Ups and downs in Switzerland – resorts announce plans for new lifts

Major investment in Zermatt

Zermatt’s lift company (Zermatt Bergbahnen AG (ZBAG) says it is determined the pandemic will not delay its plans for the future which include an investment of around 60 million Swiss francs over the next two years.

A recent company statement promised that ZBAG will work towards opening the new Kumme gondola lift this season and will continue work on the Matterhorn glacier ride II 3S cableway project.

The Matterhorn glacier ride II gondola will link Testa Grigia and the Klein Matterhorn. The recently installed Kumme gondola lift has 56 ten-seater cabins carrying 1500 passengers an hour along the 3.2-kilometre route from Tufternkehr to the Unterrothorn via an intermediary station at Wyss Gufer.

Verbier to replace Médran 1 lift

A new Médran 1 gondola lift in Verbier, will double uplift capacity.

A statement from the Verbier 4Vallées team explained that after 37 years of dedicated service, the Médran 1 cable car is being replaced by a brand-new gondola with large 10-seater cabins.

The extra space and speed of the lift will mean uplift capacity will reach 3,200 people per hour, compared to 1,800 using the old cablecar.

As well as a new lift, the Médran and Les Ruinettes stations will be improved to increase comfort with new windows, escalators and a completely redesigned, improved through flow for skiers.

Improved flow around the 4 Valleys in 2022

Swiss lift manufacturer Bartholet Maschinenbau AG has announced its signed a deal with Téléverbier SA and Télé-Thyon SA to work on three lifts to improve flow around the e4v Valleys from the winter of 2022-23 onward.

A chairlift in La Pasay (see pictured) will be upgraded to a detachable 6-seater chairlift with a hood, shortening the travel time from 11 to five minutes.

A second new detachable 6-seater chairlift will be installed connecting la Pisse-Vache with the Col de Chargerat. The new lift will take six minutes to travel about a mile and have a capacity of 2,000 skiers per hour.

Both lifts will be the latest to be designed by the Porsche Design Studio enabling skiers and boarders guests to travel in maximum comfort.

Finally, above Thyon, in La Matze, a major new lift will replace the two lifts which are more than 50 years old. The new lift will be as combination type, carrying 6-seater detachable chairs and 10-seater gondola cabins on the same line.

The new lift will have a carrying capacity of 2,000 people per hour and as well as skiers and snowboarders, it will offer pedestrian transport between Les Collons 1900 and Thyon 2000 for the first time.

The ‘Les Collons’ ski lift will be replaced by a new ski lift. In parallel to the new construction of the new combination lift the redevelopment of the surrounding leisure activities is being planned with, among other things, a brand-new winter toboggan run is planned.

 



Categories: Switzerland

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