Switzerland: The Land of Cool Ski Lifts

thetrailboss said:

A Chondola:

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What's the benefit of a Chondola? I've seen the word mentioned, but never actually realized what it was until now.

cdskier said:

What's the benefit of a Chondola? I've seen the word mentioned, but never actually realized what it was until now.

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Sunday River has one. They say that some folks prefer the gondola for summer use and in bad weather. And the North Peak Lodge is now in use year round and non-skiers just don't do chairs.

cdskier said:

What's the benefit of a Chondola? I've seen the word mentioned, but never actually realized what it was until now.

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Skier preference? Also versatility in windy situations. I know SR will remove gondola cabins on days with high wind to enable the lift to still operate.

Other than those I am at a loss.

cdskier said:

What's the benefit of a Chondola? I've seen the word mentioned, but never actually realized what it was until now.

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People who prefer to keep there skis on can ride the chairs meanwhile people who prefer gondolas can ride the cabins vs. everyone having to ride either chairs or gondola cabins.

Are there separate lines for people who want to use the gondola cabins? Or do you just pop your skis off if a gondola cabin happens to be coming around the bullwheel?

As far as the chondola as Verbier goes, it is a practical choice. That lift runs uphill and then back down. Using the gondola portion allows them to up and download sections of the mountain after "last chair".

I've ridden the one at SR, but never have paid too much attention to chondolas either. However, I used one at Beaver Creek recently to great effect. I was there on Feb 28 for a one foot powder day. No one was skiing under the chondola and that line was skiing great.

It snowed all day and that lift was empty. Instinctively I kept going back to the gondola cabins to get out of the elements and did about 6 straight runs off it. Next day still good, but no need to wait for a gondi cabin:


edit: There are separate lines for gondi and chairs. Centennial Chondola at BC has more than 2000' vert, and is only six-pack chair/10pass gondi combo in the world. Details here on the great lift blog website:
https://liftblog.com/2015/07/17/lift-profile-centennial-chondola-at-beaver-creek/

Domeskier said:

Are there separate lines for people who want to use the gondola cabins? Or do you just pop your skis off if a gondola cabin happens to be coming around the bullwheel?

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Yeah. At least at SR there are separate lines. Separate unloading sections up top too obviously, meaning that you do not have people walking off of gondola cabins onto the chair offload ramp.

The Verbier chondola also allows pedestrians to get the summit. It sits above double-barreled set of gondolas an unloads at the bottom of two consecutive trams to the summit.

thetrailboss said:

Sunday River has one. They say that some folks prefer the gondola for summer use and in bad weather. And the North Peak Lodge is now in use year round and non-skiers just don't do chairs.

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I knew SR had a "Chondola" but never really put two and two together. I always just sort of thought that was the name they gave their Gondola whenever I saw it mentioned. :smile:

Jully said:

Yeah. At least at SR there are separate lines. Separate unloading sections up top too obviously, meaning that you do not have people walking off of gondola cabins onto the chair offload ramp.

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Makes sense. What surprises me is that there aren't whole threads here devoted to complaining about chondola line abuse!

benski said:

People who prefer to keep there skis on can ride the chairs meanwhile people who prefer gondolas can ride the cabins vs. everyone having to ride either chairs or gondola cabins.

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And thus the ultimate First-World Problem was resolved.

yeggous said:

I have no idea about banning snowboarders, but the balance of people on the slopes is heavily tipped in the favor of skiers. We had a real pain with our snowboarding buddy. Surface lifts, traverses, and run-outs are brutal with him -- and if you want to go off-piste or between towns all three are a reality.

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Interesting. I figured the majority of crowds would be skiers anyways though. Do you think the issues had to do with your friends' abilities as a rider or just the terrain itself? I'll readily admit I don't even bother with surface lifts. Traversing sucks, but sometimes is a necessary evil. Run-outs can be done if you can plan ahead for them... most of the time at least.

Stop Number Two: Mount Rigi off of Lake Lucerne

On the north is the village of Goldau. Sound familiar? It is where Garaventa is located and where many a tram have been born, including Snowbird's tram. Mount Rigi epotomizes the Swiss attitude of "why not?" It overlooks Lake Lucerne, has spectacular cliffs and views, and has been a point of interest for hundreds of years. There weren't really any roads up there. Instead, they have built several railways and trams to get you up there. Once you are up there you can go to a new world class spa (incredible), hike, relax, ski off of several T-Bars (or by taking the train), and enjoy the scenery.

The view from Luzern:



Pretty easy to know where to go once you get off the ferry:



The Tram from Weggis...built by Garaventa in Goldau:





Just amazing scenery:







CONCRETE support towers:





Coming into the summit station. One ski hill is on the far right.



Trams are not for you? Take the mountain railway. Amazing new train station that is incorporated into the Mineralbad & Spa Rigi Kaltbad.





Taking a nice leisurely stroll:

Here is a view of the top portion of Rigi. One railway runs along the right hand side, along the ridge, and to the top. Another one is below us.....just to the left of center through the trees. You can see the ski trail going around it and the chalets. The T-Bar, in a triangle shape, is in the center portion of the photo:



Said train. Ski trails on either side:



Former rail line now a XC ski trail, hiking trail, and trail for horse-drawn sleighs:



Someone getting fresh tracks:



Old railroad bridge:



Directing you to trails, trams, and railways:



See the ski trail?



Shot of the spa:





One of the ski hills and T-Bars:



Weggis Tram:




Next stop will be Zurich's equivalent of Wachusett: Flumserberg. You won't believe the lifts that "local's hill" has.

So cool! Thank you for sharing!

Zermatt is amazing. I skied there back in 2003 I think when I was studying abroad. Spent a week there and stayed in a hostel.


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Where's the like button?

Is it easy to get lost skiing in Europe? Some of those areas are so massive I dont even know how you'd decide where to go. And when you ski from one town to two towns over, I guess there are taxis to take you back to your base hotel?

BenedictGomez said:

Is it easy to get lost skiing in Europe? Some of those areas are so massive I dont even know how you'd decide where to go. And when you ski from one town to two towns over, I guess there are taxis to take you back to your base hotel?

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Forget town to town, at zermatt you can ski from Switzerland to Italy


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