The “Panorama Bahn” hybrid lift in Kitzbühel, Austria. Chairs load from the station on the left of this image, gondolas along the carpeted area to the right.
The top of Doppelmayr’s “Le Grand Cerf” at Les Sept Laux, outside of Grenoble, France. Chairs exit to the right, gondolas on the left.
A hybrid lift is a new type of ski lift that combines a chairlift and a gondola. First introduced by Poma, who refers to them as Telemix, they have since been copied by most lift manufacturers who refer to them by a variety of names; Doppelmayr refers to them as combined installations, while the more generic terms chondola and telecombi are also common.
Both chairs and gondolas have advantages for lift operations. Gondolas are heavier and have lower wind restrictions, but offer protection from the elements and are particularly useful in rain or very cold. They can also be used during the summer for walk-on guests, cyclists or wheelchairs, and in the winter for snowshoers. In the winter, gondolas require skiers and snowboarders to remove their equipment and walk into the cabin, which can slow the speed of operation at the ends of the lift and requires the riders to stand for the duration of the lift. Chairs are lighter and can be operated in higher winds, while also generally being more comfortable and easier to board for skiers.
A hybrid lift allows cabins and chairs to be used on the same lift line, changing them as the rider load, season and weather conditions demand. To allow safe loading and unloading, stations have separate areas for the different carrier types, resembling a gondola station followed by a chairlift station, or vice versa. The overall length of the boarding area can be reduced by folding the station so that the gondolas are loaded on the “downhill” side of the ends of the lift, and the chairlifts on the uphill side.
Hybrid lifts offer year-round versatility, increasingly important as ski resorts add summertime activities like downhill cycling and nature hiking trails.
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Installations around the World
France
In France, Doppelmayr has installed at least two hybrid lifts. One being the “Mont Rond”, which consist of one eight passenger gondola cabin, and three six passenger chairs. “Le Grand Cerf” in Les 7 Laux, France consists of a six passenger chair and an eight passenger gondola.
United States
Most recently, the Sunday River Resort has built one of these lifts, dubbing it the chondola. This particular lift consist of four, six passenger chairs, followed by one eight passenger gondola cabin.
The Chondola at Sunday River
Telemix in Åre (Sweden)
Telecomb Du Mont-Rond (France)
Le Hybrid, Orford (Canada)
References
- ^ Sunday River
External Links
- Doppelmayr Combined Installations
- Poma – Telemix
- Sunday River Resort
- Chondola.com
See also
- Ski lifts
- List of aerial lift manufacturers
Ski lifts
Aerial
Aerial tramway · Funifor · Funitel · Gondola lift · Telemix · Detachable chairlift · Chairlift
Surface
T-bar lift · J-bar lift · Platter lift · Ski tow · Magic carpet
Subsurface
Funicular
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_lift”
Categories: Vertical transportation devices | Ski lifts