Vail to install new gondola

22nd December 2011, by Chris Gill

Opening day 2011 at Vail - on the Vista Bahn chair [J Affleck / Vail Resorts]

Some early news for next season: Vail Resorts has announced plans for a new gondola to be built in Vail for 2012/13.

If all goes well, the new lift is due to open in November 2012 and will mark the 50th anniversary of the mountain.

The modern gondola will replace the existing Vista Bahn Express chair, currently serving the mid-Vail area from Vail Village, on the front side of the mountain. The lift is claimed as the first installation of its kind in North America, and its station areas will offer new features, such as free Wi-Fi access for guests.

By installing a gondola to replace the fast quad, upload capacity is expected to increase by 40% – this could pose problems in the already heavily congested mid-Vail area, which gives the resort a poor reputation for serious queues despite a couple of fast chairs out of the mid-Vail area. But with the existing chair now 26 years old, having been installed in 1985, it’s due an upgrade.

The project has not yet stated whether it will be an eight-seater or ten-seat version, but it is planned to run along the same line as the old chair. The new lift will reintroduce a gondola to the area for the first time since the 1970’s, and building work is scheduled to begin at the end of this season.

• new lift
• vail

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