026” as I recall. They’ll probably delay saying anything to the contrary as long as possible to keep selling passes/tickets/lockers. Seems it will be a bit harder to keep the charade going after opening day, once everyone from points west drives past the very much incomplete highway-side building.
Okay, onto the hot goss: Sugar’s been telling select folks that the gondola won’t actually operate until “January or February”. That’s right, that means it won’t be running for Xmas and probably not for MLK weekend either. If it gets delayed further by, say, a storm or three, it seems likely to miss President’s and ski/skate week too. After that point, will it even operate this season?
There is no “Plan B” to run the gondola without completing the building. Village services will cat in homeowners and hotel guests, otherwise all parking and mountain access will be from Judah side.
Seems like it’s going to be a big mess when things get busy. It’s already been more crowded the last few years, and I doubt Sugar lowered the pass or ticket caps in line with the reduced parking and ingress capacity. Le sigh. So, arrive even earlier on busy days and skate over to the Village side, I guess.
T minus 23 days…