Casper invests $41K in rare part to repair Hogadon chairlift

CASPER, Wyo. — The city will spend $41,551.31 on a rare part to get Hogadon Basin Ski Area’s chairlift functioning again.

The City Council approved the expenditure from the city’s Direct Distribution Fund for a cone drive from Timken Manufacturing on Tuesday. Timken is the only company able to produce the cone drive for Hogadon’s Riblet Chairlift, which failed in April and forced the ski basin to close a week earlier than planned.

The cone drive was not the part that failed, but city staff said its replacement is necessary to ensure safe and reliable operation for the 2024–25 ski season and beyond.

The council agreed to appropriate the funds for the cone drive in June. At that time, Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities Director Zulima Lopez told the council that buying the worm gear cone drive now would be a good economic move because the cables for the lift will need to be taken down anyway.

The bull wheel, which was the part that broke, will be fixed by Casper workers, Lopez said. However, the worm gear cone drive is a different matter.

The Riblet Tramway Co. made the chairlift, and it used a worm gear cone drive made by Ex-Cell-O. Riblet Tramway Co. went out of business in 2003 and Ex-Cell-O went out of business in 2006. Timken Manufacturing bought the molds and patent for this kind of worm gear cone drive, and it’s the only company that makes it now.

Timken estimates it will take 12 weeks to deliver the cone drive. In a memo to the council, city staff asked for the expenditure approval now to maximize the time for completing and testing repairs well in advance of the next ski season.

A full replacement for Hogadon’s chairlift is one of eight proposed projects that could be funded via a sixth-cent tax. Voters will have the choice in November on whether to fund the $4.2 million project.

Merchant card processing agreement

The council also approved a Merchant Card Processing Agreement and accompanying amendment for card processing services at Hogadon.

On May 7, the council approved moving forward with software from Entabeni Systems Inc. for ski resort operational software. That required a new merchant card processor.

Card processing will cost between 2.2% and 2.5% of aggregate credit card sales per year, city documents state.