Switzerland: The Land of Cool Ski Lifts

[thetrailboss]

Just got back from 10 days in Switzerland. Boy, their ski areas put ours to shame when it comes to lift infrastructure. Probably because a fair number of these areas are publicly owned and ski lifts are seen as a form of public transport.

First, let's look at Zermatt. Need to get a lot of people uphill? Why not a railway? The Gornergrat Railway:

Almost every lift was a detachable...most were six packs WITH bubbles:

High Speed Quad Transfer Lift WITH angle station and one terminal inside an underground bunker to allow the ski trail to pass overhead:

A Chondola:

One of at least FIVE trams....and a relatively new one as well:

ANOTHER one:

Probably my favorite one.....move over Killington Gondola...a FIVE stage Gondola with FOUR angle stations/load unload areas. Ski to the wrong side? Ride the escalators DOWN and then UP to get over to the right side! This is the Matterhorn Express. Built in 2002.

The FIRST station:

Namesake:

Schwarzsee, or Station Number Three:

Going DOWN to Station Four and then turning to Trockener Steg, the end:

Trockener Steg. The Klein Matterhorn Tram runs to the top. The crane is for the construction of a "3S Gondola" or similar to Squaw Valley's Funitel that will go to the top. There is also at least one T-Bar, one magic carpet, and one six-pack with a bubble for good measure. The Matterhorn Express Gondola ends here as does another Tram and just a "run of the mill" older HSQ.

 

[VTKilarney]

Probably because a fair number of these areas are publicly owned and ski lifts are seen as a form of public transport.

Bingo.

 

[thetrailboss]

A six pack bubble running over the glacier and "snow waves" from the winds:

Self-service T-Bar for "Summer Skiing" on the glacier. And if that glacier moves it is easier to fix a T-Bar than a full chairlift.

Trockener Steg:

And last year Zermatt decided to replace the old T-Bar on the Hirli Side of the resort...at the foot of the Matterhorn. The replacement? A new six-pack bubble with deluxe heated seats.

In this first two pics do any of you see the old-school Tram for access to the other side of the valley?

Unreal.

 

[thetrailboss]

Next stop will be Mount Rigi and its famous Trams and mountain railways. Goldau, at its base, is where Garaventa is based (they built the Snowbird Tram).

 

[Jully]

Pretty ridiculous.

 

[kingslug]

Zermatt is pretty awesome. Had a very good 7 powder days there. And one giant avalanche that almost killed 5 of the group.

 

[Sven Leonson]

I always thought it would be hard to convince my wife that we should ski Switzerland. Once I show her the multiple bubble lifts, it'll be a piece of cake (or should I say torte?!)!!

 

[thetrailboss]

Zermatt is pretty awesome. Had a very good 7 powder days there. And one giant avalanche that almost killed 5 of the group.

Sounds about right.

 

[eatskisleep]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

 

[mriceyman]

Insanity


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[freeski]

Nice pictures, very interesting...

 

[KustyTheKlown]

awesome pictures and great post, thanks.

i have never quite understood skiing in europe. how does it work with respect to things like "resorts" (as it seems more like many interconnected lift systems which take you to various towns sometimes in different countries, and not what we think of as a resort in north american skiing), and things like in bounds v out of bounds/on piste v off piste (with respect to access and avalanche control, and marking dangerous cliffs and such).

it seems like a giant clusterfuck and that skiing powder or steeps comes with a very high risk of avalanche. but ive never been and dont really know anything

 

[BenedictGomez]

That's some crazy stuff. The Self-service T-Bar is the most intriguing, never heard of such a thing.

 

[jimk]

That old school tram looks a little like the original at Cannon. You got nice visibility! So, Utah is not enough for you?! ;-)

 

[thetrailboss]

That's some crazy stuff. The Self-service T-Bar is the most intriguing, never heard of such a thing.

I think Stratton has or had one for SMS.


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[goldsbar]

Curious to hear an answer to Kusty's question. I always hear stories about skiing in the Alps being on-piste only unless you have a guide. Horror stories about anything off a groomed run can avalanche. Terrain looks awesome, but I can't see going just for some groomers - though really nice looking groomers!

 

[Bumpsis]

The lift infrastructure looks great. What's the cost of lift passes over there. Since resorts are linked, how does that work?

 

[thetrailboss]

Curious to hear an answer to Kusty's question. I always hear stories about skiing in the Alps being on-piste only unless you have a guide. Horror stories about anything off a groomed run can avalanche. Terrain looks awesome, but I can't see going just for some groomers - though really nice looking groomers!

The snow was too low to safely go off the groomers, but they did have signs that said one should stay on trail because of cravasses and other terrain hazards. And I did hear avi work going on in the morning. That said the area was HUGE and I didn't see very many ski patrollers.


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[VTKilarney]

The lift infrastructure looks great. What's the cost of lift passes over there. Since resorts are linked, how does that work?

Generally cheaper than here. Often quite a bit cheaper. You pay one price and it gets sorted out behind the scenes. Switzerland is expensive right now, though, thanks to a very strong Franc. Zermatt, for example, is running about 50% more than Kitzbuhel for a one day ticket.

 

[cdskier]

That lift infrastructure looks quite impressive!