Juneau Officially Backs Out of Yearslong Ski Resort Gondola Saga
On Monday, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly came to a vote on the matter of the Eaglecrest Ski Area gondola. Ultimately, the Assembly's nine members voted to pay back the $10 million invested by Goldbelt Incorporated, officially ending the years-long gondola saga.
Eaglecrest Ski Area, which is owned by the city of Juneau, Alaska, began planning the Eaglecrest Experience Project in 2012 as a pathway to turn the resort into a year-round recreational and tourism destination.
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In 2021, Eaglecrest identified a used gondola that was being decommissioned in Europe and saw it as an opportunity to add new infrastructure in a cost-efficient way. The Assembly authorized up to $2 million from the city's general fund for the purchase of the gondola in February 2022. In September, the used gondola parts arrived in Juneau from Austria.
In April of 2023, Goldbelt committed $10 million in support of the project under a revenue-sharing agreement with Juneau.
However, in late 2023, officials discovered that the gondola would require additional parts, such as extra towers, cable sections, and haul rope components, in order to adapt the system to Eaglecrest.
Then, this March, news broke that the gondola installation alone would cost an estimated $27 million, which was more than Juneau had to pay for the project, KTOO reported.
The vote that occurred earlier this week officially backed Juneau out from the project, which would have ended up totaling around $37 million.
Up until this point, Juneau taxpayers fronted more than $12 million for the project, according to KTOO. Due to compounding interest, the city owes Goldbelt around $12.2 million. The city still has about $2.7 million set aside for the gondola. About $9.5 million will end up coming from its general fund.
The initial purchase of the gondola was positioned as a saving grace for the ski area. Juneau sits in a remote part of southeast Alaska with no access roads. Visitors to the town and Eaglecrest must fly in or take a ferry.
The resort has relied on the city to pay for infrastructure and staff. The hope was that the gondola would help support summer-time operations enough to sustain the resort. Prior to the vote backing out of the gondola project, the Assembly voted to subsidize the ski area for one more season, with significant staffing cuts.
Only one Assembly member voted against the decision to divest, saying they should wait and look for other options. As of January 2026, the gondola cabins had been shipped to Colorado for refurbishing and construction, according to Eaglecrest's website. They were expected back in early 2027.
For now, the future of Eaglecrest remains uncertain beyond the upcoming ski season.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 11:41 AM.