This unique D-Line gondola opened in downtown Idaho Springs in May 2026.The bottom terminal is sandwiched between Clear Creek and the mountain with a steep climb out.Tower 3 near the bottom station.Lower part of the lift line.Tower 3 over Idaho Springs.Cabins inspired by gold rush history.Tall tower 4.Five of the 28 carriers are Doppelmayr bike cabs.Four cabins feature glass floors.A support tower along the line.Upper part of the lift line.Big combination assembly.Flat middle section of the line.Glass floor cabin.View down near the summit.Bike carriers come about every sixth cabin.A standard cabin passing tower 14.View from the summit.Top terminal without an under cover.Big tower 13.T11 near several mountain bike trails.The final few towers.Tower 7.Raised lower terminal with several staircases and an elevator.Angled tower 2.T1 and a maintenance rail.Side view of the lower station.Steep climb out of the bottom station.Drive station built way up in the air.Lower half of the line.A bike cab passing towers 1 and 2.Tunnel to the maintenance rail and grip bay.Doors close before the end of the bottom station turnaround to accommodate the rail gate.Drive bullwheel.Outside controls at the bottom.Riding up the middle part of the line.Return station at Miner’s Point.Access control barrier.Return/tension bullwheel.Bike cabs stop briefly in the top terminal to accommodate bikers unloading their own bikes.Upper station overview.Omega V cabin with individual wooden seats.Upper turnaround area.Another view of the return terminal.Breakover towers 15 and 16.Side view of the top station.Upper station seen from above.This was the first lift to open in North America with bike cabs, beating Big Sky by a month.Upper loading area.View from the top terminal plaza.One cabin dedicated for cargo.View up at tower 10.Riding down into Idaho Springs.Big hold down assemblies.Unloading area at the bottom.Drive bullwheel and maintenance bays.Elevated station.Work carrier not on the line during regular operations.
What’s the reason to leave the underside of the terminals open to the air? Maybe for heat because of mostly summer operations? Wouldn’t it get dusty in there with that much exposure to the outside in a dusty environment? Doesn’t seem like they spared any expense on this, so I doubt it’s to save a few bucks.
My guess is for the visual cool factor to go with the mining theme of the attraction. When this gondola was orginally planned as a Leitner-Poma, it was going to feature rust colored metal and a wood under cover. Idaho Springs doesn’t get a lot of snow and I doubt this lift will operate in the heart of winter.
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Beautiful gondola, second d-line in colorado. Also can you load the bikes in the cabin or do you have to wait for the bike carriers?
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From what I could tell, only Bike Cabs.
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right on
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only in the bike carriers, but they hold 10 bikes and there’s more hikers than bikers so it works well.
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What’s the reason to leave the underside of the terminals open to the air? Maybe for heat because of mostly summer operations? Wouldn’t it get dusty in there with that much exposure to the outside in a dusty environment? Doesn’t seem like they spared any expense on this, so I doubt it’s to save a few bucks.
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My guess is for the visual cool factor to go with the mining theme of the attraction. When this gondola was orginally planned as a Leitner-Poma, it was going to feature rust colored metal and a wood under cover. Idaho Springs doesn’t get a lot of snow and I doubt this lift will operate in the heart of winter.
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Why was the bottom station built so high off the ground?
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Id guess its to limit how steep the climb out has to be, even with the terminal raised to the extent that it is the climb out is still pretty extreme.
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Yes, the climb out is insanely steep, so they needed as much clearance as possible.
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Those bullwheels really look massive with the open-air bottom terminals.
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Pretty cool lift. I can’t wait to ride it
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You can see Echo Mountain Ski Area from this gondola. 1 picture shows it pretty clearly.
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