All About the High-Speed Gondola Ski Lift

Fact & Figures

The Grand Massif Express

The link opened by the Grand Massif Express was first considered back in 1935, but it would be almost 70 years before the technology to make it possible was perfected.

The lift’s 3km journey takes in a 900m ascent and takes 8 min at a maximum speed of 6m/sec. Running 95 gondolas at maximum speed of 6m/sec. This gives a capacity of 2500 skiers/hr, with potential for up to 2800/hr by adding 11 more units.

In low-traffic periods the lift can run at ¾ speed and with only 50 gondolas attached.

Dual electro-hydraulic drive units run on 500V, stepped down from a 20KV supply. There’s also back-up diesel power to get passengers safely back down in event of a power failure.

Longer, Higher, Faster...

THE NORTH AMERICAN
ski resort of Silver Mountain (Idaho) is accessed by what is billed as the World’s Longest Gondola. It’s set to be upstaged in 2009, though, when the Canadian ski areas of Whistler and Blackcomb are linked by the new Peak2Peak Gondola.
Spanning an incredible 3024m (1.88 miles), this will be the world’s longest unsupported span for any lift.
Meanwhile, back in Europe Austria’s Grindelwald-Männlichen Gondola Cableway, opened in 1978, also stakes its ‘world’s longest’ claim, with a journey of some 6071m. Not to be outdone, in 1995 Orelle opened the Trois Vallées Express, the World’s Longest Single-Section Gondola, whose 4942m length combined with a near-vertical ascent of 1471m, provides direct access to Val Thorens from the Maurienne Valley, in the French Alps. Three years later Les Angles, in the French Pyrénées, opened another World’s First, in the form of a gondola with 16-passenger cabins.

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All about gondola lifts.

In recent years high-speed gondola lifts have not only transformed the on-mountain experience for skiers but also finally allowed their non-skiing companions to see for themselves some of the amazing scenery they were hitherto denied. But as we’ll see, the advantages (and technological challenges) don’t stop there...

Cabins in loading area.
Above: The loading area of the Grand Massif Express, which accesses the ski terrain of Samoëns (Haute Savoie).

Getting up a mountain, by whatever means, is always going to involve someone in a considerable degree of effort and commitment — something which modern skiers are increasingly being spared, thanks to the adoption of high-speed gondola lifts. We travelled to the Grand Massif in Haute-Savoie to find out just how a state-of-the art installation works.

Large expresso...

Incoming cabin, Grand Massif Express Gondola Lift A rapid, high-capacity link from the village of Samoëns up to the heart of the ski area was first considered back in 1935, but only achieved 70 or so years later, when the necessary technology was perfected. Today the Grand Massif Express makes the 3km journey (with a 900m vertical ascent) in just eight minutes at the maximum speed of 6m/sec. Normal running with 95 cabins gives a capacity of 2500 skiers/hr, although at times of peak demand a further eleven cabins can be added, boosting skier capacity to 2800/hr. Conversely, in low-traffic periods the lift can run at reduced speed and with just fifty gondolas attached, economising significantly on energy consumption.

Cabin low-speed transport wheels

What makes this possible is the same trick which allows passengers to board and alight calmly in the loading area, before heading off on a high-speed journey up or down the mountain. As each cabin approaches the end of its journey it is met by a mechanism which releases the spring-loaded grip securing it to the main cable and lifts it onto the transport mechanism, where it undergoes a smooth, controlled deceleration. Once the cabin has safely reached the loading area a lever mounted above the cabin opens the doors, while the cabins continue their slow advance. Passengers have plenty of time to alight or board, stow or retrieve their skies, snowboards, etc.

Above: The upper deck electro-hydraulic power system and reduction gearbox. The main drive-shaft incorporates powerful disc-braking and is coupled via two large universal joints.

A second electro-hydraulic drive system below the loading area is backed up with diesel power to bring cabins and their passengers safely home in the event of an electrical supply failure.

Once each cabin has safely left the loading area the process begins again in reverse, beginning with door closure. Each cabin then undergoes a carefully-controlled acceleration to match its velocity to that of the cable, which has meanwhile continued its rapid progress around the giant horizontal pulley-wheel by which it is driven at both top and bottom stations. Once fully-synchronised, the cabin is simply lowered onto the cable and the spring-loaded release disengaged, to grip the cable securely at two points.

During low-traffic periods cabins can be taken out of service simply by diverting (or ‘shunting’) them out of the slow transport system in the loading/unloading area and into a nearby garage area — much like diverting a railway wagon into a siding. Bringing them back into service is just as simple.

Wielding power...

Monitor panel, Grand Massif Express Gondola Lift

Huge banks of step-down transformers.

The main electro-hydraulic drive units run at 500V, stepped down from a 20kV supply, and consume around 645 Amps with an average passenger load. The lift operators’ screen displays (below) include wind-velocities monitored at each of the supporting pylons along the route — vital information for the safe operation of such a large, powerful lift.

As in all lifts, passenger safety is the number one priority area, and the sheer complexity of the high-speed gondola creates many areas to be monitored and maintained. In addition to the routine checks and maintenance carried out before the lift is opened each day, regular official inspections are carried out independently to ensure that every component continues to function perfectly. Since each cabin can weigh around 1.5 tonnes, the condition of the main cable is constantly and precisely monitored.

Water ballast bags, Grand Massif Express Gondola Lift

Water ballast-bags used for controlled testing.

Official programmed safety inspections involve testing under controlled conditions, with each cabin carrying its maximum designed load (usually well in excess of the permitted passenger load). To achieve this rubberised ballast bags are loaded into each cabin and filled with a measured mass of water.

We are indebted to the management and staff of Grand Massif for their invaluable help during the production of this feature.

Our Hosts

We produced this report in the Grand Massif domaine, situated in the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps. One of the largest linked ski areas in France, it comprises over 133 runs (265km) with 78 ski lifts which connect the ski villages of :
Flaine
Les Carroz
Samoëns
Morillon
Sixt Fer à Cheval