Europe 2025/26
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
ChrisC
Well-known member
I cannot imagine if Jackson Hole took this long to replace its iconic red tram.
(My personal feelings: The Jackson Hole replacement was incredibly short-sighted. A gondola could have been built for a fraction of the cost, and capacity could have been controlled. An even more reliable S3 Gondola Lift could have been installed at almost the same cost - a true premium experience. It was a throwback to the clubby, macho culture of Jackson Hole that really did not mesh with reality. No one really wants to sit packed like sardines in a can for 10 minutes without being able to see anything. Maybe I can at 6-3 ..... but locals joked: "4x the capacity, 1/5 the price." I really enjoy reading the PowderHounds commentaries on Euro skiing: they Telemark ski, and hate the on/off removal of skis.
Will North America Build a New Tram Ever Again?
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort stunned the ski world June 24, 2005 announcing the iconic aerial tramway up Rendezvous Mountain would carry its final riders in 2006. The Kemmerer Family, owners of the…
liftblog.com
Me: The purpose of a lift is to ski, not to preserve a museum piece.
Other Trams in North America IMHO:
The Snowbird tram is practically redundant.
Heavenly - Not sure why their tram was built. Assume summer tourism to view Lake Tahoe and grab food/drink.
Cannon - That thing is going to disappear for a while. It's an odd lift more designed for summer tourism for Franconia Notch State Parks that happens to run in the winter.
Jay - Iconic.
Big Sky / Lone Peak - Iconic. No other design would really work but a tram.
My assumption has been that trams are the only lifts that can handle very long spans between towers, and are also more wind resistant. The Alps have a lot more of that topography than North American ski areas. And sightseeing is a much higher component of revenue in the Alps, like Palm Springs here, which is essentially all sightseeing.
I do not know if 3S gondolas can handle as long spans between towers as trams. However, I've been on enough 3S in the Alps to agree with ChrisC that a 3S would surely have been feasible at Jackson Hole. And unlike Snowbird, the tram is the only way to the top and thus still a chokepoint with big lines.
It was obvious when I was there (not in ski season) that the Cannon tram was primarily a sightseeing lift. I'm not sure about Jay. Wind resistance?
I do not know if 3S gondolas can handle as long spans between towers as trams. However, I've been on enough 3S in the Alps to agree with ChrisC that a 3S would surely have been feasible at Jackson Hole. And unlike Snowbird, the tram is the only way to the top and thus still a chokepoint with big lines.
Not until Peruvian was built in 2007. Nonetheless the Snowbird tram has been essentially replaced: track cables in 2016, cabins, drive system, motors, braking systems, and bullwheels in 2022. That span between towers over the Cirque is very long, possibly too long for a gondola.
Yes, and it dates to the 1960's, when the alternative was a slow double chair up Gunbarrel. The Stateline gondola opened in 2001.
Yes, the long span issue again.
It was obvious when I was there (not in ski season) that the Cannon tram was primarily a sightseeing lift. I'm not sure about Jay. Wind resistance?
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Done, those impressive scenery posts are now here.
tseeb
Well-known member
Adding to comments by @Tony Crocker on the Heavenly tram that I often park near and ride if it looks like I will catch first or 2nd tram. The lowest level of Heavenly is always in the shade early and cold so it's nice to be inside. I'm sure when I learned to ski at Heavenly not too long after original tram was built that my brother and I rode the tram up with at least our Mom and took lessons in beginner area that was to lookers left behind top of the Tram.
Some information is available on liftblog. Comments include "“New” tram (50 passenger) installed 1984. Original 25 passenger tram built in 1962. Until the Gondola went in in 2002, the tram was the center of summertime activities on the mountain." and (supporting what Tony Crocker said about lift ride time vs. slow chair) "There is a restaurant as well as snowcat service shop at the top so a tram was and still is a convenient way to move bulk supplies up there. Not to mention the ride time for a tram is much shorter than the fixed grip chairs that ran parallel before the Gunbarrel HSQ was installed which made it more convenient for skiers and sightseers to ride." Beside Gunbarrel chair and tram, there was a West Bowl chair and there still were lines on busy days to get up from Heavenly's CA base. West Bowl was removed when Gunbarrel was made a HSQ.
There used to be enclosed stairs connecting the top of the tram to restaurants in lodge about 100' lower. I think they removed the stairs because making ADA-compliant alternative was too expensive. I can remember seeing long lines down the stairs for downloading when weather was bad and skiers did not want to get to higher Gunbarrel chair to download. I thought Heavenly's tram was supposed to be removed after Stateline gondola was completed but I can't find anything saying that. And it does give a better option for downloading injured skiers to clinic that is next to its base.