[J]ay Peak’s iconic tram is ready for takeoff again after a cable mishap earlier this month prompted repairs.
State inspectors Friday approved the running of the tram, central to the resort’s ski operations in the winter and the only lift access to the peak.
“The Tram has passed inspection and will run at some point this weekend,” Steve Wright, the resort’s general manager, wrote in an email late Friday afternoon.
He could not be reached later for additional comment.
Stephen Monahan, the director of the state’s Workers’ Compensation and Safety Division, said Thursday that all other lifts at the resort had passed inspections needed to operate for the ski season. The last inspection that remained, he said, was for the tram, which took place Friday.
Monahan could not be reached Friday following the inspection of the tram.
Workers for the past couple of weeks have been fixing one of the tram’s cables after ice weighed it down and then melted quickly, causing it to bounce back into place with so much force it got wrapped around another cable.
Wright said in a previous interview he wasn’t sure of the cost of the fix but said it would come from a budgeted contingency account set aside for such equipment repairs.
Last spring, at the end of ski season, the tram was shut down when state inspectors said it needed about $5 million in repairs.
A federal judge overseeing an investor fraud case against Ariel Quiros, the resort’s owner, approved a $5 million contract in June with Dopplemayer/Graventis to manufacture and install parts for a new electrical system for the tram.
The state determined the tram could operate in the interim.
Jay Peak is currently overseen by a receivership put in place in April shortly after the state of Vermont and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed lawsuits alleging investor fraud against Quiros and Bill Stenger, Jay Peak’s former CEO.
The SEC alleged the two men operated a “Ponzi-like” scheme, misappropriating about $200 million out of about $350 million they raised from immigrant investors through the EB-5 visa program. The money was meant for development projects, including several at Jay Peak.
A federal judge froze all of Quiros’ assets, and court-appointed receiver Michael Goldberg was put in charge of their operations. Goldberg could not be reached Friday for comment.
The repair work resulted in some consternation from skiers at Jay Peak in recent days voiced on the resort’s Facebook page.
“That’s what happens when more than 4 ft falls and the lift just opens today!!! Would have loved those turns … umm a week ago when I was there :(,” one poster wrote Dec. 17.
“Tramside lifts were delayed due to a mission-critical repair on the Tram cables,” an official with Jay Peak Resort wrote back.
“Any update on the tram working for Christmas week? FINGERS CROSSED!!!” another poster wrote this week.
“It’s likely we will see the Tram this weekend,” an official with Jay Peak Resort responded. “Fingers crossed here too.”