Excalibur Gondola Stage 1 – Whistler Blackcomb, BC
Bottom station in Whistler Village.Cabins transferring between the two sections. Each stage can be run independently.View leaving Whistler Village.Riding towards Blackcomb Base II.Arriving at Base II.Top station of the short lower section.Cabin maintenance rail.Whistler Village station.Side view of the middle station.Doppelmayr Worldbook entry, page 1.Doppelmayr Worldbook entry, page 2.
Why doesn’t this lift have CWA X model cabins? The only 2 doppelmayr gondolas with X model cabins Ive seen are snowbasin’s. all 3 lifts are similar in age.
The strange looking cabin in pic 1 is an ambulance gondola, used for evacuating seriously injured patients off the mountain. There is room in it for a backboard laid flat, wit ha room for a ski patroller, doctor, or appropriate medical team members.
Here’s another gondola at Whistler that I could see being replaced in years to come. Their original plans were to eventually expand it up all the way to the Rendezvous, and they can no longer do that given that the technology used on this gondola is no longer available. What I imagine they’ll end up doing is replacing this with just another 8 passenger gondola, nothing too fancy, and getting that expansion up to the Rendezvous. I don’t know if that plan is set in stone with the vail acquisition, but if they were to do that, it wouldn’t be unheard of for them to use it during the summer for access to Blackcomb out of Whistler Village. It’s not a long walk to Blackcomb gondola, so maybe not, but there’s a chance.
The Excalibur Gondola and Excelerator Express were built to make accessing Blackcomb from Whistler much more efficient. They replaced a string of three triple chairlifts: Excalibur Stage I replacing Fitzsimmons, Stage II replacing Cruiser, and the Excelerator Express replacing Stoker.
Out of all the lifts at Whistler, I think it’s in the worst condition. The issue is that it was built with a lot of advanced technology that hasn’t aged well. At the end of the day and night when they force riders to unload at the mid, they should split the gondola into two sections and only run the lower. Instead, they keep them connected but just force you to unload at the mid. It could also use some new cabins.
I would say village gondola (Whistler Village Gondola) (Poma one) because its breaking down the most, though it is the oldest, thats why I say its in the worst condition
Just as practical would be to build a high speed quad from Excalibur 2’s base to the bottom of the Catskinner Express, as highlighted in the master plans from a few years ago.
What needs to happen is that Excalibur should be replaced with a whole new gondola, and perhaps it should be supplemented with a Cruiser Express high speed quad running from the midstation up to the Blackcomb Gondola’s midstation
They are European first-generation UNI terminals which indeed did evolve into the Spacejet (used worldwide), which debuted the same year (1994). I think this is the first Doppelmayr gondola constructed in North America with terminals not enclosed in a building – the NA/French UNI terminal used at the time was probably not compatible with gondolas (used exclusively on HSQs and 2 HSS) so a compatible European design was used.
After skiing at Whistler for a week I think Excelerator express and the Excalibur gondola should be replaced with a 10 person gondola. With midstation where Excalibur’s is currently and the top station of Excalibur. They should also make it where it can run as separate gondolas like the Blackcomb Gondola can.
For Jersey Cream I think replacing it with a six pack would be a good idea as it is in a bad condition and needs more capacity.
Excelerator needs to stay as a chairlift, as it’s a lapping lift. I think it would be really alienating to make it where a large portion of Blackcomb requires you to take off your skis after every run, since Excelerator in conjunction with Jersey Cream and Catskinner is the only chairlift option for getting back up into the heart of Blackcomb from the former Solar Coaster terrain.
though I think it should stay as is because, one its fine, two it rains alot around that location, though I do admit the cabins are disgusting and should be replaced
This lift should be replaced by a new 10 pp gondola with the current and mid station locations unchanged by top station at glacier Creek Lodge. The excelerator should stay. The new jersey cream 6 will provide needed capacity for this.
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Why doesn’t this lift have CWA X model cabins? The only 2 doppelmayr gondolas with X model cabins Ive seen are snowbasin’s. all 3 lifts are similar in age.
