Project Description
At 3,024 metres, the unsupported span between two of the four soaring support towers is the world’s longest. When each of the 28 cabins sways 436 metres above Fitzsimmons Creek, they reach the highest such point on the planet. At a cost of $51 million, the gondola is the most expensive lift ever built in North America. Last, and perhaps most impressive, the P2P gondola creates the world’s longest continuous lift system, yielding nearly 7 kilometres of ski-on-ski-off slope access.
Every 49 seconds, each cabin will zip up to 28 people across a 4.4-kilometre expanse connecting Whistler’s Roundhouse Lodge to the Rendezvous Lodge on Blackcomb Mountain. The trip will take just 11 minutes. On skis and chairlifts, the same journey would mean a trip to the base of the resort, typically taking anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour – or, given the many distractions in Whistler’s village, a visitor might never get there at all.
While most chairlifts use a single cable the PEAK 2 PEAK uses four stationary carbon-steel cables (or track ropes) to support the cabins—two for each direction—and a circular cable (haul rope) to pull them. These track ropes act like rails across the valley. Each 97-ton rope can support 767,723 pounds and stretch to a length of 15,092 ft. with sag. The multiple cables help prevent swaying, allowing the gondola to operate safely in winds of up to 80 km/h.
Manufactured by the Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group of Austria, the 3S tri-cable lift is designed for minimum downtime and optimum safety. Expanded terrain access, minimal congestion, and maximum viewscapes in winter are complemented by summer access to some of the most spectacular alpine hiking on the continent.
Gondola Fact Sheet
| Speed | 7.5 meters per second |
| Ride Time | approximately 11 min. |
| Frequency | one cabin departs every 49 seconds |
| Total Distance | approximately 11 min. |
| Length of Unsupported Span | 3.024km/1.88 miles (straight line between the two towers that are furthest apart) |
| Highest Point | above the ground is 436m/1427 feet over Fitzsimmons Creek |
| Number of Cabins | 28 |
| Capacity of Cabins | 22 seated, 6 standing |
| Total Capacity | 2050 people per hour each way |
| Number of Towers | 4 (2 on Blackcomb and 2 on Whistler) |
| Height of Towers | 35-65 meters/100-213 feet |
| Track Ropes | The two stationary ropes that the cabin rides upon are each 56mm in diameter and the total length of the track rope with the sag is 4600m. |
| Haul Rope | The single rope that pulls the cars along the track ropes is 46mm in diameter. Total length of the haul rope loop with the sag is 8850m. |
| World Records |
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