This is What a $52 Million Lift Looks Like

thetrailboss · Oct 8, 2018

Zermatt, Switzerland has spent the last few years, and $52 million, building the world's highest "3S" lift to the summit of Klein Matterhorn. It just opened with gondola cabins complete with Swarovski Diamonds.

https://www.leitner-ropeways.com/en/company/news/the-worlds-highest-3s-gondola-lift/

On my last trip in 2017 this was well underway. They built a new terminal on the summit. This will be used for their skiing and sightseeing operations. The video is damn impressive.

The lift provides a more windproof back-up to the existing tram.

bdfreetuna · Oct 8, 2018

It seems to me to engineer a really wind-proof gondola you'd want it to be especially aerodynamic given a specific wind vector, and have it able to rotate on it's X-axis like a wind sock.

Imagine an oblique gondola design that's able to pivot where the arm/hinge meets the top of the cabin. Easy enough to do with journal bearings. Then it would have to be mechanically re-oriented prior to loading/unloading. The system would need manual or system-wide override controls anyway and the same mechanics could accommodate that.

Theoretically one of the advantages of a closed-cabin design.

BenedictGomez · Oct 8, 2018

Swarovski crystal encrusted gondola cabins with disappearing transparent floors.

How positively useless.

sull1102 · Oct 9, 2018

Although this is on another level it reminds me of the lifts I saw at Laax, the Porsche Design custom heated swiveling 6 pack they had or a gondi with friggin saddle leather seats even! https://youtu.be/ENO0YdsS5pw

cdskier · Oct 9, 2018

BenedictGomez said:
Swarovski crystal encrusted gondola cabins with disappearing transparent floors.

How positively useless.

Wonder how much that added to the cost. Agree that it seems like a gigantic waste to add those features.

Glenn · Oct 9, 2018

Interesting. They certainly went the extra mile/cost with the cabin decorations.

Killingtime · Oct 9, 2018

Crystal with disappearing floors haha? I'd be happy with just a few air fresheners for those days when you are packed in with someone who hasn't washed their gear for the past five seasons.

Smellytele · Oct 9, 2018

Killingtime said:
I'd be happy with just a few air fresheners for those days when you are packed in with someone who hasn't washed their gear for the past five seasons.

Come on it is Europe you'd be lucky if someone had showered in the past month let alone washed their gear.

ThinkSnow · Oct 9, 2018

I cannot see the value of the crystals, but the floor will allow non-skier tourists to get a top-side view of the glaciers (and Zermatt definitely caters to skiers and non-skiers alike). Can't help but wonder how they intend to make a see-thru floor slip resistant.

drjeff · Oct 9, 2018

They're taking a chance that the bells and whistles will create some buzz, and given that it's Zermatt which is a year round destination and by no means will everyone riding that amazing new lift be doing so with the intent purpose of skiing/boarding down verses taking the gondola down, and that hopefully that buzz will be a way to help drive some new revenue.

Will it generate enough to cover the cost of the lift over it's projected lifespan? Probably not. Will it, if marketed properly, sell a few thousand more tickets on an annual basis? Probably. The ski resorts need to continually find ways to drive revenue, and more often with a thought pattern these days of how to drive revenue over more than just the typical snow sports season, and things like what Zermatt is doing with those select cabins or even what Brettonwoods is doing with their new gondola or what Killington did when they redid the Peak Lodge are ways to try and drive revenue on much more of a year round basis than many resorts and GM's used to think about potential capital expenditures

ThinkSnow · Oct 9, 2018

drjeff said:
They're taking a chance that the bells and whistles will create some buzz, and given that it's Zermatt which is a year round destination and by no means will everyone riding that amazing new lift be doing so with the intent purpose of skiing/boarding down verses taking the gondola down, and that hopefully that buzz will be a way to help drive some new revenue.

Will it generate enough to cover the cost of the lift over it's projected lifespan? Probably not.

Not sure if I agree with that. For example, when you take the Gornergrat Bahn up to the top, you have to pay an additional fee to take the train back down. If you decide you want to hike down in the off season, but the resort doesn't think its safe to hike from the top, then you're forced to pay the extra cost down to a safer station, located below the snow line. So I would guess that you will pay a fee to take this new gondola to the top, and pay an additional fee to be brought down. The train is something like 50 francs up and 50 all the way back, so I could only imagine what a brandy new crystal gondi with magic flooring is going to cost. Switzerland isn't shy about overcharging for anything.

andrec10 · Oct 9, 2018

ThinkSnow said:
Not sure if I agree with that. For example, when you take the Gornergrat Bahn up to the top, you have to pay an additional fee to take the train back down. If you decide you want to hike down in the off season, but the resort doesn't think its safe to hike from the top, then you're forced to pay the extra cost down to a safer station, located below the snow line. So I would guess that you will pay a fee to take this new gondola to the top, and pay an additional fee to be brought down. The train is something like 50 francs up and 50 all the way back, so I could only imagine what a brandy new crystal gondi with magic flooring is going to cost. Switzerland isn't shy about overcharging for anything.

When a bottle of Coke is 8$...YEAH!

ThinkSnow · Oct 9, 2018

Or a McDonalds Value meal is about $15.....

thetrailboss · Oct 9, 2018

ThinkSnow said:
Not sure if I agree with that. For example, when you take the Gornergrat Bahn up to the top, you have to pay an additional fee to take the train back down. If you decide you want to hike down in the off season, but the resort doesn't think its safe to hike from the top, then you're forced to pay the extra cost down to a safer station, located below the snow line. So I would guess that you will pay a fee to take this new gondola to the top, and pay an additional fee to be brought down. The train is something like 50 francs up and 50 all the way back, so I could only imagine what a brandy new crystal gondi with magic flooring is going to cost. Switzerland isn't shy about overcharging for anything.

So I looked at the pricing and yeah they do charge a one-way and a return fee. Probably because this operates like a railroad as opposed to a chairlift.

deadheadskier · Oct 9, 2018

I wonder how much of the cost of this lift was subsidized by the government. Isn't that practice fairly common place in Europe?

They've got all sorts of crazy expensive Funiculars and Trams over there that you just don't see in North America.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

thetrailboss · Oct 9, 2018

deadheadskier said:
I wonder how much of the cost of this lift was subsidized by the government. Isn't that practice fairly common place in Europe?

They've got all sorts of crazy expensive Funiculars and Trams over there that you just don't see in North America.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

This. Over there they treat infrastructure such as this to be public transportation projects. I am pretty sure that Zermatt (the ski area) is a public entity that is operated for the benefit of the communities. For example, the ski area has very limited, if any, lodging. Instead, folks book at an independently run and owned hotel/lodge/hostel/etc. The ski area is the "industry" that draws in visitors and $$$ to the town and the townspeople. It's completely different from here where a resort is generally a private undertaking with the focus on turning a profit for the owners. There the focus is to create an engine for the local community.

Big Game · Oct 18, 2018

I don't care. I don't even know what Swarovski® crystal beads are. They just sound magical. And I want them on all my lifts. Esp. T-bars.

kingslug · Oct 24, 2018

Sounds awesome. I will be there next year. Wife loves the place and I had a very good powder week a few years ago..and just missed getting killed by a huge avalanche..so I got that going for me......

BenedictGomez · Oct 24, 2018

kingslug said:
so I got that going for me......

which is nice.

Not Sure · Oct 25, 2018

BenedictGomez said:
which is nice.

This is What a $52 Million Lift Looks Like

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