 Poster: A snowHead
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Doppelmayr are currently constructing a major new gondola connection for the Kitzbuhel ski area, linking the Hahnenkamm/Pengelstein and Jochberg/Resterhohe networks.
Each cabin will carry up to 30 skiers, but the really notable engineering feature is a cable span of 2.5km, up to 400m above ground level. Maybe not one for vertigo sufferers.
To maintain stability the cabins will run on two fixed cables and be pulled by a traction cable - like a cablecar. The lift is scheduled to open this December.
This report from 0-21.co.uk
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 30-06-04 12:14; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Excellent news. No more bus journeys. The lift will be massive. I wonder how this will affect the cost of a lift pass.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Here's Doppelmayr's website, though I've not seen any reference to it on here, yet.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Here's Kitzbuhel's info., including a couple of small artist's impressions.
More to come, I think....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Okay, this one may need a little navigation, but if you go here and click on the "Cams" at the bottome, then the bottom camera, you can see them building what I think is one of the stations.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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There's more news, visual impressions of the project and a live cam of the building site on the Kitzbuhel lift company site.
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Anybody know where the longest single span cable lift is?
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The supposedly longest in Europe is in northern Spain at something like 3km long. Dunno about the in the world.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Google to the rescue Sandia Peak in New Mexico. 14,657 ft diagonal span = 2.78 miles
Opened in 1966.
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That's 4.45km. However, as there are towers and the total length is the disstance you quoted, that surely doesn't count as the single span length?
Check the Quicktime panoramas at http://www.sandiapeak.com/ to see the bottom and top stations. In the bottom station one you can see the towers.
Also, this picture shows them, too.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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skanky, true - the quote is
| Quote: |
| world's longest single section cable aerial tramway |
which is not the same thing as single span. Sorry - but nice pics and panoramas.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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kuwait_ian, it might still be the longest single span one. The potential's there.
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skanky, not according to this one Google's spat out. Launceston in Tasmania. But it's a useless web site and there is no detail of the lift.
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| The two attractions are linked by a suspension bridge and the world's longest single-span chairlift. |
but not for skiing !!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Here it is. I reckon the cable car up to Plateau Rosa at Cervinia's longer than that.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks for the info. I'm a Kitzbuhel regular for Christmas and have not yet been able to get up the valley. A link from the top of Pengelstein will massively increase the area available conveniently.
Busses tend to thin out in the middle of the day and at present it wastes a heck of a lot of precious ski-time even trying to move from the Hahnenkamm to the Horn. Good move George! (Hechenberger)
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Poster: A snowHead
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 skanky, TKS but it's not very impressive is it. Hardly worth the effort googling.
The silliest cable cars I know are in Dubai in Creek Park. Enclosed Gondolas. Horizontal run alongside the Creek. Superhot virtually all year round inside unventilated plastic eggs. Hot enough to melt a monkey's bum.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes, ventilation is very important for any gondola running in summer.
The UK's only mountain gondola, on Aonach Mor (Nevis Range), was built with cabins whose windows have very limited opening. The authorities were worried that people would chuck out cigarette ends and set off fires.
I don't know if things have changed, because I haven't taken a ride on the lift for some years.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Get access denied to jpg link now.
I just wanted to see how long the longest single span chair lift was. I think this one is much more impressive.
Yes though, those Creek park ones look a bit pointless and hot.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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skanky, I too got access denied and worked round it by putting bits of the URL into google which might be caching it ?
I've ridden that Alum Bay one and you're right. The scenery is spectalar.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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kuwait_ian, it worked the first time I tried it. That's happened to me a few times in the past.
The Alum Bay one is the scariest chair lift I have ever been on. I was quite young though, so it'd probably be even more scary now.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Here's a report on the new Kitzbuhel gondola connection from Skiing Magazine (US).
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Tue 12-10-04 12:15; edited 1 time in total
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How would the Kitzbuhel gondola compare with the Les Arcs/La Plagne cablecar link? Higher? Longer?
Regards
Rob
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Interesting question. According to Poma, the span of the Vanoise Express cables is 1.8 km, and it reaches a maximum height above the valley of 380m. According to Skipressworld, which reported earlier this year on the Doppelmayr project at Kitzbuhel, the gondola's span is 3.6 km and reaches a maximum height of 400m.
I guess we now need to know if the Kitzbuhel span is a world first.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I for one am not looking forward this cable link between Jchberg and Kitzbuhel.
The reason was last Christmas I tried to get in from Pass Thurn, Jochberg and then Kitzbuhel. It was so crowded that I eventually had to move on to Fleckalmbahn. When I finished the day I told the wife to take a godola down Kitbuhel so that I could I drove the car from Fleckalmbahn to pick her up. I must have spent an hour for a journey normally takes no more than 10 minutes. The place was simply tightly packed with skiers and traffic jam was everywhere.
If the place is so busy at both ends and the cable car can take a maximum of 30 each run then skiers just wasting their skiing time in queuing.
The law of physics could force a 3/4 reduction of the load carrying capacity every time a span is doubled.
Extrapolating from carrying 30 people in a 3.6km span we may end up sending only 1 skier across by the time the span reaches 20km. Still gunning for the longest cable car run?
Wider Kaiser Brixental circuit is only 5 miles away but had far less people and a much bigger terrian.
The unlinked kitzbuhel circuit has only 165km piste. Wider Kaiser has 250km piste with 7 out 8 resorts already fully linked.
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saikee, it's not a cablecar for 30 people, it's a continuous gondola for 30 passengers per cabin. Therefore the hourly capacity across the valley will presumably be 2000+ per hour.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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saikee, it sounds like you went during a time when there were an exceptional number of people. When I visited in Feb/March I only remember queuing a few times the whole week and travelling between the resorts wasn't a problem. The new cable car will really cut a lot of time as the main piste link on the Safari between Jochberg and Kitz was not ski-able a lot of the time due to poor snow cover, which meant coming back down the mountain and getting a bus or car (as you know) or walking in ski boots across the valley. I agree that the Ski Welt is larger and very well linked but the villages lack the charm and the atmosphere of Kitzbuhel and a lot of the runs tend to be shorter which means more lift time or at least catching lifts more frequently. Try Kitz again out of the holiday season, otherwise Saalbach offers a good balance of the two areas.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I shall count the number of gondolas over the 3.6km span then.
It is a 2.2 miles between towers on two sides of a valley. Say the gondolas are travelling at 5mph and the 2.2 miles span took 0.44 hours then at 2000 per hour we need to put 880 people in the span or 30 gondolas spaced at 120m apart.
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You know it makes sense.
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From the first link in the thread:
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| The 24 gondola cabins will take 11 minutes to make the journey and have a combined capacity of 3200 skiers per hour. |
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks stanton, for those links. I was fretting that the lift would be ready in time.
I was surprised that saikee, found Kitzbuhel crowded last Christmas. I spent Christmas Day on the Horn and thought it was pretty quiet.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Chris, your horn was muted then?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It usually is! 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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To translate use the babel translation service :
www.babel.altavista.com ( PS - just google for " babel " )
Warning - the translations into english are hilarious 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Chris Bish
This is Austria, they are well rehearsed in construction. They have some of the construction best Project Managers in Europe/World.
NB After Months of delays on landrights etc The Naserein - Gampen Gondola in St Anton was put up in 3 months thats including all Pylon footing/ Station foundations .
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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70 days, Oh sod it, I'm counting again!
I've been watching the new lift on the webcam and it looks finished. I just hope they have the snow to make it work, but I think it will probably be brilliant.
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FAQ
