The Peak to Peak Gondola, which will join Whistler’s Roundhouse Lodge to Blackcomb’s Rendezvous Lodge, is yet another innovation that will make Whistler unique among North America’s premier resorts!
The addition of this gondola will make Whistler Blackcomb the longest continuous lift system in the world!
Construction started on May 15th of this year, and the project is set to open in December 2008.
Just imagine …
… the lift will span a distance more than three times the length of the Golden Gate Bridge!
… the views from 415m or so above the valley floor will be mindblowing!
… being able to cross from one massive mountain peak to the other in just 11 minutes!
… saving the forest – the footprint of this gondola is about a third of that of an average high speed quad chair!
… saving energy – the power to run this gondola will be about half that of the Whistler Village Gondola!
… saving petrol, keeping air pollution down, and reducing congestion – this gondola will greatly reduce the need for gas-guzzling cars to be used to travel between the two mountains!
Here are some interesting statistics:
1 cabin will depart every 49 seconds
3.024 kilometres (1.88 miles) of free span (the longest in the world!)
4 supporting towers for the gondola system
4.4 kilometres (2.73 miles) from end to end
7.5 metres (24.6 ft) per second speed of travel
11 minutes to cross from one side to the other
28 gondolas in circulation – two with glass bottoms
28 passengers per cabin
415 metres (1361 ft) is the height above Fitzsimmons Creek (the highest of its kind!)
4100 people per hour can be moved