View up the line from Vail Village.Exptended loading area shown with just half the cabins on line.Bottom return station and towers 1-2.Return terminal in Vail Village.Lower section of the lineTower 7.Upper lift line section.Sigma Diamond 10-passenger cabins.Top station with cabin parking and maintenance building on the right.Top station turnaround.Lower level of the two-level parking facility.Rails connecting the arrival side of the top station with the parking bays.Riding down.Tower 17.View back uphill.Descending towards Vail Village.Cabins with custom ski & snowboard racks.
Never until now have I noticed that unlike most if not all other L-P lifts in North America, this lift has its sheave assemblies mounted to either the top or bottom of the crossarm (similar to a Doppelmayr) rather than mounted to the inside of it like most Pomas in North America from the mid-1980s to the present day.
I’m pretty sure the support sheaves are a Leitner design. They are larger and have a different look than anything I’ve seen on a Poma or Leitner Poma lift in North America. Look up Leitner Gondola on google images and look at a tower and you should see the similarity.
Those are Poma sheaves; what I can’t tell is if they are the 450 Wides that we have on our sixpacks and telemix, or if they’re the 550s. If the rope is bigger than 52mm they’re probably 550s, which makes the depressions on the combos 450s. We were told our ropes were as big as the 450 sheaves could handle, which is good because they’re heavy enough on their own :)
Last night, the lift ran with bright lights at the base of every cabin. It looked so beautiful! Not sure if the lights are new or have always been there. Curious if anyone knows more about them … are they for some sort of safety/utility purpose? I haven’t seen anything similar on other lifts.
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Nothing says Vail quite like a gondola with heated seats and wi-fi. They have to justify their insane lift ticket prices somehow.
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Never until now have I noticed that unlike most if not all other L-P lifts in North America, this lift has its sheave assemblies mounted to either the top or bottom of the crossarm (similar to a Doppelmayr) rather than mounted to the inside of it like most Pomas in North America from the mid-1980s to the present day.
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I’m pretty sure the support sheaves are a Leitner design. They are larger and have a different look than anything I’ve seen on a Poma or Leitner Poma lift in North America. Look up Leitner Gondola on google images and look at a tower and you should see the similarity.
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Those are Poma sheaves; what I can’t tell is if they are the 450 Wides that we have on our sixpacks and telemix, or if they’re the 550s. If the rope is bigger than 52mm they’re probably 550s, which makes the depressions on the combos 450s. We were told our ropes were as big as the 450 sheaves could handle, which is good because they’re heavy enough on their own :)
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I also noticed! When you put the pictures side-by-side, you can obviously see the difference.
Standard LPA sheave assemblies:
Gondola 1 sheave assemblies:
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Is this the only currently built gondola with LPA terminals?
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Yes. The count will triple here shortly if we count Copper’s Telemix.
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Glenwood Springs?
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The Gondola at Winter Park also counts
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Question on the gondola garage. Is there a elevator or inclined rails between the 2 levels?
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I love the sound of tire banks and a bull wheel turning.
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Last night, the lift ran with bright lights at the base of every cabin. It looked so beautiful! Not sure if the lights are new or have always been there. Curious if anyone knows more about them … are they for some sort of safety/utility purpose? I haven’t seen anything similar on other lifts.
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Mabye decorative?
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Does this lift still have wifi?
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Here is a short documentary about Vail’s Gondola 1 system:
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