The Longest ropeway in the world Peak 2 Peak Gondola

• 111
• 0

The longest Gondola connecting the two mountain peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb is present in Canada. The plan was formulated mainly for skiers and snowboarders avoid of risk of travelling through the multiple villages and lifts to reach the other mountain. The rope way is longest over 3.3 kilometres and highest above the ground level of 436 meters holding the world record.

Planning and Construction

Peak 2 Peak Gondola was built in the year 2007 and 2008 by Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. In 1997 the owner of Blackcomb Mountain, Intrawest brought Whistler Mountain on a single lift track. The directors Group of Intrawest then took on a tour to Zermatt, Switzerland to see the lifts connecting the resorts throughout Matterhorn to plan for the ropeway between Whistler and Blackcomb.

The project was delayed because of unsuitable skiing between two mountains. The components of the gondola are made in Switzerland and exported to Canada. The rope way includes 4 towers in which 2 towers were completed in summer and remaining 2 towers in winter. Then in June 2008 the 5 cables arrived in Whistler to be winched between the 2 mountains.

There were totally 28 cabins in which 12 cabins were added and tested in September, 2008. The remaining cabins were tested completely before its opening on December.

Finally the grand launch of gondola took place in December 2008 featuring Steve Podborski and Red Bull Air force members.

Perks of Peak 2 Peak

It can accommodate over 4000 people in an hour and 11 minutes to cross from one mountain to another mountain. HSBC Bank Canada and Scotia Capital were the major financiers of this project. The total cost of building gondola came around $51million Canadian.

The gondola was built with high end safety systems. It can withstand winds around 80 km/hr and powered by an electric motor. In case of the power failure the gondola can be operated with diesel engine without interruption of the services. The gondola is equipped with Obstacle Collision Avoidance System that uses radar to alert aircraft security in case of any problem.

The Peak 2 Peak gondola is a great attraction ropeway for not only for skiers but also for sightseeing the beauty of valleys from the longest rope way in the world.