Lift Blog

When riders on the tram ask about the construction going on at JHMR this summer, they rarely believe an entire gondola can be built in one summer.  “That’s going to be done this winter?!,” they say.  The answer of course is yes, and after a few months of work you can start to see why.  Since Doppelmayr flew the new gondola’s towers in late July, work has shifted to the mid and top terminals.  Over four days last week, a crane set the steel beams and tunnels for the Solitude mid-station.  This station is huge and will eventually serve a beginner complex with magic carpets, a rental center, cafeteria and more.  It will also be the site of the gondola’s cabin storage and maintenance facility, to be built next summer.

Not much has changed at the bottom station, where steel was set in early July.  The top/drive terminal is now the center of the action, where the last concrete for the masts will be poured this week.

Out by the highway, the final containers of parts have been arriving from Austria, including terminal enclosures, hangers and grips.  The only major components yet to arrive are the 48 cabins from CWA, the haul rope and two more operator houses.

Also this week, a helicopter will return to fly the last four sheave assemblies to towers 20 and 21. They weren’t finished yet when the rest of the towers flew in July.

The focus in the next few weeks will be on the top terminal before enclosures start getting pieced together.  All three stations will be brown, rather than white and gray like Teton and Casper. Other contractors besides Doppelmayr are working on the retaining walls, boiler rooms and heated hardscapes around all three stations.  Stay tuned for updates from Big Sky and Grand Targhee soon.