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What’s with the different cabin in pic 1
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The strange looking cabin in pic 1 is an ambulance gondola, used for evacuating seriously injured patients off the mountain. There is room in it for a backboard laid flat, wit ha room for a ski patroller, doctor, or appropriate medical team members.
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Here’s another gondola at Whistler that I could see being replaced in years to come. Their original plans were to eventually expand it up all the way to the Rendezvous, and they can no longer do that given that the technology used on this gondola is no longer available. What I imagine they’ll end up doing is replacing this with just another 8 passenger gondola, nothing too fancy, and getting that expansion up to the Rendezvous. I don’t know if that plan is set in stone with the vail acquisition, but if they were to do that, it wouldn’t be unheard of for them to use it during the summer for access to Blackcomb out of Whistler Village. It’s not a long walk to Blackcomb gondola, so maybe not, but there’s a chance.
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The Excalibur Gondola and Excelerator Express were built to make accessing Blackcomb from Whistler much more efficient. They replaced a string of three triple chairlifts: Excalibur Stage I replacing Fitzsimmons, Stage II replacing Cruiser, and the Excelerator Express replacing Stoker.
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I hope that they never change Excalibur gondola because it is still a good plant and in excellent condition.
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Out of all the lifts at Whistler, I think it’s in the worst condition. The issue is that it was built with a lot of advanced technology that hasn’t aged well. At the end of the day and night when they force riders to unload at the mid, they should split the gondola into two sections and only run the lower. Instead, they keep them connected but just force you to unload at the mid. It could also use some new cabins.
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By Far, jersey cream is in the worst condition.
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I would say village gondola (Whistler Village Gondola) (Poma one) because its breaking down the most, though it is the oldest, thats why I say its in the worst condition
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Just as practical would be to build a high speed quad from Excalibur 2’s base to the bottom of the Catskinner Express, as highlighted in the master plans from a few years ago.
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What needs to happen is that Excalibur should be replaced with a whole new gondola, and perhaps it should be supplemented with a Cruiser Express high speed quad running from the midstation up to the Blackcomb Gondola’s midstation
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Those terminals absolutely look like prototypes for the UNI Spacejet terminal design.
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They are European first-generation UNI terminals which indeed did evolve into the Spacejet (used worldwide), which debuted the same year (1994). I think this is the first Doppelmayr gondola constructed in North America with terminals not enclosed in a building – the NA/French UNI terminal used at the time was probably not compatible with gondolas (used exclusively on HSQs and 2 HSS) so a compatible European design was used.
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In Norway there is this HSQ with Spacejet-shaped terminals, the Spacejet windows at the front and back (they do not curve, they are just flat at the end like UNI-G), and DT grips built in 1993.
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsd4-hafjell-ii-doppelmayr-2502.html
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After skiing at Whistler for a week I think Excelerator express and the Excalibur gondola should be replaced with a 10 person gondola. With midstation where Excalibur’s is currently and the top station of Excalibur. They should also make it where it can run as separate gondolas like the Blackcomb Gondola can.
For Jersey Cream I think replacing it with a six pack would be a good idea as it is in a bad condition and needs more capacity.
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Excelerator needs to stay as a chairlift, as it’s a lapping lift. I think it would be really alienating to make it where a large portion of Blackcomb requires you to take off your skis after every run, since Excelerator in conjunction with Jersey Cream and Catskinner is the only chairlift option for getting back up into the heart of Blackcomb from the former Solar Coaster terrain.
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though I think it should stay as is because, one its fine, two it rains alot around that location, though I do admit the cabins are disgusting and should be replaced
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Is this the only lift in north America with those terminals?
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This lift should be replaced by a new 10 pp gondola with the current and mid station locations unchanged by top station at glacier Creek Lodge. The excelerator should stay. The new jersey cream 6 will provide needed capacity for this.
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The bottom terminal of Excalibur was repainted red in 2023 to match the candy apple red paint job on the adjacent Fitzsimmons 8.
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Its actually been the paint scheme for a while now. just new coat this year.
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