On the heels of building its 50,000th Omega gondola cabin, CWA Constructions introduced the fifth generation of an icon yesterday. Omega V features updated design language and is highly customizable for monocable gondola installations going forward. Omega first debuted back in 1983 and the the rest is history. The Omega IV joined the dynasty in 2007 and in just a dozen years became the chosen carrier for 29 gondolas in the United States and Canada. “The new cabin features the unmistakable Omega shape which merges seamlessly with any of its surroundings. The cabin has been completely redeveloped while retaining the core values of a true Omega,” Doppelmayr says.
Designed with 10 passenger D-Line systems in mind, The V will become the global standard for snow, tourism and urban installations by the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, of which CWA is a member. The changes I noticed first were the suspension going below the roof line and the bench seats being swapped for individual places (each seat is 18.1 inches or 460 mm wide, more than you’ll find in a typical economy airline seat.) The V has new ergonomic ski rack choices, two bumper options and wider doors that open to 35 inches (900 mm.) A single door can hold up to six pairs of powder skis or five with a snowboard lot. An interior bike rack is also available.
Like its competitor, the Omega now has an option for electric doors in place of purely mechanical ones. “They offer new possibilities in terms of electronic monitoring, reversing and preventive maintenance,” says CWA. For night operations, passive lighting can emanate from a ceiling panel, underneath benches and outside the bumpers for increased safety and style. Solar panels for charging batteries that some features require can be hidden along the upper frame to look like extensions of the windows.
Gondolas are going up at the fastest pace ever because of their versatility and broad appeal. The introduction of Omega V caps an amazing period of innovation by both major cabin manufacturers, with Symphony 10, Taris, Diamond Evo and now Omega V all launching in a span of four years.
CWA has gone live with a configurator demonstrating the multitude of options available to Omega customers. You can make your own selections and take your cabin for 360 degree spins both inside and out. With a bunch of North American gondola projects in the pipeline, where would you like ride the new Omega?
Lift Blog 
Will this be used on all gondolas going forward or is it only going to be the “premium option” like the D-Line is for the lifts themselves?
Big Sky and Beaver Creek both have possible gondola installations in 2019 or 2020 and either one could be the first to use this cabin design.
LikeLike
I asked Doppelmayr about compatibility with non-D-Line lifts, the future of the Omega IV and whether there will be other sizes besides 10. I will update this post with anything I learn.
LikeLike
I would figure that they are all purpose, since Omega IV doesn’t show up anywhere on CWA’s website.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Irrelevant but Peter, I think you have a twitter roast off between ski resorts to cover in the next news roundup. I found it hilarious. Especially the way that whistler was shut down!
LikeLike
Wait what? What happened? Who was arguing?
LikeLike
Whistler are too busy trying to stop people calling the existing gondola the “Blackcomb Gondola” and use “Excalibur” instead. Wonder where people got the idea to call it the blackcomb gondola from…. http://www.owj.ca/others/2007-05-10-Whistler-Blackcomb/100-0001_IMG.JPG
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hey peter, do you know if there is an image or chart comparing all 5 versions of the OMEGA cabin?
LikeLike
I’ll give it a shot based on North American gondolas.
Omega I 1983-1990
Omega II 1991-1997
Omega III 1998-2006
Omega IV 2007-2018
Omega V 2019-
LikeLike
Nice job, Peter!
LikeLike
All the Omega V images are rendered, right?
LikeLike
It looks to me like they quietly put a few of these on the Kirchenkarbahn for photos. The poor models apparently had to suit up in ski gear in the middle of summer!
More photos:
LikeLike
Do you think that Big Sky will use these cabins for the new gondola in 2020?
LikeLike
Seems logical based on recent developments. Other guesses:
– Strawberry Park at Beaver Creek
– Silver Lake at Deer Valley
– Summit at Snow King
– Agassiz at Arizona Snowbowl
– Creekside at Whistler
– Sunshine at Telluride
– Mountain Village Gondola at Telluride
– Eagle at Mammoth
– Eagle Bahn at Vail
– Gondola at Loon
LikeLike
Telluride has aspirations of a Sunshine gondola? On a side note, I forgot that Eagle Bahn is getting pretty old. It’ll be sad to see the X cabins go though.
