Casper, Wyoming — A lot happened during this past election cycle, including various ballot questions that will have effects on the outdoor recreation industry. For the ski industry, one of the most important ones occurred in Casper, Wyoming.
Last month, a proposition asked Casper voters to approve or deny a sales tax increase that would have funded a new quad chairlift and night skiing lights at the city-owned Hogadon Basin Ski Area. Last spring, Hogadon Basin had to close early because of a mechanical issue with its chairlift. The new part was quite pricey, so the city is wondering whether it’s best to move on from this aging chairlift. Ultimately, a majority of people voted against this proposition. This leaves Hogadon Basin in a tricky position, with the eventual need to replace the Prospector chairlift, which opened back in 1981.
In an interview with Wyoming News Now, Zulima Lopez, who’s Director of Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities for Casper, explained that while Prospector is still safe to ride, it’s running low on time:
Our current lift is absolutely safe. We have it load tested and it’s passed all safety requirements to operate and so we do believe it is a safe lift. But the fact of the matter is it is over 40 years old, and we will absolutely need to replace it.
The City of Casper is now looking into grants and other potential funding methods to acquire a new chairlift. In the meantime, the city will rely on the over forty-year-old Prospector chairlift to service a vast majority of Hogadon’s terrain.
I think voters in Casper blew it here. They had to put in a lot of money into a part this past offseason, and acquiring a new chairlift takes time because of the high demand that currently exists for them. It’s better to get ahead of these things than deal with it if/when shit hits the fan.
Image/Video Credits: City of Casper, Wyoming
