I think a lot depends on who has a financial stake in the lift beyond the ski area and/or the bankrupt entity. For many years after Watatic closed, their double chair was maintained. When John Krikorian opened Prospect Hill for the 1989-90 season, it was his intent to move that lift to Prospect Hill. When he failed to make Prospect Hill run, I think that lift was sold and moved to Temple Mountain. Someone probably has the details at their finger tips to confirm that or to correct me.

A financial backer in a defunct ski area would have an interest in maintaining the lifts to protect the lifts' asset values, because per the ANSI b77 lift code if a lift is not operated for maintenance for more than two years, the lift must be completely brought up to the current code and treated like a new install in order to operate again. Bringing up to current code is something that is not always practical with older grandfathered lifts- things like tower crossbar length come into play. Ultimately, code decisions are in the hands of state tramway boards and state & insurance inspectors.

What if a lift runs each year but is moved to another location on the same mountain or another mountain. Does the 2 year clock still count or is it a new install if it is re-installed? What constitutes running every 2 years? does a 5 minute summer operation meet the requirement or is a day of skier use needed?