LikeLike
I don’t believe the Whistler Creekside new gondola is more than a drawing on a future plan yet… I would love that, and Bagel Bowl Chairlift. Mainly as its a ski-in/out from my house..
LikeLike
Are there plans to replace Silver Lake Express with a gondola?
LikeLike
https://www.curbed.com/2014/12/10/10013154/presenting-2-options-for-the-deer-valleypark-city-gondola
LikeLike
Peter, are you referring to an actual replacement for Creekside, or the planned Orange gondola.
LikeLike
The pre-Vail master plan has a third gondola out of Creekside to the Chic Pea. It also shows a fourth one from Creekside called Big Timber to Bagel Bowl.
LikeLike
Strawberry Park for Beaver Creek: is that to get better access to the new McCoy Park proposed area? Right now Strawberry Park Quad isn’t fully utilized as it is, but with new beginner/family terrain at the top I guess there’s increased demand?
LikeLike
To quote from the Beaver Creek Master Development Plan: “Future plans for McCoy Park may warrant upgrading the Strawberry Park Express (Lift #12) to a gondola or chondola to accommodate additional skier and foot traffic. The planned lifts include the new McCoy Park quad chairlift for round trip novice and low intermediate skiing, an egress triple chairlift out of McCoy Park, and two new carpet conveyor lifts for beginners located at the top of the Strawberry Park Gondola replacement lift. The Strawberry Park Express (Lift #12) would be upgraded to a gondola to facilitate the use of the planned McCoy Park terrain and restaurant facility.”
LikeLike
Not sure if you mean a completely new main gondola at Loon, or the Riverwalk Pulse Gondola. It seems very unlikely that Boyne will replace the main gondola (although they really need it), but the pulse gondola should have the new cabins. Unfortunately, it will not be open to the public. If it’s ever built, the Albany gondola will probably be a D-Line with the new cabins as well.
LikeLike
What are they going to do with the Eagle Bahn at Vail. If there going to replace the entire thing, I would go with a D-Line 8/10 chondola. Then add a mid unload where Born Free is and remove Born Free. The cabin lights will be good when the lift runs at night. https://youtu.be/UC32KXL0FiE?t=155
LikeLike
Vail has made no plans public but Born Free is a 1988 and Eagle Bahn 1996 with a ton of hours so they will need to do something in the coming years. Whether that’s a Steamboat-style upgrade or new lift(s) will be interesting to follow.
LikeLike
I expect Born Free to be replaced by another 6 pack as has happened with all the other CLD-260’s at Vail (Except Vista Bahn). Right now, Born Free has a capacity of 2800/hr and Eagle Bahn has a capacity of 3000/hr. A Born Free replacement would likely be 3000. Game Creek is the next CLD-260 to be replaced which will happen in 2019. That leaves Born Free and Orient, but I have no idea which one would be replaced first. My guess is Orient because it serves terrain that people lap all day rather than being a backup out of base lift.
Only after that are the CTEC’s going to be up for replacement, and the oldest one is from 1993. I’m guessing this doesn’t happen until at least 2025. I’m assuming Game Creek, Orient, and Born Free are replaced in 2019, 2020, and 2021. After that, I expect them to take a break or install lifts where there isn’t one already like Sun Down Bowl before replacing the CTEC’s.
LikeLike
As important as it is, it’ll be sad to see the CLD-260s go. They’re a really cool piece of old tech. As I said before, its the same for Eagle Bahn, especially with those pretty unique cabins. I only know a few other gondolas with those cabins.
LikeLike
I think they should replace Orient with a new lift. A realignment of the lift would be great as you have to take a long catwalk to get to the base of the lift after you ski Poppyfeilds, you have 5 minutes of pulling. Maybe they could make it start at the end of Poppyfeilds where Sweet and Sour comes out. They could bring it to a new location. That would mean that they would have all skiiers from Mongolia Bowl come out and go to Teacup. Another idea is to install a triple chair back there and you could lap it. If Vail replaces Orient I would like to see a bubble 6 chair back there.
LikeLike
Awesome!
LikeLike
Is it just me or do the Omega Vs look much wider up high than the IVs? It’s certainly not a bad thing, but from the picture Peter posted in a comment above, it looks significantly wider at about shoulder-height.
LikeLike
I think that it’s because Sweetwater is a D8G, whereas the sample Omega Vs are all D10G.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The video in this post has been updated with the English version posted today.
LikeLike